Stepping Up to the Plate: Minor Leaguers Attempt to Remedy their Unconscionable Plight

Professional baseball players are often thought of as making multi-million-dollar salaries, but most professional baseball players have recently made under $15,000 a year. Minor league players toiled under an onerous system resulting from baseball's judicially created antitrust exemption and lobbying efforts that exempted them from minimum wage and overtime. These factors allowed teams to impose a uniform player contract (UPC) on players with numerous unconscionable provisions for years. However, a late-night Tweet in August of 2022 sent shockwaves through the sports and labor world, announcing that the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) was sending out authorization cards to represent minor league players. After years of fighting to maintain the authority to impose conditions on minor league players, through lobbying and litigation, Major League Baseball (MLB) turned over a new leaf and recognized the unionization of minor league players under the MLBPA less than three weeks later. In light of this long sought-after recognition, this article takes a novel approach. First, it provides historical context for baseball's unique ability to impose working conditions on minor leaguers without significant concern for legal ramifications. Second, it provides an overview of the doctrine of contractual unconscionability and analyzes the prior UPC as an unconscionable agreement. Finally, it details the historic unionization process and makes detailed recommendations to ameliorate the unconscionable conditions minor league players have faced when they negotiate with MLB owners to draft their initial collective bargaining agreement.     

纪念香港城市大学合作十周年研讨会发言节选

2019年12月8日国家法官学院与香港城市大学合作办学十年座谈会暨判例法与案例指导制度论坛举行,本刊摘录几位嘉宾的现场演讲,以飨读者。     

Improved Area of Origin Estimation for Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Using 3D Scanning

An important component of crime scene reconstruction is bloodstain pattern analysis (BPA). Where BPA concerns impact patterns, estimating the area of origin is critical information for scene reconstruction. Traditionally, this is achieved by measuring individual bloodstains and performing trigonometric calculations; however, 3D scanning has been proposed as a viable alternative for overcoming logistical and practical concerns with the manual method. Therefore, this project aimed to establish whether the FARO Focus 3D scanner and FARO Zone 3D software can improve the accuracy of area of origin estimates relative to the manual method. We created a series of eight bloodstain impact patterns and performed paired analysis using the two methods to estimate areas of origin for each pattern. Our data suggested that FARO-derived estimates were generally more accurate than using the manual method. FARO-estimated heights of origin areas were generally closer to the true distance. Both methods underestimated the distance from the wall for most patterns originating 150mm or greater from the wall, but overestimated distances for patterns originating closer to the wall. The degree to which distances were underestimated increased significantly the further the blood source was from the wall and was greater for FARO-derived estimates. The results of this research contribute to the validation of these instruments for operational implementation for BPA and should be considered alongside the practical benefits of 3D scanning relative to manual methods. Further, 3D scanning can provide reliable BPA reconstruction documentation for technical review and court presentation.     

专业学会在应对突发公共卫生事件中的作用——以新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情应对为例

与一般危机事件相比,突发公共卫生事件具有突发性、高度专业性、未知性、群体性、社会性以及应对协同性等特征。在现代化治理体系中,专业学会作为突发公共卫生事件应急管理的重要补充力量,应当发挥专业优势、组织协调优势、凝聚精神等优势,在疾病的预测、健康科普、组织动员、心理干预等方面发挥积极作用。     

印太战略视域下的印法印度洋地区海洋安全合作探析

印度洋地区的海上战略通道价值为世界所公认。世界上一些主要国家提出了相应的印太战略,印度洋地区的海上战略通道价值更为显著。在法国与印度的印太战略框架中,双方都把印度洋地区的海洋安全视为重点。基于印太战略,印度洋地区海上战略通道的安全成为法国与印度共同的战略关注。由于印度洋地区的海洋安全威胁日益复杂,合作是法国与印度维护海上战略通道安全的最好方式,符合双方共同的利益。面对印度洋地区复杂的海洋安全威胁,法国与印度意识到了海洋安全合作的必要性与可行性,并初步建立了海洋安全合作机制。     

Red Tape,Rule Burden,and Legitimate Performance Trade-Offs: Results from a Vignette Experiment

Abstract

Goals in the public sector are complex and managers can face situations in which pursuing one legitimate goal necessitates performance trade-offs in other areas. This study tests how knowledge of legitimate performance trade-offs shapes the perception of red tape. Using a vignette experimental design and a sample of university students, between group t-tests and regression analyses suggest that, when evaluating increased rule burden, individuals that are provided with information about how objectively burdensome rules serve alternative values such as equity and effectiveness associate them with lower levels of red tape. A series of Monte Carlo simulations suggest that this effect is substantial.     

论商标权的权利限制

权利是有限制的,没有无限制的权利。我国著作权法和专利法中就专门规定了著作权和专利权的限制。但我国的商标法中,并没有关于商标权权利限制的明确规定。本文拟探讨商标权限制的理论基础,总结商标权限制的具体类别,完善我国的商标权权利限制制度。