Yearly Archives: 2003

UK Appoints First Female Law Lord

Posted on October 24, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

The judicial review committee of the House of Lords is the UK's highest court, except that it isn't technically a court. So, technically, that honor belongs to the Court of Appeal of England and Wales , which is why the Master of the Rolls, the head of the Court of Appeal, is the ranking judge in civil cases. The ranking judge in criminal cases is the Lord Chief Justice, which always makes me think of Gilbert and Sullivan. In Scottish criminal cases the highest court is the High Court of Justiciary. The High Court is a lower court than the Court of Appeal, although not the lowest court. And in all cases except those which go to the Judicial Committe of the Privy Council, the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords is, in effect, the UK's Supreme Court. Indeed, Prime Minister Tony Blair intends to take the Judicial Committee out of the upper chamber (the Law Lords are really Lords and they sit in the House of Lords — and even participate in debates relating to some legal matters), and replace it with a separate Supreme Court.

Anyway, whatever you may call it, the amazing thing is that the Judicial Committee/House of Lords/Supreme Court has never had a woman among its members. Until now: 'Incisive judge' becomes first female law lord.

'bout time.

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Posted in UK | 1 Comment

Cuba Travel Ban Endangered

Posted on October 24, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

CNN.com – Senate votes to end Cuba travel ban – Oct. 23, 2003. Well, that ought to get the folks in Little Havana excited. But maybe not as excited as it would have a few years ago.

There is a pervasive myth that the US embargo of Cuba weakens the Castro dictatorship. I believe it strengthens it. I wish our Cuba policy were like our Poland policy during the regime of the evil General Wojciech Jaruzelski. At that time, and before, the US policy—spurred by the Polish-American lobby who wished to enrich rather than impoverish their families—was to encourage two-way cultural exchanges, and lend Poland lots of money to buy our goods. The combination was devastating to the Communists. When people saw what life was like on the other side of the Iron curtain they got, well, bolshi. US engagement helped create the conditions for Solidarity's victories. Conversely, embargo entrenches the dictatorship, by creating a foreign scapegoat for the nation's dismal economy. Viewed as an act of neighborly hostility, the embargo is invoked to justify repression.

Thus, I want to scream when I read,

Opponents warned that the provision sent a wrong signal at a time when the Castro regime has escalated its crackdown on dissidents. “Why should we now open up travel to Cuba to give additional cash flow to the Castro regime?” asked Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, chairman of the Appropriations Committee.

No. No. It's not a “signal”. It's a policy. And the reason you live with whatever short run benefits might enure to a Communist regime — even when it's misbehaving — is that 40 years of your policy has produced nothing good. Meanwhile, doing the opposite in Europe brought down the entire Warsaw Pact.

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Posted in Politics: International | 2 Comments

US Jurisdiction in Guantanamo — Some Complexities

Posted on October 24, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

Earlier, I had what seemed like a great idea:

Personally, I would be prepared to read the words “the United States shall exercise complete jurisdiction and control” language of the treaty as invoking the powers of all three branches of government, not just the executive. In this view, under Art. VI of the Constitution (“This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any state to the Contrary notwithstanding.”), the treaty would supply the jurisdiction for the federal courts that they seem to believe they lack under Article III.

On reflection, this isn't quite as great an idea as it seemed. Or, maybe it is, but it isn't as simple to get there as I would like.

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Posted in Guantanamo, Law: International Law | 6 Comments

The AALS Meat Market Intrudes on Domestic Tranquility

Posted on October 24, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

I'm a single parent for the next few days, as Caroline is in DC for the annual hiring meeting of the AALS which begins tomorrow. Blogging may be light as a result. Caroline is the Chair of the law school's appointments committee, which is a brutally hard job, but one she does well. Some of our colleagues have joked that Caroline should be Appointments Chair for life, but I don't know that she or I could take that.

Every year Miami and every other law school gets over a thousand forms provided by the AALS's central clearing service. Each contains a one-page summary of the c.v. and the teaching interests of a person who'd like to become a law teacher. In our school, the chair is the only committee member who has to look at them all; the other committee members get a chunk each, although they're invited to look at more if they wish. Then those thousand-plus forms must be culled. To the extent they can, the committee members call references, and read writings, of the applicants whose forms pique their interests. Then they debate.

Some years we have only one opening, or none. This year, as it happens, we have several openings, and also some fairly specific subject-oriented needs, so the committee is interviewing in two parallel teams. Even so, that means winnowing down the 1000+ hopefuls to about 50 persons who'll be seen at the, excuse the term, “meat market,” for about 30 minutes each. From that group, the committee will have to select a small number to invite to fly down here and spend a day being interviewed, presenting a paper, and having dinner with a semi-random group of faculty. It's a very intense process for the interviewee, and fairly high stakes for the faculty since people tend to get tenure here. (That would be because we make such good initial choices, of course.) The initial hiring decision thus risks being the start of a lifetime relationship, and the faculty takes it very, very, very seriously.

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Posted in Law School, Personal | 1 Comment

Why The Anti-Spam Law is a Joke

Posted on October 23, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

Pro-Spam “Anti-Spam” Law (found via Electrolite).

Nathan Newman has identified one of the key problems with the Senate's much touted anti-spam law, so I don't have to…

Posted in Law: Internet Law | 1 Comment

Patrick Gudridge on the Schiavo Case

Posted on October 23, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

The New York Times quotes my colleague Patrick Gudridge's charateristic appraisal of the Florida legislature's hasty action in the Schiavo case. See In Florida Right-to-Die Case, Legislation Puts the Constitution at Issue. I especially like the comment that “It's beautifully badly drafted.”

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