The clandestine excavation of "cultural objects" to feed the international art market has become an indisputable problem. However, the scale of the problem—and potential solutions—are hotly contested. In the United States, the debate over how best to protect these objects has come to focus on the relationship between the National Stolen Property Act (NSPA) and the "found-in-the-ground" laws that...
What International Experience Can Tell U.S. Courts About Same-Sex Marriage
In recent years a growing number of countries, including Canada and South Africa, have recognized a right to same-sex marriage. As voters in the United States pass state laws to ban same-sex marriage, international materials seem to offer a natural source of support for a contrary position. The Supreme Court’s decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which changed the legal landscape for same-sex marriage...
Some Skepticism About Increasing Shareholder Power
This Article challenges the claim of shareholder primacists that reapportioning corporate governance power away from boards of directors and toward shareholders will benefit shareholders as a class. This claim is premised on the assumptions that shareholders have harmonious interests and that they will pursue those interests by disciplining managers and increasing shareholder value. I argue that...
The Case for Limited Shareholder Voting Rights
Recent years have seen a number of efforts to extend the shareholder franchise. These efforts implicate two fundamental issues for corporation law. First, why do shareholders—and only shareholders—have voting rights? Second, why are the voting rights of shareholders so limited? This Article proposes answers for those questions. As for efforts to expand the limited shareholder voting rights...
Rights Myopia in Child Welfare
For decades, legal scholars have debated the proper balance of parents’ rights and children’s rights in the child welfare system. This Article argues that the debate mistakenly privileges rights. Neither parents’ rights nor children’s rights serve families well because, as implemented, a solely rights-based model of child welfare does not protect the interests of parents or children...
Was the Disparate Impact Theory a Mistake?
The disparate impact theory long has been viewed as one of the most important and controversial developments in antidiscrimination law. In this Article, Professor Selmi assesses the theory’s legacy and challenges much of the conventional wisdom. Professor Selmi initially charts the development of the theory, including a close look at Griggs v. Duke Power Co. and Washington v. Davis, to...
Sexually Provoked: Recognizing Sexual Misrepresentation as Adequate Provocation
Research suggests that a serious sexual misrepresentation can spark an emotional firestorm in the deceived. But, as a matter of law, can this emotional firestorm be considered a reasonable heat of passion? In short, when may a killer assert the provocation defense given a serious sexual misrepresentation? The law currently addresses this question in a haphazard way. Despite the recurrent...
A Semiotic Solution to the Propertization Problem of Trademark
It is generally agreed that the role of trademark protection is to ensure that consumers can efficiently identify and purchase a particular company’s product. However, the scope of this protection is highly contested. The recent emergence and expansion of the dilution doctrine, assignments in gross, “intent to use” applications, and logo protection have raised scholarly concern: These doctrines...