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.     

Prisons or Problem-Solving: Does the Public Support Specialty Courts?

ABSTRACT

Recently, “problem-solving” courts have been developed as an alternative to imprisonment. They are often called “specialty” courts because they process and divert into treatment programs offenders who are seen as different from the general criminal population, such as those with mental health or drug problems, those who are homeless or veterans, and those who engage in domestic violence. Based on a 2017 national survey of 1,000 respondents, the current study examines overall public support for rehabilitation as a goal of corrections and then focuses specifically on support for different types of specialty courts. The analysis reveals that the American public endorses not only the rehabilitative ideal but also the use of problem-solving courts. Further, with only minimal variation, strong support for these courts appears to exist regardless of political orientation and sociodemographic characteristics.     

Fluorescence of a Natural Fluorophore as a Key to Improve Fingerprint Contrast Image

The optical and morphological properties of resveratrol were investigated. This nontoxic fluorescent natural material, emitting in the visible blue light, was used as an optical marker, enabling the enhancement of the image contrast coming from relief pictures marked on challenging surfaces. By applying appropriated imaging softwares, this marker was verified to be very useful in the latent fingerprint recognition deposited on different wood surface types, mainly those with high level of roughness, where conventional forensic materials do not allow effective fingerprint image visualization.     

户外运动与青少年全面发展

国家与国家前途与未来的竞争,是综合国力的竞争,是人的竞争,从一定意义上讲也是青少年一代综合素质的竞争。本文认为,有组织、有计划地在青少年群体中推广在户外环境中开展的以集体实践活动为主要形式,以包括定向越野、郊游、野外露营、野外生存能力训练、野外物种及自然知识的学习考察、户外社会实践和各类体能拓展为主要内容的青少年户外运动,对提高青少年综合素质、促进青少年全面发展具有重要的战略意义。     

法律英语的语言特点及课程设计

随着中国入世，法律英语作为一门新兴的专业英语将在中国迅速发展，然而，传统的通用英语教学不能满足培养涉外法律专业人才的需求。本文通过对法律英语的语言特点及其课程设计中应注意的若干问题的表述，谈对法律英语教学的一些看法。     

完善我国宪法监督制度之构想

设立宪法法院负责宪法监督工作是一种最切合实际的完善我国宪法监督制度的方案。除在中央设立宪法法院外,可在地方设立巡回宪法法院。宪法法院应当具有相对独立性。为保证宪法法院有效行使其宪法监督职能,必须赋予其事前审查权、宪法解释权等职权。宪法监督程序须由相应的主体提起。     

构建和谐社会对行政执法的影响

和谐社会是人类文明社会追求的一种理想社会形态,而依法治国与依法行政是实现与构建和谐社会的必备要求,本文从行政执法的角度分析构建和谐社会对行政执法的影响,以期待完善行政执法质量,提高行政执法水平,实现和谐社会。     

Acute myoglobinuria as a fatal complication of heroin addiction

A fatal case of myoglobinuria complicating heroin addiction is described. Clinically the patient had no overt symptoms of rhabdomyolysis. Pathologists should be alerted to this rare complication in heroin addicts who die of no apparent cause. The antimyoglobin immunoperoxidase technique is useful in confirming the diagnosis.     

Roentgen imaging of stab wounds in parenchymatous organs

Stab wounds were made in parenchymatous organs (e.g. liver, spleen, kidneys, lungs) using a variety of instruments. The shape of the resulting canal was investigated by X-ray analysis after introduction of an X-ray contrast medium. The best contrast was obtained using a contrast medium containing barium. The shape of the canal gave a direct representation of the outline of the instrument used. The width of the canal was however, always several millimeters smaller than the corresponding blade of the instrument. The position of the blade back in single-edged blades could be demonstrated with stronger contrast.