Politics

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra F. Sperino ◽  
Suja A. Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Law ◽  
Federal Judges

Politics might be a reason for the current state of discrimination law. Republicans may want to protect employers’ interests. Democrats may want to protect workers’ interests. Thus, federal judges appointed by Republican Presidents may skew discrimination law in favor of employers, and federal judges appointed by Presidents from the Democratic Party may decide the law to favor workers. This chapter shows how some judges have acted in this partisan way to limit discrimination law. This chapter also shows that the simple dichotomy often fails to explain what is happening in actual cases. Some judges do not discretely fall into categories for or against the discrimination laws. Some employers also do not.

Second Looks at Sentences under the First Step Act

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-85
Author(s):  
Sarah French Russell
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Length ◽  
Sentencing Decisions ◽  
Second Look ◽  
The People ◽  
The Law ◽  
Supervised Release ◽  
Federal Prisoners ◽  
Federal Judges ◽  
The Impact

Under the First Step Act of 2018, federal prisoners may now petition courts directly for reduction of their sentences, and judges may grant such requests if “extraordinary and compelling reasons” support reduction. Judges are also in the process of imposing reduced sentences in thousands of cases where the First Step Act has retroactively reduced statutory penalties. Not only does the First Step Act offer prisoners new opportunities for sentence reduction, but the law also may change how federal judges understand the impact of their sentencing decisions. Before now, in federal cases, judges rarely had the chance to take a second look at the prison sentences they (or their colleagues) imposed. Encounters between judges and the people they sentenced typically occurred only if a person violated the terms of supervised release after leaving prison. Now, judges can reassess sentence length while someone is still in prison and evaluate whether a reduction in the sentence is warranted. This newfound power allows judges to see their sentencing decisions in a new light and may influence how they conceive of the prison time they impose in future cases.

Catholic Thought and Intellectual Property: Learning from the Ethics of Obligation

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 415-451 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriel J. Michael
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Twelfth Century ◽  
Ethical Obligation ◽  
Medical Technologies ◽  
Sick Person ◽  
Current State ◽  
Alive Today ◽  
The Law ◽  
Ethical Obligations

The twelfth century canon lawyer Gratian once wrote “Feed the man dying of hunger, because if you have not fed him you have killed him.” If Gratian were alive today, he might take a look at the current state of global health and say, “Succor the woman dying of disease, because if you have not helped her you have killed her.” Both of these statements express an ethical obligation: if I have food, and someone else who is hungry does not, I am obligated to share my food. Likewise, if I have medicine, and someone else who is sick does not, I am obligated to share my medicine.Unfortunately, with regard to medicines and other essential products, modern institutions of intellectual property often fail to enforce or even recognize such ethical obligations. In some ways, these institutions uphold an even harsher attitude toward intellectual property than other types of property. With food, even if the hungry person receives no bread, he is still permitted to produce his own. With medicines, medical technologies, and other types of goods that are protected by institutions of intellectual property, the law can and often does prevent the sick person from producing her own.

scholarly journals Patriarchy and the Law of Adoption: Beneath the Best Interests of the Child

1997 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 1035 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrysha Bracco
Keyword(s):  
Child Development ◽  
Attachment Theory ◽  
Nuclear Family ◽  
Current System ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Feminist Analysis ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Law ◽  
Psychoanalytic Theories ◽  
Over Time

This article explores the nature of adoption, its history and how it has evolved into the current system of Canadian adoption law. Originally adoption existed to serve the interests of the adopting family. Over time there was a shift in attitude, such that adoption was intended to serve the best interests of the child The author questions the current state of the law, its practices and whether it really serves those whom it is intended to serve. The article critically examines the nuclear family, which the author asserts is at the heart of Canadian adoption law. Finally, there is a brief presentation of psychoanalytic theories of child development which includes an examination of Freud, attachment theory and feminist analysis. This discussion helps both to explain the current system and to challenge its validity. The author raises important questions about the current state of adoption law and its foundations.

scholarly journals Introduction: cultivation, medication, activism and cannabis policy

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Bone ◽  
Gary Potter ◽  
Axel Klein
Keyword(s):  
Policy Change ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Illicit Drug ◽  
Home Production ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Law ◽  
Cannabis Policy ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue on Illicit Cannabis Cultivation in a Time of Policy Change. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews some of the different adaptations made by cannabis growers in countries where cannabis has not been legalised. Findings Cannabis growers are adjusting to different legal settings by focusing on home production. Participation in cultivation is a crime, but can also be activism: an effort to change the law. Medical use of cannabis is a particularly important driver here. Having to break the law to alleviate symptoms and treat illnesses provides both a greater sense of urgency and a level of sympathy not usually granted to illicit drug users. Practical implications Grass-roots advocacy may drive policy change. Originality/value This is an original assessment of current state of knowledge on cannabis cultivation in countries where cannabis cultivation remains restricted.

Determining the Boundaries Between Valid, Void and ‘Non-Qualifying’ Marriages: Past, Present and Future?

2020 ◽  
pp. 15-26
Author(s):  
Rebecca Probert
Keyword(s):  
Current State ◽  
The Law ◽  
Correct Understanding

This chapter explores the development of different categories of marriage: non, void and valid. It argues that it is crucial to understand the evolution of the concept of ‘non-marriage’ in order to appreciate its legal necessity today in light of the current state of the law. It also suggests that a correct understanding the evolution of this category of marriage will enable reform to minimise the likelihood of a wedding either resulting in a void marriage or no marriage at all. Finally, it proposes options for reform.

1. Introduction

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Deakin ◽  
Angus Johnston ◽  
Basil Markesinis
Keyword(s):  
Tort Law ◽  
Individual Responsibility ◽  
Current State ◽  
English Law ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Tort Claims

This introductory chapter first reviews the current state of the law of tort. It discusses the increase in tort claims due to our greater ability to cause more and greater harm and our reduced willingness to put up with the normal vicissitudes of life. It considers the law of individual responsibility. It suggests that tort law is becoming by the day a more complex set of rules than it ever was, where national law mixes with legal ideas emanating from foreign jurisdictions. Tort law rules are also becoming intermingled with those from other branches of English law. The second part of the chapter discusses the relationship between tort and contract.

Dangerous liaisons: new developments in the law of defective premises

Legal Studies ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-416
Author(s):  
Carl F Stychin
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Tort Law ◽  
Duty Of Care ◽  
New Developments ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Cost

In 1995, the highest courts in two Commonwealth jurisdictions - Canada and Australia - squarely faced the issue of the liability of builders of defective and, in the case of the Canadian Supreme Court, dangerous premises in tort.’ The determination in both cases that the builders were liable to the remote purchasers for the cost of repair, based on a duty of care owed to them, can be contrasted to the current state of tort law in this country dealing with defective and dangerous premises. In fact, the articulation of the reasons why a duty of care was imposed in these cases - as reflecting considerations both of principle and policy - provides a more compelling analysis than has been seen to date in the British law of negligence.

The State of the Law on Euthanasia in Kenya

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Moni Wekesa ◽  
Martin Awori
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Case Law ◽  
The State ◽  
Right To Die ◽  
Criminal Offence ◽  
Dual Effect ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Law ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
The Right

The general position of the law on euthanasia worldwide is that all states recognise their duty to preserve life. Courts in various jurisdictions have refused to interpret the 'right to life' or the 'right to dignity' to also include the 'right to die'. Instead, they have held that the state has a duty to protect life. Three categories can however be noted. At one extreme are those countries that have totally criminalised any appearance of euthanasia. In the middle are countries that prohibit what appears to be active euthanasia while at the same time tolerating 'dual-effect' treatment and withdrawal of artificial feeding. At the other extreme are countries that allow euthanasia. Even in this last category of countries, there are stringent guidelines embedded in the law to prevent a situation of 'free for all'. Anecdotal evidence, some empirical studies and case law seem to suggest that euthanasia goes on in many countries irrespective of the law. Euthanasia is a criminal offence in Kenya. However, there have been no empirical studies to ascertain whether euthanasia goes on in spite of the law. This article surveys the current state of the practice of euthanasia globally and narrows down to elaborate on the state of affairs in Kenya.

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