Introduction
When I was practicing, I represented a mechanic, Barry, who was bitter rivals with his brother, Stan. Their father had left the lion’s share of his property to Barry. Stan challenged the will on the grounds of undue influence. Barry and Stan proceeded to litigate tooth-and-nail until they’d spent… Read More »
Does Pepsi compete with Coke? It seems a straightforward question; perhaps you think it has a straightforward answer. Sure they compete, you might say; they are both colas, they are used for the same purpose, they are sold next to each other in the grocery store, and they cost about… Read More »
The Explosion of Specialized Criminal Courts: An Introduction
With aspirations of reducing reliance on incarceration, specialized criminal courts proliferated widely over the past two decades. There are approximately 3,000 specialized criminal courts in the United States, including drug courts, mental health courts, veterans courts, and reentry courts. These courts arose… Read More »
The role of international and transnational law in U.S. courts is one of the most hotly contested debates in legal scholarship. From the question of the use of comparative legal materials by the Supreme Court, to the question of what effect, if any, judgments of international tribunals such as the… Read More »
As the 2000 Presidential election reminded everyone, the President is not elected directly by the People but rather by the Electoral College. Because each state has as many presidential electors as it has U.S. Representatives and Senators, smaller states have more electoral votes than their population warrants. At the same… Read More »
I.
Ordinary people take countless measures to avoid being searched by police or other government agents. To get an inkling of how frequently the innocent alter their behavior, consider the responses of law-abiding people to recently enacted counterterrorism programs. When faced with delays and discomfort caused by more rigorous baggage… Read More »
In 2009, a 15-year-old student from Richmond, California left her homecoming dance to join a drinking session on school property. She quickly became intoxicated and, over the next two hours, was attacked by as many as ten assailants who “laughed and took photos as they took turns” raping her. Police… Read More »
Introduction
Few scholars would dispute that the way in which political institutions are designed affects the way that policymakers behave or the kinds of policies that are produced. Nor can it seriously be argued that courts are somehow an exception to the basic rule that institutional design matters. It is… Read More »
On a Wednesday in September 2008, presumptive vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin was introduced at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota for her much-anticipated speech accepting the Republican nomination. Before she spoke, the rock band Heart’s classic song “Barracuda” was played for the energized crowd. The song was played again… Read More »
In early 2007, the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary launched an investigation into the 2006 dismissal of seven U.S. Attorneys from the Department of Justice. The Committee issued subpoenas to White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, ordering both to produce documents… Read More »