FINDLAW COLUMNISTS

• Is Senator Barack Obama Truly Too Elite To Be Elected President? Further Thoughts on Obama's Intelligence and Education as Possible Barriers to His Victory

• Heath Ledger's Estate: Why Daughter Matilda, Who Was Left Nothing in Her Father's Will, Might Have a Claim to Everything Part One in a Two-Part Series

• Heath Ledger's Estate: Why Daughter Matilda, Who Was Left Nothing in Her Father's Will, Might Have a Claim to Everything Part Two in a Two-Part Series

• What's So Special About Genetic Discrimination? Congress Passes a Revealing Bill

• An Evangelical Manifesto: How One Subgroup of Evangelical Christians Is Attempting the Redefine the Very Term "Evangelical"

FINDLAW COLUMNISTS:

IS SENATOR BARACK OBAMA TRULY TOO ELITE TO BE ELECTED PRESIDENT? FURTHER THOUGHTS ON OBAMA'S INTELLIGENCE AND EDUCATION AS POSSIBLE BARRIERS TO HIS VICTORY
(John Dean) - A discussion of the "elitist" label, especially as it has recently been applied to likely Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Dean begins by taking a look at Obama's background, which he contends was hardly elite or elitist. He then considers the ways in which allegations of elitism have been used by Republican presidential candidates against their Democratic counterparts in recent history, typically with great success, despite the fact that both parties' candidates have equally belonged to elites. Dean also suggests, however, that the "elitist" label may work less well than usual this election season, as the candidates vie to succeed a highly unpopular Republican president whose actions have often sparked charges of incompetence. Read more...

HEATH LEDGER'S ESTATE: WHY DAUGHTER MATILDA, WHO WAS LEFT NOTHING IN HER FATHER'S WILL, MIGHT HAVE A CLAIM TO EVERYTHING PART ONE IN A TWO-PART SERIES
(Joanna Grossman and Mitchell Gans) - The beginning of a two-part series on the trusts and estates law questions arising from the recent and untimely death of the actor Heath Ledger. In this column, Grossman and Gans explain why Ledger's daughter Matilda could inherit his entire estate even though she was omitted from his will (probably inadvertently, as it was written prior to her birth). Yet they also note that, in an odd twist, if tabloid reports that Ledger fathered another daughter, prior to the will's writing, are accurate, then both that daughter and Matilda may be left without legacies. Read more...

HEATH LEDGER'S ESTATE: WHY DAUGHTER MATILDA, WHO WAS LEFT NOTHING IN HER FATHER'S WILL, MIGHT HAVE A CLAIM TO EVERYTHING PART TWO IN A TWO-PART SERIES
(Joanna Grossman and Mitchell Gans) - The continuation of a two-part series on the trusts and estates law questions arising from the recent, untimely death of the actor Heath Ledger. In this column, Part Two, Grossman and Gans consider which jurisdiction's law may apply with respect to pivotal questions regarding Ledger's will and estate -- with the possibilities including California, New York, and Australia. Their analysis leads to the interesting result that, even though Ledger's daughter Matilda was not mentioned in his will (which preceded her birth), she is still likely to inherit Ledger's entire estate. Read more...

WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT GENETIC DISCRIMINATION? CONGRESS PASSES A REVEALING BILL
(Sherry Colb) - A consideration of a provocative question: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which prohibits employers and insurance companies from discriminating on the basis of a person's test results showing her predisposition to certain illnesses, has enjoyed across-the-board support in Congress and is poised to be signed by President Bush. Yet a hypothetical parallel law telling insurance companies not to discriminate based upon pre-existing conditions would doubtless prove extremely controversial. What accounts for the difference? To explain this sharp contrast, Colb draws upon the theories of philosopher John Rawls, whose work asks us to imagine that we must make decisions behind a "veil of ignorance" -- that is, in a state in which we do not know what our own attributes (including sickness or health) will be. Read more...

AN EVANGELICAL MANIFESTO: HOW ONE SUBGROUP OF EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS IS ATTEMPTING THE REDEFINE THE VERY TERM "EVANGELICAL"
(Marci Hamilton) - A comment on the "Evangelical Manifesto," a statement written by a group of evangelical Christians seeking to change the meaning of the term "evangelical" from the one it has acquired during first the Clinton and then the Bush Administrations. Hamilton lauds some aspects of the statement -- including its emphasis on solving social problems with a careful consideration of the common good, and its acknowledgment that the public square properly includes many voices, not only religious ones. However, she criticizes the statement's attempt to redefine a word it did not mint. Read more...