Pro Se Litigants: Application of a Single Objective Standard Under FRCP 11 to Reduce Frivolous Litigation

This Comment addresses the application of Rule 11 sanctions to pro se litigants and argues that based on the language of Rule 11, the concerns expressed in the Advisory Committee Note to Rule 11, and the primary goal of Rule 11 to deter abusive pleadings, a single objective standard should be applied to all parties-attorneys, represented parties, and pro se litigants-to determine whether Rule 11 has been violated. Under this single objective standard, a pro se litigant\u27s lack of legal representation should be considered only in determining the severity of the sanction, not in determining whether Rule 11 has been violated. Section I of this Comment evaluates the language of Rule 11 as amended in 1983 and the accompanying Advisory Committee Note. In Section II, the varying approaches that courts have taken to the application of Rule 11 to pro se litigants are examined through specific Rule 11 cases. Section III discusses the rationale and arguments supporting the application of a single objective test to pro se litigants. Finally, Section IV examines how a single test should be applied to pro se litigants and the proper standards that may factor into the adjudication of a motion for Rule 11 sanctions against a pro se litigant

Pro Se Litigants: Application of a Single Objective Standard Under FRCP 11 to Reduce Frivolous Litigation

This Comment addresses the application of Rule 11 sanctions to pro se litigants and argues that based on the language of Rule 11, the concerns expressed in the Advisory Committee Note to Rule 11, and the primary goal of Rule 11 to deter abusive pleadings, a single objective standard should be applied to all parties-attorneys, represented parties, and pro se litigants-to determine whether Rule 11 has been violated. Under this single objective standard, a pro se litigant\u27s lack of legal representation should be considered only in determining the severity of the sanction, not in determining whether Rule 11 has been violated. Section I of this Comment evaluates the language of Rule 11 as amended in 1983 and the accompanying Advisory Committee Note. In Section II, the varying approaches that courts have taken to the application of Rule 11 to pro se litigants are examined through specific Rule 11 cases. Section III discusses the rationale and arguments supporting the application of a single objective test to pro se litigants. Finally, Section IV examines how a single test should be applied to pro se litigants and the proper standards that may factor into the adjudication of a motion for Rule 11 sanctions against a pro se litigant

Determining the Locations of Dust Sources in FeLoBAL Quasars

We conduct a spectroscopic search of quasars observed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) with broad absorption line (BAL) troughs due to Mg II and troughs due to Fe II that simultaneously exhibit strong Balmer narrow emission lines (NELs). We find that in a redshift range of 0.4 less than or equal to z less than or equal to 0.9 approximately 23 of the 70 Mg II BALs and 4 of a subset of 15 Fe II BALs exhibit strong Balmer emission. We also find significant fractions of Mg II BALs (approximately 23%) and those Mg II BALs with Fe II troughs (approximately 27%) have strong continuum reddening, E(B - V) greater than or equal to 0.1. From measurements of the Balmer decrement in three objects, we find similarly significant reddening of the NEL region in three of the four objects; the NELs in the fourth object are not measurable. We also include one object in this study not taken from the SDSS sample that shows Fe II absorption and strong narrow emission, but due to measurement uncertainty and low continuum reddening the comparison is consistent but inconclusive. We find a trend in both the Mg II and Fe II BAL samples between the NEL reddening and continuum reddening. Because the narrow line reddening is consistent with the continuum reddening in every object in the two SDSS samples, it suggests that the reddening sources in these objects likely exist at larger radial distances than the narrow line regions from the central nucleus.Comment: 40 manuscript pages, accepted in ApJ (July

Complex and sustained quantum beating patterns in a classic IVR system: the 3¹5¹ Level in S₁ p-difluorobenzene

Using picosecond time-resolved photoelectron imaging we have studied the intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution (IVR) dynamics that occur following the excitation of the 3151 level which lies 2068 cm-1 above the S1 origin in p difluorobenzene. Our technique, which has superior time resolution to that of earlier studies but retains sufficient energy resolution to identify the behavior of individual vibrational states, enables us to determine six distinct beating periods in photoelectron intensity, only one of which has been observed previously. Analysis shows that the IVR dynamics are restricted among only a handful of vibrational levels, despite the relatively high excitation energy. This is deduced to be a consequence of the high symmetry and rigid structure of p-difluorobenzene

Generativity Abilities Predict Communication Deficits but not Repetitive Behaviors in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) often demonstrate impaired generativity that is thought to mediate repetitive behaviors in autism (Turner in J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 40(6):839–849, 1999a). The present study evaluated generativity in children with and without ASD via the use-of-objects task (Turner in J Child Psychol Psychiatry, 40(2):189–201, 1999b) and an Animals Fluency Task (Lezak in Neuropsychological assessment. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1995). Groups differed significantly on two of four metrics from the Animals Fluency Task and two of seven metrics from the Use of Objects task. In the ASD sample, no significant relations were found between generativity and repetitive behaviors. Significant relations were found, however, between performance on the Animals Fluency Task and communication symptoms. Results replicate reports of generativity deficits in ASD and suggest that impaired generativity may reflect communication deficits that are characteristic of the disorder

Performance of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders on the Dimension-Change Card Sort Task

Restricted and repetitive behaviors in autism spectrum disorders have been conceptualized to reflect impaired executive functions. In the present study, we investigated the performance of 6–17-year-old children with and without an autism spectrum disorder on a dimension-change card sort task that explicitly indicated sorting rules on every trial. Diagnostic groups did not differ in speed of responses after the first rule switch or in speed or accuracy on blocks with mixed versus single sort rules. However, performance of the ASD group was significantly slower and less accurate overall than the typically-developing group. Furthermore, within the ASD group, poorer DCCS task performance did not predict more severe autism symptoms. Implications for the executive dysfunction theory of autism are discussed

Probing the origins of vibrational mode specificity in intramolecular dynamics through picosecond time-resolved photoelectron imaging studies

We have studied the intramolecular dynamics induced by selective photoexcitation of two near-isoenergetic vibrational states in S1 p-fluorotoluene using picosecond time-resolved photoelectron imaging. We find that similar dynamics ensue following the preparation of the 13111 and 7a111 states that lie at 1990 cm-1 and 2026 cm-1, and that these dynamics are mediated by a single strongly coupled doorway state in each case. However, the lifetimes differ by a factor of three, suggesting an influence of the vibrational character of the modes involved. Our results clearly show the contribution of torsion-vibration coupling to the dynamics; this is further corroborated by comparison with the 7a111 state in S1 p-difluorobenzene, which lies at 2068 cm-1. We invoke a model in which van der Waals interactions between methyl hydrogen atoms and nearby ring carbon and hydrogen atoms leads to mixing of the vibrational and torsional states. This model predicts that enhanced torsion-vibration coupling occurs when mode 7a is excited, consistent with our observations