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From the monthly archives:

January 2009

Do Past Presidents Have Executive Privilege?

January 30, 2009

     Michael Isikoff of Newsweek reports that George W. Bush's attorney Fred Fielding has written Karl Rove's attorney a letter instructing Rove not to respond to subpoenas issued by the House Judiciary Committee.  The Committee recently reissued those subpoenas seeking information about whether the firing of U.S. Attorneys in December, 2006, was for political purposes, possibly [...]

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Equal Pay for Women: The First Step

January 30, 2009

Yesterday, President Obama signed his first legislative action, endorsing the Fair Pay Act intended to give workers more time to sue in court for pay discrimination based on sex or race.  The new law passed by Congress, the “Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act” reverses the Supreme Court decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear which held that [...]

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Poker Chips as Securities

January 29, 2009

In the famous case of SEC v. W. J. Howey Co., the Supreme Court ruled that the sale of an orange grove tract plus a land management contract constituted an "investment contract" and was thus a security subject to federal regulation.
[A]n investment contract, for purposes of the Securities Act, means a contract, transaction or scheme [...]

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Law, Love and Chocolate – Feb. 19

January 28, 2009

Akron Law and the Akron Bar Association will join forces on a special benefit event titled "Law, Love and Chocolate." The event will be held from 4 – 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 19 at the Akron Bar Association (Fire Station No. 1, South Broadway).
Local celebrities will prepare sweet treats and a quartet from the Akron [...]

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Lincoln's Style: The Greeley Letter

January 27, 2009

     I am greatly indebted to the students in my Jurisprudence class.  In three hours yesterday evening they gave me more insight into Lincoln's thought and work than I had gained in thousands of hours of solitary work.  I shall be drawing upon their ideas for some time to come.  In this posting I shall [...]

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Proposed Constitutional Amendment to Fill Senate Vacancies

January 26, 2009

     The 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913.  Clause 1 of the Amendment provides for the direct election of Senators, which was an important reform.  Before the adoption of the 17th Amendment Senators were selected by the State legislatures, not by the people, which led to anomalous results such as Stephen Douglas defeating Abraham Lincoln for [...]

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Corporate Power and "the Ideals of our Forebearers"

January 22, 2009

Here is the portion of President Obama's inauguration speech most obviously relevant to business law:
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill.  Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin [...]

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Lincoln and Equal Opportunity

January 20, 2009

     Lincoln's greatness stems in part from his ability to summarize a difficult and complex problem in terms that everybody can understand.  The power of his prose is demonstrated in the following two passages on equal opportunity.

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Lincoln, Obama, and Shared Sacrifice

January 19, 2009

     In a previous posting I had predicted that Barack Obama would, in his Inaugural Address, call for shared sacrifice from all Americans.  It is now being widely reported that this will be a theme of his address.  What did Lincoln have to say about this, and as a practical matter, what sacrifices might Obama [...]

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Back to School: Why Corporate Law Matters

January 15, 2009

Classes are back in session and I'm teaching Corporations to a whole new batch of future lawyers.  Here's my course summary:
The corporation can be understood as a solution to the problem of encouraging investment in socially beneficially ventures in spite of high risk.  By separating ownership from control, the corporate vehicle limited investor risk [...]

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So Help Me God

January 14, 2009

     Michael Newdow has filed suit to prohibit the Chief Justice John Roberts from stating and President-Elect Barack Obama from repeating the phrase "so help me God" following the oath of office next week at the Inauguration.  Three provisions of the Constitution bear upon this question: the Clause prescribing the presidential oath of office, the Establishment Clause, [...]

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Lincoln's First and Second Inaugural Addresses: What Will Obama Say?

January 13, 2009

     One week from today Barack Obama will be inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States, and he has announced that Lincoln will be a theme for the Inauguration.  Obama will take the oath of office with the same Bible used by Abraham Lincoln at his inauguration in 1861.  Will Obama model his Inaugural [...]

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