The Docket: Featured Articles
In light of recent debate about the proper roles of federal and state governments, Jonah J. Horwitz laments how little attention has been paid to federal encroachment on the prosecution of commonplace crimes, specifically as it pertains to the death penalty controversy in United States v. Pleau.
Meaningful Information, Meaningful Retention
Jordan M. Singer reflects on the uncertain future of judicial retention elections, in response to Todd E. Pettys's Judicial Retention Elections, the Rule of Law, and the Rhetorical Weaknesses of Consequentialism, 60 BUFF. L. REV. 69.
Pedagogy and Critique: Values and Assumptions in the Law School Classroom
Michael Fischl offers further reflections on the importance of Emeritus Professor James Atleson's scholarship, in response to our Symposium on James Atleson's Values and Assumptions in American Labor Law: A Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Retrospective, 57 BUFF. L. REV. 629.
New York's Inbred Judiciary: Pathologies of Nomination and Appointment of Court of Appeals Judges
The Buffalo Law Review is committed to showcasing topics involving the New York State judiciary. The Review recently published Recusal and Recompense: Amending New York Recusal Law in Light of the Judicial Pay Raise Controversy, 57 BUFF. L REV. 1597, by Jeffrey T. Fiut, which critiqued the current state of New York's judicial recusal law and proposed a new system for protecting judicial impartiality. In addition, the New York Legislature has recently held hearings on the current method of judicial appointment to the New York State Court of Appeals. In New York's Inbred Judiciary: Pathologies of Nominations and Appointment of Court of Appeals Judges, James A. Gardner provides both an explanation and critique of the current appointment system for Court of Appeals judges and offers suggestions for improvement.
Noteworthy
The International Arbitration Club of New York awarded Professor Charles H. Brower II the Smit-Lowenfeld Prize for best scholarly article in the field of international arbitration for his article "Arbitration and Antitrust: Navigating the Contours of Mandatory Law," which appeared in the December 2011 issue of the Buffalo Law Review.
Todd E. Pettys's article Judicial Retention Elections, the Rule of Law, and the Rhetorical Weaknesses of Consequentialism, 60 Buff. L. Rev. 69 (2012), has generated a lot of discussion:
- The Press-Citizen Editorial Board agrees with Pettys, saying "Iowa’s current judicial nominating system ... all but ties the hands of judges from defending themselves."
- Jordan M. Singer reflected on the uncertain future of judicial retention elections in BLR's The Docket.
- Pettys's article was featured in an editorial, "Judges Need to Learn to Defend Themselves," in the Iowa City Press-Citizen.
Should NCAA players unionize in an effort to get paid? A Union of Amateurs: A Legal Blueprint to Reshape Big-Time College Athletics by Nick Fram and Thomas Frampton presents surprising research regarding state-level paths to player unionization and pay. A recent article in Salon, "Madness of March: NCAA Gets Paid, Players Don’t," relies heavily on their cutting edge research to suggest an avenue to empower student-athletes: "Rather than corrupting 'amateurism,' Fram and Frampton argue, unionization offers a path to preserve its best aspects: protecting the league from legal crisis while providing players a forum to defend their academic pursuits and their physical and emotional health."