20 Feb 2013

The Supreme Court Takes on A Case Regarding “Arising Under” Jurisdiction: A Prediction as to How the Court Will Resolve Gunn v. Minton

Rodger Citron, a professor of Law at Touro Law Center in Central Islip, New York, comments on an upcoming Supreme Court case regarding “arising under” jurisdiction, a phrase that the Constitution and a number of federal statutes employ to authorize a party to assert a claim based upon federal law in federal court—and also, in limited circumstances, when a claim is based upon state law but cannot be decided without determining an issue of federal law. Citron discusses not only the concept of “arising under” jurisdiction, but also the Court’s recent oral argument involving that concept. Continue reading →

Posted In: Constitutional Law, Courts and Procedure

More Analysis and Commentary by Rodger Citron

28 Jan 2013 Rodger Citron

Down the Rabbit Hole: A Review of Errol Morris’s A Wilderness of Error: The Trials of Jeffrey MacDonald

Justia guest columnist and law professor at Touro Law Center in Central Islip, New York, Rodger Citron reviews Errol Morris’s book on one of the most infamous murders in American history, in which Army doctor Jeffrey MacDonald was convicted of the 1970 killing of his wife and two daughters. MacDonald, however, has consistently maintained that not he, but four intruders, committed the murders, and has pointed to the stab wound he incurred, which punctured his lung, as evidence of his claim. MacDonald is still in prison, but should he be? Citron considers the evidence. Continue reading →

Posted In: Book Reviews, Criminal Law

23 Oct 2012 Rodger Citron

Another Fine Mess: An Assessment of the Most Recent Supreme Court Oral Argument in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum

Justia guest columnist and Touro Law Center professor Rodger Citron comments on the recent Supreme Court argument in an important case centering on the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). As Citron explains, the ATS, enacted by the first Congress in 1789, authorizes federal courts to hear “any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the laws of nations or a treaty of the United States.” But can the ATS be applied to conduct based outside the U.S.? As Citron explains, that is the issue that the conservative Justices brought up at oral argument. Citron predicts, however, that in the end the Court will not limit the ATS’s reach to conduct that occurs within the United States, but that the Court will affirm the lower court’s dismissal of the plaintiffs’ case. Continue reading →

Posted In: Courts and Procedure, International Law

15 Nov 2011 Rodger Citron

A Review of Snigda Prakash’s All the Justice Money Can Buy, a Book on the Vioxx Tort Litigation

Justia guest columnist and Touro law professor Rodger Citron comments on former NPR reporter Snigda Prakash’s recent book on the Vioxx litigation and, especially, the Vioxx trial. The litigation, as Citron explains, followed manufacturer Merck’s withdrawal of Vioxx from the market in the face of evidence that those who took the drug faced an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes. Citron praises Prakash for making good use of her access to the plaintiffs’ legal team, and offering a vivid, compelling portrait of the trial, but notes that when she admittedly takes sides—beginning to root for the plaintiffs—her journalistic objectivity predictably suffers to some extent. In addition, Citron notes that he would have liked to hear more, in Prakash’s book, about the comprehensive settlement that will be the Vioxx dispute’s lasting legacy. Continue reading →

Posted In: Book Reviews