Whistle With a Purpose: Extending Coverage Under SOX to Employees Discharging Their Duties

The relative ease with which corporate fraud went unnoticed during the Enron scandal created tension between Congress and the public. In hindsight, the public questioned the difference whistleblowers could have made if they were adequately protected. Since 2002, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“SOX”) has provided anti-retaliation protection to employees of publicly traded companies. However, the languageContinue reading “Whistle With a Purpose: Extending Coverage Under SOX to Employees Discharging Their Duties”

Why Obergefell Should Not Impact Amerian Indian Tribal Marriage Laws

This Note explores what Obergefell means for members of American Indian nations, and it argues that Obergefell should not constrain tribal governments. Part I briefly recounts Obergefell, including the Court’s reasoning and language that might be pertinent for tribal sovereigns. Part II briefly surveys the status of tribal same-sex marriage laws to reveal the pluralismContinue reading “Why Obergefell Should Not Impact Amerian Indian Tribal Marriage Laws”

What Administrative Law Can Teach the Trademark System

In 2014, the Patent and Trademark Office (“Trademark Office” or “Agency”) made national headlines when it cancelled the Washington Redskins’ trademark registration. The Washington Redskins, a National Football League team, is valued at a staggering 2.4 billion dollars, of which a substantial portion of this value is attributed to the Washington Redskins brand. Whether theContinue reading “What Administrative Law Can Teach the Trademark System”

A Quantitative Analysis of Writing Style on the U.S. Supreme Court

This Article presents the results of a quantitative analysis of writing style for the entire corpus of US Supreme Court decisions. The basis for this analysis is the measure of frequency of function words, which has been found to be a useful “stylistic fingerprint” and which we use as a general proxy for the stylisticContinue reading “A Quantitative Analysis of Writing Style on the U.S. Supreme Court”

Unraveling Unlawful Command Influence

Military commanders are not just officers leading soldiers into battle. In the military justice system, they also serve quasi-prosecutorial roles and decide what charges to bring and whether to accept a plea. With this responsibility comes the potential for misconduct, no different than with civilian prosecutors. Commanders too can improperly coerce witnesses or withhold favorableContinue reading “Unraveling Unlawful Command Influence”