Yale Law Journal Yale Law Journal
-
- News
Members of the Law School's renowned faculty and distinguished legal experts and scholars from around the world share their views on philosophical and practical issues related to law and justice in this collection from the Yale Law Journal.
-
Curing Congress's Ills: Criminal Law as the Wrong Paradigm for Congressional Ethics?
In this Commentary, Josh Chafetz responds to Paul M. Thompson's criticisms of his proposal for a Congressional ethics oversight body. Chafetz argues that Thompson's position relies on the inapplicable paradigm of criminal law as a model for ethics enforcement. Instead, Chafetz claims, "Congressional ethics is not simply about punishing rulebreakers; rather, it aims to promote public trust in Congress and its members." Under this framework, "it is clear not only that our current system is in shambles, but also that the creation of Congressional Commissioners would be a useful corrective."
-
First Do No Harm: Why a Commissioner for Standards Is Unhealthy for the American Body Politic
In this Commentary, Paul M. Thompson argues that Josh Chafetz's proposal for a Congressional ethics oversight board is unnecessary. Contrary to Chafetz, Thompson argues that recent ethics scandals are signs that a system that is functioning well.
-
Taking States out of the Workplace
In this Commentary, Jeffrey M. Hirsch argues for the elimination of state authority to regulate the workplace. Read by Christopher L. Griffin.
-
Postmortem Rights of Publicity: The Federal Estate Tax Consequences of New State-Law Property Rights
In this Commentary, Mitchell M. Gans, Bridget J. Crawford & Jonathan G. Blattmachr observe that new state laws establishing descendible rights of publicity may have unforeseen federal estate tax consequences. Read by Seth Hanlon.
-
Emerging Issues in State Law
Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard of the Indiana Supreme Court and Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court discuss emerging issues in state law from the role of the academy in state judicial decision-making to the practical challenges facing state judiciaries.
Moderated by Embry Kidd, editor, The Yale Law Journal. -
State Court Reform of the American Jury
Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard discusses the leading role that state courts have taken in efforts to reform our historic jury system.