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Appellate Court Rules Governing Publication, Citation, And Precedential Value Of Opinions: An Update, David R. Cleveland

Law Faculty Publications

In the mid-1970s, the federal courts of appeals began to issue opinions designated “unpublished” that were not typically published, citable, or accorded any precedential value. Many states followed suit. A great debate ensued questioning the practice, which has consumed considerable academic attention and appellate rulemaking time.1 States continue to vary in their treatment of unpublished opinions and even in the wake of Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 32.1, intended to provide uniformity, the federal circuits remain inconsistent.

Ordering Proof: Beyond Adversarial And Inquisitorial Trial Structures, Emily Spottswood

Scholarly Publications

In typical trials, judges and juries will find it easier to remember the proof that occurs early in the process over than what comes later. Moreover, once a fact-finder starts to form a working hypothesis to explain the facts of the case, they will be biased towards interpreting new facts in a way that confirms that theory. These two psychological mechanisms will often combine to create a strong “primacy effect,” in which the party who goes first gains a subtle, but significant, advantage over the opposing party. In this article, I propose a new method of ordering proof, designed to …

Perfect Plaintiffs, Cynthia Godsoe

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Sit… Stay… Now Beg For Me: A Look At The Courthouse Dogs Program And The Legal Standard Pennsylvania Should Use To Determine Whether A Dog Can Accompany A Child On The Witness Stand, Matthew Kaiser

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Cross-Racial Identifications: Solutions To The "They All Look Alike" Effect, Laura Connelly

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

On a late summer evening in August of 1997, Nathan Brown was in his apartment rocking his young daughter to sleep when the police knocked on his door. The police sought Brown, one of a few Black men in his apartment complex, after a young White woman said she had been assaulted by a shirtless Black man wearing black shorts with strong body odor walking through the complex’s courtyard. Minutes later the police took Brown outside and put him in the patrol car for a one-on-one “showup.” They brought him out by himself to see the victim wearing black shorts …

Law Library Blog (October 2015): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Pinholster's Hostility To Victims Of Ineffective State Habeas Counsel, Jennifer Utrecht

Michigan Law Review

Cullen v. Pinholster foreclosed federal courts from considering new evidence when reviewing 28 U.S.C. § 2254(d) petitions for claims previously adjudicated on the merits in state court. This decision has a particularly adverse effect on petitioners whose state habeas counsel left an incomplete or undeveloped record. This Note discusses strategies for victims of ineffective state habeas counsel to avoid the hostile mandate of Pinholster. It argues that, in light of Martinez v. Ryan’s recognition of the importance of counsel in initialreview collateral proceedings, courts should be wary of dismissing claims left un- or underdeveloped by ineffective state habeas counsel. It …

Balancing Effects Across Markets, Daniel A. Crane

Articles

In Philadelphia National Bank (PNB), the Supreme Court held that it is improper to weigh a merger's procompetitive effects in one market against the merger's anticompetitive effects in another. The merger in question, which ostensibly reduced retail competition in the Philadelphia area, could not be justified on the grounds that it increased competition against New York banks and hence perhaps enhanced competition in business banking in the mid-Atlantic region. I will refer to the Supreme Court's prohibition on balancing effects across markets as a "market-specificity" rule. Under this rule, efficiencies that may counterbalance anticompetitive aspects must be specific to …

Trending @ Rwulaw: Judge William E. Smith's Post: Rwu Law & The Federal Courts: A Unique Partnership, William E. Smith

Law School Blogs

No abstract provided.

The Standing Of The Public Interest, Amitai Etzioni

Barry Law Review

No abstract provided.

Watson Rounds V. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct., 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 79 (Sept. 24, 2015), Lena Rieke

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

NRS 7.085 allows a district court to make an attorney personally liable for the attorney fees and costs an opponent incurs when the attorney files, maintains or defends a civil action that is not well-grounded in fact or is not warranted by existing law or by a good faith argument for changing the existing law. The Court considered (1) whether NRCP 11 supersedes NRS 7.085 in sanctioning a law firm and (2) whether the district court abused its discretion in sanctioning the law firm under under NRS 7.085. The Court held NRCP 11 does not supersede NRS § 7.085 because …

Federalism, Federal Courts, And Victims' Rights, Michael E. Solimine, Kathryn Elvey

Catholic University Law Review

One of the most striking developments in American criminal law and procedure in the past four decades has been the widespread establishment of victims’ rights at both the federal and state levels. A conspicuous exception to the success of the victims’ rights movement has been the failure of Congress to pass a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would uniformly establish such rights in all federal and state courts. Advanced by both private organizations and state officials, and with bipartisan support in Congress, bills establishing a Victims’ Rights Amendment (VRA) have been introduced several times in the past three …

Confounded Collectors, Confused Consumers: Time To Close The Circuit Split On Whether The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Requires A Consumer To Dispute A Debt In Writing, Daniel O'Connell

Catholic University Law Review

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) provides that a debt collector must notify a consumer that it will assume a debt to be valid unless the consumer challenges the debt within thirty days. The FDCPA does not explicitly require the consumer to challenge the debt in writing. The Third Circuit requires written disputes, while the Second, Fourth, and Ninth Circuits permit oral disputes. This Comment discusses the reasoning and conclusions at play in this circuit split. The Comment argues that while both sides of the debate present meritorious arguments, permitting oral disputes for purposes of rebutting the debt collector’s …

Illegal Agreements And The Lesser Evil Principle, Chunlin Leonhard

Catholic University Law Review

When parties enter into an illegal agreement and bring a dispute arising from the transaction before a court, the court finds itself in a difficult position. The court is faced with two competing interests: the importance of both upholding and protecting the dignity of the law and honoring inherent principles of U.S. contract law - freedom of contract and individual autonomy. There exists a common misconception that courts, when presented with illegal contracts, follow the rule of non-enforcement. However, an examination of case law indicates that courts are instead concerned with the consequences of their choices, and have consistently followed …

Downgrading Non-Violent Drug Crimes:An End To The “Lock ‘Em And Leave ‘Em” Mentality, Tran T. Nguyen

Journal of Public Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

From The Stocks, To Handcuffs, To Hollywood: An Analysis Of Public Humiliation In Judge Judy’S Syndi-Court, Martin Mckown

Journal of Public Law and Policy

No abstract provided.

Selecting Instructional Materials, Charles J. Russo

Educational Leadership Faculty Publications

A recent dispute from Columbus, Ohio, that made some national headlines dramatically illustrates what can happen to teachers who fail to preview materials and consequently show inappropriate films or use other media unsuited for student instruction.

The outcome of that case was more dramatic and unusual than in similar cases. Even so, this incident demonstrates that educators in K–12 schools can lose their jobs if they fail to use their discretion and comply with board policies in selecting appropriate materials and subjects for their classes and previewing materials before using them in instructional settings.

Trailblazers And Those That Followed : Personal Experiences, Gender, And Judicial Empathy., Laura P. Moyer, Susan B. Haire

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This paper investigates one causal mechanism that may explain why female judges on the federal appellate courts are more likely than men to side with plaintiffs in sex discrimination cases. To test whether personal experiences with inequality are related to empathetic responses to the claims of female plaintiffs, we focus on the first wave of female judges, who attended law school during a time of severe gender inequality. We find that female judges are more likely than their male colleagues to support plaintiffs in sex discrimination cases, but that this difference is seen only in judges who graduated law school …

Diagnostics Need Not Apply, Rebecca S. Eisenberg

Articles

Diagnostic testing helps caregivers and patients understand a patient's condition, predict future outcomes, select appropriate treatments, and determine whether treatment is working. Improvements in diagnostic testing are essential to bringing about the long-heralded promise of personalized medicine. Yet it seems increasingly clear that most important advances in this type of medical technology lie outside the boundaries of patent-eligible subject matter. The clarity of this conclusion has been obscured by ambiguity in the recent decisions of the Supreme Court concerning patent eligibility. Since its 2010 decision in Bilski v. Kappos, the Court has followed a discipline of limiting judicial exclusions from …

Newsroom: Judge Edward Clifton Joins Faculty, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.