Law Commons^™

Application Of Digital Forensic Science To Electronic Discovery In Civil Litigation, Brian Roux

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Following changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in 2006 dealing with the role of Electronically Stored Information, digital forensics is becoming necessary to the discovery process in civil litigation. The development of case law interpreting the rule changes since their enactment defines how digital forensics can be applied to the discovery process, the scope of discovery, and the duties imposed on parties. Herein, pertinent cases are examined to determine what trends exist and how they effect the field. These observations buttress case studies involving discovery failures in large corporate contexts along with insights on the technical reasons those …

Why Eu Work-Family Reconciliation Policies Fail In Italy: A Feminist Legal Analysis, Chrystal Orozco

Master's Theses

Following the establishment of the European Parental Leave Directive (96/34/EC), the female employment rate in Italy is still ranked the third lowest in the European Union (EU) and Italian women continue to do twice as much household work as Italian men. Parents, especially women, struggle to find a balance between professional work and their family lives in a society that encourages the traditional gendered roles of the housewife and the breadwinner. The following study is a theoretical analysis of the Parental Leave Directive and the potential domestic influences that may prevent Italy from progressing socially towards gender equality. This study …

Re-Evaluating Peacebuilding In The Democratic Republic Of Congo: A Case Study In Dongo, Wilita Sanguma

Master's Theses

Re-evaluating Peacebuilding in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A case study in Dongo

The Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo) is a country rich with natural resources centered in the heart of Africa. Since the colonial era, the country has seen more bloodshed than peace and development. From 1996 to 2003, Congo experienced the worst conflict since World War II, with over six million people dead. Despite having the largest United Nations peacekeeping troops present; Congo continues to be plagued by violence. This research thesis argues that the international community failed to promote a lasting peace in Congo because the international …

Arizona’S Senate Bill 1070: A Case Study On State-Sponsored Immigration Policy, Ryan Murphy

Master's Theses

This study assesses the origins of Arizona’s state-sponsored immigration policy. It attempts to identify the social dynamics within Arizona that contributed to the overwhelming public support for SB 1070. Since it has been two years after the law was passed, this analysis determines what impact the law has had thus far within the state. Finally, it postulates the future of Arizona’s immigration policy.

An Empirical Exploration Of The Effects Of Medical Marijuana Laws, Ben Ehrens

Economics Theses

This exploration into the multiple effects of medical marijuana laws on regional marketplaces uses a novel data set and contributes three unique and important findings. First, in states with medical marijuana legislation the price of marijuana is significantly lower than states without similar legislation, this is likely due to measures that allow for legalized avenues of production and distribution. Secondly, because of price breaks for bulk purchases, retail level distributers operate on a downward sloping supply curve that is less steep in medical marijuana states; this is likely due to decreased risk of distribution which may reduce preference for lower …

Insights And Blind Spots: A Qualitative Analysis Of Risk In Psychiatric Security Review Board Hearings, Abby Kealani Balfour

Dissertations and Theses

The prevalence and consequences of the insanity plea, titled "guilty except for insanity" in the State of Oregon, are fraught with misconceptions. The use of the plea requires a complex set of interactions between the mental health and criminal justice systems, and comes with severe costs for people who use it. Most of the research on the psychological aspects of the insanity plea emphasizes empirical validity in the form of risk assessment instruments and/or the biomedical model with its focus on disease and illness. This thesis analyzes from community psychology and critical theory perspectives the decision process of hearings held …

An Analysis Of The Legal Obstacles To State Pension Reform, Jeremy Stuart Buck

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Public pension systems are underfunded, straining state budgets. Historically, many states have presumed that they can modify pension benefits only as to newly-hired employees, and that they must leave benefit accruals untouched for current workers. More recently, though, states have begun enacting more fundamental pension reform that modifies future accruals or even reduces cost-of-living allowances for retirees. Nearly all such new reforms have been the subject of one or more lawsuits alleging that the federal and/or state constitution bars the legislature from reducing benefits or accrual patterns. This dissertation examines the legal underpinnings for arguments made against pension reform, and …

End Of The Line: Tracking The Commodity Chain Of The Electronic Waste Industry, Jacquelynn A. Doyon

Dissertations

This study examines the transfer of electronic waste (e-waste) from core to peripheral nations, specifically coastal nations in Africa. The theoretical perspective marries green criminology with world systems theory in examining the ways in which marginalized populations bear the burden of hazardous waste disposal across the globe. The study is comparative, looking at legislation in the United States as well as international legislation and enforcement, and also employs case study methodology, contrasting e-waste disposal in Nigeria and Ghana. The final intent of this research is to determine whether or not the violation of national and/or international legislation regarding the transfer …

The Contours Of Judicial Tenure In State Courts Of Last Resort: Accountability Vs. Independence, Todd A. Curry

Dissertations

The study of state courts of last resort is a field which has, up until recently, been significantly underrepresented in political science (Baum 1987, Dubois 1980). The bulk of work in judicial politics over the last fifty years has focused on the federal system. Furthermore, the study of state courts allows for a true comparative analysis. The methods of selection used for the staffing of state courts of last resort are highly varied. There are five distinctly different methods which are used for judicial selection in the states, and many states have institutional nuances that provide further variation for study. …

"I Smooth'd Him Up With Fair Words": Intersocietal Law, From Fur Trade To Treaty, Janna Beth Promislow

PhD Dissertations

History is an essential part of aboriginal law. The two disciplines, however, may produce incompatible narratives of indigenous-settler relations. In addition, indigenous legal traditions and the fur trade in the old North West have been under-represented in Canadian legal history, a gap that demotes over two centuries of working relationships to a brief preface to the numbered treaties and confederation. This dissertation seeks to bring under-observed normative relations between indigenous and European traders into Canadian legal history. It further considers the relevance of fur trade law to the jurisprudence on aboriginal treaty rights and the significance of history in overcoming …

Impact Of The 2003 Illinois Gaming Tax Rate Increase On Marketing Spending And Cross-State Substitution, Mikael Bengt Ahlgren

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The purpose of this research was to investigate three potential consequences related to the 2003 Illinois Gaming Tax rate restructuring. The first section presents the assessment of whether a higher tax rate motivated an Illinois casino operator to reduce of marketing/promotional expenditures in an attempt to negatively influence revenues. The second establishes if the surrounding state gaming operators reacted to the increased Gaming Tax rate in Illinois, by raising their marketing spending. The last section clarifies whether the changes to the Illinois Gaming Tax Schedule impacted gaming volumes in the neighboring/competing states of Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri.

The analysis relied …

Safety First -In Search Of Justice -School & Law Enforcement Agency Partnerships, Michael Anthony Pickett

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

ABSTRACT

Educational problems are many and varied. At-risk students, achievement gaps and poor student outcomes are hot topics that beg for improvement in equity across the board and stand in the way of achieving excellence. These educative, albeit, social justice issues are not new, but rather, are old problems revisited (Kaestle, 1983; Morrison, 2003). Additionally, the issue of violence in schools is also recognized as not only a social justice problem but also a public health problem (Mercy & O'Carroll, 1988) and is perhaps the most pressing societal issue related to children and youth today. "Safe schools are the concern …

Arbitrability And Public Policy In Regard To The Recognition And Enforcement Of Arbitral Award In International Arbitration : The United States, Europe, Africa, Middle East And Asia, Veena Anusornsena

Theses and Dissertations

Party autonomy in international arbitration is the most compelling reason for the contracting parties to enter into arbitration agreement, rather than opting for litigation. However, arbitration functionalities may be hindered by several factors, one of which is 'arbitrability and public policy'. The 1958 United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards provides arbitrability and public policy as the grounds for refusing the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral award for signatory states, thus allowing national courts to use their own discretion when determining the scope of these two issues.

Public policy is a concept that is …

The Hidden Help : Black Domestic Workers In The Civil Rights Movement., Trena Easley Armstrong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

During the 1960's, nearly ninety percent of black women in the South worked as domestic servants. While much has been written depicting the dehumanizing and exploitative conditions in which they lived, their contributions to human rights garnered from their subtle acts of resistance and specifically, their involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, has either been undocumented or documented quite minimally. Despite their historical roles and socioeconomic disadvantages, their reach for human agency was beneficial to society. This thesis examines their labor as domestic workers and their participation in the Civil Rights Movement using the qualitative research method of interviews and …

Indigenous Peoples Under International Law: An Asian Perspective, Tashi Phuntsok

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis analyzes Asian understandings of the definition of indigenous peoples in international law. The rights of indigenous peoples have emerged strongly in the international domain, culminating in 2007 with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Yet, the question of definition and identity of indigenous peoples remains uncertain and indeterminate, at least from an Asian perspective. Traditionally indigenous peoples are understood to be those who were victims of European colonial settlements. It is the aim of this research to find out whether indigenous peoples exist in Asia by analyzing the approaches taken by select Asian states …

Decommissioning Orleans Parish Prison: A Campaign To Build A Safer New Orleans / One Local Policy Step To Dismantle The Prison Industrial Complex, Tara M. Echo

Capstone Collection

Today, nearly two and a half million people in the U.S. are living in cages, with New Orleans holding the highest per capita rate of incarceration. While we have consistently seen that building cages does not bring us any closer to actualizing safety, the sheriff and other city officials of New Orleans justify a financially profitable plan to create more cages-to warehouse more of the city's people-in the name of safety.

Using an abolitionist framework, this paper examines safety by differentiating between contributing factors of being secure and factors which create harm in our communities. By tracing these factors to …

The Art Of Persuasion: International/Comparative Human Rights, The Supreme Court Of Canada And The Reconstitution Of The Canadian Security Certificate Regime, Graham Hudson

PhD Dissertations

In this dissertation, the author explores the jurisprudential foundations of the “relevant and persuasive” doctrine, which authorizes Canadian judges to rely on international and comparative human rights when interpreting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Viewed in its best light, this doctrine improves respect for human rights in two distinct ways: securing Canada’s compliance with its international human rights obligations and enhancing the responsiveness of state law to the global and multicultural context of Canadian society. However, actual jurisprudence suggests that the doctrine has helped undermine principles of respect for constitutional supremacy and respect for international law, in part because …

Organized Crime Outlaws: An Evaluation Of Criminal Organization Legislation In Canada, Carol Fleischhaker

PhD Dissertations

This thesis explains how some organized crime outlaws, such as anti-Prohibitionists, the North American Mafia or La Cosa Nostra, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and Aboriginal street gangs, come to exist and thrive in Canadian society. It sets forth the historical development and nature of criminal organization laws in Canada, and compares the definition of “criminal organization” in the Criminal Code with other criminal law concepts, such as corporate criminals and white-collar criminals; conventional criminality or garden-variety predatory crime; terrorists; and criminal conspirators, parties, and accessories. It uses various concepts and assertions within criminological, sociological and psychological theories to explain the formation …

Autism Spectrum Disorder And New Jersey Administrative Law Decisions: An Analysis Of Case Law Involving Public School Students, Michael J. Barcadepone

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Internet Gaming Industry For Newbies, Cory Nebel

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The United States internet gaming industry is one which, while many people are aware of its existence, very few fully understand. There remains a tremendous amount of confusion amongst the American public regarding whether or not gambling online in the U.S. is a legal activity. While most would claim to have heard reports that U.S. internet gambling is against the law, just as many people are able to quickly reference both friends and family who regularly gamble online. Through the use of secondary research, this paper will explore a wide range of pre-existing literature on both the internet gaming industry …

Canada's Marihuana Medical Access Regulations: Up In Smoke, Carolynn Conron

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Supreme Court of Canada has interpreted the constitutional principles entrenched in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to mean that everyone in Canada has a constitutional right to access necessary medical treatment without fear of criminal sanction. The latest research suggests cannabis (marihuana) provides a unique medicinal benefit that, for some individuals, is necessary. The federal criminal prohibition of cannabis deprives many individuals of a potentially beneficial medicine and stigmatizes them with a criminal record.

Without a valid medical cannabis access system, the criminal prohibition is invalid. The current Marihuana Medical Access Regulations were recently struck down. Parliament …

Directors' Duties To Creditors - Mapping The Twilight Zone, Mehreen Rehman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examines Canadian corporate law to analyze whether its legal mechanisms (e.g., duty of loyalty, duty of care, derivative action, oppression etc.) are sufficient to protect creditor interests, their shortcomings and possible solutions. It argues that the risks to which creditors are exposed in Canada at the hands of directors when a company is financially distressed or insolvent demand more clear protection. It reviews available legal mechanisms under the English and Delaware corporate law to see if Canada could import anything to improve its lax creditor protection. The thesis suggests adopting wrongful trading provisions modeled on English legislation. The …

The History Of Animal Welfare Law And The Future Of Animal Rights, Marie Blosh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Animals were included within the protection of the law in the early nineteenth century. Why have there been so few advances since then? Discussion about this question tends to focus on the moral and legal status of animals. That is undoubtedly an important issue, but it stems from a tradition that looks for the singular trait that distinguishes humans from all other animals. This thesis uses an historical approach to explore the tension between the humane impulse to alleviate animal suffering and the sense of human superiority that permits animal exploitation. The conclusion is that animal rights theory could build …

An Insightful Study Of The Oppression Remedy Under South African And Canadian Corporate Law, Natasha A. Abbey

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A new perspective is provided on the South African company law through the comparative analysis of a shareholders’ remedy known as the Oppression Remedy under section 163 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 and section 241 of the Canada Business Corporations Act. Despite the introduction of the new Companies Act 71 of 2008, the statute still remains unclear as to the rights, duties and powers of each individual within a company. In an aim to address this lack of clarity, this thesis takes a “back-to-basics” approach by discussing the fundamental principles of corporate personality and majority rule. This …

“Winds Of Change”: Explaining Support For Wind Energy Developments In Ontario, Canada, Chad Jr Walker

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis addresses a major gap in the wind turbine and risk assessment literatures. It explains local support for wind energy in some areas in spite of vocal opposition in others. Findings from Port Burwell and Clear Creek, Ontario indicate that social and contextual forces may help explain much of the difference in opinion between the two communities. The case study was focused through 21 in-depth interviews. The interviews were analyzed verbatim using NVIVO 9 software. The findings were found to be consistent with Kasperson’s theory of the Social Amplification of Risk and seem to explain why Port Burwell is …

Science On Law's Terms: Implications Of Procedural Legitimacy On Scientific Evidence, Nayha Acharya

LLM Theses

Scientific evidence is relied on more and more in litigation. Discussions and debates aimed at enabling courts to make the best use scientific evidence are increasingly critical. This thesis adds the perspective of procedural legitimacy to the science and law discussion. Procedural Legitimacy is the concept that consistent adherence to legal procedure maintains the overall legitimacy of the legal system, and the validity of its outcomes. I argue that the integrity of legal procedures must be maintained where scientific evidence is presented, so that judicial decisions that rely on scientific evidence are legitimate.

Electronic Health Record Regulation In Canada: What The Patient Experience Reveals About The Pursuit Of Legislative Harmonization, Patricia M. Goodman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis examines Canadian provincial and territorial personal data protection legislation as it relates to electronic health records (“EHRs”). The research categorizes Canadian jurisdictions’ approaches to EHR regulation and three models are identified. Using five criteria, the patient experience when interacting with each of the three models and a combination of the models is described, analyzed and reconciled. A fictional patient scenario is used as a tool to analyze patient interaction with the Canadian jurisdictions and the models. It is shown that, although Canadian jurisdictions use one of three separate modes of incorporating EHR-specific rules into legislation, the outcome of …

Trademarks And Geographical Indications: Conflict Or Coexistence?, Melissa A. Loucks

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Both trademarks and geographical indications are legal devices which regulate communication to markets about a product. Trademarks indicate the commercial origin of a good or service while geographical indications signal the geographic origin. Both tools also legally grant exclusive rights to certain uses of a word or symbol. Tension arises when the tools overlap on the same subject matter. The thesis asks: is coexistence between the devices in the TRIPS Agreement possible? Are the concepts of trademarks and geographical indications related? If so, how? If not, how? Does the marketing literature of business recognize both registered trademarks and geographical indications …

The Codex: Labelling Of Food Derived From Modern Biotechnology, Sowmya Latha Hemanahally Vishwanatha

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Codex Alimentarius Commission is an international organisation tasked to develop global food standards. In 1993, it decided to develop standards for labelling food derived from modern biotechnology. Despite demands to discontinue its work and an inability to achieve consensus, the “Compilation of Codex texts relevant to labelling of food derived from modern biotechnology” was adopted in 2011. The Compilation accepts different approaches to labelling and comprises ten guidelines that need to be adopted in national labelling policies.

Two models of labelling are prevalent. The voluntary model of labelling allows corporations the choice to label. The mandatory model provides more …

The Relationship Between Legal And Extra-Legal Factors: How Judges Come To Make Their Decisions In Domestic Violence Cases, Ioulia Koublitskaia

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to understand how Trial Court Judges in state and city courts make decisions in domestic violence cases. The researcher examined the relationship between legal (e.g., evidence) and extra-legal factors (e.g., preconceived biases and behaviors related to judicial decision-making) using a qualitative research design. A case study of multiple locations in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes was used whereby a purposive sample of 17 current civil, municipal, and criminal court judges were interviewed. Judicial decision-making strategies were studied via face-to-face interviews, courtroom observations, and content analysis of courtroom communications (e.g., speech, written text, interviews, images, etc.). …