Lessons from Nebraska’s Struggle With an Abandoned Baby Law

In the past few years, many states have passed legislation allowing parents of newborns to drop their infants off at a designated safe place, no questions asked. These laws are intended to prevent the tragedy of unwanted newborns that have been literally left to die in dumpsters, public toilets, and similar places, usually by panicked teenage parents. Nebraska is the most recent state to pass such a law, but whether by negligence or design, the Nebraska statute did not specify a maximum age of a child who could be left at a safe place without legal repercussions to the parents. In a turn of events that would be comical if it weren’t so sad, Nebraska has seen a parade of 17 different children dropped off at designated hospitals: none of them have been infants, and most have been adolescents. Since Nebraska’s legislature is part-time and does not resume session until January, there may be more drop-offs before the law can be amended.

What’s going on here, and what can we learn from it?

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Baseball Metaphors and Judicial Opinions

A long time ago–so long ago, in fact, that the editing process was conducted entirely via Fed Ex and (gasp) telephone* –I published an article on the use of baseball metaphors in judicial opinions. It is one of 19 hits in the Westlaw JLR database for “Kirby Puckett,” one of four for “Kent Hrbek,” and the only law review article ever written that mentions Puckett, Hrbek, and Ron Gant. Though I missed out on all the fun that might have ensued had it been more readily available when Chief Justice Roberts was describing his role in umpireal terms, and even the more recent discussions here, I have just now posted it on SSRN for your procrastinating enjoyment.

* It’s interesting to me that the telephone seems to have disappeared from the editing process. Not once since I started teaching have I spoken to a law review editor other than the one who made the publication offer. Maybe it’s not that surprising, though. I remember some of those conversations from the editor side as being a little intimidating. That might have been partly a product of how my first conversation with an author on the phone unfolded. He (who was kind of big-namish) came across as a little grouchy, and not all that pleased with some of the edits proposed by my predecessor. Somehow or other–I guess I was trying to find a source or something as I fumbled for an explanation of whatever my predecessor had done–I pulled the phone off my desk. From his side perhaps the line just went dead. On my side there was a loud crash and a cascade of papers onto the floor. In retrospect, not that big of a deal. At the time, a little bit mortifying.

Cross posted at PrawfsBlawg.

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Priorities for the Next President: Securities Regulation

The current crisis our nation faces on Wall Street and in the broader economy will be the primary focus of the next President. The crisis is complex, with many facets, and any solution will be equally complex. Issues such as the effectiveness of regulatory oversight versus deregulation, the transparency of specific types of financial transactions and market actors under current law, and the proper accounting rules to ensure an accurate depiction of a banking institution’s financial health will all be part of the debate over how to resolve the present crisis and how to prevent a future recurrence. However, my advice to the next President is that he should not overlook the beneficial role that private civil lawsuits under the securities laws can play in deterring risky market behavior.

Much has been made of the greed and speculative fervor that gripped the investment professionals on Wall Street. Clearly bets were being made with borrowed money that risked the very existence of institutions that are necessary to preserve the liquidity of capital in our markets. Expanding the oversight of the Treasury Department, increasing the transparency of transactions that involve derivatives and hedge funds, and re-examining accounting rules may all be necessary components of a plan to avoid such risk-taking in the future, but they will not be sufficient in and of themselves. From personal experience in the boardroom, I can vouch that nothing deters executive approval of speculative investment strategies as much as the prospect of a potential civil lawsuit if the deal goes sour.

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