My colleagues and friends, Mark Seidenfeld and Murat Mungan, have made an interesting attempt to reduce the doctrine of duress in contract law to an inquiry about “rent-seeking,” by which they mean attempts to redistribute rather than to produce wealth. There is much truth in their argument, and they are admirably sensitive to many factors that…

In a prior piece in this journal, I noted some disturbing developments in the law of accomplice liability. By definition, complicity law attaches guilt to the accomplice for the criminal acts of others.  Thus, no matter how trivial the assistance or commitment, she is as guilty as the actual criminal actor.  The notion of guilt for subsequent crimes…