Congress’s Agency Coordination
By Bijal Shah. Full text here. Coordination is a mechanism for administrative control. Indeed, it is well-known that the President and agencies themselves initiate it for a variety of substantive and self-interested reasons. This Article is the first to establish that Congress also creates frameworks of interagency coordination, and it bases this contention in the largest…
Continue ReadingShareholder Democracy and Special Interest Governance
By John H. Matheson & Vilena Nicolet. Full text here. In the past several decades, the corporate governance landscape has changed dramatically and positively. Recently, shareholders have found new ways to directly impact the governance regime and the board of directors. These new means derive from various sources, including a more favorable regulatory environment and the…
Continue ReadingThe Sound and Fury of Patent Activity
By Robin C. Feldman & Mark A. Lemley. Full text here. Patent reform is a hotly contested issue, occupying the attention of Congress, the Supreme Court, and many of the most innovative companies in the world. Most of that dispute centers on patent enforcement, and in particular on the role of non-practicing entities (NPEs) or “patent…
Continue ReadingTesting Periods and Outcome Determination in Criminal Cases
By Fiona Doherty. Full text here. This Article introduces the concept of “Testing Periods” to explain how U.S. courts sort criminal defendants for incarceratory and non-incarceratory results. A Testing Period is a time period during which a criminal defendant agrees to abide by a set of prospective rules (such as avoiding “dirty urines” and remaining…
Continue ReadingNote: Material Breach, Material Disclosure
By Tash Bottum. Full text here. Federal disclosure law requires companies to report certain types of events on a current basis. This reporting regime aims to promote transparency, enhance informed investments, and protect investors. However, the disclosure requirements are currently governed by a vague materiality standard, which fails to adequately guide companies in determining whether…
Continue ReadingRegime Congruence: Rethinking the Scope of State Responsibility for Transboundary Environmental Harm
By Maria L. Banda. Full text here. The advent of the Anthropocene has extended the reach of environmental harm: from offshore drilling to geoengineering and climate change, activities in one State can increasingly injure people far beyond its borders. States have longstanding rights under international law to protect their citizens from such harms. In practice,…
Continue ReadingNote: The Last Judicial Frontier: The Fight for Recognition and Legitimacy of Tribal Courts
By Robert J. Wild. Full text here. Rule 10 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice governs the recognition and enforcement of tribal court judgments in Minnesota state district courts. Since its adoption in 2003, the rule has led to delays in enforcement and to the denial of judgments that are mandated to be enforced by…
Continue ReadingNote: When Added Hurdles Cause Actual Prejudice: Exempting Knowing-Use-of-Perjured-Testimony Claims from Brecht Analysis on Collateral Review
By Melanie A. Johnson. Full text here. The knowing use of perjured testimony is considered one of the most serious constitutional trial errors established in Brady v. Maryland. Yet, due to an unresolved gap in habeas jurisprudence, circuits courts have split on the materiality standard required for a habeas petitioner to bring such a claim on…
Continue ReadingNote: Venerunt, Viderunt, Vicerunt Venue: How TC Heartland and In re Cray Have Conquered Patent Venue for Corporate Defendants and How Congress Can Balance the Scales of Patent Venue Justice
By Peter Estall. Full text here. Venue in patent infringement suits is governed not by the general venue statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1391, but by its own statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b). Section 1400(b) provides for venue in either the district the defendant “resides” or where it has “a regular and established place of business.” Until the…
Continue ReadingThe Games They Will Play: Tax Games, Roadblocks, and Glitches Under the 2017 Tax Legislation
By David Kamin, David Gamage, Ari Glogower, Rebecca Kysar, Darien Shanske, Reuven Avi- Yonah, Lily Batchelder, J. Clifton Fleming, Daniel Hemel, Mitchell Kane, David Miller, Daniel Shaviro, & Manoj Viswanathan. Full text here. The 2017 tax legislation brought sweeping changes to the rules for taxing individuals and business, the deductibility of state and local taxes, and…
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