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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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Venture capital contracts contain extensive provisions regulating exit by the venture capitalists. In this Article, Professor Smith employs financial contracting theory in conjunction with original data collected from 367 venture-backed companies to analyze these exit provisions. He concludes that the combination of exit provisions in a typical venture capital relationship serves to lock venture...

This Article applies complex systems research methods to explore the characteristics of the bankruptcy legal system. It presents the results of an empirical study of twenty years of bankruptcy court valuation doctrine in business cramdown cases. The data provide solid descriptions of how courts exercise their discretion in valuing firms and assets. This Article has two objectives: First, using...

This Article narrates a sorely neglected legal history, that of the intersection between race, gender, and American citizenship through the first third of the twentieth century. It is a little known fact that marriage once functioned to exile U.S. citizen women from their country; moreover, how racial barriers to citizenship shaped expatriation and dependent citizenship presents an even more...

The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) reflects a continuing struggle between Congress and the Supreme Court to define the scope of religious liberties guaranteed by the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. RLUIPA is Congress's second attempt to countermand the Supreme Court's decision in Employment Division, Department of Human Resources v. Smith, which held...

The continued possibility of federally sanctioned same-sex marriages might surprise those who believe that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) recognizes only those marriages between men and women. In the case of transgender individuals, however, this debate is far from over. While some state courts recognize sex-reassignment surgeries as controlling in deciding whether to authorize a marriage...

In Roper v. Simmons, the Court unequivocally affirms the use of comparative constitutionalism to interpret the Eighth Amendment. It does not, however, provide an obvious theoretical basis to justify the practice. This Article searches for a theory to explain the comparativism in Roper using the theories advanced in the author's previous scholarship. It concludes that of the colorable candidates...

Homeland security is a critical component of the War on Terrorism. In our federal system of government, who is responsible for securing the homeland? The U.S. Congress has made available to states and cities some funding for overtime and equipment, but it has not assumed responsibility for covering all of the security costs incurred locally. While deploying some federal personnel for domestic...