Regulation of insider trading in the United States centers around two types of rules. The first and most publicized is the set of rules prohibiting “illegal” insider trading—trades based on material, nonpublic information. These laws are designed to increase investor confidence in the stock market by making the market seem fair and honest. However, the roughly 475,000 insider trades executed each...
Reflections on the Science and Law of Structural Biology, Genomics, and Drug Development
The Patent Act is now over a half-century old, and many observers have become concerned that it is not responsive to the needs of emerging industries or to the changing landscape of science. In this Article, we look at this issue in the context of the life sciences and examine how patent doctrine has reacted as the fields of proteomics, genomics, and structural biology have advanced. We find many...
Government Secrets, Constitutional Law, and Platforms for Judicial Intervention
American law has yet to reach a satisfying conclusion about public access to information on government operations. But recent events are prompting reconsideration of the status quo. As our current system is reassessed, three shortfalls in past debates should be overcome. The first involves ignorance of foreign systems. Other democracies grapple with information access problems, and their recent...
My Library: Copyright and the Role of Institutions in a Peer-to-Peer World
Today’s technology turns every computer—every hard drive—into a type of library. But the institutions traditionally known as libraries have been given special consideration under copyright law, even as commercial endeavors and filesharing programs have begun to emulate some of their functions. This Article explores how recent technological and legal trends are affecting public and school...
Reaffirming McClain: The National Stolen Property Act and the Abiding Trade in Looted Cultural Objects
The clandestine excavation of "cultural objects" to feed the international art market has become an indisputable problem. However, the scale of the problem—and potential solutions—are hotly contested. In the United States, the debate over how best to protect these objects has come to focus on the relationship between the National Stolen Property Act (NSPA) and the "found-in-the-ground" laws that...
What International Experience Can Tell U.S. Courts About Same-Sex Marriage
In recent years a growing number of countries, including Canada and South Africa, have recognized a right to same-sex marriage. As voters in the United States pass state laws to ban same-sex marriage, international materials seem to offer a natural source of support for a contrary position. The Supreme Court’s decision in Lawrence v. Texas, which changed the legal landscape for same-sex marriage...
Was the Disparate Impact Theory a Mistake?
The disparate impact theory long has been viewed as one of the most important and controversial developments in antidiscrimination law. In this Article, Professor Selmi assesses the theory’s legacy and challenges much of the conventional wisdom. Professor Selmi initially charts the development of the theory, including a close look at Griggs v. Duke Power Co. and Washington v. Davis, to...
Sexually Provoked: Recognizing Sexual Misrepresentation as Adequate Provocation
Research suggests that a serious sexual misrepresentation can spark an emotional firestorm in the deceived. But, as a matter of law, can this emotional firestorm be considered a reasonable heat of passion? In short, when may a killer assert the provocation defense given a serious sexual misrepresentation? The law currently addresses this question in a haphazard way. Despite the recurrent...