Legal Theory

Should tapping veiled woman on the shoulder be actionable? Law institute says yes; law prof says no

As many readers will recall from their law school torts class, a defendant who has injured an unusually sensitive plaintiff likely won’t win by arguing that a different person would have been OK. But does the American Law Institute go too far, in its latest restatement of torts, by suggesting…

Jun 23, 2015 3:30 PM CDT

UK and US legal systems both sprung from the Magna Carta, but many jurisdictional differences exist

A major theme of the ABA London Sessions commemorating the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta is its effect in binding two of the leading common law jurisdictions in the world, the United States and the United Kingdom. But underneath that sheen of commonality lies a whole…

Jun 12, 2015 1:05 PM CDT

Federal cyberstalking trial blames courthouse shooter’s widow, son and daughter for slaying of woman

There’s no dispute that former police officer Thomas Matusiewicz shot two women to death at a Delaware courthouse on Feb. 11, 2013, as they were headed to a child-support hearing, and then committed suicide. But an unusual federal cyberstalking trial now underway in Delaware also seeks to hold his widow,…

Jun 12, 2015 11:10 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: Are judges politicians? SCOTUS renews the question

The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Williams-Yulee v. Florida State Bar (PDF) will have a significant effect in judicial election campaigns and will create great uncertainty as to the constitutionality of other restrictions of speech by candidates for elected judicial offices. The court upheld a Florida law, based on a…

Jun 4, 2015 8:30 AM CDT

Which justices give the most speeches? Sotomayor tops law prof’s ‘celebrity index’

Justice Sonia Sotomayor tops a “celebrity index” developed by a law professor who is documenting the increase in reported public appearances by U.S. Supreme Court justices. Law professor Richard Hasen of the University of California at Irvine looked at news reports of appearances and interviews by justices since 1960 and…

Jun 2, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

June is busting out all over with big-time SCOTUS decisions

U.S. Supreme Court terms have ended with a bang in recent years.

In 2012, a last-day-of-the-term decision upheld most of the Affordable Care Act. In 2013, the justices struck down a key provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act on their final day. And last June, the court held that at least some corporations have a right under a federal religious liberty statute to be free of the health care law's coverage requirements for contraceptives.

Jun 1, 2015 5:35 AM CDT

Does a country have a legal duty to reduce its carbon footprint? Dutch court to decide landmark case

Concerned that the Netherlands isn’t doing enough to reduce its carbon footprint, a group of nearly 900 citizens filed a highly unusual lawsuit against the Dutch government in 2013. Asserting violations of human rights and tort law, the class action (PDF) seeks a court ruling requiring the government to cut…

May 4, 2015 10:50 AM CDT

Indian tribes are retaking jurisdiction over domestic violence on their own land

Diane Millich was only days into her marriage when her husband first hit her. So began her year of "horrific terror."

Millich, a member of the Southern Ute tribe of southwestern Colorado, called tribal police many times from her home on the reservation. But because her husband was not an American Indian, tribal police had no authority over him. Colorado's La Plata County overlaps the reservation, but county sheriffs had no jurisdiction over crimes committed against Indians on Indian land.

Apr 1, 2015 6:02 AM CDT

Chemerinsky: SCOTUS gets another look at the Affordable Care Act

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments March 4 in one of the most important cases of the term, King v. Burwell, which could determine the fate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, decided in 2012, the Supreme Court upheld…

Feb 25, 2015 9:15 AM CST

New project rewrites SCOTUS opinions from a feminist perspective

More than 50 law professors and lawyers are collaborating to analyze how U.S. Supreme Court jurisprudence would look if seminal cases had been adjudicated from a feminist perspective. The book Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Opinions of the United States Supreme Court will contain 24 rewritten decisions on topics such as reproductive…

Feb 1, 2015 3:30 AM CST

Evaluate law by happiness impact, profs suggest; is 20 years in prison four times worse than five?

Three Chicago-based law professors are suggesting an alternative to cost-benefit analysis in evaluating laws: well-being analysis, which looks at happiness and quality of life. In their new book Happiness and the Law, the law professors use research such as the General Social Survey, which tracks happiness and quality of life,…

Jan 13, 2015 5:45 AM CST

American Indians challenging eagle feather rules get a boost from Hobby Lobby ruling

In many American Indian religions, the eagle is considered a link to the creator and the spirit world. Its feathers are an important part of rituals, facilitating spiritual or physical purification.

Jan 1, 2015 5:53 AM CST

Female law review authors are cited at a higher rate than men, study finds

The conventional wisdom is that scholarly research by women is cited less often than that of male authors. But that doesn’t hold true for legal scholarship, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. Law review articles with at least one female author are cited at a higher rate than those…

Dec 12, 2014 5:45 AM CST

Rightscorp fights Internet piracy by ‘ticketing’ copyright infringers

Internet piracy of copyrighted works may no longer be novel, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less prevalent. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, since peer-to-peer file-sharing emerged in 1999, music sales in the U.S. have dropped 53 percent—from $14.6 billion to $7 billion in 2013. And the…

Dec 1, 2014 1:50 AM CST

Towns across the country are blocking energy companies from fracking

On a hot June summer day this year, residents from the small farming town of Dryden, in upstate New York, gathered in front of the local courthouse to celebrate. The state's highest court had just ruled that their town could ban oil and gas development, including a controversial drilling method known as fracking.

Nov 1, 2014 5:15 AM CDT