"Reasonably predictable": the reluctance to embrace judicial discretion for substantial assistance departures.
INTRODUCTION In United States v. Booker, the Supreme Court held that the Federal Sentencing Guidelines ("the Guidelines") are no longer mandatory. (1) Even so, in its remedial opinion, the Booker Court instructed sentencing courts to continue to consult the Guidelines (2) and instructed appellate judges to consider...

All Things Considered; And justice for all.
Byline: MICHAEL P. ELBINIAS YOU really have to go to the experts to solve a problem. The Court of Appeals recently rendered its Decision that 17,322 nursing examinees were entitled to take their oath. Its reasoning that there was no widespread leakage outside Manila and Baguio benefited...

Labor Relations Courts proposed.
"With courts in every region, the workers are assured of their constitutional right to speedy disposition of their complaints, and the employers will be spared long and costly litigation," she said. As of June of last year, the NLRC had a backlog of 7,736 cases -- 5,000...

Alito and the imperial presidency: the new Supreme Court nominee, Judge Samuel Alito, has supporters and detractors on both sides of the political divide because his judicial track record is mixed.
President Bush's October 31 nomination of appellate court Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to fill Sandra Day O'Connor's seat on the U.S. Supreme Court was regarded well by Washington, D.C., beltway conservatives, skeptically by constitutionalists, and conspiratorially by liberal Democrats. Liberal talk-show host and comedienne Stephanie Miller...

Beyond State Farm: due process constraints on noneconomic compensatory damages.
INTRODUCTION I. THE HISTORY OF JUDICIAL REVIEW OF NONECONOMIC COMPENSATORY DAMAGES AWARDS A. The Origins of Judicial Review of Damages Awards for Excessiveness in the English Courts B. English Decisions Recognize the Conceptual Differences Between Reviewing Economic and Noneconomic Damages C. American Courts Adopt "Passion or Prejudice" or "Shock...

SEQRA: effective weapon, if used directed.
INTRODUCTION After a quarter of a century, the State Environmental Quality Review Act (1) (SEQRA) is firmly in place as an integral part of New York's governmental landscape. It has furnished an absolutely vital fulcrum from which the public can participate in--and if necessary challenge--decisions inflicting environmental...

The incarceration of Aboriginal offenders: trends from 1978 to 2001.
Visible minorities generally account for disproportionate numbers of admissions to custody in all Western nations, including Canada (see Tonry 1997; Roberts and Doob 1997). Aboriginal peoples in particular are over-represented in the prison populations of most Western nations, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. For example, in Australia in...

The story of McCulloch: banking on national power.
There is no denying the importance of McCulloch v. Maryland. (1) As of April 14, 2004, it had received a total of 7,307 cites in the Westlaw computer base. Many scholars consider it the single most important opinion in the Court's history. Later national leaders "have not hesitated to...

Must doctors disclose their own personal risk factors?
Halkyard v. Mathew. The Alberta Court of Appeal recently held that a doctor does not have a duty to disclose his/her own medical condition, where there is no causal link between the medical condition and harm to the patient. In Halkyard v. Mathew 2001 ABCA 67, a...

Appellate court finds exception in tax initiative for charter cities. (Legal digest -- taxation).
The Proposition 62 requirement that a tax measure receive two-thirds approval by a City Council before going to voters does not apply to charter law cities, the First District Court of Appeal has ruled. Proposition 62, the "Right to Vote on Taxes Act" that state voters approved...