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A Simple Case for Slavery Reparations: Title to Slavery’s Fruits Did Not Pass
No full textThis article adds several new ideas to the literature on reparations for slavery.
I argue that the federal government aided and abetted slavery, benefitted from slavery, used slavery, and even purported to legalize slavery. So the federal government owes a debt for slavery. I propose the federal government should pay $100,000 to each living descendant of a Black person held as a slave in America (subject to particular conditions) in exchange for forgiveness and a full and final release of all debts owed for slavery and other racial injustices up to 1900.
When enslaved Black people labored in America, they were entitled to the fruits of their labor. Natural law demands this. But enslavers stole these fruits.
Enslavers never acquired good title to these stolen fruits. So the enslavers could not convey good title when they alienated these stolen fruits.
Ordinarily, a title-cleaning doctrine like “buyer in the ordinary course of business” might cause good title to spring into existence in the hands of an innocent, good-faith purchaser for fair-market value, ignorant of the theft.
But I argue that slavery was so prevalent and notorious that no one downstream could satisfy the BIOC elements, at least not until the wealth was diffused throughout the American economy.
I propose a burden-shifting approach to proving enslaved ancestry, given the widespread nature of slavery in America and the major gaps in the records.
I offer a perspective on slavery reparations as a reasonable, workable compromise. I show that cash payments for full-and-final slavery reparations would be both earthshaking and feasible. And I address common arguments against reparations
Washington Construction Law Manual, 2d (Vol. 33, Washington Practice Series)
No full textFrom contractor business formation and entering into contracts to delay, damage, and defect claims, Washington Construction Law Manual guides you through all aspects of the Washington construction process. It offers substantial direction on handling construction delay and change orders, so practitioners can effectively advise their clients. This manual includes: Sample documents and forms for transactions and litigation A major overview of Washington construction law that helps you find cases and statuteshttps://scholarship.stu.edu/faculty_books/1035/thumbnail.jp
Washington Insurance Law and Litigation, 2024-2025 ed. (Vol. 35, Washington Practice Series)
No full textWashington Insurance Law and Litigation addresses insurance, coverage under policies, and rejection of claims that often lead to litigation.
Topics covered in this volume include: General insurance law Auto and motor vehicle insurance Health and life insurance Homeowners and renters insurance Commercial general liability Other insurance such as title, directors and officers, and attorney liability litigation and bad faith
You\u27ll also find in-depth discussion of the Washington Insurance Fair Conduct Act, as well as a variety of legal forms for complaints, answers, discovery, and jury instructions.https://scholarship.stu.edu/faculty_books/1036/thumbnail.jp
Front Matter
No full textFront Matter includes Masthead and Table of Contents for St. Thomas Law Review Volume 36, Issue 2, Spring 2024
Enforceability of Choice of Court Clauses in Transnational Agreements: the 2005 Hague Convention, Its Implementation in Contracting States, and the U.S. Approach
No full textParties involved in transnational business naturally expose themselves to peculiar international risks, including the possibility of having a foreign court resolve their future disputes. To reduce uncertainty, transnational contracts often contain a so-called “choice of court” (or “choice of forum”) clause to dictate where future disputes should be resolved.
Chosen courts, however, do not always enforce such clauses. Indeed, absent a convention or a treaty, the enforcement of a choice of court clause is purely a matter of national law and, in the case of federal systems like the United States, even of sub-national domestic law. To guarantee predictability, several countries have ratified the Hague Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements (the “Convention”), which aims at ensuring that the parties’ choice will be respected. The United States, however, was not among them, and U.S. courts continue to apply a variety of tests to determine whether they will follow the parties’ selection of forum.
This Article analyzes recent judicial decisions involving the enforceability of choice of court clauses in transnational agreements under the Convention (i.e., Ermgassen & Co Limited v. Sixcap Financials Pte Limited, and Motacus Constructions Ltd v. Paolo Castelli SpA), and under the internal laws of selected jurisdictions (France, United Kingdom, Florida, New York, and California). Such analysis aims to ascertain whether the Convention was successful in guaranteeing the enforcement of choice of court clause in transnational contexts, and whether the United States should finally ratify it
Beyond Social Media Analogues
No full textThe steady flow of social-media cases toward the Supreme Court shows a nation reworking its fundamental relationship with technology. The cases raise a host of questions ranging from difficult to impossible: how to nurture a vibrant public square when a few tech giants dominate the flow of information, how social media can be at the same time free from conformist groupthink and also protected against harmful disinformation campaigns, and how government and industry can cooperate on such problems without devolving toward censorship.To such profound questions, this Essay offers a comparatively modest contribution—what not to do. Always the lawyer’s instinct is toward analogy, considering what has come before and how it reveals what should come next. Almost invariably, that is the right choice. The law’s cautious evolution protects society from disruptive change. But almost is not always, and, with social media, disruptive change is already upon us. Using social-media laws from Texas and Florida as a case study, this Essay shows how social-media’s distinct features render it poorly suited to analysis by analogy and argues that courts should instead shift their attention toward crafting legal doctrines targeted to address social media’s unique ills
Front Matter
No full textFront Matter includes Masthead, advisors, and Table of Contents for the Intercultural Human Rights Law Review Volume 19 (2024)
Civil Jury Instruction Handbook, 2024-2025 ed. (Vol. 6B, Washington Practice Series)
No full textProviding the time-challenged practitioner with quick references to actual instructions given in civil cases, Civil Jury Instruction Handbook includes selected jury instructions and verdict forms given in actual Washington state cases. The text categorizes instructions and verdict forms by subject matter and relevant issues, and includes: Verbatim reproductions of pattern instructions Significantly modified pattern instructions Completely original instructions
Commentary is included throughout the text to identify or provide a short note on the appropriate application of the instruction. Additionally, references assist practitioners in drawing upon databases to find additional examples.https://scholarship.stu.edu/faculty_books/1034/thumbnail.jp
Celebrating Michael Reisman: The Inner World of Others - A Guiding Light for Indigenous Re-Empowerment
No full textMichael Reisman is a beacon of light in the firmament of international law and jurisprudence. His retirement from his faculty position at the Yale Law School affords a welcome occasion to celebrate his work in the quest for a world public order of human dignity. Michael is the cherished leader of the New Haven School of Jurisprudence, an intellectual movement designed to combine the prescriptive purposes of the law with the empirical insights of the sciences to achieve the goal of the flourishing of human beings, through access by all to the processes of shaping and sharing all things humans value. It is the most comprehensive and creative, empowering theory about law and, indeed, its concepts and procedures are uniquely available for securing value-outcomes in situations of disintegrating public order and even the ultimate horror of normative tohu bohu. It is needed even more in this highly conflictual, often violent world
Brain-Computer Interfaces and Bioethical Implications on Society: Friend or Foe?
No full textAs a child in the 1990s, I was captivated by the rapid evolution of technology. I recall the days of recording my favorite TV show on a VCR and inserting a cassette into my Walkman to enjoy music. Today, recording a favorite show is as simple as clicking a button on a DVR or using remote voice control. Similarly, I can listen to any song with a few taps on my smartphone. This technological progress brings to mind the story of Frankenstein, in which a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, becomes obsessed with creating life. He succeeds in creating a humanoid creature but, realizing the horror of his creation, abandons it. Mary Shelley\u27s novel superbly exemplifies the moral and ethical dilemmas associated with technological advancements that are likely to occur in the coming decades. Do the benefits of novel creations outweigh the consequences, or is it the other way around? One of the ethical principles to consider is the balance between beneficence and non-maleficence, which is the obligation to do good and avoid causing harm. With the growth in modem science comes advances to the field of neurotechnology, specifically brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). For example, one notable player in this field is Neuralink, a company founded by Elon Musk, which aims to develop advanced BCIs for various applications. However, the misuse of implantable BCIs poses significant bioethical concerns related to privacy, autonomy, and potential abuse of power. Specifically, the rapid advancements in this field have prompted complex bioethical concerns, as scholars and practitioners wrestle with issues of autonomy, privacy, and potential misuse. It is crucial to thoroughly examine these concerns and implement regulations to protect individual rights. In this Comment, I will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of BCIs, their implications for bioethics, and the challenges of legal self-regulation that may arise in the future as BCI technology advances. Furthermore, I will address the perspectives of both advocates and critics of BCI technology to provide a comprehensive analysis of this emerging field