The Ethics of Implementation: Institutional Remedies and the Lawyer's Role

The issue addressed in this article is whether and to what extent a lawyer has an ethical responsibility to pursue implementation of the remedy in institutional reform litigation. Institutional reform litigation refers to cases in which an individual or class of individuals sues a large organization in order to vindicate constitutional or statutory rights. The types of cases with which this article is concerned are the "public law" type, such as school desegregation, prisoners' rights and patients' rights cases, although included under the rubric of institutional reform can be, inter alia, antitrust, reapportionment and bankruptcy cases. The implementation stage of institutional reform litigation arises after an individual or class of individuals prevails at the liability stage, or pursuant to a settlement, and a court orders the defendant organization to change in order to vindicate the plaintiffs' rights. At that point, the defendant organization, whether it be a prison, mental hospital or school district, usually has the burden of implementing the order. One conclusion drawn is that the ethical duty of the lawyer must always be consistent with the lawyer's "special responsibility for the quality of justice."

Gray Whales (Eschrichtius robustus) Off Sakhalin Island, Russia: Seasonal And Annual Patterns Of Occurrence

The annual return, seasonal occurrence, and site fidelity of Korean-Okhotsk or western gray whales on their feeding grounds off northeastern Sakhalin Island, Russia, were assessed by boat-based photo-identification studies in 1994-1998. A total of 262 pods were observed, ranging in size from 1 to 9 whales with an overall mean of 2.0'. Sixty-nine whales were individually identified, and a majority of all whales (71.0%) were observed in multiple years. Annual sighting frequencies ranged from 1 to 18 d, with a mean of 5.4 d. The percentage of whales re-identified from previous years showed a continuous annual increase, reaching 87.0% by the end of the study. Time between first and last sighting of identified individuals within a given year was 1-85 d, with an overall mean of 40.6 d. Annual calf proportions ranged from 4.3% (1997) to 13.2% (1998), and mother-calf separations generally occurred between July and September. The seasonal site fidelity and annual return of whales to this part of the Okhotsk Sea emphasize its importance as a primary feeding ground for this endangered population.