64 research outputs found
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Religious Documents and the Establishment Clause
A priest, a rabbi, and an imam walk into a contract lawyer\u27s office. Fortunately, this is not the opening of a lawyer joke, but it might well be the prelude to a complicated constitutional question about the interaction of the First Amendment and contract law. Pastors, priests, rabbis, imams, religious schools, churches, religious businesses, and a wealth of faith-based groups all enter into contractual agreements. Not surprisingly, these agreements often contain religious language, and sometimes they even hinge on provisions invoking expressly religious concepts. Religious documents come in a variety of forms, including marriage contracts, disposition of property documents, agreements on a child\u27s religious upbringing, commercial transactions, employment contracts, and arbitration agreements. In some states, these agreements have even been the subject of legislation. In sum, religious parties sometimes draft religious documents, and they do so in a variety of contexts. The infusion of potentially sacred obligations into the realm of secular contract law presents courts with a number of difficult questions. For example, although courts are charged to interpret and give effect to religious documents whenever possible, the judiciary is starkly constrained by the religion clauses of the First Amendment, especially the Establishment Clause. The conflicting commands to enforce contracts and yet to uphold the limitations of the Establishment Clause are not easily reconciled. What is a court to do when an agreement specifies that the law of Moses and Israel governs, states that disputes are to be referred to a Christian Conciliation Service for resolution, or requires a husband to pay a dowry arising from obligations set out in the Qur\u27an? How does a court interpret or enforce contractual terms that invoke religious matters? This Article takes direct aim at these questions by explaining the relevant Establishment Clause limitations, analyzing the governing case law from around the nation, and outlining a proposed model for judicial analysis of all religious documents. It also reviews a wide variety of guidance helpfully offered by other commentators in these areas. Part II sets the stage by highlighting some of the cultural and religious factors that often surround religious documents, taking as an example marriage contracts. Part III illuminates the fact that it will at times be impossible, from a constitutional standpoint, to enforce religious agreements under governing case law. Part IV then discusses state and federal court decisions that have addressed religious documents. Next, Part V draws from existing literature from other commentators on interpreting religious agreements and begins to frame an analytical model. Finally, Part VI proposes a model for courts to follow in adjudicating religious document cases
Google the Gozerian and Fair Use Slimed: Copyright Again in the Technocrat\u27s Den
This article considers the fair use doctrine as it applies to Google\u27s Library Search Project and both predicts and advocates for a finding of fair use. Part I briefly reviews the past by considering the pertinent history of the fair use doctrine. It also explains the details of the current suit over Google\u27s Library Project. Part II moves on to consider the current state of fair use analysis by reviewing 110 fair use cases and conducting simple statistical analyses. It then explains and applies the fair use doctrine to Google\u27s project. Part III considers cases frequently compared to Google\u27s and discusses their impact on Google\u27s lawsuit. Part IV departs from a Google-centered analysis and examines the possible future of the four factors by suggesting modifications to the fair use doctrine
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Fair Use and the New Transformative
In the eyes of many, the “transformative” subfactor of the fair use analysis is expanding. Recent decisions such as Cariou v. Prince, Seltzer v. Green Day, and the Google Books line of cases have allegedly pushed the doctrine into new and problematic territory. Given the subfactor’s power in the aggregate fair use analysis and its strong parallels to the goals of copyright law, the scope of the transformativeness inquiry is critical to defining permitted uses under § 107. Accordingly, this Article assesses the claims that Cariou et al. have modified the scope of transformativeness. Part I paints, in broad strokes, the history of the transformativeness subfactor. Part II focuses on recent copyright decisions and concludes that some cases have expanded the doctrine of transformativeness into new territory. Some of those modifications are inconsistent with prior decisions. Finally, Part III considers paths to stabilize the transformative subfactor
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Rise of the Machines: Machine-Generated Data and the Confrontation Clause
Forensic machines and other such devices can create powerfully incriminating evidence, and some do so with little or no human aid. In a world where machines increasingly perform that task, what happens to the right to cross-examine the human witnesses who would have testified but for the machines? Through errors, bias, and even fabrication, machine operators, calibrators, and others involved in the forensic process still have the power to cause these tools to incriminate the wrong person. There is no shortage of evidence that this occurs. Many courts have concluded, however, that there is no right to cross-examine the operators of these machines. This Article analyzes that result.
The Article begins by discussing Confrontation Clause jurisprudence from across the nation, including machine-generated testimony cases and areas of Confrontation Clause jurisprudence that might be instructive in addressing machine-generated data, such as cases involving photographs, videos, interpreters, and dog handler testimony. The article then considers the strengths and weaknesses of several potential approaches to machine-generated testimony and concludes that multiple approaches are defensible, but the approach that best adheres to the purposes of the Confrontation Clause focuses on the degree and nature of the operator’s control over the machine. Under that model, there is no right to cross-examine the operators of many modern machines. Though that result is troubling, there are alternative models that might extend the lifespan of the Confrontation Clause. However, as machines become increasingly automated, the right to cross-examine their human assistants and progenitors will approach extinction
Extended thromboprophylaxis with betrixaban in acutely ill medical patients
BACKGROUND:
Patients with acute medical illnesses are at prolonged risk for venous thrombosis. However, the appropriate duration of thromboprophylaxis remains unknown.
METHODS:
Patients who were hospitalized for acute medical illnesses were randomly assigned to receive subcutaneous enoxaparin (at a dose of 40 mg once daily) for 10±4 days plus oral betrixaban placebo for 35 to 42 days or subcutaneous enoxaparin placebo for 10±4 days plus oral betrixaban (at a dose of 80 mg once daily) for 35 to 42 days. We performed sequential analyses in three prespecified, progressively inclusive cohorts: patients with an elevated d-dimer level (cohort 1), patients with an elevated d-dimer level or an age of at least 75 years (cohort 2), and all the enrolled patients (overall population cohort). The statistical analysis plan specified that if the between-group difference in any analysis in this sequence was not significant, the other analyses would be considered exploratory. The primary efficacy outcome was a composite of asymptomatic proximal deep-vein thrombosis and symptomatic venous thromboembolism. The principal safety outcome was major bleeding.
RESULTS:
A total of 7513 patients underwent randomization. In cohort 1, the primary efficacy outcome occurred in 6.9% of patients receiving betrixaban and 8.5% receiving enoxaparin (relative risk in the betrixaban group, 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.65 to 1.00; P=0.054). The rates were 5.6% and 7.1%, respectively (relative risk, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.66 to 0.98; P=0.03) in cohort 2 and 5.3% and 7.0% (relative risk, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.63 to 0.92; P=0.006) in the overall population. (The last two analyses were considered to be exploratory owing to the result in cohort 1.) In the overall population, major bleeding occurred in 0.7% of the betrixaban group and 0.6% of the enoxaparin group (relative risk, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.67 to 2.12; P=0.55).
CONCLUSIONS:
Among acutely ill medical patients with an elevated d-dimer level, there was no significant difference between extended-duration betrixaban and a standard regimen of enoxaparin in the prespecified primary efficacy outcome. However, prespecified exploratory analyses provided evidence suggesting a benefit for betrixaban in the two larger cohorts. (Funded by Portola Pharmaceuticals; APEX ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01583218.)
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Sperm DNA methylation mediates the association of male age on reproductive outcomes among couples undergoing infertility treatment
Parental age at time of offspring conception is increasing in developed countries. Advanced male age is associated with decreased reproductive success and increased risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes in offspring. Mechanisms for these male age effects remain unclear, but changes in sperm DNA methylation over time is one potential explanation. We assessed genome-wide methylation of sperm DNA from 47 semen samples collected from male participants of couples seeking infertility treatment. We report that higher male age was associated with lower likelihood of fertilization and live birth, and poor embryo development (p \u3c 0.05). Furthermore, our multivariable linear models showed male age was associated with alterations in sperm methylation at 1698 CpGs and 1146 regions (q \u3c 0.05), which were associated with \u3e 750 genes enriched in embryonic development, behavior and neurodevelopment among others. High dimensional mediation analyses identified four genes (DEFB126, TPI1P3, PLCH2 and DLGAP2) with age-related sperm differential methylation that accounted for 64% (95% CI 0.42–0.86%; p \u3c 0.05) of the effect of male age on lower fertilization rate. Our findings from this modest IVF population provide evidence for sperm methylation as a mechanism of age-induced poor reproductive outcomes and identifies possible candidate genes for mediating these effects
Incidence of Local Anesthetic Systemic Toxicity and Postoperative Neurologic Symptoms Associated With 12,668 Ultrasound-Guided Nerve Blocks An Analysis From a Prospective Clinical Registry
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