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The article discusses digital evidence and the history pf private "papers" as special objects of search and seizure in America as of January 2013, focusing on the impact of technology on evidence law in the U.S., as well as information on general warrants and state search and seizure provisions prior to the establishment of the U.S. Constitution (USC). The Fourth Amendment to the USC is addressed, along with probable cause and the U.S. Supreme Court case Boyd v. United States. American common law and constitutional protections in the U.S. are examined.

The article focuses on the precedent formed in the U.S. Supreme Court case New York Times Co. versus (v.) United States, also known as (aka) the Pentagon Papers. It states that the actions by Julian Assange in the unauthorized issuance of classified data are a ploy to earn notoriety for WikiLeaks, which is his website. It says that restrictions on free press and on free speech are not new. It says that the case hinges on two free speech established tests, such as imminent lawless action and a present and clear danger.

One of the most interesting developments in patent law during the last century is the catastrophic collapse of the paper patent doctrine, which had authorized courts to discriminate against patents that were never successfully practiced by their patentees. The doctrine's demise opened the door for the dramatic and controversial rise in patent litigation by "nonpracticing entities" or "patent trolls "—entities that, in the words of President Obama, "don't actually produce anything themselves." This Article undertakes a comprehensive review of this lost doctrine and shows that the doctrine took a balanced approach, hurting patentees who never developed their technologies but helping those who had. The doctrine declined because it could not be reconciled with the theoretically impoverished views about information disclosure embraced by courts of the late twentieth century. With the advent of more sophisticated theories about the value of learning-by-doing and, more generally, about the problems associated with generating and disseminating information, the paper patent doctrine now has what it lacked in the past—a solid theory for favoring patents that were taught not just through paper disclosure but also by real-world practice. This Article concludes that the paper patent doctrine should be revived and that existing case law provides a sufficient foundation for a revival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European desire to ensure that bearers of EU rights are adequately compensated for any infringement of these rights, particularly in cases where the harm is widely diffused, and perhaps not even noticed by those affected by it, collides with another desire: to avoid the perceived excesses of an American-style system of class actions. The excesses of these American class actions are in European discourse presented as a sort of bogeyman, which is a source of irrational fear, often presented by parental or other authority figures. But when looked at critically, the bogeyman disappears. In this paper, I examine the European (and UK) proposals for collective action. I compare them to the American regime. The flaws and purported excesses of the American regime, I argue, are exaggerated. A close, objective examination of the American regime shows this. I conclude that it is not the mythical bogeyman of a US class action that is the barrier to effective collective redress; rather, the barriers to effective, wide-ranging group actions lie within European legal culture and traditions, particularly those mandating individual control over litigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the California's Supreme Court case Save the Plastic Bag Coalition v. City of Manhattan Beach, wherein it was held that the City of Manhattan Beach acted within its discretion in order to approve the plastic bag ban on the basis of a Negative Declaration (ND), rather than a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The court sided with the plaintiff, Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, on the issue of corporate standing under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

The article discusses a court case of Womack v. Orchids Paper Products Co. 401(k) Savings Plan as decided by the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Oklahoma based on the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The breach of fiduciary duty, regulation of financial markets and investor protection are discussed. The importance of trust relationships, issues related to suspicion in public and social capital are also discussed.

Reports the complexity of patent claim interpretation laws of the United States. Decisions of the Federal court on IMS Technology, Inc. versus Haas Automation, Inc.; Comments on the decision for Kemco Sales versus Control Papers; Discussion on a non-uniform standard for means-plus-function claims assessment.

Recently, an SEC administrative judge suspended the Big Four accounting firms' China affiliates from practicing before the SEC for six months, citing the firms' refusal to turn over audit work papers requested by the SEC. This decision has since sparked a debate over the SEC's authority to access foreign audit work papers when those documents are stored in jurisdictions that restrict or prohibit their transfer without authorities' prior approval. In this Note, I trace the legislative history defining the SEC's everexpanding power to access foreign audit work papers with a focus on section 106(e) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. I also map out the development of the violation of non-U.S. laws defense that accounting firms frequently assert to counter the SEC's document requests. Against this background, I will argue that the administrative law judge's interpretation of section 106(e) is seriously flawed. It may lead to untenable results that could be contrary to Congress's intent and are certainly against the purposes of the SEC's own disciplinary proceedings. Drawing upon the federal courts' long-time jurisprudence in handling extraterritorial discovery disputes in civil litigations, I propose an alternative analytical framework that embraces a "good faith" defense to balance the SEC's need to access foreign audit work papers with a foreign country's authority to regulate its accounting profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congress created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to effectuate the ends of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. To effectuate those ends, Congress vested the EEOC with authority to not only receive, investigate, and conciliate charges of employment discrimination, but also to enforce Title VII against private employers who discriminate by initiating suit against them. After the EEOC receives a charge of employment discrimination, it must, after completing an investigation, attempt to conciliate the charge with a private employer accused of discrimination before initiating suit. The EEOC's "duty to conciliate is at the heart of Title VII," so a critical question arises when the EEOC appears to violate its duty by, for instance, making egregious demands of an employer: what is the proper standard for reviewing whether the agency has satisfied its statutory duty to conciliate? The federal circuit courts of appeals are split between two standards of review-the deferential and the stringent standards of review. This Comment argues that the deferential standard of review is inadequate to protect private employers from the EEOC's potential abuse of its statutory duty. Rather, the stringent standard is the proper standard, and it is consistent with the text, purpose, legislative history, and jurisprudence of Title VII. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Supreme Court's announcement that it would hear two personal jurisdiction cases last Term raised the hope that it would clarify an area of doctrine that has been unclear for 20 years. The Court's decision on general jurisdiction satisfied those expectations at least in part. The Court's specific personal jurisdiction decision, by contrast, only made things worse. This essay provides a critical analysis of the Nicastro decision on specific personal jurisdiction. Part Two surveys some of the history of personal jurisdiction doctrine, with an emphasis on the tension between rules and standards. Part Three grapples with Nicastro and its possible meanings and concludes that Nicastro undermines much of the understanding (such as it was) that shaped the last thirty-plus years of personal jurisdiction doctrine. Part Four suggests an approach to personal jurisdiction based in state interests and relative burdens--one that takes federalism seriously yet at the same time would uphold more assertions of jurisdiction. Part Five turns to a different topic: the rhetoric of Justice Kennedy's and Justice Breyer's opinions. Justice Kennedy repeatedly insisted that personal jurisdiction is about "submission " to sovereign (judicial) authority, and I consider some of the ramifications of this claim, particularly in relationship to Justice Kennedy's opinions in other cases. For his part, Justice Breyer provided examples of people over whom he thought personal jurisdiction would be inappropriate. These examples rest on a set of assumptions about national and regional characteristics, as well as a conception about jurisdiction that assumes a sharp distinction between periphery and metropole. His approach, in other words, rests on a different, more cosmopolitan, but perhaps also more disturbing, idea of sovereignty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents author's views on the corporate defense counsel and the requirement of protection for German and other foreign companies against trials in the U.S. courts. The lack of lis pendens rule in the global litigation landscape and the need of widening the declaratory judgment in judicial system are discussed. He also mentions about the traditional wisdom of American litigation in Europe.

The article focuses on copyright issues and the legal basis of scholarly publishers on copyright claims. It explores the Copyright Act, explains the copyright ownership of works created by university faculty members and cites cases resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court including the case of Community for Creative Non-Violence (CCNV) non-profit organization and the case of Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance Inc. and Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance Inc. It cites the application of the Copyright Act to faculty-created works analyzing policies such as those that are selectively disclaiming copyrights and those purporting transfer of copyrights. It also notes university copyright implications and recommends the exercise of university rights on public access to scholarly works.

The author discusses the structure and the logic of proofs in trials. He considers various approaches to developing a theory of the law of evidence and proof. He addresses the role of ontology in examining juridical proof in the U.S. He explores the case of humanity writ large and the case of humanity taken singly.

The article explores the statutory shrinking and stretching of the Emergency Medical and Labor Treatment Act (EMTALA) through judicial decisions in the U.S. It discusses the lack of substantive screening requirements put on hospitals and decide how the statutory erodes the Hippocratic Oath has threatened patients. It critiques the decision of the Supreme Court in Roberts v. Galen and asks whether it flies in the Congressional aim's face.

This article presents legal developments in marketing relating to the regulation of monopolistic methods. Regarding market control, a merger report from W. T. Grimm & Co. is discussed, including details of the United States Federal Trade Commission's (FTC's) annual report on the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act pertaining to corporate mergers. Regarding collusive practices, the case of Continental Cablevision of Ohio v. American Electric Power Co. is discussed, involving the exchange of price information between competitors. Regarding market exclusion tactics, the case Pacific Stationery v. Northwest Wholesale Stationers is discussed, in which the expulsion of a member of an office suppliers' co-operative was deemed an illegal boycott under the Sherman Act.

This paper reviews the court-released discovery documents obtained from litigation against Monsanto over its herbicide Roundup and through Freedom of Information Act requests (requests to regulatory agencies and public universities in the United States). We sought evidence of corporate malfeasance and undisclosed conflicts of interest with respect to issues of scientific integrity. The findings include evidence of ghostwriting, interference in journal publication, and undue influence of a federal regulatory agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the US and the Netherlands have been on opposing sides of the spectrum regarding climate litigation. Dutch courts, in several revolutionary climate cases, have been an arena of societal change, whilst climate claims in the US have been largely unsuccessful. In a way this difference seems strange, because the US judiciary has the power of constitutional review, whilst the Dutch judiciary does not. Against that background, this paper extensively compares the doctrines of judicial competence regarding political questions in both jurisdictions. As a comparative framework, this paper uses three judicial phases, namely: the institutional phase, the substantial phase, and the remedial phase. Climate litigation reveals that the Dutch doctrine of judicial competence is focused on the substantial and remedial phases, which has allowed it more freedom in reviewing climate litigation. On the other hand, climate litigation reveals that the US doctrine of judicial competence is focused on a strict institutional phase, dominated by the Political Question Doctrine (PQD). The main contribution of this paper to the constitutional debate is that climate litigation reveals fundamental differences in doctrines of judicial competence. This is not only an important takeaway for future climate litigation, but also, in terms of the Radbruch formula, for other potential gaps between the executive and justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that one of the authors of two plant biology papers that were retracted last year is suing the senior author who withdrew the papers. She is alleging that her former lab chief threatened to ruin her career and then did so with the retractions. In notices published almost a year ago, Daniel Klessig of the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research in Ithaca, New York, and several colleagues said they were retracting two papers, which described a new plant enzyme and had appeared in Cell and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, because they had been unable to reproduce certain results. The retraction notices, however, were not approved or signed by the first author on both papers, Meena Chandok. Chandok has now launched a legal counterattack. In late August, she filed a civil lawsuit in a U.S. district court in Syracuse, New York, seeking more than $1 million in punitive and compensatory damages from Klessig. Among other claims in her lawsuit, Chandok alleges that after she resigned from the lab in March 2004, Klessig threatened to press misconduct charges and withhold support for her visa-extension application if she didn't help him with further research on the enzyme.

Focuses on the cases related to commercial paper, bank deposits and collection and letters of credit in the United States. Charge to overdrafts of customers; Comments concerning electronic transfers federal statutes; Involvement of allege oral agreements, oral representations and oral discussions.

Researcher John Kindt suggests that the progressive ideal has been a myth in the area of legalized gambling. Kindt has taken the bold step of predicting that in the future the gambling industry will be held financially liable by the states for the social and economic impact of gambling. Kindt correctly observes that the growth of gambling in the U.S. over the last 25 years has been explosive, and that state governments have been lax and uninformed in their decisions to legalize various forms of gambling. The parallels between the Tobacco Industry model and the recent South Carolina experience with legalized gambling are striking. In South Carolina, the opposing pro- and anti-gambling political forces that had been fighting over the legality of video gambling in South Carolina since 1986 reached a compromise when, on July 1, 1993 the legislature enacted the Video Game Machines Act. The South Carolina experience also illustrates that sometimes even clearly defined laws and rules make no difference in the conduct of gambling activity, and lends support to Kindt's criticism of the role of the government in this troubled area.

Examines the Code for commercial paper in the United States. Inclusion of the Code; Details on the Philadelphia Title Ins. Co. versus Fidelity-Philadelphia Trust Co. case; Court ruling over the case of Park State Bank against Arena Auto Auction, Inc.

The main point of this paper is an important one: that it is the marginal cost of litigation, not the absolute cost, which determines the cost- minimizing amount of auditor effort. While this observation, as stated, seems obvious, it is by no means immediately obvious that joint and several liability would provide smaller incentives for auditors to exert effort than proportionate liability. The paper illustrates a pitfall we face when our intuition and our models ignore the complexities of the institutions they encounter. In the case of this paper, Narayanan shows that it is not enough to represent one liability regime as imposing a higher level of liability than the other and make judgments from that viewpoint By including the institutional feature of comparative negligence and recognizing that joint and several and proportionate liability differ only when one defendant is insolvent, Narayanan creates enough institutional richness in his model to overturn conclusions that would have been reached based on the level of liability alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]