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Press Freedom Under Threat In Europe: Slapps And Democracy, Maya Oleary-Cyr Oct 2023

Press Freedom Under Threat In Europe: Slapps And Democracy, Maya Oleary-Cyr

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

This paper critically examines the legal systems of European countries and their relationship to press freedom, particularly the vexatious legal threats used by government officials and corporations to silence journalists. These legal threats are known as SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation) and their use has increased exponentially in the last decade. Although the issue is global, this research analyzes the issue through the lens of Greece, Italy, and Hungary. As member states, each one of these countries has an obligation to uphold the democratic standards put forth by the EU. Journalists are a vital aspect of the democratic process …


Prosecuting Rape As Genocide: An Analysis Of The Legal Framework And Challenges In International Law, Anya Syed Jan 2023

Prosecuting Rape As Genocide: An Analysis Of The Legal Framework And Challenges In International Law, Anya Syed

CMC Senior Theses

Rape can be used to annihilate, control, and humiliate populations. Mass rape can have genocidal intent. Yet, thus far, the legal definition of genocide has failed to codify rape. These severe limitations in the definition of genocide create legal impunity and impede the rehabilitation of rape survivors. This failure also results in legal challenges, including the lack of basis to distinguish between rape during war and genocide. This paper seeks to provide readers with sufficient background to understand the legal challenges currently preventing the prosecution of rape as genocide. After presenting this information, the paper details past courts that have …


Examining The Effectiveness Of Mental Health And Law Enforcement Partnerships In California, Domonique Hualani Rood Jan 2023

Examining The Effectiveness Of Mental Health And Law Enforcement Partnerships In California, Domonique Hualani Rood

CGU Theses & Dissertations

In California, many law enforcement agencies have partnered with local mental health services to manage situations that involve people with mental illness in crisis; much of the research on these programs has focused on the effectiveness and financial savings of implementing these programs (i.e. reductions in adjudications and hospitalizations). This study examined whether these programs are effectively managed mental health crises across California. This study implemented a sequential mixed methods design that used qualitative data to explain quantitative results to determine effectiveness. Quantitatively, effectiveness was defined as a reduction in injury (both in severity and frequency of injury), arrests, and …


Pressing The Verdict: The Social Influence Of Pretrial Publicity On Juror Biases, Kara Cato Jan 2023

Pressing The Verdict: The Social Influence Of Pretrial Publicity On Juror Biases, Kara Cato

CMC Senior Theses

Past psychological research has indicated that pretrial publicity has a significant impact on jury decision-making (Shniderman, 2013). This current review aims to expand on past research by investigating the social influence of pretrial publicity on juror biases. The effects of pretrial publicity on juror biases are examined through three mechanisms of social influence: story model, predecisional distortion, and conformity prejudice. This research inspects the relationship between media and the law by reviewing the pervasiveness of the media's depiction of criminal cases, the changing nature of media, and the biasing effects of media exposure. In addition, it explores the different forms …


Justice That Heals: Transforming Discipline In Schools Through Restorative Practices, Sophia Diomande Jan 2023

Justice That Heals: Transforming Discipline In Schools Through Restorative Practices, Sophia Diomande

CMC Senior Theses

Discipline is not simply a tool but a weapon — one that American educators have wielded for generations to regulate children and enforce habits of self-control and accountability. In a world where institutionalized forms of discrimination continue to plague judicial and educational systems alike, vis-à-vis the school-to-prison pipeline, the question must be asked: When does discipline stray beyond its intended purpose and into the realm of punishment? This thesis discusses the historical and contemporary implications of punitive discipline and its effects on students, particularly students of color and disabled students. Retributive policies such as suspensions, expulsions, physical restraint, and seclusions …


Failing History: How Multinational Institutions Cannot Prevent Cultural Racketeering, Molly Luce Jan 2023

Failing History: How Multinational Institutions Cannot Prevent Cultural Racketeering, Molly Luce

CMC Senior Theses

Cultural racketeering, the looting and trafficking of cultural heritage sites to fund conflict, violence, or terrorism, has become a prevalent issue across the globe in recent years. This paper identifies the main actors, the sellers and buyers, of the looted antiquities and outlines several cases. Sellers, such as ISIS or Al-Qaeda, pillage and traffic sites of cultural, religious, or historic importance as a funding source for their illicit activities. Buyers, which include museums and elite private collectors, purchase these antiquities and inadvertently fund terrorism. The international community has condemned these actors and implemented policies in response. The conventions that multinational …


Renewable Portfolio Standards: Effectiveness And Carbon Implications, Alexander S. Albrecht Jan 2023

Renewable Portfolio Standards: Effectiveness And Carbon Implications, Alexander S. Albrecht

CMC Senior Theses

A renewable portfolio standard (RPS) policy is a popular regulatory tool implemented within the U.S. and abroad to limit energy sector emissions and incentivize renewable energy. Assessing their effectiveness and efficiency is a key component of achieving further reductions. We assess an energy market under an RPS using fixed-effects panel and 2SLS regression models to lend empirical credence to common theory-based concerns about RPS policy, namely (1) that they leave emissions unregulated once the RPS requirement is met and (2) that they do not incentivize full use of renewable energy resources. Our results show these to be valid concerns that …


Is Wide-Area Persistent Surveillance By State And Local Governments Constitutional?, Joseph Lake Jan 2023

Is Wide-Area Persistent Surveillance By State And Local Governments Constitutional?, Joseph Lake

CGU Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the following question: “Can wide-area persistent surveillance (WAPS) developed by the United States military and employed abroad as a tool in the Global War on Terror be employed domestically as a law enforcement tool without violating the US Constitution’s Fourth Amendment?” The most likely and controversial application of WAPS by state and local governments is for law enforcement. Aircraft will loiter over a city persistently taking high-definition photographs to capture locations of unidentified persons with the intent to identify persons and areas of interest for criminal investigations. Based on the Flyover Cases, aerial surveillance has few constitutional …


The United States’ Stringent Sovereignty: How Foreign Policy Framing Prioritizes Security Over Human Rights, Kathryn Parker Jan 2023

The United States’ Stringent Sovereignty: How Foreign Policy Framing Prioritizes Security Over Human Rights, Kathryn Parker

Scripps Senior Theses

American policymakers utilize valence framing, purposeful descriptions of outcomes as positive or negative, to influence the opinions of voters while maintaining the moral superiority felt by many citizens in the liberal Western hegemon. This study intended to combine the political theories of Constructivism and Realism to form Constructive Realism, a theory that emphasizes the significance of state power and norms as joint influences on constituents. Constructive realism was then applied to four case studies – the UN Security Council, International Criminal Court, Convention on the Rights of the Child, and Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. This study …


Cruzando La Frontera: Examining Policies To Better Serve Work-Commuters On The U.S.- Mexico Border, Valentina Gonzalez Jan 2023

Cruzando La Frontera: Examining Policies To Better Serve Work-Commuters On The U.S.- Mexico Border, Valentina Gonzalez

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the challenges of work-commuters living in Mexico yet working in American border cities. As the majority of work-commuters have limited educational backgrounds and limited English proficiency, workers are often restricted to low paying, onerous jobs in construction, landscaping, agriculture, and domestic work. However, there is a small percentage of workers in managerial and professional positions. Workers in these industries are at higher risk of experiencing occupational hazards and labor abuses, particularly because of the nature of these positions. Through the use of personal testimony and supporting data, this thesis will demonstrate the need for reform in immigration …


The Multi-Dimensional Relationship Between Immigration Policies And Mexican Migrant Women: A Cycle Of Violence, Vulnerabilities, And Sobreviviencia, Jasmine Perales, Jasmine Perales Jan 2023

The Multi-Dimensional Relationship Between Immigration Policies And Mexican Migrant Women: A Cycle Of Violence, Vulnerabilities, And Sobreviviencia, Jasmine Perales, Jasmine Perales

CMC Senior Theses

Thousands of migrants have died at the United States/Mexico border. This paper analyzes how the current crisis at the border came to be, specifically focusing on the experiences of Mexican migrant women. An analysis of race, racial scripts, and illegality shows how these inform immigration policies and negatively impact migrants. Decades worth of draconian immigration policies have militarized the border and continued to reinforce negative racial scripts of migrants. By centering the testimonies of Mexican migrant women, their structured vulnerabilities come to the forefront as a direct result of immigration policies. Reform of the immigration system needs to occur to …


Appraising The Devos Tix Rule: Due Process In Campus Adjudication Processes, Athulya Nath Jan 2023

Appraising The Devos Tix Rule: Due Process In Campus Adjudication Processes, Athulya Nath

CMC Senior Theses

The increasing awareness and desire to fight sexual violence on college campuses have led to focusing campus adjudication processes on achieving justice. This thesis will analyze Betsy DeVos’s Title IX changes and explore whether she achieves due process protections in the new policy. This thesis will detail DeVos’s various changes – increased evidentiary standard, live hearing and cross-examination, narrowed definitions, reduction of responsible employees, and presumption of innocence for accused students – and how these changes are beneficial or detrimental to due process as a whole. This thesis will also explore the presence of rape culture on college campuses, the …