Law,Courts, and the Judicial Process

Abstract

In I Am Charlotte Simmons, Tom Wolfe explores how precarious the pursuit of happiness is in our liberal society, which provides insufficient moral support for individuals to resist following popular opinion in their pursuit of happiness. For Wolfe, the first step of the pursuit of happiness requires the courage to resist popular opinion and to seek an answer to what happiness is for oneself. As Wolfe shows, our universities are neglecting their task to prepare individuals with a liberal education to guide them on how to live as politically and morally free beings who are responsible for pursuing happiness. Despite appearing to be proud and independent, Charlotte Simmons's education fails to provide her with the moral courage to resist peer pressure. At her university, she adopts scientific viewpoints that undermine political and moral liberty and teach her that her superior intelligence and education are tools of domination. Charlotte puts them in service of gaining popularity. Instead of bringing her happiness, her pursuit of popularity leads to discontentment. Since liberalism provides incomplete moral guidance, Wolfe turns to ancient thinkers to find support for the courage to use political liberty to think about what happiness is and how it is to be pursued. In contrast to Charlotte, Jojo, a star basketball player, turns toward the pursuit of a liberal education to live as a free being and to seek happiness.     

司法公正与司法效率的关系及其实现——兼论社会冲突的控制

本文将司法公正与司法效率置于社会的大背景之下来考察 ,认为司法公正与司法效率是内核和载体的关　　系 ,而司法仅仅是社会系统的一个环节 ,司法与社会互动。因此 ,必须求助于整个社会 ,从司法公正与司法效率的关系入手 ,建立和健全一个较完备的社会控制系统 ,预防和减少社会冲突 ,在全社会分摊司法成本 ,推动法律公正与观念公正的实现 ,最终达到司法公正与司法效率的统一。     

司法公正与司法效率的关系及其实现－－兼论社会冲突的控制

本将司法公正与司法效率置于社会的大背景之下来考察,认为司法公正与司法效率是内核和载体的关系,而司法仅仅是社会系统的一个环节,司法与社会互动。因此,必须求助于整个社会,从司法公民司法效率的关系入手,建立和健全一个较完备的社会控制系统,预防和减少社会冲突,在全社会分摊司法成本,推动法律公正与观念公正的实现,最终达到司法公正与司法效率的统一。     

Land,Law and Courts in India: Tracing Land Rights Debates through Processes of Judicial Decision Making

The pace of industrial and allied infrastructure development in India is encumbered by scarcity in the supply of land. As a result, the state in India has frequently resorted to expropriation of land through conversion of land away from its traditional uses and through displacement of communities. Consequently, land acquisition in the country is mired in disputes over human rights and environmental rights violations. In the face of continued political support for infrastructure‐led development in India, those who stand to lose their land have often resorted to judicial recourse for pressing their rights. This article draws on empirical evidence from court cases related to two urban development projects in the states of Karnataka and Kerala to examine how courts have responded to the question of violation of land rights and appeals against land acquisition for the two projects. The author argues that the courts, while responding to the claims against the two projects, have refrained from holding the implementing agencies or the state governments accountable even in cases where there were recognizable incidents of malfeasance. The article illustrates that the inability of the courts to confront the state lends a tacit assent to the development agenda of the state.     

流行的群体"暴力":以"杀手"游戏为中心

"杀手"是近年最流行的成人集体游戏之一,引来如《新周刊》等各类报刊以及包括三大门户网站--新浪、搜狐和网易--在内的诸网络媒体的广泛关注和报道。中国人民大学的沙莲香、郭星华两位教授从社会学、传媒学、伦理学与心理学的角度认识到这一游戏的价值,进行了初步的探讨。然而,作为当代都市民俗的"杀手"游戏似乎并没有进入民俗学特别是游戏学学者的考察视野。本文仅是一个抛砖引玉的     

Review of Edward A. Purcell, Jr., Brandeis and the Progressive Constitution: Erie , the Judicial Power, and the Politics of Federal Courts in Twentieth-Century America

One of my strongest memories of law school remains the first class in “Federal Courts.” The teacher began by asking if anyone could explain the holding in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins (1938).2 Several students raised their hands, and the answer was soon forthcoming. Federal courts were bound by the decisional rules of the state courts in the states in which theywere located; there is no federal common law. “Very good,” the teacher said. “If you know that, why are you taking this course?”