Prisoner\u27s Rights -- Failure to Provide Adequate Law Libraries Denies Inmates\u27 Right of Access to the Courts

This article examines the Supreme Court\u27s decision in Bounds v. Smith and the movement toward recognition of the rights that prisoners retain after incarceration. Part I outlines the nature and legal foundation of the right of access to the courts as endorsed by Bounds. Part II examines questions raised by the dissenting opinions concerning the scope and validity of the right. Part III addresses the practical implication of the decision and concludes that the right of state and federal prisoners to access legal information in preparing legal papers stands on firmer ground after this decision

Within the Best Interests of the Child: The Factor of Parental Status in Custody Disputes Arising from Surrogacy

This article explores the significance of parental status in the determination of custody and the question of whether the legal relationship of parent and child is also subject to public policy limitations. Part II outlines the essential elements of surrogacy. Part III examines the relationship of the best interests test and its preference for custody with a parent. Part IV discusses the surrogacy contract and the contracting parties. Part V briefly discusses the various constitutional arguments necessary to determine whether parental status is properly viewed as an issue of public policy. Part VI presents public policy considerations that states will address when a surrogacy agreement results in a custody dispute

Client Confidences and Public Confidence in the Legal Profession: Observations on the ABA House of Delegates Deliberations on the Duty of Confidentiality

This article sets forth points to encourage the ABA House of Delegates to reconsider proposed revisions to Model Rule 1.6 (b)(2) and (b)(3) and to reject any proposals to revert back to the former rule. Specifically, the article urges the delegates to: 1) be aware of absolutes and consider proportionality; 2) recognize lawyers as trustworthy decision makers; and 3) acknowledge the profession\u27s responsibility to the public. The article suggests that the possibility of reverting to the former rule is radically out of step with the tradition of confidentiality in the American legal profession and with the rules of professional conduct adopted by most states and would subject lawyers to the risk of liability to non-clients harmed by client conduct that was known to the lawyer

The Logic of Legal Remedies and the Relative Weight of Norms: Assessing the Public Interest in the Tort Reform Debate

Part II of this essay examines the need to identify, measure, and compare the interests at stake in any legal contest with rigorous consistency. It also notes the corollary principle of proportionality as a limiting principle that guards against foolish or destructive consistency. Part III explores the natural hierarchy among legal norms and the weight accorded various types of interests that deserve legal protection. Part IV considers the system of measurement presented by the current tort reform movement, exploring the failure of many proponents of tort reform to account for or accommodate the tradition of a more generous and protective measure of damages in tort law as compared with contract law. It notes the failure of proponents of tort reform to consider the traditional role of tort damages in creating compensation for victims of negligent conduct, preserving physical security of individuals and the public, and creating disincentives against negligent conduct. It also explores the failure of some proponents of tax reform to count the cost to the public interests involved, diluting the principal goals of tort law. Part V concludes that identification of both individual and collective interests and consideration of the fundamental incentives of tort law should be an integral and explicit part of the debate on tort reform

An Authentic Life in the Law: A Tribute to James K. Logan

This article is a tribute to Judge James K. Logan, one time dean of the University of Kansas Law School and jurist on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals

Streamlining NEPA to Combat Global Climate Change: Heresy or Necessity?

This article discusses the impact of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on the development of noncarbon energy sources and raises the question of whether the NEPA process should be altered to bring clean power online faster. The article examines the ability of the market to respond to the call for rapid adaptation to climate change and for rapid development of noncarbon sources of energy, given the regulatory environment and existing regulatory treatment of NEPA processes. In addition, the article examines examples of current streamlining of the NEPA process in the energy arena. The author notes arguments for and against streamlining and calls for debate to balance these competing views of the public good and the application of NEPA to promote the public good

The Lawyer as Public Citizen: Meeting the Pro Bono Challenge

This article discusses the importance of attorneys fulfilling the role of public citizen by helping to provide legal services to those unable to pay and how Model Rule 61. on pro bono service articulates this role

Reinventing the Deal: A Sequential Approach to Analyzing Claims for Enforcement of Modified Sales Contracts

This article considers whether providing additional content to the concept of good faith in the area of contract modification is possible or desirable. The article explores the modification puzzle and the issues of erratic justice that result from the nebulous nature of the UCC test, and evaluates an alternative test (the sequential approach) that scrutinizes each step of the modification process and imports the standard of reasonable grounds into this context. Part II discusses terminology and fundamental concepts in this area of law, including the reasons for seeking a modification, the steps of a modification, and the typical defense to an action to enforce a modification. Part III considers the social utility of contract modifications. Part IV surveys the available standards for judging modifications, discusses the Restatement approach to the modification problems, and evaluates the benefits and possible limitations of a reasonable grounds standard. Part V compares the traditional approach of the Pre-existing Duty Rule with the current solution of UCC section 2-209(1) and examines the changes recently proposed to revise the provision. Part VI summarizes and analyzes decisional law. Part VII formulates language for a sequential test of good faith modeled on the test for assurance of performance under UCC section 2-609 and considers reasons for using this section as a model for the modification provision. This part also assesses the sequential approach in light of typical defenses and representative hypothetical cases. The author concludes by urging the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and states to evaluate the sequential approach and consider whether it would facilitate the work of the courts by providing a more consistent and balanced test for enforcement of modified sales contracts