The “power theory” of jurisdiction suggests that a state has jurisdiction over persons found within the territorial limits of that state. This idea is intuitive, but like all legal concepts, there are some hard cases that call for a more nuanced definition. If a person merely flies over a state in an airplane (therefore, the … Read more

President Bush is holding peace talks between Israel and Palestine. He eloquently stated, “I don’t think it’s a risk to try for peace. I think it’s an obligation.” 27 November 2007. This is stark contrast to his statements less than two years ago. “[N]ot until you [Hamas] renounce your desire to destroy Israel will we … Read more

The US Constitution authorizes Congress to create a patent and copyright system to “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts.” The authors of the Constitution believed that an effective intellectual property system would encourage innovation and advancement. It is only recently that we have started to view the IP system as an entitlement to … Read more

Katherine K. Baker is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean at Chicago-Kent College of Law and has an article titled Bionormativity and the Construction of Parenthood in a forthcoming 2007 issue of the Georgia Law Review. A thorough and fascinating article, it provides a model for understanding and analyzing the modern American legal system’s … Read more

Carolyn Shapiro is an Assistant Professor of Law at Chicago-Kent College of Law, and she published an article last year titled The Limits of the Olympian Court: Common Law Judging versus Error Correction in the Supreme Court in the Washington & Lee Law Review. In her article, she shows how the Supreme Court’s certiorari process … Read more

Carolyn Shapiro is an Assistant Professor of Law at Chicago-Kent College of Law, and she published an article last year titled The Limits of the Olympian Court: Common Law Judging versus Error Correction in the Supreme Court in the Washington & Lee Law Review. In her article, she shows how the Supreme Court’s certiorari process … Read more

My latest blog is a technical analysis of a semi-famous hypothetical from law and economics. I imagine that it will be pretty boring to anyone outside of law…

In American civil trials, plaintiffs must prove their cases by a preponderance of the evidence. Courts often define this as “more likely than not,” and some courts and commentators define it as a greater than 50 percent probability of being true. Many courts have rejected the 50 percent definition, however, and Judge Richard Posner uses … Read more