Law Commons^™

Teaching "Is This Case Rightly Decided?", Steven Arrigg Koh

Faculty Scholarship

“Is this case rightly decided?” From the first week of law school, every law student must grapple with this classroom question. This Essay argues that this vital question is problematically under-specified, creating imprecision in thinking about law. This Essay thus advocates that law professors should present students with a three-part framework: whether a case is rightly decided legally, morally, or sociologically.

Additionally, this Essay argues that disaggregating the question exposes deeper deficiencies in legal education. Many law professors do not provide students with serious grounding to engage in rigorous thinking about the relationship between law, morality, and justice, not to …

Increasing Housing Stability Through State-Funded Community Mediation Delivered By The Massachusetts Housing Mediation Program (Hmp) Fy2023 Evaluation Report, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Karina Zeferino

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

The Massachusetts Housing Mediation Program (HMP) is a comprehensive statewide program that provides free housing mediation services as a tool to increase housing stability with the intention of preventing homelessness created by landlord-tenant disputes. It is administered by the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) at the University of Massachusetts Boston and deploys the community mediation system infrastructure with 11 Community Mediation Centers (Centers) participating and serving all 14 counties of the Commonwealth to provide free conflict resolution services for tenants and landlords/property managers with housing disputes at any stage, from the earliest point a problem occurs, up to, and …

Massachusetts Community Mediation Center Grant Program (Cmc-Gp) Fiscal Year 2023 Report And Evaluation, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Karina Zeferino

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts (MA) continued its investment in affordable, cost-effective community mediation by appropriating $2,713,465 in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 for the Community Mediation Center Grant Program (CMC Grant Program or Program), the Program’s eleventh year. This appropriation funded the continued operations of qualified Community Mediation Centers (Centers) that deliver free or low-cost dispute resolution services to the public. The Centers serve as the backbone of mediation across the state and are the publicly funded infrastructure on which statewide dispute resolution programs are built.

The FY2023 state funding in the CMC Grant Program budget appropriation …

Addressing Barriers To Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Massachusetts Community Mediation, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Shino Yokotsuka, Karina Zeferino, Jarling Ho

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

This report presents over three years of systematically engaging, documenting and analyzing the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) needs/gaps and assets of state funded community mediation centers in Massachusetts. The report was compiled by researchers and an in-house DEI expert at the statutory state office of dispute resolution, the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The office has been serving as a neutral forum and state-level resource for over 30 years.

The report is based on qualitative research that falls into the category of community based participatory research conducted through a series of community …

Addressing Barriers To Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In Massachusetts Community Mediation, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Jarling Ho, Shino Yokotsuka, Karina Zeferino

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

This report presents over three years of systematically engaging, documenting and analyzing the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) needs/gaps and assets of state funded community mediation centers in Massachusetts. The report was compiled by researchers and an in-house DEI expert at the statutory state office of dispute resolution, the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. The office has been serving as a neutral forum and state-level resource for over 30 years.

The report is based on qualitative research that falls into the category of community based participatory research conducted through a series of community …

Increasing Housing Stability Through State-Funded Community Mediation Delivered By The Massachusetts Housing Mediation Program (Hmp) In Fy2022, Madhawa Palihapitiya, David Sulewski, Karina Zeferino, Jarling Ho

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

This report presents findings and recommendations from an evaluation of the Massachusetts Housing Mediation Program (HMP) administered by the MA Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) at the University of Massachusetts Boston in partnership with 11 Community Mediation Centers (Centers). The program is funded by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and implemented in partnership with the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The program was initially part of the Governor’s Eviction Diversion Initiative (EDI), which ended in the latter half of FY2022 and is continuing as an intervention to support housing stability. The evaluation was conducted by MOPC’s research unit comprised …

Feedback Loops: Surviving The Feedback Desert, Patrick Barry

Articles

I ask my law students the following set of parallel questions on the very first day of “Feedback Loops,” a course I have been teaching for the past couple of years: What did you get better at last year? How do you know? What should you get better at this year? How do you know?

Assessment Of Contract Terms And Conditions For Lump-Sum Contracts, Omar Othman

Theses and Dissertations

A Contract is a tool that defines the obligations of the contracting parties and assigns the risk between them. Contracts are usually drafted to meet the interests of the owner by addressing the legal issues and liabilities. Meanwhile, less emphasis is placed on clearly communicating the contract terms and ensuring that all contracting parties comprehend their risks and obligations. In a country like Egypt, which has faced drastic economic and political changes in the past few years, and yet is experiencing a boom in the construction sector, many developers tend to draft contracts that might be legally complicated or lacks …

Mindful Meditation And Misconduct: A Proposal, Victoria Evans

Honors Senior Capstone Projects

Rehabilitation and treatment methods used in incarceration have evolved, causing punishment philosophies in the U. S. to swing from rehabilitation to “zero tolerance” and back again. As this transition occurs, it is essential to evaluate current correctional programs as there has been a trend towards evidence-based corrections. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the SAVR (stress, anger, violence reduction) program implemented by a county jail in Massachusetts. This research will examine the extent to which participating in SAVR reduces inmate misconduct. The participants will be selected through a non-probability, convenience sample of program participants. Misconduct files will be …

Law School News: Are You Experienced? 01-18-2019, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Preschool And Lead Exposed Kids: The Idea Just Isn’T Good Enough, Karen Syma Czapanskiy

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

No Warrant For Radical Change: A Response To Professors George And Guthrie, Erwin Chemerinsky

Erwin Chemerinsky

No abstract provided.

Different Not Less: An Evaluation Of The Autism Training Curriculum For The Kentucky Department Of Criminal Justice Training, Joseph Aaron Ellis

Online Theses and Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder is one of the largest growing neurological behavioral disabilities in the United States, with a rise in diagnoses from 2012 (1 in 88) to present day (1 in 68). Studies have shown that individuals with disabilities are more likely to be victimized. Thus, the increasing diagnoses of ASD increases the chance that a victim of crime will have ASD. Police officers should have a working and growing knowledge of ASD from day one, for this reason. This exploratory study uses a literature review of autism spectrum disorder in order to develop an evaluation to analyze the curriculum …

Strengths And Limitations Of Nutritional Policies In Public Schools In The United States, Brooke Ferenczy

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis reviews the development of nutritional policies that have been created in the United States. As society’s understanding of nutrition has increased and as obesity has become a major problem in the country today, the federal government, state governments, and individual school districts have implemented policies to improve the availability of more nutritious food items in public schools. This thesis then analyzes the strengths and limitations of these policies and the effects they have caused in student populations in order to determine whether they have accomplished their intended goals.

A Terrible Purity: International Law, Morality, Religion, Exclusion, Tawia Ansah

Tawia B. Ansah

Explores the separations, constructions, & barriers between law & religion from both a secular & religious perspective. Maintaining boundaries between law & religion often results in the construction of the repudiated religious Other. Creation of a public/private divide is based on an exclusion that functions like what psychoanalysts call abjection. However, the abject (religion) is a latent source of creativity that remains outside the domain of the law but weakens it as the primary site of authority. Removing religion from the sidelines of public juridical dialogue reduces the constraining power of discourse & widens the states discretion. The failure of …

A Psychometric Evaluation Of The Gender Bias In Medical Education Scale, Rhiannon Parker, Philip Parker, Theresa A. Larkin, Jonathan P. Cockburn

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

No abstract provided.

Motivating Without Mandates: The Role Of Voluntary Programs In Environmental Governance, Cary Coglianese, Jennifer Nash

All Faculty Scholarship

For the last several decades, governments around the world have tried to use so-called voluntary programs to motivate private firms to act proactively to protect the environment. Unlike conventional environmental regulation, voluntary programs offer businesses flexibility to adopt cost-effective measures to reduce environmental impacts. Rather than prodding firms to act through threats of enforcement, they aim to entice firms to move forward by offering various kinds of positive incentives, ranging from public recognition to limited forms of regulatory relief. Despite the theoretical appeal of voluntary programs, their proper role in government’s environmental toolkit depends on the empirical evidence of how …

Taking State Constitution Seriously, Marvin Krislov, Daniel M. Katz

Daniel M Katz

No abstract provided.

Succeeding In Manifestation Determination Reviews: A Step-By-Step Approach For Obtaining The Best Result For Your Client, Michelle Scavongelli, Marlies Spanjaard

University of Massachusetts Law Review

Manifestation Determination Review (MDR) advocacy is difficult regardless of the role of the advocate —whether the advocate is a parent, an advocate, or an attorney. Because the MDR is conducted as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team meeting, if consensus cannot be reached, school personnel make the ultimate decision. Therefore, the advocate’s persuasiveness and preparedness at the MDR will be critical in arriving at a consensus. This Article goes beyond the basic legal framework for an MDR and focuses on practical suggestions and approaches to enhance an advocate’s efforts on behalf of a child or client. By employing the suggestions …

The Copyright Principles Project: Directions For Reform, Pamela Samuelson

Pamela Samuelson

Evaluates the impact of the Copyrights Principles Project (CPP) 2007, which argues that US copyright law has to adapt to modern technological advances. Suggest that current copyright law does not serve well those it is trying to protect. [IBSSMB]

Cultural Conflicts, Annelise Riles

Annelise Riles

Riles show how contemporary anthropological insights into the character of cultural difference and cultural fragmentation can reframe conflict-of-laws analysis in productive ways. Taking up the example of the treatment of Native American sovereignty in US courts, she argues that a theory of conflict of laws as a discipline devoted to addressing the problem of cultural conflict is more doctrinally illuminating than the mainstream view of conflict of laws as political conflict. Riles suggests that the general dissatisfaction with conflicts as a field in the United States, and its failure to live up to tits larger promise, may stem in part …

Appellate Division, Third Department, Novara Ex Rel. Jones V. Cantor Fitzgerald, Lp, Kerri Grzymala

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Enhancing The Teaching Of Lawyering Skills And Perspectives Through Virtual World Engagement, Andrea M. Seielstad

University of Massachusetts Law Review

Educators from around the globe are rapidly utilizing and transforming virtual worlds, such as Second Life, with innovative teaching strategies. Mediation and dispute resolution, and associated communication and problem-solving skills, are particularly well suited for developing in virtual worlds, as are other lawyering skills such as, interviewing, counseling, and trial advocacy. The opportunities for students and faculty to engage in cross-cultural exchange and networking are another selling feature of virtual world engagement. Virtual worlds offer particular promise for those seeking innovative and cost-effective ways to integrate more professional training and skills development into the law school curriculum. Moreover, as more …

Living With Adr: Evolving Perceptions And Use Of Mediation, Arbitration And Conflict Management In Fortune 1,000 Corporations, Thomas Stipanowich, Ryan Lamare

Thomas J. Stipanowich

As attorneys for the world’s most visible clients, corporate counsel played a key role in the transformation of American conflict resolution in the late Twentieth Century. In 1997 a survey of Fortune 1,000 corporate counsel provided the first broad-based picture of conflict resolution processes within large companies. In 2011, a second landmark survey of corporate counsel in Fortune 1,000 companies captured a variety of critical changes in the ways large companies handle conflict. Comparing their responses to those of the mid-1990s, clear and significant evolutionary trends are observable, including a further shift in corporate orientation away from litigation and toward …

The Varieties Of Individual Engagement (Vie) Scales: Confirmatory Factor Analyses Across Two Samples And Contexts, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Myiah J. Hutchens, Peter Muhlberger, Shiyuan Wang, Rebecca Harris, Jayme Neiman, Alan Tomkins

Lisa PytlikZillig Publications

The field of public engagement, participation and deliberation is fraught with conflicting results that are difficult to interpret due to the very different methods and measures used. Theory advancement and consistent operationalization and assessment of key public deliberation and engagement variables will benefit considerably from standardized measures of constructs and the ability to compare across studies. In this article, drawing from social and educational psychology, we describe the theoretical bases for scales assessing eight varieties of participant engagement that may be experienced during participation activities: Active learning, conscientious, uninterested, creative, open-minded, closed-minded, angry, and social engagement. We describe our development …

Institutions From Above And Voices From Below: A Comment On Challenges To Group-Conflict Resolution And Reconciliation, Laurel E. Fletcher

Laurel E. Fletcher

Fletcher explores how assumptions about justice have succeeded in establishing a new international consensus on necessary processes of rebuilding societies, some pitfalls of this approach, and recommendations for new directions for the field of transitional justice. A central assumption animating the moral, political, and legal cases for transitional justice is that those responsible for unleashing and conducting mass violence that devastates countries and the lives of civilian residents should not get away with their criminal acts. And further, supporters of justice assume that a legal response is necessary in order to promote reconciliation. He thinks that the appropriate role of …

Appropriate Evaluations And Ieps For Students With Asd, Rosemary E. Mullaly Esquire

Rosemary E. Mullaly Esquire

While many schools have a grasp on the academic needs of students with ASD, often overlooked in the IEP are social, pragmatic language and adaptive skills. This presentation will provide strategies for obtaining what students with ASD need to address all of their educational needs. Guidance is provided regarding what employers and colleges are looking for in candidates in order to assist in transition to adult life planning.

A Return To First Principles: Rethinking Alj Compromises, Jeffrey A. Wertkin

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Active Bar Membership October 15, 2007 Federal Administrative Law Judges: A Critique Of The "Active" Bar Membership Regulation , David J. Agatstein

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of The Pacific Oceanscape To Manage The Pacific Islands And Ocean Environment, Ben Tsamenyi, Joytishna Jit

Professor Ben M Tsamenyi

The forty-first meeting of Pacific Island Forum (PIF) in Port Vila, Vanuatu in August 2010 endorsed the new concept of 'Pacific Oceanscape' to support development, management and conservation of the Pacific Islands region. The leaders also encouraged all Pacific Islands regional organisations to implement the concept in partnership with other relevant organisations. The Pacific Oceanscape concept is a renewed effort to implement the Pacific [slands Regional Oceans Policy (PIROP). [t reflects all PIROP principles and aligns them with urgencies associated with climate change impacts on small island developing states. It also promotes regional cooperation in the establishment and management of …