Nov

18

Sentences Merit Closer Scrutiny by Appellate Courts

Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | November 18, 2009 | 1 Comment

I have a new article on SSRN entitled “Appellate Review of Sentences: Reconsidering Deference.”  As the title suggests, I review the standard arguments in favor of the prevailing rubber-stamp approach to appellate review of sentences, and I conclude that the arguments are something short of compelling.  Here is the abstract:
American appellate courts have long resisted calls [...]

Oct

23

First Sports Law Treatise?

Posted by: J. Gordon Hylton | October 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment

It is difficult to say what was the first law-related book devoted to sports law, but if the title is any indication, it could be W. M. Thompson and J. D. A. Johnson, The Law of Sports (1896), which was published by W. B. Hearnden of New Inn Chambers, London.  Its authors appear to have [...]

Oct

22

ALWD Scholars’ Forum

Posted by: Melissa L. Greipp | October 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment

On October 9, the Law School hosted an Association of Legal Writing Directors Scholars’ Forum before the Central States Region Conference.  The Forum was an all-day event in which legal writing faculty from across the United States came to discuss their current scholarship in a roundtable format.  After Dean Rofes’ warm welcome, Professor Dan Weddle from UMKC [...]

Oct

3

Questions of Professionalism

Posted by: Rebecca K. Blemberg | October 3, 2009 | 2 Comments

I’ve been thinking about professionalism lately.  Two discussions in the past week or so have stuck with me.
The first discussion appeared in the Law Librarian Blog (thank you, Professor O’Brien, for forwarding it.)  In Florida, U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Presnell issued an order denying a plaintiff’s motion for voluntary dismissal for
Failing to comply with [...]

Sep

24

Article Compares Research Results Using Westlaw and Lexis

Posted by: Jessica E. Slavin | September 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment

This morning the Law Librarian Blog reports on a study that makes concrete the different research results achieved through the Westlaw and Lexis research systems.  The author of the paper, Susan Nevelow Mart, a reference librarian at UC-Hastings, provides this abstract on SSRN:

Sep

10

Legal Writing Monograph Series

Posted by: Melissa L. Greipp | September 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Last year, the Legal Writing Institute (LWI) Board of Directors created a Monograph series.  The Monograph’s first electronic volume is now available on the LWI website.  The focus of this first volume is “The Art of Critiquing Written Work.”  Our own Professor Alison Julien worked on this project.  Professor Jane Kent Gionfriddo stated in a post [...]

Sep

7

Learning About Law . . . by Watching Football?

Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | September 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Who knew you could learn so much about jurisprudence from the NFL rulebook?  In a new paper on SSRN, Chad Oldfather (Vikings fan) and 3L Matthew Fernholz (Bears fan) demonstrate that it is surprisingly illuminating to compare and contrast the rules of instant replay with the rules of appellate review.  Their title says it all: “Comparative Procedure on [...]

Aug

28

Storytelling in Appellate Brief Writing

Posted by: Melissa L. Greipp | August 28, 2009 | 2 Comments

At the end of July, both Professor Michael Smith and I attended the Applied Legal Storytelling Conference at Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon.  The conference was entitled “Chapter 2:  Once Upon a Legal Story” and focused on storytelling in “ways that will directly and tangibly benefit law students (i.e. future lawyers) and [...]

Aug

23

Blood Testing of Athletes

Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | August 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Urine testing has become a familiar part of the sports landscape, but less so blood testing.  However, the development of a blood test for human growth hormone has the potential to make blood testing of athletes more common.  Matt Mitten considers legal aspects of such testing in a  new paper on SSRN entitled “Legal Issues Arising Out of Blood [...]

Aug

21

IP Geeks Rejoice: 13 Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review (2009) is Here

Posted by: Kali N. Murray | August 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment

The thirteenth volume of the Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review (Summer Edition 2009) has recently been published and is now available.   Our outgoing editor-in-chief, Melissa Benko and her excellent board have done an outstanding job once again.
Highlights of the issue include:
* Jessica Litman’s wonderful and innovative Nies lecture on current copyright reform;
*  Interesting articles by [...]

Aug

19

Athletes Behaving Badly

Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | August 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Did Michael Vick get off easy when he was reinstated by the NFL?  Or would the League overstep its proper role in imposing further punishment on an athlete who has already paid his proverbial debt to society?  Variations on these questions arise every time a famous professional athlete breaks the law — an all-too-common occurence, it seems.  
Janie Kim and [...]

Aug

18

Restorative Justice and the Big Tent

Posted by: Michael M. O'Hear | August 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment

I have a new paper on SSRN discussing some of the pitfalls that the restorative justice movement may encounter.  The paper responds to Professor Erik Luna’s essay “In Support of Restorative Justice.” Luna extolls the capacity of restorative justice practices to accommodate diverse theories of punishment, but I argue that such a “big tent” approach may [...]

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