Digital Commons Network^™

Social Media: One Of Fast Fashion’S Biggest Influencers Why Legal Intervention Is Essential To Reduce Social Media’S Promotion Of Fast Fashion– An Industry Founded On Unsustainable Business Practices, Abigail Mccann

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

The purpose of this paper is to convey why legal intervention is an essential step in curtailing social media’s promotion of fast fashion, which often occurs through brand utilization of various predatory advertising methods. Research has suggested growing opposition to both social media and clothing regulations. As a result, the most proactive way to confront the issue is by attacking corporate activity head-on. This will occur through the implementation of a mandatory three-factor sustainability compliance program, required for all fast fashion corporations advertising via social media. Additionally, to ensure brand transparency, compliance with the program will require the publication of …

Examining Netchoice And Murthy: Content Moderation In The Hands Of The Supreme Court, Devin B. Forbush

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

The right to free speech is often justified by the idea that an undisturbed marketplace of ideas is an essential ingredient for a healthy democracy. While in many cases we may believe the views espoused by that speech are incorrect, ignorant, or even harmful, those reasons do not justify silencing those views. In 2024, there is a clear social divide between social media platforms’ content-moderation practices. On one side, anti-moderation advocates opine that social media platforms have a distinct and pervasive bias in moderating user content and viewpoints indiscriminately. On the other side, many advocates contend that social media platforms …

Who Should Be Liable? Examining The Corporate Liability Regime For Cybersecurity Risks, Angel R. Gardner

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

The growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) poses new and substantial security risks for individual and national security. The IoT leaves networks susceptible to hacking, a form of unauthorized access into another person’s system or device. All devices that use the IoT are at risk of unauthorized access—a few examples include vehicles or medical devices. Currently, there are no regulations requiring corporations to protect their software from unauthorized intrusions. However, the current tort landscape does not allow for individuals to recover when there are unauthorized network intrusions where there is no tangible harm. This paper discusses why cybersecurity intrusions …

Taking Matters Into Your Own Hands; Using The Private Rights Of Action In Udap Statutes To Hold Businesses Accountable For Data Breaches, Deirdre Sullivan

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

The private rights of action in state unfair and deceptive acts and practices (UDAP) laws present a promising way for consumers to recover after a data breach. Plaintiffs’ attorneys have faced challenges in pleading data breach claims under negligence, unjust enrichment, and state data breach notification theories—significantly their challenges stem from issues with standing. UDAP statutes, modeled after s.5 of the FTC Act, present a plausible path to recovery for plaintiffs, with more success in regard to issues of standing. This paper will analyze UDAP claims in four different states and explore the success plaintiffs have had so far, and …

An Inadequate Band-Aid: Existing Privacy Law Has Uncertain Application To Web-Scraped Personal Information Used To Train Ai, Jody L. Eckman

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

To legislate high-growth technology requires fine-tuned balance, but the current state of AI legislation swings in favor of AI providers given U.S. lawmakers near non-existent response. From healthcare to education, the financial industry to the legal field, AI has gained a grip stronger than any legal band-aid lawmakers might believe to be in place and protecting consumers. I argue that based on a survey of current U.S. legislation, AI providers are being given the chance to have their cake and eat it too at the expense of consumers’ rights. Such a perfectly permissible feast is why lawmakers must promptly and …

The Right To Privacy And The Japanese Constitution, Mark A. Sayre

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

Much focus has been placed on the rapid adoption of laws and regulations governing information and data privacy around the globe. While such laws and regulations are undoubtedly critical in quelling increasing concerns about invasions of privacy enabled by technological advancements, a focus on new laws and regulations alone overlooks a critical and more foundational source of privacy rights—national constitutions. This paper analyzes whether a right to privacy exists under the Japanese Constitution and how the nature and scope of such a right is impacted by Japanese culture. An overview of key early court cases framing the right to privacy …

Editorial Board Vol. 2. No.1 (2024), Hannah Babinski Editor-In-Chief

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

Masthead Editorial Board Vol. 2. No.1 (2024)

2023 Annual Report, University Of Maine School Of Law

Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic Annual Report

• Letter from the Directors
• 2023: Year in Review
• General Practice Clinic
• Refugee and Human Rights Center
• Rural Practice Clinic
• Prisoner Assistance Clinic
• Protection from Abuse Program
• Youth Justice Clinic
• Center for Youth Policy & Law
• Clinic Staffing

Dei Newsletter 2024 Issue 2, University Of Maine School Of Law

DEI Newsletter

• Upcoming Events
• Summer Celebrations
• In the Spotlight:
• RHRC in Mexico 2.0
• BLSA Highlights from Black History Month
• Women’s History at Maine Law
• Events Around Town
• Living Room Library

Respect My Authority: The Past, Present, And Future Of The Public Authority, Tom J. Letourneau

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

This comment synthesizes various historical aspects of motor vehicle infrastructure in the United States. The network of issues at play involves centuries of public policy decisions made at the local, state, and federal level, which twentieth century legal innovations hastened and curdled into the car culture we are all a part of today. The public authority is the paradigm of these legal innovations, but it has outlived its usefulness in the face climate change and burgeoning issues relating to urbanism.

Windward Woes: The Misalignment Of Economic Incentives And Renewable Energy Development Goals, Matthew S. Edwards

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

Energy tax credits have always been a significant driver of renewable energy development, but the recent Inflation Reduction Act in response to new national development goals represents the most significant change in several decades. The Inflation Reduction Act is certainly a step in the right direction, but there are numerous factors that limit the impact on future developments that should be remedied to allow for the nation’s best chance to reach 2030 renewable energy goals.

30 Years Removed, Oil-Spill Liability Insurance's Evolution Since The 1989 Exxon Valdez Incident, Rejo Mathew

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

In the thirty years since the Exxon Valdez incident, much has changed. This article looks back at the events of the accident and the subsequent changes to the marine pollution insurance industry, from the statutes regulating oil tankers in 1989 to the Oil Pollution Act of the 1990. The regulatory framework resulting from the Exxon Valdez is examined and compared to the litigation deriving from the spill.

It's A Soft Shell Life For Me: The Case For Expanding Npdes Permitting To Include Causes Of Ocean Acidification, Natalie L. Nowatzke

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

Ocean acidification, a lesser-known counterpart to climate change, is primarily caused by the ocean’s absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This absorption, in turn, reduces the ocean’s pH, and has detrimental effects on the health of the entire ecosystem. This Comment examines the applicability of the “functional equivalent test,” coined by the Supreme Court in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, to the causes of ocean acidification. Using this test, this Comment proposes expanding NPDES permitting under the Clean Water Act to cover some landbased sources emitting carbon dioxide.

Fishing Communities And Public Participation In Federal Decisionmaking: A Case Study Of Community Opposition To The Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion Project, Stephanie Showalter Otts

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

In debates surrounding coastal restoration projects, the word “community” is heard frequently. Coastal restoration projects have the potential to affect a wide range of communities, both those which are place-based as well as communities of practice that are not geographically bound. However, the lack of a single, accepted definition of community can lead to faulty assumptions about who is being represented in policy debates which can undermine efforts to build consensus and support for coastal restoration efforts. This Article presents a case study of community conflicts and public participation surrounding a large, controversial coastal restoration project in Louisiana—the Mid-Barataria Sediment …

Editorial Board Vol. 29, No. 1 (2024), Alicia M. Rea Editor-In-Chief

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

No abstract provided.

When Fines Don't Go Far Enough: The Failure Of Prison Settlements And Proposals For More Effective Enforcement Methods, Tori Collins

Maine Law Review

The Eighth Amendment’s Punishments Clause provides the basis on which prisoners may bring suit alleging unconstitutional conditions of confinement. Only a small number of these suits are successful. The suits that do survive typically end in a settlement in which prison authorities agree to address the unconstitutional conditions. However, settlements such as these are easily flouted for two primary reasons: prison authorities are not personally held liable when settlements are broken, and prisoners largely lack the political and practical leverage to self-advocate beyond the courtroom. Because of this, unconstitutional prison conditions may linger for years after prison authorities have agreed …

Getting The Green Light: Renewable Energy As An Internal Tribal Matter, J. Shinay

Maine Law Review

For over forty years the Wabanaki people of Maine have had their sovereignty diminished as a result of the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act (MICSA), an arrangement with the state and federal government unlike any other tribal sovereignty arrangement in the Unites States. The MICSA was born from a decades-long debate over land rights and resource rights in Maine, culminating in a “compromise” that avoided political conflict at the expense of Wabanaki sovereignty. Under the MICSA, the Wabanaki do not have sovereign status, instead only holding sovereign control over those matters the state deems “internal tribal matters.” Among the many …

The Case For Second Chances: A Pathway To Decarceration In Maine, Catherine Besteman, Leo Hylton

Maine Law Review

The Article argues that Maine incarcerates too many people, for too long, for too many things, at too great of an expense. We offer evidence to support this claim, briefly review some of the criminal legal legislation that shaped our present reality, and show how recent efforts at reform have been, at best, only modestly successful. In concert with a growing number of expert voices across the country calling for strategies of decarceration, our goal is to demonstrate the need for second chance legislation in Maine in the form of the reinstatement of parole, an effective clemency process, a far-reaching …

The New People V. Collins: How Can Probabilistic Evidence Be Properly Admitted?, David Crump

Maine Law Review

The California Supreme Court’s decision in People v. Collins is a staple in Evidence casebooks. An innovative assistant district attorney in the trial court had presented a mathematician who applied probabilities to questions about the perpetrators’ characteristics. The state supreme court disapproved the injection of an equation featuring what mathematicians call the “product rule.” The opinion contains thank-goodness-we-escaped-that-disaster reasoning and condemnation of this use of mathematics with probabilities. But the court’s analysis probably would be different if the case were decided today, as the “new” People v. Collins. Therefore, this Article considers what the author calls the new People v. …

Power V. Power: Federal Pattern-Or-Practice Enforcement Actions Applied To Local Prosecutors, Thomas P. Hogan

Maine Law Review

One of the most powerful tools available to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) to stop abuses in the criminal justice system is the federal pattern-or-practice statute, which allows DOJ to bring an enforcement action to prevent discriminatory conduct by government agencies. The most powerful actor in the criminal justice system is the district attorney, the local prosecutor who is at the center of the system. Does DOJ’s pattern-or-practice enforcement authority extend to local prosecutors? This crucial question remains unresolved in formal precedent and has not been addressed in the relevant literature. This Article explores the issue in detail, …

Editorial Board Vol. 76 No. 1 (2024), Lisa A. Prosienski Editor-In-Chief

Maine Law Review

No abstract provided.

Dei Newsletter 2024 Issue 1, University Of Maine School Of Law

DEI Newsletter

• Maine Law’s RHRC Mexico project
• The Third Annual Indian Law and History Lecture
• Black History Month at Maine Law
• Black History Month around town
• The D1L summer employment program
• Living Room Library recommendations

Multi-Parent Custody, Jessica Feinberg

Faculty Publications

In recent years, a number of jurisdictions have enacted laws recognizing that a child may have more than two legal parents (multi-parentage). Recognition of multi-parentage represents a significant change to the legal framework governing parentage— for most of U.S. history, it was well established that a child could have a maximum of two legal parents. While commentators undoubtedly will continue to debate the wisdom of multi-parentage recognition, it is clear both that multi-parentage has arrived and that its arrival raises many novel and important questions across a variety of areas of the law. Proponents and opponents of multi-parentage agree that …

Re/Descheduling Marijuana Through Administrative Action, Scott P. Bloomberg, Alexandra Harriman, Shane Pennington

Faculty Publications

In October 2022, President Biden requested that the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General initiate a procedure to review how marijuana is scheduled under the federal Controlled Substances Act (“CSA”). The announcement was historic. After more than fifty years of federal prohibition, decades of advocacy and litigation from reform groups, and dozens of stalled efforts in Congress, a President finally decided to wield the Executive Power with an eye towards rescheduling or descheduling marijuana. But just how far does that power go? Given President Biden’s request, the question is in serious need of scholarly attention.
This …

Dei Newsletter 2023 Issue 2, University Of Maine School Of Law

DEI Newsletter

• Voter Registration Day event
• Day of Service event
• Access to Justice event
• MSBA’s BIPOC Lawyers section event
• National Celebration of Pro Bono
• Bar Association opportunities
• Meet the student representatives to the DEI Committee
• Check out upcoming networking and community-building events

Dei Newsletter 2023 Issue 1, University Of Maine School Of Law

DEI Newsletter

In this Issue:

• In the Spotlight, Maine Law’s new first year course entitled Introduction to Race, Racism, & US Law and the Refugee & Human Rights Clinic’s asylum workshops.

• Learn about Maine Law affinity groups and what’s going on around town, and read about recent programming at this year’s new student orientation.

Foreword, Scott Bloomberg, Kelsey Kenny

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

Welcome to the first paginated edition of the Student Journal of Information Privacy Law (SJIPL). A group of students at the University of Maine School of Law founded the SJIPL during the fall 2021 semester with the aim of establishing an outlet for student-authored scholarship about information privacy law. Following its formation, the Journal began publishing monthly editions comprised of shorter-form blog posts and more formal academic papers. The Maine Law faculty voted to formally recognize the SJIPL as the school’s third law journal in fall 2022, and the Journal’s editorial staff began working towards publishing its inaugural paginated edition …

Revenge Porn: The Result Of A Lack Of Privacy In An Internet-Based Society, Shelbie M. Mora

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

Nonconsensual pornography, also referred to as revenge porn, is “the distribution of sexual or pornographic images of individuals without their consent.”1 Forty-six U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico have adopted revenge porn laws. However, there is no federal law in place that prohibits revenge porn. Several countries around the world have chosen to adopt revenge porn statutes to protect individuals’ privacy rights and prevent emotional and financial harm. Revenge porn is primarily a large issue for women given that they are overwhelmingly the target.2 Major ramifications can amount to victims who have had …

Life’S Not Fair. Is Life Insurance?, Mark A. Sayre

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

Among the broad categories of insurance offered in the United States,1 individual life insurance is unique in a few key respects that make it an attractive candidate for the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). First, individual life insurance is a voluntary product, meaning that individuals are not required by law to purchase it in any scenario.2 As a result, in order to attract policyholders, life insurers must convince customers not only to choose their company over other companies, but also convince customers to choose their product over other products that might compete for a share of discretionary income (such as …

Leaning Into Chaos (Child’S Health And Online Safety Act): Revision To Ftc’S Enforcement Of Coppa & New Model Rule For Child Advertising, Gabrielle N. Schwartz

Student Journal of Information Privacy Law

A wise author once wrote, “I know, up top you are seeing great sights, but down here at the bottom we, too, should have rights.”1 Dr. Suess not only understood the importance of inspiring children, but believed it was essential to teach children valuable life lessons. As more children continue to stray away from reading as their source of entertainment, children are more likely to become fascinated by the beauty of the internet. Although the internet’s capabilities may positively impact children, there are also adverse effects through the use of the internet’s products, services, and content. Many companies, individuals (such …