The purpose of this Note is to analyze one widely enacted category of abortion regulations—parental involvement laws—and the effect of such regulations on their targeted group—pregnant minors. According to the Supreme Court, abortion regulations are constitutional only if they satisfy the undue burden standard, as expressed in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. By relying...
For almost two decades now, courts have struggled with a seemingly irreconcilable conflict between Rule 23 class actions and Rule 68 offers of judgment. The apparent tension between these two rules arises in the limbo between the filing of a putative class representative’s complaint and the court’s resolution of the class certification motion. During this time the...
Some of the most interesting discussions of cost-benefit analysis focus on exceptionally difficult problems, including catastrophic scenarios, “fat tails,” extreme uncertainty, intergenerational equity, and discounting over long time horizons. As it operates in the actual world of government practice, however, cost-benefit analysis usually does not need to explore...
Patent trolls are increasingly blamed for the growing costs of patent litigation and seemingly excessive damages awards and patent royalties. There is much to support these allegations. Trolls now account for a majority of all patent assertions, win both larger judgments and larger settlements than do firms that practice patents, and do so despite complaints and some evidence that they assert weak patents. Nonetheless, we think the focus...
Whether a right to payment is a “claim” is one of the most important determinations in bankruptcy because only “claims” are subject to the bankruptcy process, including the all-important automatic stay and discharge provisions. The Bankruptcy Code (“Code”) provides a definition of claim in § 101(5), but courts have differed greatly in what “rights to payment” are covered by that definition. For twenty-six years, the Third...
Under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), individuals can request certain agency records, including mug shots, from federal agencies. Until 1996, the policy of the United States Marshals Service (USMS) was to use FOIA’s broad law enforcement exemption, Exemption 7(C), to deny requests for mug shots. However, in 1996, the Sixth Circuit in Detroit Free Press v. Department of Justice found that a mug shot does not implicate...