Mike Rubin¿s numerous writings on security devices are often cited as authoritative by state and federal courts. The latest edition of his Précis, written in plain English, provides a readily-understandable overview of Louisiana¿s unique laws on mortgage, suretyship, lease financing, the Deficiency Judgment Act, the Private Works Act, and traps for the unwary under Louisiana¿s version of U.C.C. art. 9. Much more than a mere overview, however, it also contains an in-depth discussion of each of these areas, accompanied by numerous examples that concisely illustrate the rules and concepts. Completely updated to reflect legislative and jurisprudential changes, this book is a must-have.

For the first time, readers will find here in one place a clear and up-to-date discussion of the four primary "security devices" in Louisiana law: the Louisiana version of Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, mortgages, statutory liens ("privileges"), and personal guarantees ("suretyship"). The discussion is written to be easily accessible to non-experts. It offers both a basic introduction and a detailed but concise explanation of the operation of each of the available security devices, including the complex rules for determining priority among the various devices when they compete with each other, with a trustee in bankruptcy, or with the Internal Revenue Service. This book is designed to allow students and lawyers to solve difficult problems with minimal effort, guided by a logically structured and detailed table of contents, as well as simple illustrations of particularly complex topics. By bringing all of this material together in a clear and focused framework, this book is intended to reduce study and research time for complex secured transactions questions and to increase students' and lawyers' confidence in the resolution of often complex and confusing commercial law problems in the unique environment of Louisiana law. This second edition has been updated to reflect recent changes in the law, especially the complete overhaul of the rules governing agricultural collateral, the filing rules for Orleans Parish, and the expanded application of the certificate of title perfection rules to certain boats and motors.

The Mayors Court is Louisianas most numerous type of court, with about 250 of these courts across the state, yet very little appears to be known about them. Out of the fifty states, only Louisiana and Ohio still use these courts. Under this system of informal tribunals, a town mayor essentially acts as prosecutor, judge, and jury to enforce municipal ordinances. There is no requirement that a mayor presiding over one of these courts should possess a law degree or have any legal training. Likewise, the inherent duty of mayors to raise revenue creates a potential bias that could cause mayors to convict defendants solely for financial gain. Although their existence is vested under the Louisiana Constitution, there is very limited statutory guidance or procedural safeguards to govern these courts. Many of the few attempts that have been made to interpret laws governing these courts have been misguided and have lead to incorrect court decisions. As a result, the possibility exists for defendants before these courts to be unfairly convicted. This book provides an overview of the mayors courts in Louisiana and examines a few due process concerns that arise from these courts existence.

As Louisiana and Cuba emerged from slavery in the late nineteenth century, each faced the question of what rights former slaves could claim. Degrees of Freedom compares and contrasts these two societies in which slavery was destroyed by war, and citizenship was redefined through social and political upheaval. Both Louisiana and Cuba were rich in sugar plantations that depended on an enslaved labor force. After abolition, on both sides of the Gulf of Mexico, ordinary people--cane cutters and cigar workers, laundresses and labor organizers--forged alliances to protect and expand the freedoms they had won. But by the beginning of the twentieth century, Louisiana and Cuba diverged sharply in the meanings attributed to race and color in public life, and in the boundaries placed on citizenship. Louisiana had taken the path of disenfranchisement and state-mandated racial segregation; Cuba had enacted universal manhood suffrage and had seen the emergence of a transracial conception of the nation. What might explain these differences? Moving through the cane fields, small farms, and cities of Louisiana and Cuba, Rebecca Scott skillfully observes the people, places, legislation, and leadership that shaped how these societies adjusted to the abolition of slavery. The two distinctive worlds also come together, as Cuban exiles take refuge in New Orleans in the 1880s, and black soldiers from Louisiana garrison small towns in eastern Cuba during the 1899 U.S. military occupation. Crafting her narrative from the words and deeds of the actors themselves, Scott brings to life the historical drama of race and citizenship in postemancipation societies.

An Anatomy of Louisiana Evidence Law is the first of its kind in Louisiana, representing a new trend in law school casebooks across the country. Much more than just a compilation of cases and notes, this book is a complete coursebook. It presents a detailed, thorough, and comprehensive examination of the law of evidence through the use of concise commentary and a number of pedagogical elements designed to both reinforce legal principles and to help bridge the ever-widening gap between law school theory and practice. This exceptionally organized casebook covers the entire Louisiana Code of Evidence with a treatise-like explanation of the legal principles, written in a reader friendly style. The casebook includes both Louisiana cases and select U.S. Supreme Court cases directly affecting Louisiana law with discussion questions to assist students in understanding the cases and concepts in each section. Reinforced by a summary of key points, students are presented with a straightforward presentation of the law, designed to better equip them to more fully engage in classroom lectures and discussion. This style of presentation of the law is coupled with numerous opportunities for application with over 400 original problems and practical application exercises. Throughout the book are comparisons of major distinctions between the Louisiana Code of Evidence and the Federal Rules of Evidence and a discussion of public policy concerns underlying the evidentiary principles to serve as a guide to understanding how the law should be applied and to better understand many of the distinctions in the state and federal laws.