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The Perilous Focus Shift from the Rule of Law to Appellate Efficiency
Get PDFAmong the most significant—and by some estimations the most controversial—transformations of the federal appellate system occurred in the late 1960s and 1970s with effects still felt today: the shift from oral argument for all appeals and the view that study and disposition of each appeal were exclusively judicial tasks to the adoption of a tiered appellate system where the great majority of appeals receive no oral argument and instead summary disposition often involving staff attorneys. These transformative internal efficiency procedures have been subject to intense debate. Proponents have praised their efficiency and ability to avoid a backlog while critics complain that the procedures created a bureaucratic appellate process—rather than one focused on justice—and instituted an inequitable multi-tiered process that particularly disadvantages novice and unrepresented litigants. This article employs a previously unexplored approach to assess the merit of this transformed appellate structure: it argues that the foundations of the circuit courts’ case management procedures—focusing on oral argument screening and reliance on staff attorneys—rests on an irreplicable and inapplicable model of a circuit defensively fending off a circuit split and whose focus had shifted from protecting litigants’ legal rights to appellate efficiency.The article examines the formative first-mover on these central efficiency reforms that had national ramifications: the Fifth Circuit, which was the largest and most docket-heavy circuit. The six-state Fifth Circuit initiated screening of each appeal to determine if it merited oral argument, placing no-oral-argument cases on a summary calendar for disposition, issuing a one-word affirmance without an opinion, and creating the position of staff attorney and increasing reliance on staff attorneys for screening and dispositional tasks.The article adds three previously unexamined or underexamined central facets to the debate concerning the use of these internal case processing procedures that continue to structure federal appeals: (1) recognizing the Fifth Circuit’s influence as the initiator and chooser of the reform structure adopted by circuit courts nationally, (2) contending that the Fifth Circuit structure of internal efficiency reforms was an incorrect model for replication based on its unique experience as the subject of an ongoing and divisive battle concerning a potential circuit split and fights over the court’s judicial appointments, which shaped the internally focused, defensive, and narrow structure of its reforms, and (3) appreciating how Fifth Circuit judges’ laudable approach and attitude towards procedural innovation in the 1950s to 1970s in civil rights jurisprudence to ensure compliance to Brown v. Board of Education (1954) informed how the Court shaped its internal efficiency reforms. The article thus proposes a reconsideration of the foundational structure of the circuit courts’ internal management processes, which rely on well-worn practices of broad screening and heavy use of staff attorneys. Instead, the article encourages consideration of a broader array of reform possibilities with the primary aim of promoting justice instead of the lesser goal of judicial efficiency
College Students’ Recent Dating Violence Experiences and Reactions to a Campus Bystander Intervention Program for Preventing Dating Violence
No full textExposure to dating violence (DV) in the past year may relate to how individuals respond to violence prevention programs. The current study investigated associations between the frequency of recent DV exposure with positive emotions, negative cognitions, engagement with the bystander program, bystander efficacy, and bystander intentions after viewing TakeCARE, a bystander intervention program. College students (N = 398) across the United States completed questionnaires about emotions, cognitions, bystander efficacy, and bystander intentions before and after viewing TakeCARE; they also completed questionnaires about their behavioral, cognitive, and affective engagement after viewing TakeCARE. The majority of students identified as cisgender woman (78.1%) and White (66.6%). Multiple regression analyses, supported by qualitative analyses, indicated DV frequency was unrelated to negative emotions, negative cognitions, bystander efficacy, and bystander intentions after viewing TakeCARE. In contrast, DV frequency was related to greater levels of positive emotions after viewing TakeCARE. Results for the association between exposure to DV and engagement with TakeCARE were mixed. Overall, the findings suggest individuals with greater recent exposure to DV tend to have similar or more positive reactions to TakeCARE than individuals with less exposure to DV
From Criminalizing China to Criminalizing the Chinese
Get PDFMany scholars have studied the racialization of Asian Americans and found that perpetual foreignness stands at the core of their ascriptive identity. This identity was formed in the 19th century and is also closely related to the dominant society’s racial understanding of ‘the Chinese’—which refers, for the purposes of this article, to people of actual or perceived Chinese descent in the United States. This article investigates this racialization process, with a contemporary lens: What does perpetual foreignness mean to the Chinese in the 21st century?This Article argues that, for the Chinese, their foreignness in today’s United States means more than just otherness, inferiority, and inassimilability; instead, the Chinese foreignness has acquired an additional specific meaning: the unquestionable linkage to China, the United States’ most significant geopolitical challenger.This Article uses the U.S. Department of Justice’s failed China Initiative to investigate this new ascriptive identity of the Chinese and argues that the geopolitical tension between China and the United States. plays a vital role in this change. As the United States’ most significant challenger in geopolitics, China has taken a central role in the racial understanding of the Chinese in the 21st century. To many non-Chinese Americans, the Chinese are more than just foreigners who are culturally associated with a far away, inferior oriental country as they were perceived in the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, they are a suspect race who possess an unbreakable linkage to China, the dangerous perpetrator in geopolitics. In short, today, the Chinese are not just foreign; they are foreign perpetrators. This new ascriptive identity of the Chinese resonates with the differential racialization tenet of the Critical Race Theory that the dominant society racializes different minority groups at different times in response to shifting needs and interests.How the United States views China has a direct impact on how Americans view the Chinese. Since China will likely remain the United States’ geopolitical challenger, this article predicts that the foreign perpetrator identity will be attached to the Chinese community in the foreseeable future
Unveiling the Dark Side of Innovation: Sustainability, Cobalt Mining, and Modern-Day Slavery
Get PDFAs the need and demand for sustainability come to the forefront of innovative efforts by technology companies, the use of rechargeable batteries has only become more prominent. A critical mineral in the manufacture of such batteries is cobalt. Looking deeper into how manufacturers get their hands on cobalt exposes the troubling cobalt-mining practices largely taking place within the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This article dives into the underbelly of the cobalt-mining industry, revealing the egregious human-rights abuses occurring in the DRC and examining the current legal and ethical landscape surrounding cobalt mining around the world. In both small-scale artisanal mines and larger industrial mines, child labor, physical and verbal abuse, and non-livable, low wages are commonplace. As the mines expand, and the land, homes, and farms of Congolese residents are destroyed in the process, Congolese people wind up with little to no choice but to work in the mines. This article addresses how current legislation and initiatives in the United States and internationally miss the mark in responding to the increasing volume of problems in the DRC’s cobalt mines, and how past cases involving human rights abuses in the supply chains of United States companies have panned out. Finally, this article emphasizes the need for change and reform as innovation efforts continue to increase worldwide
Systemic Racism Transformed To Shalom Justice.
Get PDFABSTRACT
April 27, 2024
SYSTEMIC RACISM TRANSFORMED TO SHALOM JUSTICE
This study examines the pervasive culture of systemic racism in the church and non-church communities and its impact on America. It argues how culture and systemic racism impact marginalized people (particularly African Americans and brown people) through policies and systems related to money, employment, education, health care, etc. Providing a description or argument for systemic racism formation offers a historical context of changes to shalom justice (society race in the image of God), relational and unilateral power with, power to, power within transformation from injustice to Shalom justice. An exploration of how to change from injustice (systemic racism) institutions to Shalom justice institutions that will benefit all people needs to be studied. The crucial role of the church and non-church community is transforming systemic racism institutions into Shalom justice institutions for all marginalized people. Amos’ rationale statement is, “But let justice roll on like a river, righteous like a never-failing stream (Amos 5:24). Biblical scriptures are about Shalom justice, which is all about public justice. This includes politics, economics, and religion.
An analysis of the Old Testament scriptures shows how the formation of systemic racism might have been legitimized as false truths. For example, “separate but equal” for Egyptians would not eat in the same room with Israelites. Joseph, his brothers, and the Egyptians were served in different rooms. Scriptures were studied where Shalom had prophets like Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel Hosea, and Jeremiah speak about doing justice (mishpat). The scriptures gave examples of how to use judgment, laws, or the divine to turn injustice into justice. The focus was reading and studying New Testament scriptures on Jesus\u27 interaction with justice and injustice. The one strategy to bring about justice was to have a relationship with God, yourself, your neighbor, and creation through the spirit of love. Ultimately, the study affirms that every human was created in the image of Shalom and can contribute to actualizing a more just and equitable society. Shalom created the process for humans to build a relationship with God when Shalom blew the breath of life (spirit) into the lifeless human body. Once the process was separated by sin, Jesus Christ repaired the process by his death and resurrection
Enhancing Imputation Accuracy: A Multi-Faceted Approach for Missing Data in Chicago Arrest Records
Get PDFThis paper introduces a novel approach to enhance the imputation process for missing data, utilizing crime records from Chicago with arrests as the target feature. Robust imputation techniques are crucial in the era of burgeoning datasets for generating reliable insights. Our core objective is to present an innovative method that improves imputation techniques, augmenting model performance and bolstering the reliability of analytical outcomes. Leveraging numeric crime data, we establish a Gradient Boosting (GBM) baseline model, then introduce ensemble methods including Random Forest and Decision Trees for further refinement. By systematically exploring multiple imputation processes, we establish a baseline for comparative analysis, enabling precise measurement of efficacy. Inspired by existing literature, our imputation process elevates performance metrics and provides actionable insights. This study addresses broader challenges in data imputation, particularly in crime data analysis in urban settings like Chicago. Throughout, we document our methodology, experimentation, and findings, highlighting the effectiveness of ensemble techniques coupled with GBM in addressing data imputation challenges. Our research aims to empower practitioners and researchers with enhanced decision-making capabilities and analytical prowess in data-rich environments
Taxing Composite Transactions
Get PDFIn a variety of contexts, taxpayers engage in composite transactions—essentially two transactions in one. For instance, when an individual sells property for less than its fair market value to a friend or relative, the transaction involves a sale and a gift. As another example, from time to time, retailers run promotions offering to rebate the price of merchandise if a team wins a sporting event. A buyer of the merchandise, effectively, makes a purchase and also places a bet on the sporting event’s outcome.
Tax law’s treatment of composite transactions is not uniform. In some contexts tax law fully bifurcates these transactions into their separate components. Under this bifurcated approach, a taxpayer who engages in a composite transaction receives the same tax treatment as a taxpayer who goes through the motions of engaging in the component transactions separately. In other contexts, tax law adopts a collapsed approach under which taxpayers obtain markedly different tax treatment by engaging in a composite transaction instead of carrying out the components as separate transactions. In other contexts, tax law employs a hybrid approach that partially disentangles a composite transaction into its separate components but, nonetheless, bestows upon the composite transaction tax treatment that is not identical to what follows from engaging in the components as separate transactions. In addition to the existing approaches to composite transactions, other hypothetical approaches are possible.
Each existing approach and each conceivable alternative offers various advantages and disadvantages when judged in terms of the approach’s propensity to reduce tax revenue, the approach’s tendency to trap unwary taxpayers while benefiting well-advised taxpayers, the likelihood that the approach will prompt taxpayers to alter their transactions for tax reasons, and the administrability of the approach.
This Article undertakes an examination of composite transactions, evaluating advantages and disadvantages of different approaches. In addition, this Article presents new survey results that shed light on the counterintuitive nature of current law
Cooperative Federalism and the Digital Tax Impasse
Get PDFThe digital economy is changing faster than the law can respond and has challenged legal systems worldwide. In the tax space, the digital economy has undermined traditional tax systems in ways that have created significant tax compliance and enforcement challenges, substantial tax revenue losses, and unwarranted distortions in the market between digital and traditional transactions. These problems are well recognized both in the legal literature and in the public sphere. Unfortunately, the legal reforms that are needed in this space have been slowed by a combination of technical, conceptual, and political impediments. This Article focuses on the digital tax landscape at the U.S. subnational level to demonstrate how those factors are preventing meaningful legal reform and why a novel approach to tax reform may be successful in breaking the current impasse.
The difficulty of reform is particularly problematic in the tax context because reform ideally includes multijurisdictional uniformity on fundamental aspects like tax bases, the characterization of digital income, and sourcing rules. Legal reform is complicated enough on a unilateral basis. Asking for uniformity in those reforms across jurisdictions can seem all but impossible. To respond to these issues, many scholars apply a fiscal federalism lens to evaluate whether reform responsibility is better assigned to the U.S. federal government rather than to the states themselves. However, this Article disagrees that the digital tax impasse will be fixed through state or federal efforts alone. Instead, we argue that the conditions in this area of the law may require policymakers to explore a cooperative federalism framework. A cooperative federalism structure represents a middle-ground solution where Congress could use its resources to incentivize interstate uniformity but leave the substantive tax rulemaking to the states. This targeted type of federal intervention would better harness the strengths of both the federal and state governments, preserve state tax sovereignty, and overcome many of the shortcomings of past digital tax reform efforts
Horizontal Acquisitions of Growth Potential
No full textWe analyze the operating performance of horizontal acquisitions between firms that differ in their growth potential: 1) low-potential firms that buy targets with high potential; and 2) high-potential firms that buy low potential targets. These two types of acquisition have been the topic of research at three levels of analysis: the industry, the firm, and the transaction. At the industry level, incumbents in the core and innovative startups in the periphery are presumed to have complementary assets managed more effectively through co-ownership. In this vein, studies have focused chiefly on incumbents buying startups. We redress this imbalance. At the firm level, research on real options for growth has examined how multi-business firms exploit their relatedness in entry and exit decisions. Here, we study growth potential in terms of real options in horizontal deals and analyze their effect on post-acquisition performance. At the transaction level, a number of studies have focused on post-acquisition structure and the transfer of knowledge between incumbents and startups. We expand this research by estimating the presumed flow of growth potential capabilities in both High-Low and Low-High deals. Our method uses a Difference-in-Differences fixed effect model design with Coarsened Exact Matching and Kernel-weighted Propensity Score Matching among comparable firm pairs to measure synergy and to control for endogeneity and portfolio effects using data on U.S. firms over thirty years. We also use a novel accounting adjustment formula to calculate comparable post-M&A operating performance