Applications of Partial Supersymmetry

I examine quantum mechanical Hamiltonians with partial supersymmetry, and explore two main applications. First, I analyze a theory with a logarithmic spectrum, and show how to use partial supersymmetry to reveal the underlying structure of this theory. This method reveals an intriguing equivalence between two formulations of this theory, one of which is one-dimensional, and the other of which is infinite-dimensional. Second, I demonstrate the use of partial supersymmetry as a tool to obtain the asymptotic energy levels in non-relativistic quantum mechanics in an exceptionally easy way. In the end, I discuss possible extensions of this work, including the possible connections between partial supersymmetry and renormalization group arguments.Comment: 11 pages, harvmac, no figures; typo corrected in identifying info on title pag

Debts, Defaults and Details: Exploring the Impact of Debt Collection Litigation on Consumers and Courts

This Article explores consumer collection litigation through original research from more than five hundred cases filed in the Dallas County courts. It analyzes the data within the context of the modern debt collection industry, paying special attention to the role of debt buyers and to the peculiar legal issues their involvement raises. After explaining the methodology and mechanics used to gather and analyze the data, the Article discusses the data collected, identifying and analyzing the most significant findings and placing them within a larger legal landscape. While the research confirms anecdotal reports of litigation abuse in consumer collection cases, it also reveals some surprising patterns. For example, the research indicates that consumer default was not the most common outcome and that minimal effort by consumers often considerably helped to protect their rights and favorably to conclude the litigation. The Article concludes by discussing some of the implications for the judicial system and by suggesting additional areas of research that would increase understanding of the challenges the litigation presents for parties, their lawyers, and the courts

Where the FCRA Meets the FDCPA: The Impact of Unfair Collection Practices on the Credit Report

This Article explores the impact that contemporary practices in consumer debt collection litigation may have on credit reporting and scoring. In doing so, it pays particular attention to available data regarding the use of unfair collection practices in such litigation, and considers whether consumer reports of such litigation unfairly burden consumers’ ability to obtain housing, employment, insurance, or credit. It highlights some of the obstacles consumers face at the intersection of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act and considers alternative proposals to provide fair and accurate information relating to consumer debts while also preventing the harm that results from consumer reporting of unfair collection litigation

Crossing the Threshold: Examining the Abatement of Public Nuisances within the Home

The Article suggests an approach courts should use when considering whether to abate a public nuisance within a home that is consistent with the goals and purposes of traditional public nuisance law as well as modern approaches to the regulation of individual rights and property. Part I provides the background for the analysis as it examines the common law origins of public nuisance law and the expansion of the equitable remedy of abatement. It also contrasts the law of public nuisance with the law of civil forfeiture. Although the law of civil forfeiture also permits uncompensated seizure of property connected to unlawful conduct, it often provides important procedural and substantive protections that public nuisance law does not. Part II examines the constitutional rules that protect the home and individual rights related to it from government intrusion under the Fourth Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Part ill considers the home as property and the protection the Constitution provides private property rights. It also examines the role of public nuisance law in the Court\u27s takings analysis, which now largely rejects the broad exercise of police power that has justified much of public nuisance law. Part IV examines Bennis v. Michigan, the 1996 public nuisance case in which the Supreme Court failed to apply the takings analysis it outlined only a few years earlier in Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council. Bennis has been criticized for, among other things, its treatment of innocent family members in the context of criminal law and contemporary notions of the rights of married women. This Article criticizes the Court\u27s analysis of Michigan\u27s public nuisance statute in light of recent cases analyzing claims of statutory impairment of individual and economic rights. Finally, Part V suggests an approach for reconciling the public power expressed in public nuisance law with the importance of private rights embodied in the home. It urges courts to consider the abatement of public nuisances with the same critical, case-by-case analysis of state power that they must apply to takings and due process law challenges in land-use and other areas. Application of public nuisance law in this manner acknowledges its historical and common law roots as an equitable tool used by the state to further public policy goals. It also promotes greater consistency in the application of takings and due process doctrine

From Representation to Research and Back again: Reflections on Developing an Empirical Project

This article presents the story of Doreen, a client represented by the SMU Civil Clinic in a suit against her to collect a consumer debt. My goal in sharing Doreen\u27s story here is two-fold. First, it is to provide an example of how our work with students and our clients can shift from representation to research to advocacy and back again. My second goal is to encourage others-students, clinic supervisors, fellows and faculty-to consider the work they do and its potential to improve the quality of justice in communities, to enhance the delivery of legal services, and to promote economic and social justice, goals that are at the heart of the Bellow Scholar program.Part I considers Doreen\u27s story as a story of representation in a law school clinic. Part II considers her story as a basis for developing a research project exploring issues raised by the representation. It also reflects on the process of conducting the project and contains a brief summary of the results. Part III shows how, even before the project was complete, its results could be used to highlight some of the problems facing consumers like Doreen and begin to provide a basis for education and reform. It also describes how research can be used as part of a curriculum with clinic students. Finally, Part IV reflects on the Bellow Scholar program\u27s contribution to the work of clinical teachers, their students and clients, and the communities in which they live

A BPS Interpretation of Shape Invariance

We show that shape invariance appears when a quantum mechanical model is invariant under a centrally extended superalgebra endowed with an additional symmetry generator, which we dub the shift operator. The familiar mathematical and physical results of shape invariance then arise from the BPS structure associated with this shift operator. The shift operator also ensures that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the energy levels of such a model and the energies of the BPS-saturating states. These findings thus provide a more comprehensive algebraic setting for understanding shape invariance.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures, LaTe