http://www.concurringopinions.com The Law, the Universe, and Everything Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:11:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Yale Law Journal Online is pleased to announce the publication of Marriage, Property and [In]Equality: Remedying ERISA’s Disparate Impact on Spousal Wealth, by Paula A. Monopoli.  In this piece, Monopoli argues that Congress has a historic opportunity to resolve an ongoing gender disparity in ERISA through considered pension reforms.  ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/the-yale-law-journal-online-marriage-property-and-inequality-remedying-erisa%e2%80%99s-disparate-impact-on-spousal-wealth.html It has been a decade since I slept poorly at the Wardman in November - and I must admit to having some unpleasant flashbacks.  Last night, like 10 years ago, I got lost on my way to an interviewing suite.  I still find the bar scene a little anxiety producing.  So ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/from-the-other-side-at-aals.html It appears that Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) has pulled his amendment (that I blogged about on Tuesday here) to the National Criminal Justice Commission Act that would have prevented the commission from even discussing the decriminalization or legalization of any controlled substance.  Grassley was asked about the amendment by a ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/update-on-the-grassley-amendment.html In my corporations classes, I urge my students planning a career in corporate and securities law to resist the ubiquitous opportunities and occasional temptations to trade on the basis of material non-public information. I offer in terrorum encouragement by emphasizing that all trades are tracked and that enforcement authorities periodically ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/lawyers-dont-trade-on-inside-information.html Last Term in Gross v. FBL Financials, a 5-4 decision written by Justice Thomas, the Court decided that a plaintiff bringing a claim of individual disparate treatment age discrimination — an ADEA action -- must prove, by a preponderance of evidence, that age was the “but-for” cause of defendant’s treatment ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/the-employers-strategy-in-gross-v-fbl-financials.html Mary Mitchell, a beloved member of the Indiana University -- Indianapolis faculty, passed away today after a sudden illness.  Mary was a wonderful teacher who cared deeply about her students and fought passionately for her beliefs during her three decades at the law school.  We are all devastated by this ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/in-memorium.html A year ago today, California voters adopted Proposition 8 by a 52-48 margin. Last night, voters on the other side of the country voted the same way, by almost exactly the same margin. I was interviewed earlier today about the issue, and the anchor asked a few questions ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/one-year-a-recap.html Like any good political junkie, I have been spending the past few hours switching back and forth between MSNBC and CNN on the television while frantically reloading talkingpointsmemo.com on my laptop.  We have results in for the two big governors races, with Republicans picking up wins in Virginia and New ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/election-night-2009.html I'll be in DC (mostly in a hotel room) on Friday and Saturday as chair of IU-Indy's hiring committee.  If any regular readers of CoOp will be at the conference, email me and perhaps we can find some time to meet up. http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/aals-hiring-conference.html Thanks to Deven and the rest of the Concurring Opinions crew for the opportunity to guest-blog this month, I'm very excited to be here.  I'll be blogging mostly about drug policy issues, though I will likely touch on some other topics along the way as well (warning to those easily ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/politicians-have-you-talked-to-your-constituents-about-drug-policy.html Volume 78 November 2009 Number 2 THE ROBERT L. LEVINE DISTINGUISHED LECTURE OVERCOMING BARRIERS TO IMMIGRANT REPRESENTATION: EXPLORING SOLUTIONS Deepening the Legal Profession's Pro Bono Commitment to the Immigrant Poor Hon. Robert A. Katzmann Report of Subcommittee 1: Increasing Pro Bono Activity The Representational and Counseling Needs of the Immigrant Poor Jennifer L. Colyer, Sarah French Russell, Robert E. Juceam & ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/fordham-law-review-volume-78-number-2-november-2009.html I am thrilled to be back at Concurring Opinion - thanks to Solangel, Dan and the other regulars for having me.   The timing of this visit is propitious for me - I am returning from a policy-focused (and surprisingly non-academic) sabbatical and I have been thinking a great deal about how ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/engaged-and-engaging-scholarship-paul-butlers-lets-get-free.html Economic prognosis positive is the signal to hear today from Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway’s agreement to buy 100% of the stock of the railroad, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, consolidating the company’s 22% ownership stake in a $34 billion acquisition. As an author of books on Buffett’s investment philosophy, including a ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/buffett-bullish-on-america.html Should we fear Google? This question, unthinkable ten, maybe even five, years ago, seems to dominate internet policy discussion today. AT&T is afraid of Google Voice. Apple might be afraid of the Google Phone. Microsoft is afraid that Google Apps will make its Office suit redundant. These fears are justified, ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/fear-of-a-google-planet.html We get lots of mail. Some messages are very useful and make it onto the blog; others are useful, but not really blog material. A substantial portion of messages are nice but basically irrelevant to the Co-Op bloggers. And another substantial portion is . . . err, ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/from-the-concurring-opinions-mailbox.html Volume 59 October 2009 Number 2 Articles How the Dissent Becomes the Majority: Using Federalism to Transform Coalitions in the U.S. Supreme Court Vanessa Baird & Tonja Jacobi Living Originalism Thomas B. Colby & Peter J. Smith Notes Reasonableness Meets Requirements: Regulating Security and Privacy in Software Paul N. Otto Making Amends: ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/duke-law-journal-volume-59-november-2009-number-2.html Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc is pleased to present the "first take" pieces for its inaugural Roundtable from Professors Hal Bruff, Steven Calabresi, Gary Lawson, Rick Pildes, and Christopher Yoo. The debate is on Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Professor Peter Strauss’s previously laid the foundation ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/vanderbilt-law-review-en-banc-pcaob-roundtable.html Thanks to Dan et al. for the opportunity to guest-blog this month.  For my first guest post, I want to highlight a little-noticed tool of statutory construction that has reared its head in a handful of recent Supreme Court decisions: inferences based on Congress’s use of the passive voice in ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/the-passive-voice-in-statutory-interpretation.html On Friday, attorneys for six of the Uighurs held in Guantanamo Bay announced that they have been transferred to live on the island of Palau.  (Pitcairn Island must have been unavailable). Perhaps all of the detainees who are the parties in Kiyemba (just taken on certiorari by the Supreme Court) ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/the-return-of-penal-colonies.html With only 27 amendments so far in our long history with our present Constitution, a colleague and I asked all of our Constitutional Law students in the fall of 2005 to propose a 28th Amendment. This was to celebrate Constitution Day, so we opened the exercise to everyone in the law ... http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2009/11/drafting-the-28th-amendment.html