Supreme Court Opinions in the Same-Sex Marriage Cases

This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court released two opinions related to same-sex marriage.

United States v. Windsor (Defense of Marriage Act)

In United States v. Windsor, Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion finding that the federal Defense of Marriage Act "is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal liberty persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment." The Defense of Marriage Act prevented Petitioner Edith Windsor from benefiting from the surviving spouse provisions of federal estate tax law.

That opinion as well as the dissents of Justices Roberts, Scalia, and Alito can be found here.

For further reading, here is a 2004 report prepared by the Government Accountability Office that lists all of the then 1,138 statutes affected by the Defense of Marriage Act.

Hollingsworth v. Perry (California's Proposition 8)

In the second case, Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Supreme Court refused to decide the issue of the constitutionality of Proposition 8, a 2008 California voter-passed initiative amending the California Constitution to define marriage as between "a man and a woman." Chief Justice Roberts, writing for the majority, explained that the court did not have the jurisdiction to decide the constitutionality of the law.

When California same-sex couples who wished to marry brought suit in federal district court to challenge Proposition 8, the California officials responsible for enforcing it (including then governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger) refused to defend the law. The District Court then  allowed the official Proposition 8 supporters to intervene and defend its constitutionality. After a bench trial, the District Court declared Proposition 8 unconstitutional, and the Ninth Circuit eventually affirmed this decision. The Supreme Court case hinged on the issue of the standing of these non-government officials to defend a state statute in federal court.

In today's opinion, Chief Justice Roberts reminded us that the Supreme Court has "never before upheld the standing of a private party to defend the constitutionality of a state statute when state officials have chosen not to." He went on further to say that "[w]e decline to do so for the first time here" and concluded that the Ninth Circuit did not have the jurisdiction to consider the original appeal, vacating its decision, and remanding it back to the Ninth Circuit with instructions to dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry, including the majority opinion of Chief Justice Roberts and a dissent by Justice Kennedy, can be found here. 

For further understanding of the procedural history of this case,  take a look at the original complaint in Perry et al. v. Schwarzenegger et al., filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. This and other documents filed in the District Court case can be found for free through RECAP, a service that archives publicly available documents filed in many federal courts and downloaded through PACER.

Studying for the bar exam? There's an app for that!

Congratulations to all those who just completed law school! With summer now in full swing, the post-commencement celebrations have waned, and recent graduates of UW School of Law are now hurling into the depths of bar exam study.

If you're studying for the bar exam, you've likely chosen a bar exam prep course by now, started outlining, committing the law to memory, and you may even have started to lose your mind completely as you begin to realize how much you feel you need to prepare for such an important, time consuming, and expensive exam.

Have no fear! There are tools for your smartphone, ipad, or tablet available to help you maximize the hours in the day. Since there is no "law" or "bar exam" category for searching for apps, however, it can be hard to track them down (and who has time for that in such acute circumstances?) We're here to help. Below are some apps available to help you tackle the bar exam.

Spreadsheet Horrors!

Law Technology News presents 9 Tips to Avoid Starring in a Spreadsheet Horror Story (June 18, 2013). (You might have to register on the site to see the story, but registration is free.)

Does "spreadsheet horror story" seem ridiculous? After all, spreadsheets are just a tool for crunching numbers and keeping track of data. Don't horror stories involve blood and guts or at least ghosts?

Mistakes from spreadsheets can indeed be very scary. To make the point, the European Spreadsheet Risks Interest Group (EuSpRIG) has posted spreadsheet horror stories. (An older list, with stories from 2006 and earlier, is here.) A few examples:

• April 2013: A student shows that spreadsheet errors skewed the results in an article by Harvard economists.
• Jan. 2012: A spreadsheet error leads to four Olympics events being oversold by 10,000 tickets.
• Dec. 2011: The admissions process for the Oxford history program was gummed up by errors entering test scores onto spreadsheets.
• Nov. 2011: A spreadsheet error made it falsely appear that a cement factory was polluting and owed a $350,000 fine.
• July 2011: An employee in Clallam County, WA, hides embezzlement by hiding spreadsheet rows.

The first tip for avoiding these nightmares is learning to use Excel (or some other spreadsheet program) well. The article's author (who is a consultant for Litéra Corp., which offers "content risk management solutions") recommends Mike Girvin's ExcellsFun YouTube channel, among other things. You can also take advantage of the training on Microsoft's site.

UW students, faculty, and staff have access to the Microsoft IT Academy at the UW. "The courses range from the very basics to expert to computer professional." UW Information Technology also offers free workshops on a variety of topics, including Intro to Microsoft Excel.

No matter how precise a spreadsheet appears, if you type in the wrong formula or the wrong numbers, you'll end up with bad results. Remember the old programmer's slogan: Garbage in, garbage out.

Happy Juneteenth!

Although Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865, the word that the war was over and the slaves were free didn't get to Galveston, Texas, until June 19, 1865. The anniversary has been celebrated as Juneteenth in many communities since then.

The Washington legislature recognized Juneteenth in 2007:

The legislature recognizes that on June 19, 1865, Union soldiers landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War had ended and the slaves were now free; that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863; that the end of slavery brought on new challenges and realities in establishing a previously nonexistent status for African-Americans in the United States; that racism and continued inequality is the legacy of slavery and acknowledging it is the first step in its eradication; and that since 1980 June 19th has been celebrated as Juneteenth across the United States as a day for people to come together in the spirit of reconciliation to commemorate the contributions of African-Americans to this country's history and culture.       

The legislature declares that an annual day of recognition be observed in remembrance of the day the slaves realized they were free as a reminder that individual rights and freedoms must never be denied.

Laws 2007, c 61 § 1 (codified in RCW 1.16.050).

Ralph Ellison's novel Juneteenth was published five years after his death, based on manuscripts in the Library of Congress.

"'There've been a heap of Juneteenths gone by and there'll be a heap more before we're free.' That's what Ellison was saying to every one of us."

—John F. Callahan, Ellison's literary executor, quoting a character in the book
The book is available in campus libraries (Suzzallo/Allen Stacks PS3555.L625 J86 1999, Tacoma, and Bothell).

See last year's Juneteenth post here.

Lexis Moves to a Single ID for Signing In to Both Systems

At the end of this week, Lexis Nexis is doing away with its two-ID sign on system. Currently, you access Lexis.com and Lexis Advance with separate IDs. Starting June 22, Lexis is turning off its Lexis.com IDs so users can sign in to both the Lexis Advance and Lexis.com legal research systems with only their Lexis Advance ID.

Are you a current University of Washington School of Law student, staff, or faculty member who doesn't yet have a Lexis Advance ID? Has the haze of summer already beset you, leaving you incapable of remembering such a seemingly trivial detail as whether you have a Lexis Advance ID? Fear not! You need only email our Lexis account executive, Aaron Meyers, with questions or ID requests.

Incoming students will receive their registration information during orientation in September.

Advice-a-rama

Lots of people have advice for entering students. Since the messages come from many people with many perspectives, you'll find they sometimes contradict each other (e.g., "always go to class prepared" versus "don't bother buying the casebook"). Obviously, you can't follow all the advice. But go ahead and take a look at it. Make some judgments about what makes sense and what will work for you.

Here's an assortment of advice to entering students from the Web. For an earlier collection, see our blog post, Advice for Entering Students, June 27, 2011.

Law professor Paul Horwitz's Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here; Or, My Advice to First-Years, PrawfsBlawg, Aug. 18, 2011, includes paragraphs on these points:

1. The Economy is Terrible.
2. You Are Enrolled in "Job-Hunting and the Law."  
3. It's Your Money and Your Degree. 
4. Nobody Gets Hurt, Nobody Gets Arrested.  
5. Stop Worrying About Competitive Advantage. 
6. Legal Research and Writing is Your Most Important Class.
7. Find Your Own Way to Find Joy in Law School.  
8. Don't Hate Shortcuts But Don't Make Law School All About Them Either.  
9. Use Clinics and Adjuncts. 

Susan Gainen on Lawyerist has a shorter list: 4 Rules to Manage First Year of Law School, Aug. 16, 2011:

1. Get to know your classmates. Some will be your friends for life. 
2. Coursework: Legal Writing is the most important class you will ever take. 
3. The Law Library and Legal Research: Harnessing a 17th century skill in a 21st century box.
4. Career Services: Use your time wisely.

The Law School Academic Support Blog asks What makes law school so different for many new students? and answers (June 28, 2011):

• Active learning is required instead of passive learning. 
• One grade is the norm rather than multiple grades in a course. 
• "It depends" is the response rather than finding the right answer to a question. 
• Professors expect them to learn the basics before class and continue to analyze material after class. 
• Learning the law is only the beginning and not the end of the process. 
• Law school requires many more hours of studying outside of class.

Law School Academic Success also offers The Road to Success, Aug. 6, 2011, and Managing Stress and Anxiety, July 29, 2011.

Legal Skills Prof Blog recommends 5 CALI lessons (self-paced online learning) to incoming students in CALI Lessons – Great Learning Tool for Law Students, Aug. 15, 2011. (UW law students can contact the Reference Office to get our access code for CALI.)

Ms. JD, the website of the National Women Law Students' Organization has a page of Resources for 1Ls.

Twin Cities Diversity in Practice (a group of law firms and corporate legal departments) lists 8 Tips for Success in Your First Year of Law School , Break into Law, Sept. 12, 2012.

Once you get to your first class, you need to sit somewhere, but where? Law Student Ally discusses Where Should I Sit?, March 13, 2012. As you might guess from the name, the Law Student Ally blog has lots of advice for law students. (Law Student Ally's business is matching law students with law school grads to coach and support them. You can read the blog free, but hiring a personal coach will cost you.)

An anonymous blogger (Dr. Juris) offered Advice for Incoming 1Ls, Aug. 8, 2011. This is irreverent and spiked with coarse language; it includes advice about sex and drinking as well as about studying. The same blogger has more advice in The Moment of "Truth", Jan. 8, 2012 (she bombed her first semester exams but turned it around) and Happiness and the Law ... This is Possible!, May 24, 2011.

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After all this advice, let's just add: remember that the Law Library is a great resource for you. Get together with a study group in a group study room, study alone in a quiet carrel or at a big table, use our books and databases, and talk to a reference librarian whenever you'd like some research pointers.

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Hat tip: Rob Truman, Paul L. Boley Law Library.

7-Minute Workout Ideal for Busy Bar Exam Study Schedules!

You're studying for the bar exam and don't have much time for anything other than outlines, flashcards and practice exams.  Anxiety washes over you as you gaze at the stacks of material you need to commit to memory.  As you sink deeper into a pool of hopelessness, you realize that a workout would help you kick start your study session by having endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain!  Before you throw your sneakers on, you sadly realize that you don't have time carved out in your dedicated study agenda for a workout.  But wait!  What if you only needed 7 minutes for a vigorous and satisfying workout? 

On May 12, the New York Times Magazine published an article by Gretchen Reynolds entitled The Scientific 7-Minute Workout.  The article explains that in "12 exercises deploying only body weight, a chair and a wall," one may fulfill "the latest mandates for high-intensity effort, which essentially combines a long run and a visit to the weight room into about seven minutes of steady discomfort." The workout consists of a rapid succession of 30 second intervals completing the 12 exercises.

7-Minute Workout

While some might scoff at a 7-minute workout, law school graduates preparing for the bar exam may see this as a delightful - albeit strenuous - opportunity to maintain physical fitness during a mentally arduous time without having to leave their desks! 

Photo Credit: www.nytimes.com

Upcoming Changes to Law Library Hours

With the end of School of Law exams, the Law Library will be moving to interim hours.

June 15 - 17, Saturday - Monday: Closed
June 18 - 21, Tuesday - Friday: 8am - 5pm (Library); 9am - 12 noon & 1 - 5pm (Reference Office)
June 22 - 23, Saturday - Sunday: Closed

Summer quarter hours begin on Monday, June 24.

Monday - Wednesday: 8am - 7pm (Library); 9am - 5pm (Reference Office)
Thursday - Friday: 8am - 5pm (Library); 9am - 5pm (Reference Office)
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: 12noon - 5pm (Library); 1 - 4pm (Reference Office)

Check out the Library Hours page for more information.

Drug Dogs Going Back to School

Reflecting the change in Washington State law making it legal for adults to possess small amounts of marijuana and use it in private, some law enforcement agencies are retraining their drug-sniffing dogs not to alert for marijuana.

Local stories include:

• Legal pot means big changes for state’s drug-sniffing dogs, KOMOnews.com, March 20, 2013 (video and text)
• Manuel Valdes, Pot on some police dogs' not-to-sniff list, News Tribune (Tacoma), June 3, 2013. (This AP story was picked up by many national and local news organizations.)

Telecom Surveillance / Dissertation Resource

Chris Soghoian, Chief Technologist and a Senior Policy Analyst with the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project, was interviewed by on KUOW this afternoon. It was a very interesting discussion of what the government can find out from our cell phones, email, and so on. You'll be able to hear the interview later, when it's posted here.

Soghoian mentioned that he recently got a Ph.D., writing his dissertation on issues of telecommunication surveillance. So when I got to a computer, I visited the University Libraries website, selected Articles & Research Databases, typed in "dissertations," chose Dissertations & Theses Full Text (from ProQuest), and searched.

In less time than it took to type that last paragraph, I saw the abstract: The spies we trust: Third party service providers and law enforcement surveillance. With another click, I could choose a PDF preview (the first 24 pages) or the whole thing (123 pages).

Title page, The Spies We Trust, dissertation
by Christopher Soghoian

Dissertations & Theses Full Text is a terrific resource for scholars. Consider that the authors of dissertations work on them for many years, under the supervision of senior scholars in their fields. The work is supposed to be novel, adding something to the literature. And everything is supposed to be scrupulously backed up, showing familiarity with what has already been published in the area. So when you find a dissertation on a topic you're working on, you get thoughtful, tested analysis and a bibliography that will lead you to other works.

You can search the database by author's name, subject, or keywords. You can also search by institution, advisor or committee member, as well as some other variables.

The database includes many dissertations from law schools. It also includes dissertations in non-law fields that could interest legal scholars. For instance, I came across
The Culture War Over Marriage Equality in Seattle, Washington (2010), by Jessica Johnson, who earned her Ph.D. in the Department of Anthropology. Maybe that wouldn't help you figure out a community property issue for a same-sex couple under Washington's marriage law, but a scholar of LGBT legal issues might like to read what a cultural anthropologist has to say.

One of the advantages of studying at UW Law is that you have access to the resources of a world-class library system, serving many different schools and departments. Dissertations & Theses Full Text is just one of the databases available.

Crazy—Book About Mentally Ill People in Criminal Justice System

Spurred by his son's mental illness and prosecution for breaking into a neighbor's house while he was delusional, journalist Pete Earley spent two years exploring what happens to mentally ill Americans, particularly those who encounter the criminal justice system. The result is a compassionate, revealing, and disturbing book: Crazy: A Father’s Search Through America’s Mental Health Madness (2006).

Since the national movement to deinstitutionalize people with mental illness in the 1980s, many more people with very serious conditions are living on the margins of society, often on the streets. There are inadequate services available to them—community mental health clinics, sheltered living situations, support groups.

All too often they commit crimes related to their illness and land in jail. There are the headline-making crimes (the gruesome murderof a family), but also a thousand petty crimes. For instance, Earley interview and befriends a man who writes "Jesus 2007" on buildings and walls to announce his belief that Jesus is about to return; the man is repeatedly jailed because of his graffiti. At a bus stop, one woman yells at another, "Stop stealing my thoughts!" and shoves her. The second woman isn't hurt and doesn't want to press charges, but the delusional woman is jailed nonetheless.

Earley spent most of his time in Miami, but tells us that the horrible conditions he observed in the Miami-Dade jail's psych floor are not uniquely bad and could be found in many other places. His sustained reporting in one location adds depth to the book, because he is able to follow several people from jail to hospital and back. He interviews many other participants in the system too: a reforming judge, a jail psychiatrist, parents in a support group, correctional officers, nurses, and more.

You can read the first chapter on Earley's website. Earley's blog provides updates and commentary on mental health issues. By the way, Earley has this "important note" on his website: "The word 'CRAZY' in the book title refers to the mental health care system."

The book is available through the University Libraries or Summit.

FOIAonline: A Multi-Agency FOIA Repository

FOIAonline is a federal government multi-agency site that allows the public to submit Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to participating agencies, track the progress of an agency’s response to a request, search for information previously made available, and report on the progress of FOIA requests. 

If you register for a free account, you can  track the progress of FOIA requests, communicate directly with staff handling the request, and receive records electronically rather than by mail.

Limitations to FOIAonline

• The content only goes back to the site’s launch date, Oct. 1, 2012, or Dec. 10, 2012 for certain agencies
• Only certain federal agencies participate in the site
• Only portions of the participating agencies have actually implemented FOIAonline 

Agencies participating in FOIAonline include:

• Environmental Protection Agency
• Federal Labor Relations Authority
• National Archives and Records Administration Office of General Counsel
• The Treasury Department's -- note the Treasure Department only participates partially--it provides records of requests and appeals but makes the actual FOIA documents available only to the requestor. The Treasury Department’s separate FOIA program.

Agencies NOT participating in FOIAonline

• The Internal Revenue Service
• Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
• Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

Feeling excited about FOIA? You can learn how to do your own requests, or find other previously requested material, at the National Security Archive.

The Archive is an independent non-governmental research institute and library housed at The George Washington University. It collects and publishes declassified documents acquired via FOIA request (searchable here); it also provides an extremely thorough tutorial on how to get the most from a FOIA request.


Previous Gallagher Blogs posts on FOIA topics:

EFF’s FOIA Documents Archive, May 20, 2010

Freedom of Information Website, March 16, 2011

The Lowdown on Public Records, May 4, 2011

Graphics: Linked to images on FOIAonline.gov

Summer Reading Suggestions (once those pesky finals are out of the way)!

Spring quarter finals are finally underway! For most of you, that probably means you're more concerned right now about memorizing your various outlines. But, in just a few short weeks you'll be free again (I promise, finals will be over before you know it).

If you're dreaming up which books you'll be escaping into this summer, the Gallagher Law Library has a suggestion. Since 2011, the ABA Journal and the University of Alabama Law School have partnered up each year to award one legal fiction book the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction.

Just in time for Summer, this year's finalists have been announced! Even better, after you read the three books YOU can have a say in the prize winner by casting your vote on the ABA's website.

This year's finalists are:

The Wrong Man by David Ellis;

Havana Requiem by Paul Goldstein; and

Defending Jacob by William Landay.

Voting is open until June 30th and you can find out more about each novel from the ABA website linked above.

Happy reading (and good luck on exams!)

Westlaw, Lexis, and Bloomberg Law Summer Access for Law Students and Recent Graduates

Are you a law student or soon-to-be graduate wondering about summer access to Westlaw, Lexis, or Bloomberg Law? Look no further! Here's what you need to know:

BLOOMBERG LAW

Continuing students have unlimited access to Bloomberg Law during the summer. 

Graduating students have unlimited access to Bloomberg Law until 6 months after graduation. 

If you have questions or need to register for Bloomberg Law, please contact our Bloomberg representative, Tracey Broadhead Frith. 

LEXIS NEXIS + LEXIS ADVANCE

Continuing students have access to Lexis and Lexis Advance for academic purposes as well as for summer employment if they are employed by a law firm, government agency, or court. They do not need to request summer access. However, they do need to have a Lexis Advance ID.

Graduating students will have the same access as continuing students, for the same purposes, until July 31st, 2013. 

Please contact Aaron Meyers, our Lexis representative, with questions or Lexis Advance registration requests. 

WESTLAW + WESTLAW NEXT

Continuing students must register for summer access. Westlaw and Westlaw Next summer access will be extended only for the following uses:

• Summer law school classes

• Law review or law journal work

• Project for a professor

• Moot court

• Unpaid, nonprofit public-interest internship/externship pro bono work required for graduation

Graduating student access will expire after graduation in mid-June. 

If you have questions about access or need to register for Westlaw, please email our Westlaw representative, Zach Gose. 

United Nations NEW Research Guide

Searching for a document from the United Nations just became simpler! The UN library revamped its research guides, making them more clear while offering more information in one place.

The main search site gives easy access to call, chat, or email with a UN librarian. The left-hand side of the page gives an overview of UN documents and then has research guides for each major organization (General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, and International Court of Justice) and for each major issue the UN supports (Disarmament, Environment, Human Rights, International Law, Peacekeeping, and the UN Regular Budget).


The best tool I found was this research guide that gives step-by-step instructions (including videos) for finding UN documents.  You can look for help in finding a document by symbol, a resolution, a report, a meeting record & speech, or a voting record.


Not sure where to go or what to find? The UN Resources page has an exhaustive list of all the information across the UN system, alphabetically, by organization, by theme, library catalogs, statistics, and terminology databases.


The library is also on social media! Check out their Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Slideshare accounts for the latest news!

More dangerous brassieres?

You may remember a post last month about some bra bandits injuring a Victoria's Secret employee during their lingerie heist. Sadly, the claims of injury associated with bras do not end there!

Thomson Reuters blogger, Ronald V. Baker wrote a post about a recently dismissed product liability lawsuit claiming that Vanity Fair Vassarette bras caused breast cancer. The plaintiff claimed the Vassarette bra's underwire design lacked the necessary flexibility, leading her to develop breast cancer. She said the connection between the bra’s underwire design and her cancer is evidenced by the fact that her surgical scar mirrors the shape of the underwire.

U.S. District Judge Sharon J. Coleman of the Northern District of Illinois granted Vanity Fair's motion to dismiss stating a "lack of any factual basis for a connection between the alleged conduct and her injury [cancer], without some basis for that correlation".

Pink Breast Cancer Ribbon

   

If this controversy has you holding your bras over a fire, you may want to hold off on burning them. Breastcancer.org explains that "Underwire bras do not cause breast cancer" and attributes the increased incidence of cancer among bra-wearing women in comparison to bra-less women to a difference in their weight.

For more information on products liability, here are a few titles on products liability in the Reference Area: Understanding Products Liability Law, Principles of Products Liability and Products Liability in a Nutshell.

Photo Credit: www.nlm.nih.gov

New Faculty Publication: Ron Collins' Books by Supreme Court Justices

Ronald K.L. Collins, Books by Supreme Court Justices, 38 J. Sup. Ct. Hist. 94 (2013).

Identifying 353 books, Prof. Collins bibliography is the latest and most comprehensive work covering works written, edited, or compiled by the Justices.

Chief Justices, in chronological order, are followed by the Associate Justices.

An earlier version of the list was posted on SCOTUSblog on March 12, 2012 and updated on Nov. 7, 2012.

If you are thinking about your summer reading plans, consider using Prof. Collins' bibliography as a starting place.

New Faculty Publications: Toshiko Takenaka and Signe Naeve

Intellectual Property in Common Law and Civil Law (Toshiko Takenaka ed., Edward Elgar, 2013).

UW Law professor Toshiko Takenaka has edited and contributed chapters to this new work, which covers patents, copyright, trademark and unfair competition, enforcement and infringement remedies, and legal aspects common to all branches of IP.

Prof. Takenaka's chapters are:

• First-Inventor-to-File under the America Invents Act: A View of First-to-File Lawyer and a View of First-to-Invent Lawyer, at 50-74
• Employee Invention System: Comparative Law Perspective, at 365-400 (with Yves Reboul) 

Signe Naeve, Associate Director of the Law, Technology, and Arts Group at UW Law, also wrote a chapter: Trade Dress, at 224-47.

The Gallagher Law Library has a copy of this book in the Classified Stacks, call number K140 .I58 2013.

New Faculty Publication: Anita Krug on Investment Company as Instrument

Anita K. Krug, Investment Company as Instrument: The Limitations of the Corporate Governance Regulatory Regime, 86 S. Cal. L. Rev. 263 (2013). Available on SSRN.

Abstract

U.S. regulation of public investment companies (such as mutual funds) is based on a notion that, from a governance perspective, investment companies are simply another type of business enterprise, not substantially different from companies that produce goods or provide (non-investment) services. In other words, investment company regulation is founded on what this Article calls a “corporate governance paradigm,” in that it provides a significant regulatory role for boards of directors, as the traditional governance mechanism in business enterprises, and is “entity-centric,” focusing on intra-entity relationships to the exclusion of super-entity ones. This Article argues that corporate governance norms, which came to dominate U.S. investment company regulation as a result of the unique history of U.S. investment companies, are poorly-suited to achieve the goals of investment company regulation. In particular, the corporate governance paradigm has given rise to a number of regulatory weaknesses, which stem from investment advisers’ effective control over investment company boards of directors and courts’ deference to state corporate law doctrine in addressing investors’ grievances. Accordingly, investment company regulation should acknowledge that investment companies are not merely another type of business enterprise with the same challenges and tensions arising from the separation of ownership and control that appear in the traditional corporate context. Toward that end, this Article contends that policymakers should view, and regulate, investment companies as an avenue through which investment advisers provide financial services (investment advisory services, in particular) to investors — and should view investment company shareholders more as advisory customers than as equity owners of a firm. This “financial services” model of regulation moves past the entity-focus of corporate governance norms and, therefore, permits dispensing with governance by an “independent” body such as the board of directors. More importantly, if adopted, this model would remedy some of the more significant problems plaguing U.S. investment company regulation.

Reefer Reference: CRS on the Legalization of Recreational Marijuana

The Congressional Research Service analyzes the Washington and Oregon state laws legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in relation to the federal Controlled Substances Act.

State Legalization of Recreational Marijuana: Selected Legal Issues (April 5, 2013).

This report summarizes the Washington and Colorado marijuana legalization laws and evaluates whether, or the extent to which, they may be preempted by the CSA or by international agreements. It also highlights potential responses to these recent legalization initiatives by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and identifies other noncriminal consequences that marijuana users may face under federal law. Finally, the report closes with a description of legislative proposals introduced in the 113th Congress relating to the treatment of marijuana under federal law . . . .

Washington's Initiative 502 and Colorado's Amendment 64 have sparked interest and controversy. The CRS report is a non-partisan consideration of the legal issues.

For more information about the Congressional Research Service, see the Gallagher guide on Congressional Research Service Reports.

Research Kobe's legal drama with his mama and get a cookie!

If your plans for celebrating your mom this year include only a tardy Mother's Day card, you're still doing better than Kobe Bryant.   While many have asked mom to cease and desist from showing old baby pictures, few have had to ask mom to cease and desist from auctioning off high school mementos.  (Not that your old mock trial trophies and high school wrestling singlet would fetch much cash out on the open market).



Happy Mother's Day...now please cease and desist!

Law Students are invited to a Gallagher Chat with Professor Collins this Tuesday!

Do you ever wish you had more opportunities to chat with professors about legal issues outside the classroom? Well, by golly, you are in luck! Gallagher Law Library is hosting a new series called Gallagher Chats*!  

Our first Gallagher Chat featured Professor Spitzer.  Law students were able to discuss the new edition of his book The Washington State Constitution, as well as share their views on a variety of interesting legal issues. Based on the success of our first Gallagher Chat, one of your fellow law students asked that we invite Professor Collins to our next Gallagher Chat. Your wish is our command!

The next Gallagher Chat will feature Professor Collins! Professor Collins will speak with law students about his books on Holmes the Judge, Abrams the Lawyer, HOWL the Poem & Dissent in America.

Professor Collins

Come by the Bogle & Gates Law Student Lounge in Gallagher Law Library this Tuesday, May 7 from 12:30-1:20pm for some refreshments, stimulating conversation with Professor Collins and some of Dean Hazelton's amazing brownies (if I don't get to them first...).

*Gallagher Chats are intended to foster faculty and student relationships. Each chat features a faculty member and centers on a hot legal topic of their choice. Law students are encouraged to join for refreshments, an opportunity to learn about current legal issues, and engage in thought-provoking dialogue with faculty in a casual, intimate setting. 

FDsys reaches 500 million retrievals

Gary Somerset of the Government Printing Office reports that FDsys has achieved 500 million retrievals:

The U.S. Government Printing Office’s (GPO) Federal Digital System (FDsys) has achieved the milestone of 500 million document retrievals. FDsys is a one-stop site for authentic, published information on the three branches of the Federal Government. Retrievals are measured by the number of times content is viewed or downloaded from FDsys. GPO launched FDsys in January 2009 and since that time it has expanded to include 800 thousand searchable titles. Examples of content found on FDsys include: the post-President Kennedy’s assassination tape recordings, President Nixon’s Watergate grand jury testimony, the Budget of the U.S. Government, the Congressional Record, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, and congressional bills, hearings, and reports. GPO is continually adding content and working with agencies on new collection opportunities.

Don't overlook FDsys when researching federal material.  There are a few ways to search FDsys (search box, browsing, by citation, etc.) and the underlying documents are authentic and free. 

Lawyer Rates Jails & Prisons on Yelp

5 star hotels are generally recognized for their luxurious accommodations, excellent room service and superior service. So what does a 5 star jail look like?

Prison Cells

According to lawyer, Robert Miller, the Theo Lacy jail in Orange County, California is worthy of a coveted 5 star Yelp review for being "the newest, and thus the cleanest and best organized of all the jail facilities in the County of Orange" as well as having deputies who are nice and friendly to lawyers and other professionals. Lawyers are not the only ones who have been rating correctional facilities, inmates have taken to Yelp to voice concerns (ranging from rodent and roach problems to riots and guard/inmate abuse) and also to make positive comments. One reviewer who stayed at Geiger Corrections in Spokane gave the facility a 4 star review praising Taco Mondays, pleasant guards and being able to talk to female prisoners (he did subtract 1 star for "loss of personal freedom").

One does not usually have a choice in which facility they are placed, so what purpose do the Yelp reviews serve? According to the Washington Post, Yelp reviews of correctional facilities have caused a bit of controversy. While on one hand, one must recognize that visiting a jail is not the same thing as visiting a restaurant or a movie theater (pointed out by a spokesman for the Los Angeles Country Sheriff); on the other hand, increasing awareness of mistreatment and poor conditions in prisons and jails is recognized as "a positive thing" by the director of the National Prison Project of the ACLU.

The veracity of the Yelp reviews have been questioned but it is worth noting that while the occupants at Theo Lacy jail might be in one of the highest reviewed jails in California, the King County jail here in Seattle has the lowest possible Yelp rating (1 star) by all of its reviewers.

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Promoting Global Internet Freedom (New CRS Report)

The Congressional Research Service has published a new report, Promoting Global Internet Freedom: Policy and Technology (16 pages).

From the Summary:

"This report provides information about federal and private sector efforts to promote and support global Internet freedom and a description of Internet freedom legislation and hearings from the 112th Congress. Three appendixes suggest further reading on this topic and describe censorship and circumvention technologies."