What Jurors Want To Know: Motivating Juror Cognition To Increase Legal Knowledge & Improve Decisionmaking,
2014
University of Nevada, Las Vegas -- William S. Boyd School of Law
What Jurors Want To Know: Motivating Juror Cognition To Increase Legal Knowledge & Improve Decisionmaking, Sara Gordon
Scholarly Works
What do jurors want to know? Jury research tells us that jurors want to understand the information they hear in a trial so they can reach the correct decision. But like all people, jurors who are asked to analyze information in a trial—even jurors who consciously want to reach a fair and accurate verdict—are unconsciously influenced by their internal goals and motivations. Some of these motives are specific to individual jurors; for instance, a potential juror with a financial interest in a case would be excluded from the jury pool. But other motivations, like the motive to understand the law …
Toward A Jurisprudence Of The Civil Rights Acts,
2014
Georgetown University Law Center
Toward A Jurisprudence Of The Civil Rights Acts, Robin West
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
What is the nature of the “rights,” jurisprudentially, that the 1964 Civil Rights Act legally prescribed? And, more generally, what is a “civil right”? Today, lawyers tend to think of civil rights and particularly those that originated in the 1964 Act, as antidiscrimination rights: our “civil rights,” on this understanding, are our rights not to be discriminated against, by employers, schools, landlords, property vendors, hoteliers, restaurant owners, and providers of public transportation, no less than by states and state actors, on the basis of race, gender, ethnicity, age, sexuality or disability. Contemporary civil rights scholarship overwhelmingly reflects the same conception: …
Formalism And Employer Liability Under Title Vii,
2014
University of Michigan Law School
Formalism And Employer Liability Under Title Vii, Samuel R. Bagenstos
Articles
Most lawyers, law professors, and judges are familiar with two standard critiques of formalism in legal reasoning. One is the unacknowledged-policymaking critique. This critique argues that formalist reasoning purports to be above judicial policymaking but instead simply hides the policy decisions offstage. The other is the false-determinacy critique. This critique observes that formalist reasoning purports to reduce decision costs in the run of cases by sorting cases into defined categories, but argues that instead of going away the difficult questions of application migrate to the choice of the category in which to place a particular case.
Hobby Lobby And The Pathology Of Citizens United,
2014
University of Michigan Law School
Hobby Lobby And The Pathology Of Citizens United, Ellen D. Katz
Articles
Four years ago, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission held that for-profit corporations possess a First Amendment right to make independent campaign expenditures. In so doing, the United States Supreme Court invited speculation that such corporations might possess other First Amendment rights as well. The petitioners in Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius are now arguing that for-profit corporations are among the intended beneficiaries of the Free Exercise Clause and, along with the respondents in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, that they also qualify as “persons” under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Neither suggestion follows inexorably from Citizens United, …
Taxation Of Series Llcs In Texas: Bigger Isn't Always Better In The Lone Star State.,
2014
St. Mary's University
Taxation Of Series Llcs In Texas: Bigger Isn't Always Better In The Lone Star State., Alyson Outenreath
St. Mary's Law Journal
Series Limited Liability Companies (series LLCs) are not yet widely popular as an entity of choice; but just as it took many years for traditional LLCs to become widely used, there could also come a day when series LLCs are the “go-to” entity of choice. One development in the law that will aid in this process is greater certainty in state taxation of series LLCs. Texas has provided some guidance with respect to the taxation of series LLCs for Texas franchise tax purposes after the comptroller’s issuance of Comptroller Private Letter Ruling 201005184L. In this ruling, the comptroller concluded that …
Power Play: An Examination Of Texas's Anti-Slapp Statute And Its Protection Of Free Speech Through Accelerated Dismissal.,
2014
St. Mary's University
Power Play: An Examination Of Texas's Anti-Slapp Statute And Its Protection Of Free Speech Through Accelerated Dismissal., Dena M. Richardson
St. Mary's Law Journal
Abstract Forthcoming.
The Texas Anti-Indemnity Act.,
2014
St. Mary's University
The Texas Anti-Indemnity Act., Taylor R. Beaver
St. Mary's Law Journal
Owners, general contractors, and subcontractors enter into agreements to ameliorate risk amongst those exercising control. Some of these include hold-harmless agreements, indemnity agreements, releases, and agreements conferring additional insured status to others. Typically, parties enjoy freedom to contract as they wish. Texas has long recognized, as a matter of public policy, a party’s right to draft contracts however it sees fit. Historically, risk-shifting agreements were enforceable if they passed the fair notice requirements, meaning the express negligence rule and the conspicuousness test. The trend in recent years, however, has been to limit exculpatory clauses. In 2011, the Texas Legislature effectively …
Texas Remedies In Equity For Breach Of Fiduciary Duty: Disgorgement, Forfeiture, And Fracturing.,
2014
St. Mary's University
Texas Remedies In Equity For Breach Of Fiduciary Duty: Disgorgement, Forfeiture, And Fracturing., George P. Roach
St. Mary's Law Journal
The remedy of fee forfeiture against lawyer fiduciaries has been marginalized. Following Burrow v. Arce, Texas trial courts have frequently applied a no-fracturing rule that effectively bars a claim for breach of fiduciary duty against an attorney. Although the court in Burrow held actual damages were not a prerequisite for fee forfeiture, many Texas trial courts have not followed that precedent. Most Texas trial courts require the plaintiff to prove actual damages to survive a summary judgment motion. Others have openly asserted that not all legitimate claims for breach of fiduciary duty should be allowed as an alternative claim to …
The Dual Role Of A Chief Justice.,
2014
St. Mary's University
The Dual Role Of A Chief Justice., Catherine Stone
St. Mary's Law Journal
Notwithstanding the growing trend of high-dollar judicial election campaigns, many citizens do not know what appellate judges and appellate courts do. Faced with the reality of obscurity and the ever-present potential of failed reelection campaigns, appellate judges work each day to fulfill the mission of appellate courts: to efficiently resolve the legal disputes presented in appeals from lower court decisions with written opinions that are well reasoned, thoroughly researched, and intellectually honest. It is the responsibility of the Chief Justice to promote that core mission with all justices on the court, thereby working to best serve the legal needs of …
The Aftermath Of Mexico's Fuel-Theft Epidemic: Examining The Texas Black Market And The Conspiracy To Trade In Stolen Condensate.,
2014
St. Mary's University
The Aftermath Of Mexico's Fuel-Theft Epidemic: Examining The Texas Black Market And The Conspiracy To Trade In Stolen Condensate., Luke B. Reinhart
St. Mary's Law Journal
Organized crime has infiltrated the oil patch, creating a theft network with an annual value of $2–$4 billion. Over the past decade, Mexican drug cartels have plundered mass amounts of natural gas condensate produced by Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex)—the governing Mexican agency for production and export of hydrocarbons. The Mexican government has not sat by idly. Pemex’s production losses have skyrocketed from $300 million, between 2006 and 2011, to an estimated $585 million in 2013 alone. Considering derivative costs associated with these thefts, Pemex’s annual losses reach into the billions. Diversified and driven by profits derived from the United States black …
The Extraterritorial Application Of The Fifth Amendment: A Need For Expanded Constitutional Protections.,
2014
St. Mary's University
The Extraterritorial Application Of The Fifth Amendment: A Need For Expanded Constitutional Protections., Guinevere E. Moore, Robert T. Moore
St. Mary's Law Journal
Since 2010, there have been forty-three cases—and ten deaths—involving the use of deadly force by United States agents against Mexican nationals along the border. Currently, the official policy is that officers may still use deadly force where they “reasonably believe”—based upon the totality of the circumstances—that they are in “imminent danger” of death or serious injury. Officers were found reasonable in using deadly force in situations as mundane as young boys throwing rocks. In light of these actions, the Mexican government has raised serious concerns about the disproportionate use of force by United States agents. The question now raised is …
In Pursuit Of Just Compensation In Texas: Assessing Damages In Takings Cases Using The Property's Tax-Appraised Value.,
2014
St. Mary's University
In Pursuit Of Just Compensation In Texas: Assessing Damages In Takings Cases Using The Property's Tax-Appraised Value., Alexander B. Lutzky
St. Mary's Law Journal
Abstract Forthcoming.
The Philosophy And Jurisprudence Of Chief Justice Roberts,
2014
SJ Quinney College of Law, University of Utah
The Philosophy And Jurisprudence Of Chief Justice Roberts, Kiel Brennan-Marquez
Utah Law Review
A thicket of commentary has blossomed around the figure of Chief Justice Roberts. The bulk of it, however, has either focused exclusively on his role in the 2011 term or has lumped him in uncritically with the Court’s conservative wing. In response, this Article takes a wider view of his tenure, arguing that Chief Justice Roberts is best understood as an idealist, a true believer in the rule of law, with a special sensitivity toward issues of constitutional structure. In the first Part of the Article, I explore Chief Justice Roberts’s penchant for infusing his opinions with “teaching moments”—a tendency …
Crossing The Bridge: African-Americans And The Necessity Of A 21st Century Human Rights Movement,
2014
University of Richmond School of Law
Crossing The Bridge: African-Americans And The Necessity Of A 21st Century Human Rights Movement, Marissa Jackson Sow
Law Faculty Publications
I had the honor of hearing Judge Joseph Greenaway give the keynote address at Columbia University's Black Law Students Association's Paul Robeson Gala in 2010. He gave a stirring speech, which has since been published in the Columbia Journal of Race and Law, entitled Have We Crossed the Bridge Yet? The title and theme of His Honor's speech is a reference to David Remnick's The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama, which, in turn, invokes the metaphor of the bridge as a representation of the African-American struggle toward equality. ...
The Trickle-Down War,
2014
Georgetown University Law Center
The Trickle-Down War, Rosa Brooks
Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works
The history of the European nation-state, wrote political sociologist Charles Tilly, is inextricably bound up with the history of warfare. To oversimplify Tilly’s nuanced and complex arguments, the story goes something like this: As power-holders (originally bandits and local strongmen) sought to expand their power, they needed capital to pay for weapons, soldiers and supplies. The need for capital and new recruits drove the creation of taxation systems and census mechanisms, and the need for more effective systems of taxation and recruitment necessitated better roads, better communications and better record keeping. This in turn enabled the creation of larger and …
Reflections On The New Haven School,
2014
Professor of Law at the University of Connecticut School of Law
Restoring Trust And Advancing Justice: Adopting The Illinois Trust Act Is The Real Way To Secure Communities,
2014
Loyola University Chicago, School of Law
Restoring Trust And Advancing Justice: Adopting The Illinois Trust Act Is The Real Way To Secure Communities, Joseph M. Gietl
Public Interest Law Reporter
No abstract provided.
Is My Case Mandamusable: A Guide To The Current State Of Texas Mandamus Law.,
2014
St. Mary's University
Is My Case Mandamusable: A Guide To The Current State Of Texas Mandamus Law., Marialyn Barnard, Lorien Whyte, Emmanuel Garcia
St. Mary's Law Journal
It is important for all Texas lawyers to be knowledgeable about mandamus relief. Unfortunately, there is no bright line rule in terms of mandamus relief. The general rule for when mandamus relief may be granted is when the trial court clearly abused its discretion, and there is not an adequate remedy available from a court of appeals. A clear of abuse of discretion is determined if no other trial court would have come to the same conclusion. In deciding if mandamus relief is proper, appellate courts apply a balancing test. The appellate court considers several factors including: preserving relator’s substantive …
The Computer Fraud And Abuse Act: An Attractive But Risky Alternative To Texas Trade Secret Law.,
2014
St. Mary's University
The Computer Fraud And Abuse Act: An Attractive But Risky Alternative To Texas Trade Secret Law., Paul Hanna, Matthew Leal
St. Mary's Law Journal
Abstract Forthcoming.
Mandamus Review Of The Granting Of The Motion For New Trial: Lost In The Thicket.,
2014
St. Mary's University
Mandamus Review Of The Granting Of The Motion For New Trial: Lost In The Thicket., Richard E. Flint
St. Mary's Law Journal
A trial court’s broad discretion in granting a new trial has been one of the mainstays of Texas jurisprudence since early statehood. Historically, this discretion was not subject to review through the ordinary appellate processes. This principle remains inviolate today, as the granting of a new trial is an interlocutory order from which the appellate courts of Texas do not have jurisdiction. Furthermore, the use of an original mandamus proceeding to compel a trial court to set aside the granting of a new trial has had only limited application. However, in response to the case of In re Columbia Medical …
