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do.teen Reflective Response: The Domestic Legal Effect of Treaties and Agreements

do.teen Reflective Response: The Domestic Legal Effect of Treaties and Agreements

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Article VI of the U.S. Constitution provides, in part,

“…This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding…”

This clause, often referred to as the Supremacy Clause, demonstrates that treaties are elevated to a status over that of state laws. While not done as clearly, courts have also given executive agreements that same elevated status. However, while treaties and executive agreements are supreme over state law, they are not necessarily equal to one another. Moreover, not all treaties are enforceable in domestic courts.

How and where treaties are enforceable has been a fluid concept in America’s history, and it remains so to this day. The article linked below examines the history of the enforcement of treaties in U.S. courts and where we stand today on the issue. The article also makes suggestions of how to better allow for direct enforcement of treaties.

Read the article critically, gauging your response to its conclusions.

Write

Based on the journal article, consider the following questions:

  • What factors are involved in determining whether an international treaty is “binding” or enforceable in U.S. courts? Is this list sufficient? Should other factors be involved? If so, what and why?
  • What are a litigant’s options if the treaty is not enforceable domestically? Do you think “indirect enforcement” is truly a viable option?
  • Should the process make access to domestic courts for enforcement, or private rights of action, more or less difficult? What reasoning supports your position?

APA format and in-text citations with reference page

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case brief

case brief

PLEASE FOLLOW THE TEMPLATE WHILE ANSWERING THIS ASSIGNMENT.

Student Case Brief/Presentation Project

The basic purpose for briefing a case is to help you understand the particular legal issues of the case, learn the proper universally accepted format and to refresh your memory on the significant portions of the case later as needed.

Each student will brief a case in the requested format that deals with some aspect of the emergency services. Each individual will present their brief in class, explaining all pertinent facts, concluding with a discussion of how we personally can avoid such a pitfall. Your case must have been tried in a court of law and may not be taken from those listed in the texts.

Instead, you must perform credible research regarding your case (LexisNexis database; findlaw.com etc.) or another acceptable law specific database … not Wikipedia, a fire publication etc; seek librarian help if necessary.

Each brief should be at least 3 pages in length with a thorough discussion of potential policy implications as related to some aspect of the emergency services. The written brief will be worth 50 points, with another 50 points credited when adequately presented in class with a provided teaching outline (10 points extra credit if  you attend all sessions of students briefing). Proper formatting, grammar and spelling will count for a significant part of your grade, so edit your work carefully. Your case brief must follow the model described in class. Briefs must be typed double-spaced with 1″ margins. No fonts larger than 12 point are to be used. You will be prepared to fully discuss/explain your findings in class

on the date as assigned.

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The Use of Contracts to Protect Property Rights

The Use of Contracts to Protect Property Rights

Read the summary of the Wrench LLC v. Taco Bell Corporation case in the “Ethics: Implied-in-Fact Contract Prevents Unjust Result” section of Ch. 9. It is suggested that you also research and read the full court opinion, using the summary in the textbook to aid your understanding of the legal issues presented.

Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper using Microsoft® Word to address the following questions:

  • What type of intellectual property was at issue in this case? Were these ideas entitled to protection under the law?
  • Explain the difference between an implied-in-law (quasi contract) and an implied-in-fact contract. What type of contract was at issue in this case?
  • Explain what the parties could have done differently to protect their rights and avoid this dispute.
  • Explain how a properly written contract could have been utilized for the licensing and use of the intellectual property to prevent the issue, and provide terms you would recommend be included in such a contract.
  • Identify and explain each of the elements that would have been necessary to form a valid contract.

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do Case Briefs and Analyses: The World Court

do Case Briefs and Analyses: The World Court


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A treaty can have the same force and effect of law domestically as does a statute. However, both are subject to the U.S. Constitution. When a treaty and a statute are in conflict with one another, the one enacted or created “last in time,” meaning most recently, controls. Where a treaty, for various reasons, cannot be enforced in domestic courts, that treaty still has the force and effect of international law.

Some treaties are self-executing while others are not. If self-executing, the treaty creates rights and duties without the need for implementing legislation and is typically enforceable in the U.S. legal system. A non-self-executing treaty must be implemented by statute. No consensus exists as to which is which, or whether a treaty is presumed to be one over the other. In fact, in 2008, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee changed the format of its reports on pending treaties to include in its draft resolution the self- or non-self-executing nature of treaty provisions. While this helps the dilemma going forward, it does not affect prior agreements.

In the 1998 case of Breard v. Greene, the United States was placed at odds with the International Court of Justice when an international agreement and a subsequently enacted U.S. statute conflicted with one another. The United States Supreme Court had to determine what rights and obligations were superior.

A decade later, in Medellin v. Texas, the Supreme Court took a look at the obligation (or lack thereof) — of American states to obey a judgment of the World Court on the legal rights of foreign nationals arrested and prosecuted for crimes in those states.

Brief & Analyze

Before attempting your case briefs, you may want to review the example given in: Methodology for Legal Analysis (PDF). (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.Each brief should typically be no more than one typed page (two if double-spaced). Remember to use your own words in summarizing the case as this helps to assure you really understand what the case is about.

The brief for each case should contain the case name and citation, the facts, the issue, the Court’s holding, and the Court’s reasoning. The reasoning will be broken down into the majority opinion and then any concurrences or dissents (though these may be more concise than the majority’s rationale).

After briefing both cases, write a paragraph or two stating how the Court’s interpretation of international obligations versus domestic laws has evolved. Elaborate upon the implications of the Court’s holdings and reasoning for future cases where international agreements and domestic laws conflict.

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