Source: http://blogs.kentlaw.iit.edu/faculty/2012/07/
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 14:45:15+00:00

Document:
Professor David Schwartz’s new article, recently uploaded to SSRN and mentioned here last week, was featured in two law blogs today. Analyzing the Role of Non-Practicing Entities in the Patent System, co-authored with Jay P. Kesan of the University of Illinois College of Law, was given a comprehensive review in both Patentology and Gametime IP. Follow the links to read more.
"This Article offers a novel doctrinal resolution of the key issues in Fisher v. Texas, the impending Supreme Court case which involves race conscious admissions policies at the University of Texas at Austin (UT). The resolution proposed here addresses Justice Anthony Kennedy’s concerns about race conscious policies, but also preserves most of the Court’s 2003 Grutter v. Bollinger ruling, in spite of the fact that Justice Kennedy dissented in Grutter. Substantively, the Article clarifies the key issues in Fisher (the meaning of “critical mass” and the scope of deference that courts give to universities) by focusing on a simple idea that permeates Grutter and Fisher but has not been explicated to date: the significance of diversity within racial groups. It argues that under Grutter, a race conscious policy can aim not only to increase minority representation overall, but also to increase diversity within racial groups — a point which has not been discussed in the Fisher litigation or in scholarly discourse.
"This Article argues that the conventional (rationalist) approach to world politics characterized by political bargain cannot fully capture the new social reality under the contemporary global ambience where ideational factors such as ideas, values, culture, and norms have become more salient and influential not only in explaining but also in prescribing state behaviors. After bringing rationalism’s paradigmatic limitations into relief, the Article offers a sociological framework that highlights a reflective, intersubjective communication among states and consequent norm-building process. Under this new paradigm, one can understand an international organization as a “community” (Gemeinschaft), not as a mere contractual instrument of its contracting parties (Gesellschaft). The Article applies the new paradigm to the World Trade Organization (WTO) as it describes the WTO’s institutional evolution from a power-oriented, tariff-reducing contract to a norm-oriented world trade community."
"In this article, I address the historical and doctrinal development of § 1983 local government liability, beginning with Monroe v. Pape in 1961 and culminating in the Supreme Court’s controversial 2011 failure to train decision in Connick v. Thompson. Connick has made it exceptionally difficult for § 1983 plaintiffs to prevail against local governments in failure to train cases. In the course of my analysis, I also consider the oral argument and opinions in Connick as well as various aspects of § 1983 doctrine. I ultimately situate Connick in the Court’s federalism jurisprudence which doubles back to Justice Frankfurter’s view of federalism as set out in in his dissent in Monroe."
As always, read more of Professor Nahmod's expert law commentary at his blog, Nahmod Law.
"Is there any place in our system for appellate courts to rule on issues that no inferior court has ruled upon? In fact, there are a surprising number of occasions on which courts of appeals, including the United States Supreme Court, address and decide questions that a trial court judge did not decide. On those occasions, they are not reviewing the decision of another tribunal. The Supreme Court has declared that intermediate federal courts of appeals (“IFACs”) have discretion to decide when they will address such issues.
Professors Carolyn Shapiro and Sheldon Nahmod weigh in on the meaning and impact of the Court’s complicated ruling in the Affordable Care Act cases. This video is courtesy of The Oyez Project, a multimedia archive devoted to the Supreme Court of the United States and its work. Visit the Oyez Today blog for more content on the Supreme Court.
Mark your calendars for March 20th – the new International Day of Happiness. The United Nations has chosen this date recognize the importance of happiness to people’s lives.
Take a look at my writing on the importance of happiness to human life and the law.

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