http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com The Life of a Law Student project chronicles the material presented to and learned by law students across the country and around the world. The project is led by Neil Wehneman, an incoming transfer student at Indiana University at Indianapolis. Feeds are segmented by course. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:06:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I know many of you are getting tired of seeing new blog posts but no new content. I understand. It's killing me that I haven't had the opportunity to add much to the site in some time. Unfortunately, I see now that my 18 credit hour schedule is not going to ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2008/01/30/plan-for-this-semester/ Hi LoaLS Readers, I am a 1L at the University of Pittsburgh, and avid LoaLS reader.   As I told Neil in my e-mail, the resources he has have been extremely helpful to me in my first year.  Neil is letting me post here about the 2008 Webby Awards and JURIST, the ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2008/01/29/vote-for-law-student-run-jurist-in-webbys/ The company that runs the back-end CMS I use (Podango) is still experiencing problems. They transitioned servers last night, and now I'm unable to log in to my control panel to manage audio and troubleshoot the problems with the recently uploaded audio. I have sent them an email, and hope ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2008/01/19/why-the-site-still-isnt-fully-working/ Hey all, So last semester is over, and a new semester is about to begin. You may have noticed a few episodes up, but they are taking time to get up (and often don't work if you go to listen to them). Here's what's going on. The back-end Content Management ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2008/01/09/update-technical-glitches-and-episode-backlog/ Copyright applies upon tangible fixation. In this episode, we will examine what is meant by "fixation," including the question of whether a copy of a work in RAM is tangibly fixed. Note: Due to temporary technical issues, this episode lacks an intro and outro (they will be provided shortly). Download ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/12/28/copyright-law-4-fixation/ Copyright in the United States is affected by both the Federal Constitution, and international law such as the Berne Convention. Additionally, international law is often used to justify increases in rights for the sake of "harmonization." We conclude this last introductory episode by briefly comparing and contrasting several ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/12/28/copyright-law-3-introduction-to-copyright-iii/ Copyright applies to a wide variety of works, even types of expression that are newly created (and not explicitly referenced in the copyright act). However, some items of "intellectual creation" are outside of copyright, such as ideas or works of the federal government. We conclude this episode by ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/12/28/copyright-law-2-introduction-to-copyright-ii/ In this, the first episode of Copyright Law, we begin a high-level overview of what copyright is. Almost everyone is a copyright holder, with specific exclusive rights over their original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible medium. We close this episode with a look at ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/12/28/copyright-law-1-introduction-to-copyright-i/ Copyright is not the only law you have to be aware of when considering whether or not to use a work. Patents, trademarks, trade secrets, contracts, and other issues may provide an additional "layer of protection" beyond just copyright.Download Standard Podcast http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/12/28/fundamentals-of-copyright-11-non-copyright-concerns/ Fair Use is not the only limitation or exception to the exclusive rights of copyright. In this episode, Prof. Crews walks through several other limitations and exceptions.Download Standard Podcast http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/12/28/fundamentals-of-copyright-10-other-limitations-and-exceptions/ In this final episode on Fair Use, Prof. Crews reviews and wraps up Fair Use. Additionally, Prof. Crews discusses hard and fast "guidelines" that are often promulgated in the fields of education and libraries.Download Standard Podcast http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/12/28/fundamentals-of-copyright-9-fair-use-iv/ Fair Use provides guidelines, but very few hard and fast rules. As an example, sometimes using large amounts of a copyrighted work (perhaps even all of the copyrighted work) will qualify as a Fair Use, while sometimes using only a small amount of a copyrighted work will not qualify ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/12/28/fundamentals-of-copyright-8-fair-use-iii/ In this second episode of Fair Use, Prof. Crews examines two actual court cases applying Fair Use. The first case concerns photocopying by Kinko's, and the second case concerns 2 Live Crew's parody of the song "Pretty Woman."Download Standard Podcast http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/12/28/fundamentals-of-copyright-7-fair-use-ii/ The "exclusive rights" of copyright aren't exactly exclusive. There are numerous exceptions and limitations to these rights, with Fair Use being the most important of these. In this first episode on Fair Use, Prof. Crews examines the four statutory factors of Fair Use.Download Standard Podcast http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/12/28/fundamentals-of-copyright-6-fair-use-i/ The core of copyright revolves around the five exclusive rights. These rights include the right of reproduction, distribution, public display, public performance, and the creation of derivative works. The concept of "moral rights" are also discussed. Download Standard Podcast http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/12/28/fundamentals-of-copyright-5-the-five-exclusive-rights-and-moral-rights/ The duration of a copyright is treated slightly differently if the work is a "work made for hire." In this episode, Prof. Crews defines "work made for hire," and looks at the specific issues regarding these works. Download Standard Podcast http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/12/28/fundamentals-of-copyright-4-duration-of-copyright-ii/ Copyright lasts for a very long time. For works created after 1977, the term of copyright is life of the author plus seventy years. However, previous copyright acts had different rules, and those rules will affect the duration of pre-1978 works. Prof. Crews also mentions joint authorship.Download ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/12/28/fundamentals-of-copyright-3-duration-of-copyright-i/ In this episode, Prof. Crews looks at the basic mantra of copyright: copyright applies instantly and automatically to original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Some of the exceptions to copyright are examined, such as facts, ideas, and works of the federal government ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/12/28/fundamentals-of-copyright-2-basic-mantra-and-some-exceptions/ In this, the first episode of Fundamentals of Copyright, Prof. Kenneth Crews gives a high-level overview of copyright law. Essentially, the law gives specific rights to the holder of a copyright and then carves out certain exceptions. Copyright is granted automatically to a wide range of works, and ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/12/28/fundamentals-of-copyright-1-high-level-overview-of-copyright/ It's been brought to my attention that audio is unavailable at the moment. This is a problem with our external host. I am looking into it, and hope for things to be resolved shortly. In the meantime, you might want to check http://lifeofalawstudent.com/bulkaudio/. It's not as pretty, but ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/12/04/technical-problems/ In this podcast we will consider the issue of constitutional review, specifically whether section 7 of the charter is violated by deportation. Singh v Minister of Employment and Immigration (1985) Canada (Minister of Employment and Immigration) v Chiarelli (1992) Suresh v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) (2002)Download Standard Podcast http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/11/28/canadian-immigration-and-refugee-law-5-constitutional-review/ In this podcast, we will consider the different types of status that may be held by an individual in Canada - Citizen, Permanent Resident, and Foreign National. We will begin a preliminary examination of the effect a different status can make on one's rights, which shall be expanded upon ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/11/28/canadian-immigration-and-refugee-law-4-national-status/ This episode is a continuation of the discussion of open boarders from the previous podcast. We will focus on the writings of Catherine Dauvergne and Donald Galloway.Download Standard Podcast http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/11/25/canadian-immigration-and-refugee-law-3-sovereignty-and-open-boarders-part-2/ In this podcast, we will consider some of the theories of state sovereignty and the arguments for and against open boarders. This topic will span two podcasts. The first will focus on the writings of Carens and Walzer.Download Standard Podcast http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/11/25/canadian-immigration-and-refugee-law-2-sovereignty-and-open-boarders/ This is the first podcast in Canadian Immigration and refugee law. We begin by considering the historical evolution of immigration within Canada and then turn to some early immigration cases to consider the role that racism played in the immigration process. Union Colliery Co v Bryden (1899) Quong Wing ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/11/25/canadian-immigration-and-refugee-law-1-introduction/ Hey everyone. Just an FYI: I have not forgotten about or abandoned LoaLS. The transition back to law school has required significantly more time than I had expected. I also had to spend a great deal earlier this semester writing an appellate brief for Moot Court. I have fall break ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/10/08/were-not-dead-yet/ In this podcast we will discuss remedies within the constitution, and the process of constitutional reform within Canada. This is the final podcast in Canadian Constitutional Law. Schachter v Canada (1992) Vriend v Alta (1998)Download Canadian Constitutional Law 37 http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/08/23/canadian-constitutional-law-37-remedies-and-reform/ In the second-last podcast for the course, we move outside the Charter and consider the constitutional entrenchment of aboriginal rights in sec 35 of the Constitution Act 1982. Even though these rights are entrenched outside of the Charter, we will see how jurisprudence has imposed limits upon aboriginal rights ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/08/22/canadian-constitutional-law-36-aboriginal-rights/ Language rights are very important in Canada as a result of the historical French-English tension. However, sections 91 and 92 do not assign administration of language-related issues to a specific level of government, so it is treated as an ancilliary sphere over which both levels of government have some ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/08/16/canadian-constitutional-law-35-language-rights/ Why does the Charter focus on legal and politcal rights, to the exclusion of economic and social rights? What does this absence mean for Canadian citizens? Could economic and social rights be read into the charter under an existing section? That's what Gosselin tries to do in ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/08/16/canadian-constitutional-law-34-economic-and-social-rights/ In this podcast we will be discussing section 15 of the charter, equality rights. It is important to understand the difference between formal equality (American model) and substantive equality (Canadian model). We will consider the case of Law v Canada, which contains a very thorough analysis of equality ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/08/16/canadian-constitutional-law-33-equality-rights/ Continuing on with our look at section 7 rights, we will now consider the case of Rodriguez v BC (AG). A woman with Lou Gehrig's disease seeks a declaration that she may legally seek doctor-assisted suicide when her condition deteriorates to the point that she wishes to end her ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/04/13/canadian-constitutional-law-32-section-7-continued-assisted-suicide/ Moving on to section 7 of the Charter, the first and broadest of the legal rights (ss7-14), we consider life, liberty, and security of the person. This is often used in a criminal law setting, but the cases we looked at in class were more unique. In this ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/04/13/canadian-constitutional-law-31-life-liberty-and-security-of-the-person/ Is hate speech a form of expression? Can it earn the same Charter protection as dissident political speech? In this podcast, we will discuss hate speech, focusing mainly on R v Keegstra. We will briefly compare the Canadian and American conceptions of hate speech. Unlike in ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/04/06/canadian-constitutional-law-30-hate-speech/ What constitutes expression? Does it have to be speech, or can it include actions such as picketing? What restrictions on expression are justified? In our second podcast on fundamental freedoms, we will consider the importance given to free expression in our constitution (sec 2(b)). In keeping ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/04/06/canadian-constitutional-law-29-freedom-of-expression/ Can you take your kirpan to school? Not even if it's in a box under your clothes? These are the questions of section 2(a), freedom of religion. We'll talk about the evolution of the concept of freedom of religion and look at two cases as examples. ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/03/10/canadian-constitutional-law-28-freedom-of-religion/ Section 33 of the Charter allows sections 2 and 7-15 to be overridden if parliament or a provincial legislature expressly declare that a law shall operate notwithstanding the charter. This section is almost never invoked by the government because of the political repercussions, but it was considered by the ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/03/10/canadian-constitutional-law-27-section-33-notwithstanding-clause/ If you listen to only one Canadian Constitutional Law podcast, it should be this one. Or maybe number 5, since that had both the landmark persons case and the concept of the constitution as a living tree. Well, let's say if you listen to only two, this should ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/03/10/canadian-constitutional-law-26-section-1-analysis/ Whose behaviour is bound by the Charter? Sec 32 tells us it applies to government (as opposed to private actors), but in practice this is more difficult to define than it would seem. We will look at a series of cases which define the limits of the Charter's ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/03/10/canadian-constitutional-law-25-application-of-the-charter-and-charter-standing/ In this short episode we will discuss the viewpoints of several authors on the issue of judicial review and its role in a democracy. We will consider the writings of W. Bogart, A. Petter, P. Monahan, and Hogg and Bushell, then look at a quick excerpt from Vriend v ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/03/07/canadian-constitutional-law-24-judicial-review-in-light-of-the-charter/ In Samuel Berbano's second of a series of podcasts on justiciability doctrines, we'll analyze the question of Mootness as it relates to Federal Article III courts.  These courts are bound to take only cases which commentators call a "case or controversy" requirement.  This requirement exists to preserve the integrity of ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/02/21/constitutional-law-samuel-2-mootness/ Well, it's February and we made it to the Charter (if I only I could make it to spring break...) In this podcast we'll talk about the advent of the Charter and some approaches the court has developed for its interpretation. Interpreting a constitutional document is different from ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/02/10/canadian-constitutional-law-23-approaches-to-charter-interpretation/ Were there any protections in place for our rights before the Charter? In this podcast we first look at the "implied bill of rights", a concept drawn from a series of pre-Charter cases that seem to hint at the idea that there may be a sphere of fundamental freedoms needed for ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/02/10/canadian-constitutional-law-22-implied-and-real-bill-of-rights/ In this podcast we will look at three cases as examples of how racism in the law was dealt with before the charter entrenchment of rights. Without a constitutional document protecting rights, we see that the court could only strike racist legislation on the basis of division of powers. ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/02/10/canadian-constitutional-law-21racism-in-the-law-pre-charter-era/ In this podcast we discuss some of Canada's international economic agreements, and how they are impacted by division of power issues regarding the economy. We will look at some ways in which the constitution is "amended" in practice - that is, the methods that may be employed to achieve ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/02/10/canadian-constitutional-law-20-international-economic-obligations/ This podcast we will do a brief overview of the Hart-Fuller debate. What happens when two overeducated professors duke it out in the Harvard Law Review? Hart defends the positivist stance that law and morality are separate, while Fuller maintains that law must encompass a certain amount of ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/01/31/foundations-of-canadian-law-6-the-hart-fuller-debate/ As Foundations abruptly stops being simple, I attempt to explain the philosophies of HLA Hart and Ronald Dworkin regarding the nature of law, legal systems, and the source of our obligations to obey. Hart's positivism views law as seperate from morality (more on this next podcast), and explains obligations ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/01/31/foundations-of-canadian-law-5-rules-and-obligations/ What is justice? Is it the same as law? What happens when laws are unjust or harmful to us? In this episode we discuss Aristotle's Ethics, Plato's Republic and Dialogues, and Sophocles' Anitgone. We will discuss different conceptions of justice, and the moral dilemna that arises in ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/01/31/foundations-of-canadian-law-4-conceptions-of-justice/ This podcast we look at the landmark Delgamuukw case, in which the Supreme Court recognized the aboriginal title held by several First Nations in BC. This title is not the same as ownership, it is the sui generis right to exclusive use and occupation of the land, inalienable but ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/01/31/foundations-of-canadian-law-3-aboriginal-title/ If you have taken civil procedure or listened to one of Neil's podcasts on the subject, you may be familiar with the Erie doctrine.  In matters of admiralty law, the reverse Erie doctrine applies; common law is created by the federal judiciary.  Such federal common law rules are even binding ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/01/31/maritime-law-4-interview-with-tulane-law-prof-robert-force/ In Samuel Berbano's first of a series of podcasts on justiciability doctrines, we'll analyze the question of standing as it relates to Federal Article III courts. These courts are bound to take only cases containing what legal commentators call a "case or controversy" requirement. This requirement exists to ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/01/28/constitutional-law-samuel-1-standing/ In our second podcast on economic regulation, we look at the federal government’s power to legislate for trade under sec 91(2), control over trade and commerce.  Beginning with the parsons case, this has been interpreted as containing 2 branches: power over international or interprovincial trade and commerce, and a second ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/01/24/canadian-constitutional-law-19-economic-regulation-ii/ Who has jurisdiction over economic regulation?  This is an area that could fit under the federal power of trade and commerce (sec91(2)), or the provincial power over property and civil rights (sec92(13)).  In general, intraprovincial trade is considered to be a provincial matter and interprovincial and international trade is considered ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/01/24/canadian-constitutional-law-18-economic-regulation-i/ In this episode we look at the structure of the court system in Canada. The most important feature to remember is that Canada is a unified (as opposed to a dual) court system. So our courts sit in direct hierarchies, with the Supreme Court serving as the final court of ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/01/15/foundations-of-canadian-law-2-court-system/ This is the first podcast in a class called Foundations of Canadian Law at McGill University. In Foundations we tend to cover a wide variety of topics related to law such as philosophy, aboriginal title, history, rights, rules and morals, etc., so many of these episodes can stand alone. In ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/01/15/foundations-of-canadian-law-1-civil-law-history/ Nude dancing, prostitution and stamping out communism are just some of the issues the provinces have attempted to tackle. Since morality is considered a valid criminal purpose (see Margarine reference from episode 15 of the last term's podcasts), and criminal law is a federal power, how have the courts ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2007/01/15/canadian-constitutional-law-17-provincial-regulation-of-morality/ In about 40 minutes we recap the whole term. We will begin term two in January with provincial regulation of morality.Download Standard Podcast http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2006/12/20/canadian-constitutional-law-16-review/ Under 91(27) the federal government has the plenary (total) power to make criminal laws for Canada. This power has been interpreted very broadly by the courts to include legislation that can appear more regulatory than criminal so long as it contains a prohibition and punishment, with a valid purpose (usually ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2006/12/20/canadian-constitutional-law-15-federal-criminal-power/ To conclude our discussion of POGG, we will look at the second major branch of this concept as national concern. What makes something national concern? What criteria must it meet? The foundational case on this subject is R v Crown Zellerbach Ltd, in which justice Le Dain establishes a test ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2006/12/20/canadian-constitutional-law-14-pogg-national-concern/ The federal government has the power to make lakes for the "Peace Order and Good Governance" (POGG) of the country under s91. But what does this mean? In the first of two podcasts on POGG we will look at POGG as an emergency power, as seen in the Laskin-Beetz debate ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2006/12/20/canadian-constitutional-law-13-pogg-emergency/ This is the last doctrine for a while! Paramountcy dictates that in areas of concurrent jurisdiction (remember the double aspect doctrine?), if there is a conflict between statutes the federal government will have final say. In this podcast will we observe a drunk driver have his licence both ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2006/11/24/canadian-constitutional-law-12-paramountcy-doctrine/ We continue our study of the many, many doctrines of Canadian Constitutional theory with the Interjurisdictional Immunity Doctrine, which exempts certain federal undertakings (think Bell Canada) from provincial laws which are otherwise valid. In this podcast you will learn: where labour laws go to die. what a hopeless anglo sounds like when ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2006/11/24/canadian-constitutional-law-11-interjurisdictional-immunity-doctrine/ In this podcast we celebrate the conclusion of my memo by studying two more doctrines! The Ancillary (also called Necessarily Incidental) doctrine is sometimes used to uphold a specific provision that infringes on another government's jurisdiction when the provision is part of a larger valid scheme. The Double ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2006/11/24/canadian-constitutional-law-10-ancillary-doctrine-double-aspect-doctrine/ In this, our final episode for Constitutional Law II, we will examine public religious displays (such as nativity scenes and the Ten Commandments), as well as briefly consider the Free Exercise of religion. Lynch v. Donnelly (SCOTUS, 1984) Allegheny County v. Greater Pittsburgh ACLU (SCOTUS, 1989) Stone v. Graham (SCOTUS, 1980) McReary County v. ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2006/11/18/constitutional-law-ii-31-public-displays-and-free-exercise/ In this episode we will examine the coercion test, the history / tradition test, the "stupid legislator" test, as well as briefly examining school prayer and the pledge of allegiance. Marsh v. Chambers (SCOTUS, 1983) Lee v. Weisman (SCOTUS, 1992) Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe (SCOTUS, 2000) Wallace v. Jaffree (SCOTUS, 1985) Elk ... http://www.lifeofalawstudent.com/2006/11/18/constitutional-law-ii-30-more-tests-and-school-prayer/