|
|
 |
|
|
October 2007 - Posts
-
|
The United States requested the World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body to establish a panel to resolve its dispute with China over the lack of protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. The dispute concerns the high thresholds for criminal procedures and penalties in the IP area, the failure of Chinese authorities to properly dispose of confiscated infringing goods and the denial of copyright protection to works unauthorized for publication or distrubution within the country.
|
-
|
With or without constitutional sanction, the signing statement has been a presidential tool at least since the early 19th century. While President Bush is not out of line with the general trend, he has outdone his predecessors by far in finding fault with hundreds of particular provisions of bills. Insofar as these interpretive statements inform executive branch officers of a particular policy of the president, they overkill: Much the same result may be achieved by internal executive order or memorandum.
|
-
|
The departure of two of the five SEC commissioners, both Democrats, leaves three Republican commissioners and deep worries among the investor community. Typically, commissioners chosen by Democrats have had a solid background in safeguarding investors' rights. Yet the candidates now promoted by two Democratic senators appear to have no such background. Appointing commissioners beholden to Wall Street would dash any hope that a new Democratic administration will bring much needed reform of U.S. companies.
|
-
|
New York Times op-ed. But rather than getting stuck in partisan squabbles over whether he sexually harassed her, let's ask the important question: Are Thomas' judicial opinions worthy of our respect?
|
-
|
Gideon's basic tenet is firmly planted in our pantheon of values. Whether we are prepared to apply that principle to alleged noncitizen enemy combatants is a question the court will decide this term.
|
-
|
It is a "perfect storm" of corporate governance enforcement. The Justice Department has brought a case under the False Claims Act against Christi Sulzbach, the former general counsel of Tenet Healthcare Corp., seeking millions of dollars based upon her actions as chief compliance officer. The case offers an enlightening and frightening look at the cumulative impact of some important recent trends in corporate enforcement. The question is whether this is sensible targeting or government over-reaching.
|
-
|
Richard Sander of the UCLA School of Law asserts that affirmative action in law schools hurts black law students. Sander now says there are data the bar exam scores of blacks and Latinos in California that can help resolve the debate. Thus far, the bar examiners have denied his request. According to outside experts, his mismatch hypothesis cannot reasonably be tested by analyzing the bar scores of black and Latino test takers. It's too big a leap from the data he wants to the conclusion he has reached.
|
-
|
As if Darfur hasn't suffered enough, some diplomats want to punish victims of the genocide for dying in smaller numbers. The United Nations recently confirmed a decline in the death rate, which one diplomat, echoing others, argues is evidence that the genocide is over. But international law holds that genocide ends only when murders, torture and destruction of life necessities ends. Declaring a premature end ignores the global community's obligations, rewards Sudan and hinders efforts to stop this tragedy.
|
-
|
On Oct. 5, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights declared in a landmark decision that it had competence to examine the human rights claims of Jessica Gonzales, a domestic violence survivor whose three children were killed when local police failed to enforce a restraining order against her estranged husband. The ruling will permit an ultimate determination as to whether the United States has violated Gonzales' human rights. It also could spur broad reforms in U.S. law and policy on domestic violence.
|
-
|
Stoneridge case now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, the securities fraud class action has come under a lot of scrutiny in the press and the blogosphere. But the recent indictment of Melvyn Weiss and guilty plea of William Lerach do not demonstrate that securities fraud litigation is itself often fraudulent.
|
-
|
A humble lawyer? Isn't that an oxymoron? For many it is. For others, however, it is a powerful key to success in both the legal field and life. Far too often, people equate humility with being weak or poor. But a "humble lawyer" is not synonymous with a weak advocate. Indeed, the two concepts are at polar extremes.
|
-
|
America is "going green." Now that consumer product companies market themselves based on how "green" they are in addition to how much better their products are, it's a trend worth watching. We lawyers shouldn't just sit by and watch our clients set the trends; we ought to pitch in and "go green," or at least go greener in our own practices as well.
|
-
|
The news of presidential candidate Fred Thompson's involvement in the legal representation of two Libyans charged in the Pan Am 103 bombing is not about a lawyer's ethical choice to defend an unpopular client. The real question is whether Thompson and his partners had any affirmative obligation to represent the terrorists, and whether the public has a right to consider that choice of representation and subsequent justification in evaluating Thompson's character and fitness to be president.
|
|
|
|