Bryant on Faigman's "Constitutional Fictions"

A. Christopher Bryant has written a review of David Faigman's book, Constitutional Fictions: A Unified Theory of Constitutional Facts, at 25 Constitutional Commentary 467 (2009).

Faigman on Apples and Oranges in Scientific Evidence

David Faigman has published "Evidentiary Incommensurability: A Preliminary Exploration of the Problem of Reasoning from General Scientific Data to Individualized Legal Decision Making," 75 Brooklyn L. Rev. 1115 (2010). The article may be viewed within a downloadable PDF of the law review.

Bloch on Learning Pathways and Legal Education

Kate Bloch has published an article, "Cognition and Star Trek: Learning and Legal Education," 42 John Marshall L. Rev. 959 (2009), in which she applies insights from cognitive science research to legal education. The four cognitive science insights she uses are: (1) "active learning"; (2) the value of stories; (3) the pivotal role of the visual pathway; and (4) personalizing presentation style to increase learning. The article is available from HeinOnline.

Bloch on the Models of Restorative Justice

Kate Bloch has published an article titled, "Reconceptualizing Restorative Justice," 7 Hastings Race & Poverty L. J. 201 (Winter 2010)(available from HeinOnline). This article sets forth two models of restorative justice, a "classic" version and a "hybrid" version. The "classic" version serves as a substitute for or part of an offender's court sentence, whereas that is not true of the "hybrid" version. The "hybrid" version contains a heavy dose of educational and rehabilitative programming, which may not be required in a "classic" version of restorative justice. Kate ultimately concludes that some combination of these approaches can, at least in some circumstances, "reduce recidivism and leave those involved with a greater sense of satisfaction with the justice process."

Bloch on Neuroscience and Sentencing

Kate Bloch has published an article titled, "Changing the Topography of Sentencing," 7 Hastings Race & Poverty L. J. 185 (Winter 2010)(available from HeinOnline). Kate argues that "neuroscientific approaches to addressing the underlying motivating factors that incline offenders to commit crime, and return them again and again into the correctional system, merit our sustained attention."

Lee on Judicial Restraint

Evan Lee has published a book titled, Judicial Restraint in America: How the Ageless Wisdom of the Federal Courts Was Invented (Oxford University Press). Here is the blurb written by the noted legal historian, Edward A. Purcell, Jr.:

Highlighting the importance of changing social contexts and judicial values, this thoughtful and illuminating study traces the complex shifts that marked the evolutino of standing doctrines in the Supreme Court's jurisprudence and identifies some of the unexpected consequences that those new formulations brought. Demonstrating that modern Article III standing doctrine was a product not of the Constitution or the Marshall Court but of Justice Louis D. Brandeis and the early twentieth-century, it demonstrates the essential irrelevance of originalist theories to a clear understanding of this important area of American constitutional law.

Dodge on Withdrawing from Customary International Law

Bill Dodge has published an article called "Withdrawing from Customary International Law: Some Lessons From History," 120 Yale L. J. Online 169 (2010), http://yalelawjournal.org/2010/12/17/dodge.html. In this article, Bill argues that the "default view" of customary international law -- which permitted nations to withdraw unilaterally from some international law rules upon proper notice -- was never the dominant understanding, and furthermore, it ought to have no part in the future of international law.

Bonorris on Cap and Trade

Steven Bonorris has published an op-ed in the December 2, 2010, issue of The Recorder, making the case for cap-and-trade.