SHOULD ANTITRUST CONSENT DECREES REGULATE POST-MERGER PRICING?

Competitors proposing to merge sometimes propose price regulationin a consent decree as a condition of receiving merger approval.Antitrust enforcement agencies in the United States have beenreluctant to use such price-regulating decrees, as they sufferfrom practical problems in implementation. It is less recognized,however, that the use of consent decrees to regulate post-mergerprices may be unlawful. Such decrees exceed the scope of antitrustlaw and blur the distinction between the legislative power toregulate prices and the executive power to enforce the antitrustlaws. Despite the willingness of merging parties to accept priceregulation in consent decrees, economic and constitutional considerationscounsel against antitrust enforcement agencies adopting thispractice.     

Identification of Protected Avian Species Using a Single Feather Barb*,†

Abstract: We report on the unambiguous identification of protected avian species from as little as one barb of a feather. Many avian species are protected by international agreements and national legislation, yet they are traded illegally because of their high value. Two sections of the avian mitochondrial genome were chosen to identify bird species, being a 561‐bp section of ND2 gene and a 921‐bp section of the ND5 gene. Two different DNA extraction methods were compared for their ability to reliably isolate sufficient DNA to be detected in a subsequent PCR. Using a commercial kit supplied by QIAGEN, a complete sequence was obtained from one barb for the ND2 gene, whereas two barbs were required to reliably sequence the 921‐bp section of the ND5 gene. The process worked on all species tested using feathers from archival museum specimens, resulted in minimal damage to the specimen and can readily be adopted by a forensic science laboratory.     

MEGA-EVENTS, URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND PUBLIC POLICY

As cities compete for jobs and capital in the context of limited federal aid and increasing global economic competition, a new and potentially high‐risk public policy strategy for stimulating local economic growth has emerged. This megaevent strategy entails the quest for a high‐profile event to serve as a stimulus to, and justification for, local development. How and why do American cities commit their resources to seeking a mega‐event? And, if a city lands a megaevent, how does that event affect local development policy? To address these questions, we examine the experiences of three American cities which have bid for and organized the Olympics in the contemporary era: Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Salt Lake City.     

Policing prostitution in an era of human trafficking enforcement

Prostitution and commercialized vice have been variously prioritized as urban crime problems across U.S. history. In response, lawmakers have historically been guided by a prohibititionst view where people selling, buying or facilitating the sale of sex are considered to be immoral and criminal. In recent years, public concern about the trafficking of persons for sex has reframed prostitution and the expectations of government response. The U.S. federal government and all fifty states have passed legislation that is guided by an abolitionist view of prostitution where people who are forced or coerced to sell sex are redefined as victims. State, county and municipal police officers are now receiving training on how to identify human trafficking cases and investigators are being trained to investigate and prepare cases for prosecution. Despite these efforts under the new legal regime, confusion exists about how sex trafficking differs from prostitution and correspondingly necessitates different types of law enforcement responses. Adding to this complication is the fact that in many major cities the responsibility for identifying and eradicating human trafficking has fallen to the same group of investigators who are responsible for enforcing vice and prostitution laws. As a result, prostitution enforcement is expected to change as police increasingly focus on identifying sex trafficking victims. Using data on police arrests for prostitution from 1980 to 2012, we examine the impact of federal and state anti-trafficking legislation on the local enforcement of prostitution. Our findings inform debate about legal reform as a response to urban crime problems and illustrate the complexities of policy implementation and interpretation.