Ethics for Examiners

The inquisitorial bankruptcy examiner is sui generis in our system. He faces unique ethical quandaries and considerations, which require a code of ethics tailored to his role if he is to achieve fully the promise of improving Chapter 11 through the introduction of inquisitorial investigative methods. This Article attempts to point the way toward guidelines that will regulate the conduct of examiners to mitigate real, potential, and perceived abuses

Textualism\u27s Failures: A Study of Overruled Bankruptcy Decisions

Judges and legal scholars are engaged in a contentious, wide- ranging, and long-running debate over methods of statutory interpretation. Stripping the debate of some of its nuance without misrepresenting its essence, there are two camps: the textualists and the pragmatists. Cass Sunstein recently argued that the question of interpretive method should be considered in light of evidence whether textualist methods work better or worse than pragmatic ones. To date, however, only limited empirical evidence has been systematically brought to bear on this question. This Article presents new empirical evidence gleaned from twenty years of interpretation of the United States Bankruptcy Code on the question of the comparative efficacy of textualism as a method of statutory interpretation. Analysis of bankruptcy decisions superseded by amendments to the Code indicates that cases adopting textualist methods of statutory interpretation are disproportionately found within the universe of cases overruled by statute. To the extent that the goal of statutory interpretation is the rational and efficient development and administration of complex statutory schemes in a manner consistent with policy goals democratically selected, this evidence should cause textualists to reconsider their allegiance to their method. It should also reinforce pragmatists\u27 commitment to pragmatic interpretation. Independently of the textualism/pragmatism debate, analysis of legislatively overruled decisions also gives insight into the types of bankruptcy decisions that get overruled by statute. Additional study of overruled cases in this and other statutory areas may produce valuable policy recommendations for judges and policymakers. This Article is divided into three parts. Part I describes the debate over textualism and illustrates the competing modes of interpretation using well-known bankruptcy cases decided by the Supreme Court. Part II describes the research design and results from a statistical analysis of the method of interpretation adopted in fifty-eight bankruptcy decisions subsequently overruled by statute. Finally, Part III presents significant subsidiary findings, independent of interpretive method, derived from analysis of the overruled cases. A short conclusion follows

Corporate Governance, Bankruptcy Waivers, and Consolidation in Bankruptcy

This outstanding Article by Daniel J. Bussel examines bankruptcy’s ability to override corporate law formalities and provide effective relief consistent with the underlying policies of the Bankruptcy Code. Recent scholarship and case law tend to support the legitimacy of entity partitions and contractual barriers to voluntary bankruptcy relief found in corporate charters. The author persuasively contends that bankruptcy law should return to the basics by refocusing on substance over form in order for corporate formalities to again yield to substantive bankruptcy policy

Doing Equity in Bankruptcy

This intriguing Article by Professor Daniel J. Bussel argues that in some cases a non-debtor\u27s right to specific relief should be treated as a \u27claim,\u27 monetized, given pro rata treatment and discharged. Notwithstanding this idea and the text of the Bankruptcy Code, many courts have concluded that an injunction or other equitable remedy is not a \u27claim\u27 unless the court\u27s decree can be satisfied by the payment of money under nonbankruptcy law. This Article argues that consistent with the Code\u27s text and policy, injunctions or other forms of equitable relief should be presumptively treated as \u27claims,\u27 even if nonbankruptcy law does not permit the enjoined party to satisfy the injunction by the payment of money. A balancing approach is then analyzed with seven factors introduced for courts to weigh when considering granting equitable relief claims in bankruptcy

Control of interjoint coordination during the swing phase of normal gait at different speeds

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that the control of unconstrained movements is simplified via the imposition of a kinetic constraint that produces dynamic torques at each moving joint such that they are a linear function of a single motor command. The linear relationship between dynamic torques at each joint has been demonstrated for multijoint upper limb movements. The purpose of the current study was to test the applicability of such a control scheme to the unconstrained portion of the gait cycle – the swing phase. METHODS: Twenty-eight neurologically normal individuals walked along a track at three different speeds. Angular displacements and dynamic torques produced at each of the three lower limb joints (hip, knee and ankle) were calculated from segmental position data recorded during each trial. We employed principal component (PC) analysis to determine (1) the similarity of kinematic and kinetic time series at the ankle, knee and hip during the swing phase of gait, and (2) the effect of walking speed on the range of joint displacement and torque. RESULTS: The angular displacements of the three joints were accounted for by two PCs during the swing phase (Variance accounted for – PC1: 75.1 ± 1.4%, PC2: 23.2 ± 1.3%), whereas the dynamic joint torques were described by a single PC (Variance accounted for – PC1: 93.8 ± 0.9%). Increases in walking speed were associated with increases in the range of motion and magnitude of torque at each joint although the ratio describing the relative magnitude of torque at each joint remained constant. CONCLUSION: Our results support the idea that the control of leg swing during gait is simplified in two ways: (1) the pattern of dynamic torque at each lower limb joint is produced by appropriately scaling a single motor command and (2) the magnitude of dynamic torque at all three joints can be specified with knowledge of the magnitude of torque at a single joint. Walking speed could therefore be altered by modifying a single value related to the magnitude of torque at one joint

The utility of screening for perinatal depression in the second trimester among Chinese: a three-wave prospective longitudinal study

This paper aims to study the pattern of perinatal depressive symptomatology and determine the predictive power of second trimester perinatal depressive symptoms for future perinatal periods. A population-based sample of 2,178 women completed the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) in the second and third trimesters and at 6 weeks postpartum. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to determine the EPDS scores across three stages. The predictive power of the second trimester EPDS score in identifying women with an elevated EPDS score in the third trimester and at 6 weeks postpartum were determined. The predictive power of the second trimester EPDS score was further assessed using stepwise logistic regression and receiver operator characteristic curves. EPDS scores differed significantly across three stages. The rates were 9.9%, 7.8%, and 8.7% for an EPDS score of >14 in the second and third trimesters and at 6 weeks postpartum, respectively. Using a cut-off of 14/15, the second trimester EPDS score accurately classified 89.6% of women in the third trimester and 87.2% of those at 6 weeks postpartum with or without perinatal depressive symptomatology. Women with a second trimester EPDS score >14 were 11.78 times more likely in the third trimester and 7.15 times more likely at 6 weeks postpartum to exhibit perinatal depressive symptomatology after adjustment of sociodemographic variables. The area under the curve for perinatal depressive symptomatology was 0.85 in the third trimester and 0.77 at 6 weeks postpartum. To identify women at high risk for postpartum depression, healthcare professionals could consider screening all pregnant women in the second trimester so that secondary preventive intervention may be implemented

Transmission in Heteronymous Spinal Pathways Is Modified after Stroke and Related to Motor Incoordination

Changes in reflex spinal pathways after stroke have been shown to affect motor activity in agonist and antagonist muscles acting at the same joint. However, only a few studies have evaluated the heteronymous reflex pathways modulating motoneuronal activity at different joints. This study investigates whether there are changes in the spinal facilitatory and inhibitory pathways linking knee to ankle extensors and if such changes may be related to motor deficits after stroke. The early facilitation and later inhibition of soleus H reflex evoked by the stimulation of femoral nerve at 2 times the motor threshold of the quadriceps were assessed in 15 healthy participants and on the paretic and the non-paretic sides of 15 stroke participants. The relationships between this reflex modulation and the levels of motor recovery, coordination and spasticity were then studied. Results show a significant (Mann-Whitney U; P<0.05) increase in both the peak amplitude (mean±SEM: 80±22% enhancement of the control H reflex) and duration (4.2±0.5 ms) of the facilitation on the paretic side of the stroke individuals compared to their non-paretic side (36±6% and 2.9±0.4 ms) and to the values of the control subjects (33±4% and 2.8±0.4 ms, respectively). Moreover, the later strong inhibition observed in all control subjects was decreased in the stroke subjects. Both the peak amplitude and the duration of the increased facilitation were inversely correlated (Spearman r = −0.65; P = 0.009 and r = −0.67; P = 0.007, respectively) with the level of coordination (LEMOCOT) of the paretic leg. Duration of this facilitation was also correlated (r = −0.58, P = 0.024) with the level of motor recovery (CMSA). These results confirm changes in transmission in heteronymous spinal pathways that are related to motor deficits after stroke