The Business of Bigness

brandeisLast summer, Eric Dash of the New York Times wrote an excellent article on the problems associated with big business in the U.S.  Dash noted that almost 100 years ago, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote prophetically about the “curse of bigness.”  Justice Brandeis denounced generally the influence that big business had on U.S. politics and its economy.

Today, Brandies’s “curse of bigness” is incorporated into the less pejorative term for large U.S. companies — companies that are “too big to fail.”  Certainly in light of the recent U.S. financial crisis, people are well aware of the influence that these large U.S. companies have on U.S. politics and its economy.   But these “too big to fail” companies may also be creating moral hazards in business operations, and the U.S. has yet to establish a unified system for dealing with the business of bigness. 

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Strong Week for the Wisconsin Criminal Law System

3L Ron Tusler forwards an important bit of news regarding the Wisconsin criminal justice system:

Governor Doyle recognized on Monday that Wisconsin needs to do more to comply with the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment.  The Sixth Amendment requires that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right . . . to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.”  Gideon v. Wainwright applied the Sixth Amendment to the states as a fundamental due process right.  372 U.S. 335 (1963).  The Gideon Court did not define indigency and the states are free to define it as they will.

Until Governor Doyle signed Senate Bill 263 into law, Wisconsin held an extremely low income threshold set in 1987.  As a student practitioner at the Outagamie County Public Defender’s Office last summer, the state required me to turn down individuals with less than $100 income per month.  Imagine telling someone with so little income that they were too wealthy for help.  That is a message many public defenders must deliver every day.  Imagine how many go on to inadequately represent themselves pro se.  Is that Constitutional?  I doubt the Gideon Court would approve. 

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A Rainy Day in Boston

4226435693_8378885c16Our National Appellate Advocacy Competition adventures came to an end today.  One team advanced to the semifinal rounds, and I tried to explain to the teams that their performances were really outstanding accomplishments.  But I don’t think it helped much.  We also learned that the Labor and Employment Law team failed to reach the finals; though, again, from my perspective, their performance was terrific.

The rainy day here suited our mood pretty well.  We consoled ourselves with Italian food and desserts at the North End.  I think we’d all recommend Mike’s pastry.

It’s easier for me to say, being the coach and not the advocates, but I really do hope that the students can appreciate what an accomplishment it is to make such a good showing in these national competitions.  Eventually, anyway.  (I told them that I think it only took me about ten years to get over my own team’s loss in the National Moot Court Competition, when I was in law school.)

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