IMAGINING THE LAW: COMMON LAW AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM

Now Doniger paced, using Kramer as an audience of one, "We are all ruled by the past, although no on understands it. No one recognizes the power of the past" he said, with a sweep of his hand.
"But if you think about it, the past has always been more important than the present. The present is like a coral island that sticks above the water, but is built upon millions of dead corals under the surface, that no one sees. In the same way, our everyday world is built upon millions and millions of events and decisions that occurred in the past. And what we add in the present is trivial.     

STATE LAW AND THE TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS

This paper presents the findings from a content analysis of state laws authorizing the termination of parental rights. The analysis yielded a taxonomy of termination criteria and it identified those criteria that were most widely adopted by the states. State termination criteria were compared to those listed in the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997. The comparison shows that state laws identify more types of termination criteria than are listed in ASFA. In addition, criteria related to neglect and “parental failure” were often ambiguous and lacked detail. The study identifies possible directions for research on state termination law.     

AN EXPLICIT TEST OF PLEA BARGAINING IN THE “SHADOW OF THE TRIAL”

Bargaining in the “shadow of the trial,” which hinges on the expectations of trial outcomes, is the primary theory used by noncriminologists to explain variation in the plea discount given to defendants who plead guilty. This study develops a formal mathematical representation of the theory and then presents an empirical test of the theory using an innovative online survey with responses to a hypothetical case from 1,585 prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges. The key outcomes are the probability that the defendant will be convicted at trial, the sentence for the defendant if convicted, and the best plea that the respondent would accept or offer. Variation in the outcomes is created through experimental variation in the information presented to the respondents. Structural regression models are estimated to fit the formal theoretical models, and the instrumental variables method is used to correct for measurement error in the estimate for probability of conviction. The data support the basic shadow model, with minor modifications, for only prosecutors and defense attorneys. Controlling for the characteristics of the individual actors and their jurisdictions adds explanatory value to the model, although these control variables did not affect the key coefficients from the shadow model.     

A JUST LEGAL PROTECTION OF DEPOSITORS AND DEBTORS IN THE BANKING LAW

Depositors and debtors are inherent in banking as an intermediationinstitution. The banking law has not given enough guarantee for banks to do their intermediation function, especially debtors need some protection in their transactions with banks from the pre-to post-transactions. The legal issue of this present research is a just legal protection of depositors and debtors in the banking law.     

人权公约不构成香港普选的法律根据

<正>香港的政制发展,包括特区行政首长及立法会议员的选举,本来早经基本法明确规定,正在按照香港的实际情况,朝着普选目标循序渐进地进行。现在有一种说法,执意把《公民权利和政治权利国际公约》(以下简称人权公约)第25条b项说成是香港普选的法律根据,强调必须以该项规定来约束、规范香港的普选,言之凿凿,貌似有理。那么,公约第25条b项到底是否具有在香港适用的法律效力呢?如何看待香港普选同第25条b项的关系呢?事关重大,不可不察。本文试图从国际法层面对这一问题予以阐释和澄清。