IN MEMORIAM: JUSTICE RUTH BADER GINSBURG

A series of tributes honoring the life and legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Vol. 124 No. 5

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Article

LAYERED CONSTITUTIONALISM

Z. Payvand Ahdout* & Bridget Fahey**

It is conventional wisdom that the states are free—within wide constitutional parameters—to structure their governments as they want. This Article challenges that received wisdom and argues that the Supreme Court has drawn on an eclectic set of constitutional provisions to develop a broader body of federal constitutional rules of state structure than previously understood.

This Article gathers and systemizes that body of law. It first[...]

Securities Regulation
Note

COMING UP SHORT: USING SHORT-SELLER REPORTS TO PLEAD LOSS CAUSATION IN SECURITIES CLASS ACTIONS

Matthew B. Schneider*

Plaintiffs in securities class actions have increasingly relied on reports published by anonymous short sellers when alleging the element of loss causation. Indeed, short-seller reports are useful for plaintiffs, as they purport to reveal negative information about a targeted company and generally cause a decline in the targeted company’s stock price. Unlike other types of corrective disclosures, however, short-seller reports are unique in that[...]


CLR Forum

REGARDING THE OTHER DEATH PENALTY

Kempis Songster,* Terrell Carter,** & Rachel LĂłpez***

Introduction In his compelling new book, Invisible Atrocities, Professor Randle DeFalco explores the function of the aesthetics of violence in international law. In particular, he questions international law’s preference for sanctioning spectacular demonstrations of violence rather than more banal, bureaucratic actions that cause massive scales of suffering and misery. The book resonated with us because […]


Article

PSYCHIATRIC HOLDS AND THE FOURTH AMENDMENT

Jamelia N. Morgan*

Fourth Amendment jurisprudence governing emergency searches and seizures for mental health evaluation, crisis stabilization, and treatment is in disarray. The Supreme Court has yet to opine on what Fourth Amendment standards apply to these “psychiatric holds,” and lower courts have not, on the whole, distinguished legal standards governing emergency holds from those governing routine criminal procedure.

This Article argues against the[...]

Criminal Law
Essay

REDISTRIBUTING JUSTICE

Benjamin Levin* & Kate Levine**

This Essay surfaces an obstacle to decarceration hiding in plain sight: progressives’ continued support for the carceral system. Despite progressives’ increasingly prevalent critiques of criminal law, there is hardly a consensus on the left in opposition to the carceral state. Many left-leaning academics and activists who may critique the criminal system writ large remain enthusiastic about criminal law in certain areas— often areas in which[...]

Legal Theory
Lecture

THE PROMISE AND PERIL OF “LAW AND …”

Guido Calabresi*

The Columbia Law Review launched its Karl Llewellyn Lecture series on March 19, 2024, celebrating pioneers in the law who have innovated and challenged legal theory. The inaugural Lecture was delivered by Judge Guido Calabresi who spoke on the promise and peril of “Law and …” disciplines, such as Law and Economics, Law and Philosophy, and Law and History. A transcript of Judge Calabresi’s Lecture is published in this[...]

Securities Regulation
Note

STRUCTURAL SCIENTER: OPTIMIZING FRAUD DETERRENCE BY LOCATING CORPORATE SCIENTER IN CORPORATE DESIGN

Emily M. Erickson*

In the context of section 10(b) securities fraud class actions, conceptualizing corporate intent is both an unnatural and a necessary exercise. Circuit courts apply a variety of different approaches to analyze the question of corporate scienter, but they typically start with agency law and impute the intentions of corporate employees to the corporation itself.

Recognizing the fraud-deterrence purpose of these class actions suggests that[...]


CLR Forum

HARD TRUTHS ABOUT “SOFT IP”

Amanda Levendowski*

People routinely refer to copyright and trademark as “soft IP” to distinguish these practices from another area of intellectual property: patent. But the term reflects implicit biases against copyright and trademark doctrine and practitioners. “Soft IP” implies that patent law alone is hard, even though patents are no more physically, metaphorically, or intellectually hard than copyrights and trademarks. Despite stereotypes to the contrary,[...]