Converse-Erie: The Key to Federalism in an Increasingly Administrative State
Joseph R. Oliveri · August 2008 76 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 1372 (2008) As central as the Erie doctrine may be to law school curricula and choice-of-law analyses, however, it represents only part of a federalism analysis; indeed, one scholar has likened traditional Erie doctrine to a false front on a movie set. The other... Read More
Restoring Reason: Reformulating the Swerve Doctrine of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers v. State Farm
Joshua McKarcher · August 2008 76 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 1342 (2008) In Motor Vehicle Manufacturers Ass’n of the United States v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., the Supreme Court famously imported D.C. Circuit Judge Leventhal’s requirement for agencies to conduct a “reasoned analysis” when changing course in administering a statute by way of... Read More
Between a Rock and a Hard Place: The Export of Technical Data Under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations
Mollie McGowan · August 2008 76 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 1327 (2008) The export of defense-related technical data has garnered significant attention in recent years. Factors such as outsourcing, the increasing ease of transferring technical data, the globalization of manufacturing, and the upsurge in the number of foreign nationals employed by U.S. companies in technology... Read More
After Blackwater: A Mission-Focused Jurisdictional Regime for Private Military Contractors During Contingency Operations
Michael Hurst · August 2008 76 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 1308 (2008) Seemingly unprovoked, a Blackwater guard manning a mounted machine gun directed fire at an approaching car with two occupants, instantly killing the driver, an Iraqi medical student. As Iraqi traffic policemen ran towards the scene to assist the other passenger, Blackwater guards, apparently... Read More
The Importance of Executive Order 13,422 on Presidential Oversight of Agency Administration
Michael Hissam · August 2008 76 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 1292 (2008) On January 18, 2007, President Bush issued Executive Order 13,422. This Order was issued on the same day that the White House Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) issued the Final Bulletin for Agency Good Guidance Practices. According to recent commentary, these two documents... Read More
Of Embassy Guards and Rock Stars: Why the Department of State Should Provide Compensation for Torts Committed by Embassy Guards Abroad
Reetuparna Dutta · August 2008 76 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 1279 (2008) Teofil Peter was a bass player for the Romanian band Compact. On December 4, 2004, at approximately 4:30 a.m., Christopher VanGoethem, a Marine embassy guard, collided with Peter’s taxi while driving a sport-utility vehicle in Bucharest, Romania. Peter ultimately died as a result... Read More
Defining Disclosure in a Digital Age: Updating the Privacy Act for the Twenty-First Century
Jonathan C. Bond · August 2008 76 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 1232 (2008) For most unsuccessful administrative plaintiffs, losing on appeal is the end of a long and arduous ordeal. For John Doe, however, the decision of the administrative agency denying his claim for work-related health benefits was only the beginning of his troubles. Like... Read More
Outsourcing Is Not Our Only Problem
Richard J. Pierce, Jr. · August 2008 76 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 1216 (2008) Paul Verkuil’s new book, Outsourcing Sovereignty, is an important contribution to the debate about the appropriate roles of public agencies and private contractors in governing the nation. Verkuil begins by tracing the modern history of the trend toward privatization of governmental... Read More
A Problem of Remedy: Responding to Treasury’s (Lack of) Compliance with Administrative Procedure Act Rulemaking Requirements
Kristin E. Hickman · August 2008 76 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 1153 (2008) The Treasury Department (“Treasury”) promulgates hundreds of regulations interpreting the Internal Revenue Code (“I.R.C.”). In a recent article, I outlined and documented empirically why, under general principles of administrative law, a substantial percentage of Treasury regulations interpreting the I.R.C.—more than forty percent... Read More
From Takeover to Merger: Reforming Administrative Law in an Age of Agency Politicization
David J. Barron · August 2008 76 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 1095 (2008) The Reagan administration’s aggressive efforts to deregulate the national economy touched off a sharp debate over the proper relationship between the White House and the federal bureaucracy—and that debate continues to this day. Peter Strauss’s foreword last year directly joined it by... Read More