Legislation Commons^™

The Bfoq Defense In Adea Suits: The Scope Of "Duties Of The Job", Robert L. Fischman

Michigan Law Review

This Note examines these three possible interpretations of which job characteristics a court must examine when determining the validity of a BFOQ defense to an ADEA suit and concludes that the Eighth Circuit's standard is correct. Because disputes over which interpretation is proper arise almost exclusively in cases involving public safety occupations, this Note discusses the standards for measuring that scope within the framework of the policy considerations associated with public safety. Part I of this Note discusses the three current standards used to determine the scope of the BFOQ defense. Part II illuminates the problems inherent in having three …

Extended Voluntary Departure: Limiting The Attorney General's Discretion In Immigration Matters, Lynda J. Oswald

Michigan Law Review

Fifteen times in the past quarter-century, the Attorney General has decreed that aliens of certain nationalities could temporarily remain in the United States regardless of their visa status. Government officials have characterized these grants of blanket extended voluntary departure (EVD) as a means of protecting aliens from life-threatening conditions in their homelands. The Attorney General's actions were apparently undertaken for humanitarian reasons and went largely unnoticed by the public.

Part I of this Note defines EVD and distinguishes it from related forms of deportation relief. Part II describes the Employees Union court's holding. The evolution of American perceptions of immigration …

A New Approach To Review Of Nepa Findings Of No Significant Impact, Geoffrey Garver

Michigan Law Review

This Note examines the confused array of judicial approaches for reviewing agency findings of no significant environmental impact and proposes a standardized, comprehensive approach that ensures compliance with both the procedural and substantive aspects of NEPA. Part I reviews agency procedures mandated by NEPA which ensure that agencies develop a detailed record for judicial scrutiny and constitute the legal basis against which to check agency threshold decisions. Part II examines the conflicting approaches of the lower courts, emphasizing their reliance on Supreme Court decisions, their characterization of the threshold decision as legal or factual, and the burden of proof each …

18 U.S.C. § 3501 And The Admissibility Of Confessions Obtained During Unnecessary Prearraignment Delay, Matthew W. Frank

Michigan Law Review

Part I thus argues that the admissibility of post-sixth-hour confessions is governed by Mallory, under which a voluntary confession is inadmissible if, but only if, it follows a period of unnecessary delay. Part II addresses a possible objection to this conclusion - namely, that, with limited exceptions, subsection 350l(c) renders all post-sixth hour confessions inadmissible without regard to the reasonableness of the prearraignment delay. This interpretation is derived by negative implication from the proviso in subsection 350l(c) and would require courts to suppress confessions even though there has been no unnecessary delay, and even though the confessions would be …

Employer Postcertification Polls To Determine Union Support, James D. Dasso

Michigan Law Review

This Note evaluates these competing standards in light of the two major policy objectives of the NLRA: industrial stability and employee free choice. It concludes that the courts of appeals properly apply a less stringent standard. Part I considers employer polling in the larger context of the general law of employer interrogation. This section concludes that the Board's standard for postcertification polling deviates significantly from the general law of employer interrogation as well as the more specific rules established for precertification polling. The remainder of this Note demonstrates that the Board's distinctions between pre- and postcertification polling do not justify …

Privity Revisited: Tort Recovery By A Commercial Buyer For A Defective Product's Self-Inflicted Damage, Mark A. Kaprelian

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that if a seller and a commercial buyer are in privity, damage to a product resulting from its own defect should not be recoverable by a commercial buyer in a tort action. Part I shows how the conflict arises and examines the judicial boundaries that are normally drawn between tort and warranty liability. Part II contrasts the rationales for the warranty and tort remedies, with particular emphasis on the Uniform Commercial Code and Section 402A of the Restatement (Second) of Torts. Part III argues that if a seller and a commercial buyer are in privity and …

The Class-Based Animus Requirement Of 42 U.S.C. § 1985(3): A Limiting Strategy Gone Awry?, Devin S. Schindler

Michigan Law Review

This Note focuses on Scott's impact on attempts to determine what groups fall within the statute. Part I examines the various class-based animus formulas generated by the circuits since Griffin and the potential impact of Scott on these formulas. Part II argues that the key to understanding the scope of the class-based animus requirement lies in traditional fourteenth amendment equal protection analysis.

Modifications Of Antitrust Consent Decrees: Over A Double Barrel, John D. Anderson

Michigan Law Review

This Note will attempt to determine the correct standard of review for all modifications of existing consent decrees. Part I. A. examines the current standards for modifications of consent decrees. It concludes that the APP A does not apply to such orders. Part I. B. then examines the differing standards that are currently applied to defendant-initiated modification motions without the government's consent, government-initiated modification motions without the defendant's consent, and consented-to modifications. Part II argues that these varying standards have little justification since the same substantive concerns exist in all modification cases. Part III explores the two major concerns - …

The Transformation Rule Under Section 522 Of The Bankruptcy Code Of 1978, Raymond B. Check

Michigan Law Review

This Note rejects the statutory arguments that have been advanced in favor of the transformation rule, and argues that the rule is inconsistent with both the policies motivating section 522 of the Bankruptcy Code and the overall purposes of the U.C.C. priority system. Part I examines the treatment of purchase money security in the U.C.C. scheme. It also describes the exemption provisions of the 1978 Bankruptcy Code and the legislative concerns that shaped those provisions. Part II summarizes the judicial adoption of the transformation rule and the statutory basis relied upon by courts in applying it. Part III argues that …

The Availability Of Jury Trials In Copyright Infringement Cases: Limiting The Scope Of The Seventh Amendment, Andrew W. Stumpff

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that statutory copyright damages are properly regarded as equitable and hence that no right to a jury trial exists in cases brought to recover such damages. More generally, the Note maintains that the seventh amendment's distinction between equitable and legal causes of action has produced irrational consequences, and proposes that "legal" issues be defined narrowly so as to limit the scope of the seventh amendment. Part I analyzes the debate over statutory copyright damages, concluding that historical and statutory construction arguments require these damages to be construed as legal. Part II examines some of the problems that …

Heartbalm Statutes And Deceit Actions, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note considers whether actions in deceit based on fraudulent marriage promises should be deemed barred by the heartbalm statutes. It determines that they should not. Part I examines the policies and arguments against the common law breach of promise to marry action that are embodied in the heartbalm statutes and looks at the limits courts have placed on the reach of the statutes. Part II re-examines the deceit action in light of the purposes of the heartbalm acts and their intended scope, as well as in light of criticism of the action by the courts and commentators. In particular, …

The Second Death Of Federalism, William W. Van Alstyne

Michigan Law Review

In 1976, in National League of Cities v. Usery, the Supreme Court distinguished acts of Congress regulating commercial relations from acts of Congress commanding the terms of state services. Last Term, in Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority, the Court abandoned the distinction and held that it was principally for Congress to determine federalism questions. In this Comment, Professor Van Alstyne criticizes the Court on both counts.

Participatory Management Under Sections 2(5) And 8(A) (2) Of The National Labor Relations Act, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that participatory management programs initiated by the employer in nonunion settings should be permissible under the NLRA when they do not restrict the freedom of employees to choose their own bargaining representative. Section I describes the major currents of participatory management theory. Section II explores the restrictive interpretation the National Labor Relations Board (Board) and the courts have traditionally given those sections of the NLRA applicable to participatory management programs. Section III describes the increasingly permissive approach taken by some courts, and to a lesser extent by the Board, in applying the NLRA to participatory management settings. …

Motions For Appointment Of Counsel And The Collateral Order Doctrine, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that denials of motions for appointment of counsel should be immediately appealable under the collateral order exception to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Part I examines the extent to which the collateral order doctrine modifies the finality rule. It argues that recent Supreme Court decisions that at first appear to have narrowed the doctrine have in fact only restated it. Part II applies the collateral order doctrine to orders denying appointment of counsel, concluding that such denials qualify for immediate review. Part III argues that policy considerations support this conclusion.

The Distinction Between The Scope Of Section 2(A) And Sections 2(D) And 2€ Of The Robinson-Patman Act, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that sections 2(d) and 2(e) were meant to cover only disguised discriminations not within the scope of section 2(a). If the seller's conduct falls within the scope of section 2(a), that section must be applied regardless of whether or not the conduct also falls within the language of section 2(d) or 2(e). Only when section 2(a) does not apply is recourse available under sections 2(d) and 2(e). Part I of this Note looks at general antitrust policy, the limitations of the Clayton Act that led to the enactment of the Robinson-Patman Act, and the legislative history of …

The Delegation Doctrine: Could The Court Give It Substance?, David Schoenbrod

Michigan Law Review

Part I of this Article demonstrates the need for a new approach to the delegation doctrine. It shows that the Court has failed to articulate a coherent test of improper delegation and that the alternative tests offered by commentators are not sufficient. Part II then sets forth a proposed test of improper delegation. The basic principles of an approach prohibiting delegations of legislative power are outlined and illustrated. This Article does not, however, attempt anything so grand as to suggest a final definition of the doctrine or to pass broadly on the validity of statutes. Such an encompassing analysis is …

Does Charity Begin At Home? The Tax Status Of A Payment To An Individual As A Charitable Deduction, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

In White v. United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed a district court decision and held that the taxpayers could deduct expenses they paid directly to their dependent son to support his missionary activities away from home. In Brinley v. Commissioner, the Tax Court sitting in Texas refused to follow the Tenth Circuit in White, and held that while the missionary son was entitled to deduct his personal expenses, the parents could not deduct their payment of the son's expenses.

This Note supports the result in Brinley and argues that the …

The Rico Nexus Requirement: A "Flexible" Linkage, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that the RICO "nexus" requirement can be interpreted to limit effectively this overbroad use of RICO without emasculating the statute. The "nexus requirement" is generally described as defining the word "through" in section 1962(c), the provision of RICO that makes it illegal to "conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of [an] enterprise's affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity." This language establishes the necessity of proving a relationship between the enterprise and the racketeering. Once evidence of the alleged enterprise and the predicate racketeering acts has been submitted, the final element of proof must …

Second Generation State Takeover Legislation: Maryland Takes A New Tack, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note examines the approach recently adopted by the Maryland legislature in special session one year after the Supreme Court's decision in MITE. Maryland has departed radically from the regulatory approach of first generation statutes; however, this Note argues that the statute has failed to escape the constitutional infirmities of its predecessors. Part I outlines the various mechanisms that regulate acquisition of corporate control: the federal tender offer regulatory mechanism known as the Williams Act, state takeover legislation such as the Illinois statute invalidated in MITE, and the new Maryland statute. Part II analyzes the debate concerning the …

Exemption Of Erisa Benefits Under Section 522(B)(2)(A) Of The Bankruptcy Code, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that the two federal statutes are exempting statutes under section 522(b)(2)(A), and thus BRISA funds should be exempt in a bankruptcy action when the debtor uses the state exemption scheme. Part I argues that standard principles of statutory interpretation, as applied to the language of the bankruptcy statute, refute the possibility that Congress intended the list of statutes in the legislative history to be exclusive. Having established that statutes other than those listed may be included under section 522(b )(2)(A), Part II first refutes the argument that the absence of BRISA from the list of exempting statutes …

Yankees Out Of North America: Foreign Employer Job Discrimination Against American Citizens, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note explores Title VII's relationship to the hiring practices of foreign employers. It focuses on Japanese employers, who might face the toughest Title VII challenge to a business and cultural familiarity or citizenship requirement. Part I sets out arguments for and against finding intentional discrimination - disparate treatment - in either of these hiring requirements. It suggests that a court should refuse to find national origin discrimination when the employer imposes a business and cultural familiarity requirement. However, when an applicant is denied employment solely on the basis of citizenship, a strong argument may be made that the …

Redefining The "Cost Of Suit" Under Section Four Of The Clayton Act, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note explores the possible interpretations of the "cost of suit" provision and the policies which it implicates. It concludes that the Copper Liquor interpretation best advances the goals of the antitrust laws set forth by Congress and the courts. Part I examines the development of the present controversy among the circuits. Part II analyzes and refutes the arguments which have been set forth in support of the traditional rule. Part III explores the policy considerations which underlie private treble damage actions and concludes that the Copper Liquor interpretation of the "cost of suit" provision serves them better than does …

Denial Of Unemployment Benefits To Otherwise Eligible Women On The Basis Of Pregnancy: Section 3304(A)(12) Of Federal Unemployment Tax Act, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note examines the conflicting interpretations of section 3304(a)(12) of the Federal Act. The Porcher decision serves as a point of reference throughout this Note, since opposing constructions of the section were presented in the case. Part I describes the basic framework of FUTA and presents the disparate interpretations of section 3304(a)(12) that have been advanced.

Part II analyzes section 3304(a)(12) with reference to the statutory language and legislative history. As a preliminary matter, this part considers the degree of deference that should be afforded the Secretary of Labor's certification of state programs that treat pregnancy like all other medical …

The Treatment Of Mandatory Tax Withholdings In Calculating Afdc Benefits: Fairness As A Relevant Inference In Ascertaining Congressional Intent, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note contends that the more appropriate construction of the statute is to view mandatory tax withholdings as nonincome and nonwork expense items. Part I traces the pre-OBRA legislative and administrative history and examines the judicial interpretations of 42 U.S.C. section 602(a)(7) "income" and section 602(a)(8) "earned income." It concludes that under the "availability" principle, tax withholdings have always been regarded as nonincome items distinct from work expenses. It contends that, notwithstanding contradictory language in the regulations implementing section 602(a)(8), the status of tax withholdings as nonincome items under section 602(a)(7) is controlling. Part II considers the legislative history and …

Federalism And Company Law, Richard M. Buxbaum

Michigan Law Review

It would be a simplifying and historically dubious reduction to equate state interest in corporation law with interventionist or regulatory policies and federal interest with liberal or facilitative ones. So long as a federal legal system presupposes the continuing involvement of two governments with the same subject, however, it is only the subordinate polity's interest in intervention or regulation that makes for interesting reading. State facilitative policies in an era of national facilitative policies raise no questions, and a state's continuing adherence to laissez faire policies when the national government turns interventionist typically creates no conflict. It is only the …

Legislature: California's School For Politics, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Legislature: California's School For Politics by William K. Muir, Jr.

Congress, The Executive Branch, And Special Interests: The American Response To The Arab Boycott Of Israel, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Congress, The Executive Branch, and Special Interests: The American Response to the Arab Boycott of Israel by Kennan L. Teslik

Personal, Living Or Family Matters And The Value Added Tax, L. Hart Wright

Michigan Law Review

No tax is ever implemented in a manner which is perfectly responsive to the logical implications of its basic purpose. VAT is no exception.

Those who foster this tax basically intend that ultimate tax incidence be suffered only by individuals and then only in the degree to which they dip into society's pool of consumer-type goods and services. But their implementing legislation is always designed to fall short of reaching all consumer-type goods and services. Ullman's proposed Tax Restructuring Act of 1979 would have been no exception. Under it, a substantial proportion of all such benefits actually would have been …

Tax Treatment Of Prepublication Expenses Of Authors And Publishers, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note analyzes the tax treatment of prepublication costs. Part I presents the analytic framework of the business expense/ capital expenditure distinction and searches for practical, income- reflecting criteria that achieve theoretically correct results. Part II covers the historic treatment of prepublication expenditures, concluding that neither the courts nor the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have been consistent in their approach and that both have largely ignored the income-reflecting goals outlined in Part I. Part III applies the income-reflecting approach in order to develop a principled method of examining the tax consequences of various prepublication expenses.

The Supreme Court's Misconstruction Of A Procedural Statute--A Critique Of The Court's Decision In Badaracco, Douglas A. Kahn

Michigan Law Review

Before addressing the lessons to be derived from Badaracco, it is necessary to make good on the author's claim that it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of a reasonably skeptical reader that the Court's decision was patently wrong and resulted from a poor technique of statutory construction. This is a heavy burden, especially since the decision was reached by an overwhelming majority of the Court and since two courts of appeals and at least one student law review note reached the same result. The reader must judge whether the author succeeds in satisfying it. This Article will first …