Analog Solutions: E-discovery Spoliation Sanctions and the Proposed Amendments to FRCP 37(e)

The ever-increasing importance of digital technology in today’s commercial environment has created several serious problems for courts operating under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure’s (FRCP) discovery regime. As the volume of discoverable information has grown exponentially, so too have the opportunities for abuse and misinterpretation of the FRCP’s outdated e-discovery rules. Federal courts are divided over the criteria for imposing the most severe discovery sanctions as well as the practical ramifications of the preservation duty as applied to electronically stored information. As a result, litigants routinely feel pressured to overpreserve potentially discoverable data, often at great expense. At a conference at the Duke University School of Law in 2010, experts from all sides of the civil-litigation system concluded that the e-discovery rules were in desperate need of updating. The subsequent four years saw a flurry of rulemaking efforts. In 2014, a package of proposed FRCP amendments included a complete overhaul of Rule 37(e), the provision governing spoliation sanctions for electronically stored information. This Note analyzes the proposed Rule and argues that the amendment will fail to accomplish the Advisory Committee’s goals because it focuses too heavily on preserving the trial court’s discretion in imposing sanctions and focuses too little on incentivizing efficient and cooperative pretrial discovery. The Note concludes by offering revisions and enforcement mechanisms that would allow the new Rule 37(e) to better address the e-discovery issues identified at the Duke Conference

On topological upper-bounds on the number of small cuspidal eigenvalues

Let $S$ be a noncompact, finite area hyperbolic surface of type $(g, n)$. Let $\Delta_S$ denote the Laplace operator on $S$. As $S$ varies over the {\it moduli space} ${\mathcal{M}_{g, n}}$ of finite area hyperbolic surfaces of type $(g, n)$, we study, adapting methods of Lizhen Ji \cite{Ji} and Scott Wolpert \cite{Wo}, the behavior of {\it small cuspidal eigenpairs} of $\Delta_S$. In Theorem 2 we describe limiting behavior of these eigenpairs on surfaces ${S_m} \in {\mathcal{M}_{g, n}}$ when $({S_m})$ converges to a point in $\overline{\mathcal{M}_{g, n}}$. Then we consider the $i$-th {\it cuspidal eigenvalue}, ${\lambda^c_i}(S)$, of $S \in {\mathcal{M}_{g, n}}$. Since {\it non-cuspidal} eigenfunctions ({\it residual eigenfunctions} or {\it generalized eigenfunctions}) may converge to cuspidal eigenfunctions, it is not known if ${\lambda^c_i}(S)$ is a continuous function. However, applying Theorem 2 we prove that, for all $k \geq 2g-2$, the sets $${{\mathcal{C}_{g, n}^{\frac{1}{4}}}}(k)= \{ S \in {\mathcal{M}_{g, n}}: {\lambda_k^c}(S) > \frac{1}{4} \}$$ are open and contain a neighborhood of ${\cup_{i=1}^n}{\mathcal{M}_{0, 3}} \cup {\mathcal{M}_{g-1, 2}}$ in $\overline{\mathcal{M}_{g, n}}$. Moreover, using topological properties of nodal sets of {\it small eigenfunctions} from \cite{O}, we show that ${{\mathcal{C}_{g, n}^{\frac{1}{4}}}}(2g-1)$ contains a neighborhood of ${\mathcal{M}_{0, n+1}} \cup {\mathcal{M}_{g, 1}}$ in $\overline{\mathcal{M}_{g, n}}$. These results provide evidence in support of a conjecture of Otal-Rosas \cite{O-R}.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figur

Newspaper clipping, Frederick Douglass\u27 funeral, 1895 February 25

Newspaper clipping about the Frederick Douglass funeral held at the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D. C. , on 1895 February 25. This article is about Scott C. Harrison serving as one of the ushers at the funeral. ...They were assisted by the following ushers from Howard University; J. W. McDowell, E. C. Campbell, D. W. Paxton, F. W. Vaughn, G. D. Eubanks, T. M. Syphax, C. M. Butler, H. O. Cook, D. O. W. Holmes, S. C. Harrison, W. E. Benson, and Robert Coleman . This collection consists of a leather-bound Bible owned by Scott C. Harrison, a Black attorney, in the 1880s-1910s. Inside the Bible are clippings, hand-written notes, lists of family genealogy, and a pamphlet for a social club meeting.https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/speccoll-mss-harrisonsc1/1003/thumbnail.jp

Editorial Board

Editors-in Chief Hertha L. Lund Stephanie C. Stimpson Articles Editors Brendan R. Beatty Greg E. Overturf Citations Editors Tiffany B. Lonnevik Lisa A. Rodeghiero Managing Editor Robert J. Guite Staff Abbott Cooper Christopher J. Flann Sean S. Frampton Jamie J. Gaghwiler James M. Hughes Jason P. Loble Robert C. Lukes M. Scott Regan Jon. O. Shields David M. Wagner Faculty Advisor Carl Tobia

Editorial Board

Editors-in Chief Christopher J. Flann Jason P. Loble Articles Editors James M. Hughes Robert C. Lukes Jon O. Shields Citations Editors Jamie J. Gashwiler M. Scott Regan Managing Editor Sean S. Frampton Staff Natalie S. Adams Raymond J. Dearie, Jr. Sarah A. Dixon Lucas J. Foust Whitney L. Grubbs Kathleen S. Monzie William V. Roth Deirdre L. Runnette Justin W. Stark Julia M. Weddle Faculty Advisor Carl Tobia

Apocalypse - 1997

Contributers include: Jason Scott Steele, Sean Brendan-Brown, Rikki Santer, cait cerridwen, Richard Broderick, Thomas Goodin, Robyn Stevens, Joseph M. O\u27Connell, B.Z. Niditch, Erroll Miller, Judith Susannah Greer, Kathryn Young, Emilio de Valle, Edward C. Lynskey, Taylor Graham, Melanie Newman, F.J. Schaack, Robert Cooperman, J.B. McKeon, Gina M. Tabasso, Julie Cooper-Fratrik, Michael James Wollrab, Camincha Benvenutto, David Chorltonhttps://neiudc.neiu.edu/apocalypse/1000/thumbnail.jp

New Tools and Technology - Technology / Outreach

Karen S. Bruns: TNT: Teams for New Technology. Bruce Deyoung: The Webbook of Its Innovations in Extension. David R. Drake: It\u27s in the DNA, Why are Fruits Different? Scott V. Fedale: Technology Options for Distance Training and Communications. Julie M. Fox: Technology Enhanced Learning for New and Emerging Rural Entrepreneurs, Project Highlights. Kay Hendrickson: Fashion Institute --Linking Creativity, Technology, and the Apparel Industry. Barbara O\u27Neill: Tax Planning Strategies for Extension Educators. Scott D. Scheer: Connecting to 4-H Cloverbud Volunteers through an Educational Video Production. Jan Scholl: Video Flash Cards. Dewey Teel: Technologies Across Nebraska

Editorial Board

Editor-in Chief John B. Spooner Managing Editor Daniel N. McLean Technical Editor Randall A. Snyder Note and Comment Editor Michael F. Lamb Survey Editor Robert J. Law Staff Bruce O. Bekkedahl Carolyn A. Clemens Nancy K. Dye Charles G. Hammond Steven M. Johnson Gregory A. Luinstra Richard A. Reep P. Mars Scott Jean E. Wilcox Caroline A. Winnie Jeannie Young Faculty Advisor William L. Corbett Law Review Secretary Raneid M. Patric