Premarital Agreements and Choice of Law: One, Two, Three, Baby, You and Me

Part II of this article presents an overview of premarital agreement rules related to procedural and substantive fairness. Part III examines the relationship between the Restatement (First) of Conflict of Laws (hereinafter Restatement (First)) and the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws (hereinafter Restatement (Second)), with a specific focus on the ability of parties to contractually predetermine controlling law in relationship to marital rights and obligations before they marry. Part IV analyzes the choice of law provision in the UPAA. Part V synthesizes the existing judicial treatment of choice of law provisions in premarital agreements in jurisdictions applying the Restatement (First), Restatement (Second), and the other varying conflict approaches. Part VI explores case law from a variety of jurisdictions addressing particularly vexing premarital agreement construction and interpretation questions. Finally, Part VII proposes a uniform framework to assist parties, attorneys and courts in analyzing choice of law questions in the context of premarital agreements. This article argues that when a forum court exercises jurisdiction over spouses continuing to reside in the last marital domicile, courts should typically apply forum law, which is the law of the jurisdiction with the materially greatest interest, without regard to the chosen law. However, if the economically dependent spouse has relocated to a different state at the time the dissolution action is initiated, the forum court should apply the law of the domicile of the economically dependent spouse to decide questions of validity and construction, subject always to the forum\u27s fundamental public policy. Thus, in any case in which a premarital agreement contains a choice of law provision identifying the law of a jurisdiction other than the law of the domicile of the economically dependent spouse, the provision has lost its legitimacy and must concede supremacy to the law of the jurisdiction with the materially greater interest, the domicile of the economically dependent spouse

Mechanism of mitochondrial permeability transition pore induction and damage in the pancreas: inhibition prevents acute pancreatitis by protecting production of ATP

Objective Acute pancreatitis is caused by toxins that induce acinar cell calcium overload, zymogen activation, cytokine release and cell death, yet is without specific drug therapy. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated but the mechanism not established. Design We investigated the mechanism of induction and consequences of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) in the pancreas using cell biological methods including confocal microscopy, patch clamp technology and multiple clinically representative disease models. Effects of genetic and pharmacological inhibition of the MPTP were examined in isolated murine and human pancreatic acinar cells, and in hyperstimulation, bile acid, alcoholic and choline-deficient, ethionine-supplemented acute pancreatitis. Results MPTP opening was mediated by toxin-induced inositol trisphosphate and ryanodine receptor calcium channel release, and resulted in diminished ATP production, leading to impaired calcium clearance, defective autophagy, zymogen activation, cytokine production, phosphoglycerate mutase 5 activation and necrosis, which was prevented by intracellular ATP supplementation. When MPTP opening was inhibited genetically or pharmacologically, all biochemical, immunological and histopathological responses of acute pancreatitis in all four models were reduced or abolished. Conclusions This work demonstrates the mechanism and consequences of MPTP opening to be fundamental to multiple forms of acute pancreatitis and validates the MPTP as a drug target for this disease

Mechanism of mitochondrial permeability transition pore induction and damage in the pancreas: inhibition prevents acute pancreatitis by protecting production of ATP

Objective: Acute pancreatitis is caused by toxins that induce acinar cell calcium overload, zymogen activation, cytokine release and cell death, yet is without specific drug therapy. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated but the mechanism not established. Design: We investigated the mechanism of induction and consequences of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) in the pancreas using cell biological methods including confocal microscopy, patch clamp technology and multiple clinically representative disease models. Effects of genetic and pharmacological inhibition of the MPTP were examined in isolated murine and human pancreatic acinar cells, and in hyperstimulation, bile acid, alcoholic and choline-deficient, ethionine-supplemented acute pancreatitis. Results: MPTP opening was mediated by toxin-induced inositol trisphosphate and ryanodine receptor calcium channel release, and resulted in diminished ATP production, leading to impaired calcium clearance, defective autophagy, zymogen activation, cytokine production, phosphoglycerate mutase 5 activation and necrosis, which was prevented by intracellular ATP supplementation. When MPTP opening was inhibited genetically or pharmacologically, all biochemical, immunological and histopathological responses of acute pancreatitis in all four models were reduced or abolished. Conclusions: This work demonstrates the mechanism and consequences of MPTP opening to be fundamental to multiple forms of acute pancreatitis and validates the MPTP as a drug target for this disease

Should Marital Property Rights Be Inalienable? Preserving the Marriage Ante

The intersection of family law and property law raises intriguing questions related to identifying and protecting marital property rights. Because the viability of inalienable marital property depends upon the continuation of marriage as a status, Part I of this article questions the continuing viability of marriage as a means of financial, familial, and social order. Part II tracks the evolution of marital property in the United States and proposes that an inalienability rule reinvests the relationship of marriage with the economic consequences originally intended by state legislatures. Part III examines the metamorphosis of premarital agreements contemplating divorce from legally void to valid, negating the potential value of marital property. Part IV proposes that marital property should be deemed inalienable until divorce at which time such property can be identified, valued, and distributed based upon the circumstances existing at the time of divorce. In conclusion, Part V of the article anticipates and addresses potential arguments favoring the continued alienability of marital property rights

Exploring the First Amendment Rights of Teens in Relationship to Sexting and Censorship

This Article explores child pornography law in relation to teen sexting conduct. Recently, some teens who engaged in teen sexting have been convicted under child pornography laws and have been required to register as sexual predators. The criminalization of teens for developmentally typical behavior, mimicking the conduct of adults, can result in grave harm to most teens. Furthermore, the application of child pornography laws to teen sexting conduct demonstrates the constitutional overbreadth of the current definition of child pornography. Photographs have an emblematic role in society-capturing and celebrating youth. Moreover, the creation of teen sexting images accompanies a teen\u27s developmental quest for a sexual identity and individuation. Thus, teen sexting images constitute teen sexual speech and are entitled to some degree of constitutional protection, so long as the images are not obscene. The variable obscenity standard of Ginsberg v. New York has since been modified by the Bellotti v. Baird strict scrutiny standard. Thus, any legislation related to teen sexual speech must be narrowly tailored to protect the minor from harm, or further another compelling state interest. This Article tests the author\u27s proposed teen sexting legislation under the Bellotti test