Volume 58

County Government Unbounded

Posted on by

DANIEL B. ROSENBAUM

County governments occupy an awkward dual position in the sub-federal system. They are both local governments (democratic bodies, akin to cities and towns) and state agents (administrative units of state government, akin to departments and agencies). Neither role seems to suit counties particularly well. When acting as local democratic bodies, counties are constrained by state law and severely under-resourced, especially in contrast with municipal governments in their midst. As administrative agents of the state, moreover, counties are saddled with a cascade of responsibilities that the state has delegated to the regional level, duties they must perform without the same support afforded prototypal state agencies. A county’s dissimilar roles thus share one unifying theme. On paper, as the slim legal literature on county governments has observed, counties are passive, static, and relatively powerless actors in both their local and state manifestations. Continue reading →

Intermediation Effects in Litigation Finance

Posted on by

Adrian Ivashkiv

Litigation finance now bankrolls some of the highest-profile lawsuits, attracting both attention and controversy. Because this new market facilitates lawsuits, it might serve either to promote access to justice or to facilitate frivolous, speculative litigation. This Article offers two insights for that ongoing debate. First, it argues that the market for investable lawsuits may be much smaller than is often imagined, muting its social impact in either direction. Second, it provides new reasons to think that, to the degree that litigation finance facilitates new lawsuits, those suits are unlikely to be frivolous. Continue reading →

Judicial Ethics, the Supreme Court, and the Rule of Law

Posted on by

Charles Gardner Geyh

It’s a great time to be alive for a judicial ethicist. There aren’t very many of us. We tend to tag along in the shadow of the lawyer ethics people—the cool kids in the schoolyard. Pimply and off-putting though we may be, we have a particular set of skills that, thanks to the Supreme Court and its recent shenanigans, have suddenly acquired relevance as judicial misconduct has been thrust into the national spotlight. So don’t step on my moment. I want to make the most of it. Continue reading →