Summary disposition at the Supreme Court presents a puzzle. Appellate courts generally act in two capacities: a lawmaking capacity, in which they announce, clarify, and harmonize the rules of decision employed by the legal system in which they serve; and an error-correction capacity, in which they determine if prejudicial errors… Read More »
Invoked by the U.S. Supreme Court in diverse cases, the maxim nemo iudex in sua causa—no man should be judge in his own case—is widely thought to capture a bedrock principle of natural justice and constitutionalism. Despite its undoubted appeal, however, the maxim is a misleading half-truth. Sometimes rulemakers in… Read More »
Is statutory interpretation an activity that all courts should, in principle, perform the same way? Or should methods of statutory interpretation systematically vary depending on which court is doing the interpreting?
Courts and commentators overwhelmingly assume that interpretive methods should be essentially homogeneous across courts. Moreover, they treat the United… Read More »
When, if ever, should foreign citizens be included as members of American class actions? The question is not a new one. Judge Friendly first raised it thirty-five years ago in Bersch v. Drexel Firestone, Inc. Since Bersch, courts have tied the answer to res judicata and the recognition of judgments:… Read More »