CONTROL AND GOVERNANCE OF TRANSMISSION ORGANIZATIONS IN THE RESTRUCTURED ELECTRICITY INDUSTRY
Charles H. Koch, Jr.
The electric utility industry, the largest industry in the United States, is in the process of a radical restructuring from a highly regulated industry to one driven by a market regime. The impact of this restructuring will be profound and lasting on every aspect of our society. As the fourth largest state in the United States, the Florida Legislature’s approach to the deregulation of the electric utility industry and the emergence of the market regime will be of particular interest to the rest of the country. At present, particular attention is directed toward the transformation of control and governance of bulk transmission facilities, whose crucial role in transmitting electricity from generating plants to consumers represents the core of the electric utility industry.
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FATHER KNOWS BEST: REVISED ARTICLE 8 AND THE INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR
Francis J. Facciolo
Most states, including New York State, have adopted a major revision of Article 8 of the Uniform Commercial Code (Revised Article 8), along with related amendments to Article 9 (Revised Article 9). The Department of the Treasury has also adopted Revised Article 8 for the market in Treasury securities, preempting certain provisions of the laws of any state that has not adopted Revised Article 8. In 1994, the adoption of Revised Article 8 by both the American Law Institute (ALI) and the National Conference of Commissioners of Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) was the culmination of a process that began in 1988. Although the supporters of Revised Article 8 have stoutly maintained that it is primarily a clarification of 1977 Article 8 and that the proposed changes are insignificant, Revised Article 8 actually includes major changes that should be of concern to all individual investors in America’s securities markets. Without significant amendments to certain sections of Revised Article 8, individual investors will be profoundly disadvantaged.
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THE ILLUSION OF SIMPLICITY: AN EXPLANATION OF WHY THE LAW CAN’T JUST BE LESS COMPLEX
R. George Wright
Complexity in the law inspires much confusion. In some respects, however, we are quite sure of ourselves. We think, for example, that we can easily recognize legal complexity when we see it. We are also sure that the law is often too complex. We do allow for the possible advantages of complexity in certain cases. Generally, though, we assume that what is simple is both readily recognized and desirable.
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HOW FEDERAL CIRCUIT JUDGES VOTE IN PATENT VALIDITY CASES
John R. Allison & Mark A. Lemley
Legal realism is alive and well among patent lawyers. Patent lawyers–at least those who regularly practice before the Federal Circuit–are firmly convinced that the outcome of their case depends on the panel they draw. They prepare “judge charts” outlining how each judge has voted on each of the relevant cases. They summarize the state of the law by “counting noses”–that is, by seeing how many different judges (and which ones) have signed off on a controversial legal doctrine. And they tailor their oral arguments to particular judges, because they think that who is on the panel matters greatly to the outcome.
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A BOLD STEP: WHAT FLORIDA SHOULD DO CONCERNING THE HEALTH OF ITS RURAL COMMUNITIES, LICENSURE, AND TELEMEDICINE
Talley L. Kaleko
In a rural Oregon community a local doctor treated a patient for more than three years for the same skin condition. The doctor did not consult a dermatologist because the community did not have such a specialist to consult. When telemedicine was introduced to the area, information and photographs of the patient’s skin condition were transmitted to a dermatologist via the Internet. As a result, the doctor prescribed the correct treatment, and the condition cleared up in one week. Telemedicine made the difference between sickness and health for the patient.
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