The Myth of Civic Republicanism: Interrogating the Ideology of Antebellum Legal Ethics

Ethicists, historians and sociologists have generally accepted the premise that the legal profession did not offer strong, public defenses of the adversary ethic (ethically neutral service of clients) until after 1870 when professional elites sought to rationalize their role in the rise of corporate capitalism. Prior to 1870, it has been argued, the legal profession was dominated by a civic republican ideology in which lawyers conceived their role as a form of public service dedicated to vindicating the interests of justice and morality even if that meant refusing to seek a client's lawful ends.This paper challenges both claims. Surveying antebellum law periodicals, the article reveals a robust debate on the definition and justifiability of the lawyer's role. In particular, the article examines defenses of the adversary ethic that were both more vigorous and far less apologetic than defenses offered today. Moreover, the article shows that the defenses came from legal elites, not simply Jacksonian levelers, and the defenses were couched in the discourse of civic republicanism - suggesting that morally activist lawyering was not the only conception of the role thought to be consistent with civic republican principles

Crop Insurance Purchase Decisions: A Study of Northern Illinois Farmers

When selecting crop insurance coverage, farmers must consider multiple factors. The importance associated with factors that are considered when making crop insurance decisions varies among individual farmers. As available crop insurance options increase, selecting the appropriate coverage becomes a more complicated process. The prevalence of crop insurance participation and the existence of multiple selection criteria also makes understanding participant decisions more difficult. This paper provides findings of a mail survey conducted among farmers in northern Illinois. Mainly, this paper examines factors influencing farmers’ crop insurance purchase decisions, types of coverage purchased, and farmers’ risk attitudes.Crop Production/Industries,

Examination of Factors Influencing Crop Insurance Purchase Decisions of Illinois Farmers

Farm Management, Risk and Uncertainty,

An Analysis of McLean County, Illinois Farmers' Perceptions of Genetically Modified Crops

McLean County, Illinois farmers were surveyed in order to explore and analyze their perceptions of genetically modified crops and their genetically modified cropping decisions. Questionnaires were mailed to 400 randomly selected farmers, and 156 were returned. The 134 respondents who reported that they planned to plant crops in 2003 were asked to provide information about gender, age, education, and number of tillable acres farmed. Respondents were also asked if they had previously planted genetically modified crops and if they planned to plant either genetically modified corn or genetically modified soybeans in 2003. Finally, respondents were presented with 40 statements that pertained to biotechnology and genetically modified crops, and they were asked to record their level of agreement or disagreement with each statement using a 5-point Likert scale. Factor analysis was used to construct four factors from responses to the 40 statements that pertained to biotechnology and genetically modified crops. Items that loaded into the first factor indicated that McLean county farmers perceived agricultural biotechnology to be acceptable and beneficial, and their perspectives of biotechnology were much broader than the economic impacts on their own farms. The second factor revealed that McLean County farmers' cropping decisions had been affected to some degree by events such as the StarLink corn case that had cast a negative shadow over biotechnology. The third factor reflected direct benefits of genetically modified crops to farm operations, specifically higher yields and profits. The fourth factor included increased regulation of genetically modified crops in international markets and lower prices for genetically modified crops, which were potentially negative factors in the marketing of genetically modified crops. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to classify respondents according to past and planned experiences with genetically modified crops. When weighted factor scores from the four factors were used as independent variables, 100% of farmers who had planted genetically modified crops in the past, 98.4% of farmers who planned to plant genetically modified crops in 2003, and 100% of farmers who had not discontinued planting genetically modified crops were correctly classified. On the other hand, only 62.5% of farmers who had not planted genetically modified crops in the past, 60.0% of farmers who planned to not plant genetically modified crops in 2003, and 60.0% of farmers who had discontinued planting genetically modified crops were correctly classified. When the highest loading items from each of the four factors were used as independent variables, classification of farmers who had planted genetically modified crops in the past, farmers who planned to plant genetically modified crops in 2003, and farmers who had not discontinued planting genetically modified crops were little changed. However, correct classification of farmers who had not planted genetically modified crops in the past dropped from 62.5% to 50%, correct classification of farmers who had planned to not plant genetically modified crops in 2003 dropped from 60.0% to 20.0%, and correct classification of farmers who had discontinued planting genetically modified crops dropped from 60% to 0%. Additional information about farmers' age, education, and farm size increased the explanatory power of models only modestly. Inspection of regression coefficients revealed that increases in Factor 1 scores, which were dominated by positive aspects of biotechnology from a macro perspective, were associated with increases in odds ratios for having planted genetically modified crops in the past, having planned to plant genetically modified crops in 2003, and having continued planting genetically modified crops. Alternatively, increases in Factor 2 scores, which were dominated by negative perceptions of genetically modified seeds and crops, were associated with increases in odds ratios for having planned to not plant genetically modified crops in 2003, and having discontinued planting genetically modified crops. Factor 3 scores, which were dominated by micro benefits to farmers, were associated with increases in odds ratios for having planned to plant genetically modified crops in 2003, and having continued planting genetically modified crops. Results for two individual items that were significant, namely "as a consumer, I am satisfied with the benefits of biotechnology," and "restrictions on saving GM seed affect my GM crop planting decisions," were consistent with results for weighted factor scores. Greater agreement with the former statement was associated with increases in odds ratios for having planted genetically modified crops in the past, and having planned to plant genetically modified crops in 2003. Greater agreement with the latter statement was associated with increases in odds ratios for having planned to not plant genetically modified crops in 2003 and having discontinued planting genetically modified crops.biotechnology, genetically modified, corn, soybeans, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Q16,

Ethanol Marketing and Input Procurement Practices of U.S. Ethanol Producers: 2008 Survey Results

A mail survey was used to collect information about input procurement and ethanol and co-product marketing practices from 60 U.S. ethanol production facilities. Data were used to answer questions about the conduct or behavior of ethanol producers. It was anticipated that firm conduct or behavior would be fairly homogeneous because the ethanol industry was in Stage II of the industry life-cycle, and societal support for ethanol production resulted in large volumes of publicly available information about technology and markets. Age of facility, size of facility, and type of ownership jointly explained a limited number of differences in responses across ethanol facilities, thus supporting the concept of fairly homogeneous conduct or behavior.entry timing, ethanol, farmer-owned cooperatives, industry life-cycle, Agribusiness, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q11, Q42,

Risk Management Strategies of Illinois Farmers

Farm Management, Risk and Uncertainty,

Short term doxycycline treatment induces sustained improvement in myocardial infarction border zone contractility.

Decreased contractility in the non-ischemic border zone surrounding a MI is in part due to degradation of cardiomyocyte sarcomeric components by intracellular matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2). We recently reported that MMP-2 levels were increased in the border zone after a MI and that treatment with doxycycline for two weeks after MI was associated with normalization of MMP-2 levels and improvement in ex-vivo contractile protein developed force in the myocardial border zone. The purpose of the current study was to determine if there is a sustained effect of short term treatment with doxycycline (Dox) on border zone function in a large animal model of antero-apical myocardial infarction (MI). Antero-apical MI was created in 14 sheep. Seven sheep received doxycycline 0.8 mg/kg/hr IV for two weeks. Cardiac MRI was performed two weeks before, and then two and six weeks after MI. Two sheep died prior to MRI at six weeks from surgical/anesthesia-related causes. The remaining 12 sheep completed the protocol. Doxycycline induced a sustained reduction in intracellular MMP-2 by Western blot (3649±643 MI+Dox vs 9236±114 MI relative intensity; p = 0.0009), an improvement in ex-vivo contractility (65.3±2.0 MI+Dox vs 39.7±0.8 MI mN/mm2; p<0.0001) and an increase in ventricular wall thickness at end-systole 1.0 cm from the infarct edge (12.4±0.6 MI+Dox vs 10.0±0.5 MI mm; p = 0.0095). Administration of doxycycline for a limited two week period is associated with a sustained improvement in ex-vivo contractility and an increase in wall thickness at end-systole in the border zone six weeks after MI. These findings were associated with a reduction in intracellular MMP-2 activity

The Ideal and the Actual in Procedural Due Process

The law proceduralists write about and teach is nothing like what most ordinary Americans experience when they step into court. Indeed, the evidence shows that most Americans who have legal problems do not ever get to court, nor do they receive a meaningful alternative hearing. In this way both judicial and academic discourse on procedure, even among those who see glaring problems of access to justice, is idealized, abstract, and ossified—unconnected to the actual. This Essay describes the ideal/actual divide in procedure—the cognitive, doctrinal and ideological effects of lingering on the ideal side of it, and the forms of subordination perpetuated on the actual side. The Essay begins by turning away from the federal courts, which decide less than two percent of all cases in the United States, in order to examine a series of recent cases and reports on the actual administration of justice in state courts, in state and federal administrative agencies, and in private arbitration. These, after all, are the forums in which ordinary people experience the administration of justice. The examples to which the Essay points draw into relief the extent of the ideal/actual divide, the scope of procedural failure in these settings, and the profound consequences for vulnerable and marginal populations. The Essay closes by calling for a reconceptualization of both pedagogy and procedural doctrine from the perspective of the actual. First and foremost, the reality of how procedure works for ordinary people, including how it fails them, must be studied more closely, taught more frequently, and incorporated into debates about procedural reform

Perfectionism and Maximum Consciousness in Anti-Discrimination Law: A Tribute to Judge Betty B. Fletcher

What follows is a speech on the significance of Judge Betty Binns Fletcher’s opinions in the area of race and anti-discrimination law delivered at the University of Washington School of Law’s symposium, A Tribute to the Honorable Betty Binns Fletcher, honoring Judge Fletcher’s thirtieth year on the bench. I argue that, in an era when the Supreme Court has increasingly refused to recognize anti-discrimination claims, Judge Fletcher’s intensely fact-sensitive method of deciding such cases is as important as the results she has reached. Against the Supreme Court’s perfectionist jurisprudence, predicated on the assumption that by excising race from law, one can eliminate discrimination in society, Judge Fletcher has developed a jurisprudence of maximum consciousness, predicated on the assumption that judicial officers are obliged by the Fourteenth Amendment and our history to remain acutely aware of the risk of slippage between seemingly rational, neutral social action and irrational stereotype, cognitive bias, and animus