Law Commons^™

Agenda Setting And Europe's Common Immigration Policy, Jamie P. Surface

Dissertations and Theses

For over a decade the European Union has been immersed in an immigration crisis. As the desired destination for millions of people fleeing unrest in the Middle East and war in Ukraine, the EU has developed its own social, political, and humanitarian crisis. Lacking policy commonality across its member states on how to accept and manage the mass waves of migrants, the EU continues to struggle with implementing a common immigration policy. This research examines EU immigration issues, policies, and the failures of successful collaboration stymying the implementation of a standard immigration policy. Using the agenda setting model of John …

A Day Late And A Dollar Short: Examining Perceptions Of Which Exonerees Deserve Compensation, Alexandra Pauline Olson

Dissertations and Theses

Many exonerees do not receive compensation from the state after they are found innocent and released because most states have exclusionary laws that bar exonerees from receiving compensation. This thesis examined public perceptions of exclusionary laws and addressed the broader question of who deserves compensation (according to community members). Online participants (n = 225) read an article about a fictional exoneree who either pleaded guilty or was convicted by a jury trial and who received a subsequent conviction or did not receive a subsequent conviction. An exoneree with a subsequent conviction was perceived as less deserving of financial compensation, …

Examining Probation Lengths In Philadelphia, Pa, Madeline Grace Davis

Dissertations and Theses

One out of every 22 adults in Philadelphia, PA is under community supervision which is more than double the national average (Schiraldi, 2018). Even though probation has been seen as a more lenient alternative to prison it actually serves as a net-widener (Phelps, 2020). Probation can result in increased punishments for low-level offenses when failure to meet probation conditions results in jail or prison time when there was never a possibility of long-term incarceration at the time of sentencing (Phelps, 2020). This study uses public court information data from Philadelphia to analyze the effects different dosages of probation have on …

Immigration Federalism In The United States: Constructing A Contemporary Institutional Framework Centered On Local Communities Through A Case Study Approach, Sara Kuehlhorn Friedman

Dissertations and Theses

This research study presents a new model of immigration federalism which integrates existing theories into a framework that emphasizes agency at the local level. Unlike dominant models of federalism that observe the cascading effect of higher-level policy on lower levels of government, this research focuses on empirical evidence at the local level to understand its relation to policy at higher levels. Immigration federalism is receiving substantial interest in scholarly work and in practice, but it lacks a cohesive and comprehensive theory explaining variation at the community level. There is little reason to expect sweeping changes in immigration policy at the …

Marijuana-Related Crime In Oregon Following Legalization Of Recreational Use, Ana Alicia Soto

Dissertations and Theses

In this decade we are seeing the legalization of recreational marijuana occurring across the nation, with new legislation being passed every year. This necessitates research into what works within the regulatory framework of states where MJ has been legalized. This study sets out to look at Oregon's implementation of recreational marijuana and its impact on marijuana-related offenses. Using NIBRS, we examine marijuana-related offenses across 13 counties with crime data from 41 agencies in Oregon from pre-legalization to post-legalization (2010 to 2019). This study uses elements of legalization, licenses, and production to analyze the association between these aspects and offenses that …

Judicial Review As An Instrument Of Natural Rights Theory: An Intellectual History, James M. Masnov

Dissertations and Theses

The unique and antidemocratic power of judicial review by the United States Supreme Court is not a bug, but a feature. Its role was critical in establishing and affirming a separation of powers horizontally among the federal branches as well as vertically between the federal government and the individual states. More than this, the Court's power of judicial review acts as an instrument of rights theory and is informed by a rich and rarely-discussed intellectual history. Though judicial review as a mode of constitutional law and the legal history surrounding it has been discussed by various legal scholars, political scientists, …

Influence Of The Federal Government On The Diffusion Of Victims' Rights State Constitutional Amendments, Vicki Rose Jeffries-Bilton

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation examines the factors associated with the diffusion of state constitutional victims' rights amendments across the United States in the twenty-year period of 1982 to 2001 to understand the impact of the federal government on state constitutional change. Because each branch of the federal government took prominent actions in the area of victims' rights on the national policy stage during this era, it is important to know whether these actions influenced policy change at the state level. This dissertation examines whether one form of prominent federal action, the president's use of rhetoric to acknowledge support for victims' rights, influenced …

Juveniles In The Interrogation Room: Defense Attorneys As A Protective Factor, Caitlin Noelle August

Dissertations and Theses

Juveniles have a lower comprehension of their Miranda rights than adults, and in turn, are more likely to waive those rights and cooperate during an interrogation. Some states require youths to consult with their parents before/during the interrogation; however, this involvement can be detrimental to the juvenile suspect. Recently, laws in California and Illinois have mandated that juveniles consult with a defense attorney prior to the interrogation, or that the attorney is present during the interrogation.

Through semi-structured interviews with 19 juvenile defense attorneys across the state of Oregon, I explored defense attorneys' perspectives on juveniles' legal decision-making in the …

Perceptions Of Police Use Of Force At The Intersection Of Race And Pregnancy, Emma Elizabeth Lee Money

Dissertations and Theses

Attention surrounding forceful policing largely focuses on men's experiences, but Black women, even when pregnant, are also harmed by police use of force. Previous research demonstrating anti-Black biases in perceptions of police use of force toward men cannot be directly applied towards women, due to unique stereotypes of Black women and mothers. How do race and pregnancy influence perceptions of police use of force against women? It was expected that pregnancy would elicit more positive responses in the current study, but only when pregnant women were also White. Benevolent sexism (BS) and social dominance orientation (SDO) were tested as moderators …

Situational Context Of Police Use Of Deadly Force: A Comparison Of Black And White Subjects Of Fatal Police Shootings, Shana Lynn Meaney Ruess

Dissertations and Theses

Police use of deadly force is an understudied yet deeply important issue in our society. Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in public concern over use of deadly force, particularly when that force is used against people of color. Due to the relative low frequency of deadly force incidents, little is known about when such force is used, or who it is used on. Recent studies have found a racial disparity between white and black subjects of deadly force, with black subjects significantly over represented as a proportion of the population. This study further expands our understanding of police …

An Assessment Of Sentencing Disparities Among American Indians Within The Eighth, Ninth, And Tenth Federal Circuit Courts, Makenzie Laron Aaby

Dissertations and Theses

Assessing the effect of race on crime is an important topic of criminology and criminal justice research. Prior investigations have sought to uncover if racial disparities exist within certain aspects of the criminal justice system, such as arrests, trials, and sentencing. The existing scholarship, however, has largely focused on assessing differences between Black and Hispanic offenders in relation to White offenders. There has been little academic exploration to examine if racial disparities exist among American Indian offenders during criminal justice processing. To address this gap in knowledge, this study analyzes data collected from the United States Sentencing Commission to assess …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Justice Reinvestment Legislation In Oregon: Analyses Of State And County Implementation, Christopher Wade Dollar

Dissertations and Theses

Sentencing reform and "tough on crime" policies have assisted in the inflation of the United States' prison population by nearly 400% over the last 50 years. In 2003, justice reinvestment was conceptualized as a way to decrease recidivism and remedy the exorbitant correctional spending by reinvesting funds on rehabilitation and reentry assistance to those leaving custodial institutions. Early implementations of justice reinvestment in Connecticut and Texas achieved both savings and reductions in prison populations. This led to the creation of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative by the U.S. Bureau of Justice Assistance in 2010. Officials of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative sought …

Exploring District Judges' Decision Making In The Context Of Admitting Expert Testimony, Andrew Bryan Dzeguze

Dissertations and Theses

Over the last several decades, multiple schools of thought have emerged regarding what impacts judicial decision making. In contrast to the classic legal model, studies have argued alternatively that judges are policy actors who rule consistent with their political attitudes; that behavioral traits such as race, gender and socialization influence judicial conduct, both consciously and unconsciously; that whatever policy interests judges may have, these are moderated by institutional constraints and strategic considerations; and that judges are subject to some common cognitive shortcuts in decision making, although they may be moderated or present differently than in the general population in light …

Escalating Language At Traffic Stops: Two Case Studies, Jamalieh Haley

Dissertations and Theses

In recent years, the public has seen a rise in recorded footage of violent encounters between police and Black American citizens, partially due to technology such as cell phones, dash-cameras, and body-cameras. This linguistic study examines how these encounters get escalated to the point of violence by asking 1) what kind of directives were used, 2) how were they responded to, 3) how the directives contributed to escalation, and 4) how might power and authority have played a role. I use two case studies to analyze directives and their responses. Findings reveal that repetition of directives on the part of …

The Force Of Manhood: The Consequences Of Masculinity Threat On Police Officer Use Of Force, Aurelia Terese Alston

Dissertations and Theses

Positive community-police relations, which are based on mutual trust, are key to equitable and just policing. Use of force that is perceived as unfair and biased can quickly undermine relations between the police and the public. In an attempt to understand what psychological factors contribute to police use of force decisions and potentially racially biased use of force application, this study proposed masculinity threat as an important psychological factor that influences police behavior. Masculinity threat occurs when a man's status as a man is threatened, and threats to masculinity are often associated with increased aggression and dominance as a way …

Substantive Representation By The Unelected: The Role Of Staff Gender On Mayoral Priorities In U.S. Cities, Sara M. Hottman

Dissertations and Theses

The literature on descriptive and substantive representation focuses on elected representatives, but overlooks the gender of those who play an integral role in policy process (agenda-setting) and outcomes (implementation): The elected’s chief of staff, senior policy advisors, and, in council-manager systems, the city manager. This thesis examines the role policy staff and city manager gender plays in substantive representation. After analyzing staff composition and agenda priorities — gleaned from State of the City addresses — for mayors of the 50 most-populous cities in the United States, I found substantial evidence to support my hypotheses that the chief of staff’s gender, …

On The Poverty, Rise, And Demise Of International Criminal Law, Tiphaine Dickson

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation in four essays critically examines the emergence of international criminal courts: their international political underpinnings, context, and the impact of their political production in relation to liberal legalism, liberal political theory, and history. The essays conceive of international criminal legal bodies both as political projects at their inception and as institutions that deny their own political provenance. The work is primarily one of political theory at the intersection of history, international relations, international criminal law, and the politics of memory. The first essay questions Nuremberg's legacy on the United States' exceptionalist view of international law and its deviant …

A Queer Liberation Movement? A Qualitative Content Analysis Of Queer Liberation Organizations, Investigating Whether They Are Building A Separate Social Movement, Joseph Nicholas Defilippis

Dissertations and Theses

In the last forty years, U.S. national and statewide LGBT organizations, in pursuit of "equality" through a limited and focused agenda, have made remarkably swift progress moving that agenda forward. However, their agenda has been frequently criticized as prioritizing the interests of White, middle-class gay men and lesbians and ignoring the needs of other LGBT people. In their shadows have emerged numerous grassroots organizations led by queer people of color, transgender people, and low-income LGBT people. These "queer liberation" groups have often been viewed as the left wing of the GRM, but have not been extensively studied. My research investigated …

Caring For The Land, Serving People: Creating A Multicultural Forest Service In The Civil Rights Era, Donna Lynn Sinclair

Dissertations and Theses

This qualitative study of representative bureaucracy examines the extension and limitations of liberal democratic rights by connecting environmental and social history with policy, individual decision making, gender, race, and class in American history. It documents major cultural shifts in a homogeneous patriarchal organization, constraints, advancement, and the historical agency of women and minorities. "Creating a Multicultural Forest Service" identifies a relationship between natural and human resources and tells a story of expanding and contracting civil liberties that shifted over time from women and people of color to include the differently-abled and LGBT communities. It includes oral history as a key …

Discursive Security: F.B.I. Stings And The Nature Of Peace, Adam Testerman

Dissertations and Theses

The current study utilizes Critical Discourse Analysis and Thematic Analysis to study newspaper coverage of F.B.I. sting operations in The New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today. F.B.I. sting operations are a modern counter-terrorism policy designed to preempt acts of terrorism. This study develops a theoretical approach to understanding F.B.I. sting operations by reviewing the critique of security. The critique of security suggests that nations construct threats in order to produce and maintain ideological and practical hegemony. Thematic categories of the newspaper discourse are formulated and analyzed in the context of security. The study employs aspects of grounded theory …

Changing The Face Of The Earth: The Morrison-­Knudsen Corporation As Partner To The U.S. Federal Government, Christopher S. Blanchard

Dissertations and Theses

Beginning with reclamation projects in the western U.S., the heavy construction industry helped the federal government grow in size and sophistication in the twentieth century. The Morrison-­Knudsen Corporation throughout the twentieth century represented one of the federal government's favored contractors. Following western reclamation projects, the U.S. federal government then used contractors to help move the U.S. economy out of the Depression, prepare for World War II, wage the Cold War at home and abroad, and win the space race. Thus, at key stages in United States history we observe the necessity of the U.S. federal government partnering with the heavy …

Controlling The Empire: Measuring Ethnic Residential Segregation In London, 2001-2011, Lindsay Joella Spell

Dissertations and Theses

This research presents an overview of ethnic residential segregation in London, England, from 2001 to 2011 using four different methods of measurement. The purpose of the study was to both examine changes in the level of segregation among different ethnic groups between census dates and to compare various methods of measurement. Using the Index of Dissimilarity, Poulsen et al.'s (2001) typology classification and two different local statistics (Getis-Ord G* and Anselin Local Moran's I), the levels of concentration of the five main ethnic minority groups in London were measured for data from the 2001 and 2011 censuses. The five ethnic …

Exploring Connections Between Efforts To Restrict Same-Sex Marriage And Surging Public Opinion Support For Same-Sex Marriage Rights: Could Efforts To Restrict Gay Rights Help To Explain Increases In Public Opinion Support For Same-Sex Marriage?, Samuel Everett Christian Dunlop

Dissertations and Theses

Scholarly research on the subject of the swift pace of change in support for same-sex marriage has evolved significantly over the last ten years. The shift has gone beyond the scholarship's initial description amongst demographic groups on how opinion has changed on gay rights issues, like same-sex marriage, to an examination of why the change has occurred. A great deal of the initial research on the topic seemed to focus on demographic traits that suggested a greater propensity toward support for same-sex marriage as time went on. Is the existent literature sufficient to explain why such a dramatic change in …

Is Self-Sufficiency Really Sufficient? A Critical Analysis Of Federal Refugee Resettlement Policy And Local Attendant English Language Training In Portland, Oregon, Domminick Mcparland

Dissertations and Theses

Since the 1951 United Nations Convention, nations have dealt with refugee issues in various ways. In the United States, since the Vietnam War, there has been great debate and a significant amount of research on issues of refugee resettlement, with these discourses inherently involving issues of power and ideology. English language training and the promotion of economic self-sufficiency have been interventions used to integrate and assimilate refugees into American culture and society. These two interventions were the subject of the current investigation.

The purpose of this study was to look into the way federal refugee resettlement policy mandated by the …

On Thin Ice? Domestic Violence Advocacy And Law Enforcement-Immigration Collaborations, Diana Rempe

Dissertations and Theses

The public focus on domestic violence has been one of the most successful campaigns of the modern women's movement. This success was achieved in part through the creation of strategic alliances among agencies and organizations responding to partner violence. One of the most contested of these alliances involved partnering with the criminal justice system. While representing an advance in holding police accountable in protecting all citizens (Coker, 2006), this alliance has had problematic consequences, particularly as it has extended state power into the lives of women of color (e.g. Richie, 2005). This problem is exacerbated by new collaborations between law …

The Genesis Of Portland's Forest Park : Evolution Of An Urban Wilderness, Elizabeth M. Provost

Dissertations and Theses

Portland, Oregon, is steward to a 5,126 acre wilderness park called Forest Park. The park's size and proximity to downtown make it a dominate feature of Portland's skyline. Despite its urban location the park provides respite from city life with its seventy miles of trails, which wind through stands of Douglas fir, western red cedar, and western hemlock. Portland citizens enjoy this easy access to nature as well as the park's health and environmental benefits.

An Exploratory Inquiry Into Community Policing Using Focus Groups: Perspectives From Social Service Providers, Tanya Leigh Ostrogorsky

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate Portland, Oregon's community policing policy by using focus groups to discuss the development and effectiveness over one year, Spring 1994 to Spring 1995. The group discussed included management level social service providers and was one piece of a large scale program evaluation. The collected data developed into six major categories: 1) personnel policies and institutional memory; 2) training; 3) consistency; 4) community involvement and responsibility; 5) partnerships or relationships, and 6) change over time. The most highly discussed issue was the discrepancy between the philosophy of the Bureau, community policing, and the …

Oregon's Carry Concealed Weapon Laws: A Historical Review Of The Right To Personal Protection, Richard Meek Bash

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis reviews many of the historical, constitutional and legal factors behind today's gun control policy and how they relate to the laws governing the carrying of concealed firearms within the state of Oregon. Many legal cases are explored for their impact on the carriage of concealed weapons. A thorough examination was made of the Oregon legislative history behind HB 3470, sponsored by then-House Speaker Vera Katz, which was enacted in July 1989, was effective January 1, 1990, and became the kernel of the snowball passage of CCW (carry concealed weapon) laws within the United States. Statistical tests were conducted …

The Portland Public School Police: Formative Years - 1937 To 1953, Natalie Anne Woods

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis traces the historical evolution of one of the early responses to youth crime and violence -- public school police. In addition, this thesis addresses the lack of information about the creation and implementation of a public school police force, specifically the Portland Public School Police and School District No. 1, during its formative years, 1937 to 1953. Finally, the thesis intends to address two principal questions: A) Why did the Portland Board of Education find it necessary to create their own police agency? While one opinion suggests that there was a real need for school police due to …

Formulation Of The Comprehensive Employment And Training Act Of 1973, Gary G. Skalangya

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis was intended to delineate the factors contributing to the formulation of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) of 1973--a unique attempt at overhauling federal employment and training policy as well as one of the early efforts at devolving control over grants-in-aid to the subnational level.

Information was obtained from the literature on this policy area, plus documentary sources; such as records of Congressional hearings. From this information, an analytical framework was developed, in which factors contributing to the formulation were classified as; contextual, ideological and those in the form of actors' objectives.

It was found that CETA …