Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

“Genocide Of The Soviet People”: Putin’S Russia Waging Lawfare By Means Of History, 2018–2023, Anton Weiss-Wendt

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article exposes the political underpinnings of the term “genocide of the Soviet people,” introduced and actively promoted in Russia since 2019. By reclassifying mass crimes committed by the Nazis and their accomplices against the civilian population—specifically Slavic—as genocide, Russian courts effectively engage in adjudication of the history of the Second World War. In the process, genocide trials, ongoing in twenty-five Russian provinces and five occupied Ukrainian territories, present no new evidence or issue new indictments, thus fulfilling none of the objectives of a standard criminal investigation. The wording of the verdicts, and a comprehensive political project put in place …

Rethinking Antebellum Bankruptcy, Rafael I. Pardo

Scholarship@WashULaw

Bankruptcy law has been repeatedly reinvented over time in response to changing circumstances. The Bankruptcy Act of 1841—passed by Congress to address the financial ruin caused by the Panic of 1837—constituted a revolutionary break from its immediate predecessor, the Bankruptcy Act of 1800, which was the nation’s first bankruptcy statute. Although Congress repealed the 1841 Act in 1843, the legislation lasted significantly longer than recognized by scholars. The repeal legislation permitted pending bankruptcy cases to be finally resolved pursuant to the Act’s terms. Because debtors flooded the judicially understaffed 1841 Act system with over 46,000 cases, the Act’s administration continued …

From Streets To Stats: A Statistical Analysis Of The Quantity Of Illegal Narcotics Seized In The United States, Zachary T. Strickland

Tenor of Our Times

This study aims to determine how seven different variables affect the total quantity of illegal narcotics seized. These seven variables include four dichotomous and three continuous variables, each striving to teach readers how they relate to the quantity of narcotics seized across specific states. My goal for this project is to figure out if there is any relationship to help law enforcement fight the war on drugs. With the continuing apparent rise of this war, this study is crucial in determining potential relationships between a state's characteristics and the quantity of illegal narcotics they forcibly take possession of. I further …

The Family Values: Is It Really About The Family? Analyzing The Family In The Egyptian Discourse Through A Sociological Lens, Taher Sabala

Theses and Dissertations

The Egyptian state has put on its shoulders the responsibility of protecting the family and its values. But how this family, in a massive society like Egypt, can be defined? In this paper, I argue that it has never been about protecting the family. However, it is an attempt to shape the citizens into small separate hives which give the State the power to gain access to the intimate details of its citizens’ lives through which they can be easily monitored, managed, and controlled. By analyzing Michel Foucault’s work on government, power, sexuality, and family, I travel through a historical …

Preventing Civil War: The Role Of Independent Courts, Hector R. Mendoza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the role of judicial institutions, typically overlooked in conflict studies, in their capacity to reduce the likelihood of conflict such as civil wars. I argue that courts that enjoy judicial independence can provide institutional mechanisms that reduce conflict, such as civil war. Specifically, I employ several rare events logistic and OLS regression models with robust clustered standard errors testing the effects of judicial independence on civil war likelihood and regime opposition size. The results indicate that judicial independence and judicial power have inconsistent and mixed results across these models and generally do not support the theory. In …

An Examination Of The Effects Of Workgroup Characteristics On Criminal Case Processing & Case Outcomes, Luis Torres

Dissertations

The court communities and inhabited institutions perspectives posit that courts should be examined through a lens that considers the complex and collaborative process that court actors (e.g., judges, prosecutors, and defense counsels), collectively referred to as the courtroom workgroup, engage in during case processing. However, empirical research infrequently examines such intricacies and devotes little attention to how the characteristics of workgroup members influence courtroom interactions, the efficiency they process cases, and ultimately case decisions. This omission is notable because theory asserts that the dynamics of the workgroup are at least in part driven by the characteristics of its members.

This …

How And Why Do Judges Cite Academics? Evidence From The Singapore High Court, Jerrold Soh, Yihan Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Legal academics were once thought to be parasitic on the work of judges, so much so that citing academic work was said to weaken a judgment’s authority. Recent times have however seen prominent academics appointed to the highest courts, and judicial engagement with academic materials appears to have increased. In this light, this article empirically studies academic citation practices in the Singapore High Court. Using a dataset of 2,772 High Court judgments, we show that citation counts have indeed increased over time, even in this first-instance court. This increase was distributed across most legal areas, and was not limited to, …

"Courts And State-Building: The Welsh Marcher Lordships And The Somali Union Of Islamic Courts," Polity 54(2): 197--25., Zachary C. Shirkey

Publications and Research

This article examines the roles of courts in state-building and aims to bring the state-building literature into deeper conversation with institutional approaches to the study of courts. Doing so highlights that courts can play important roles in state-building including extracting revenue, coercing subjects, and generating legitimacy for the state by justly adjudicating disputes. Of these, courts’ extractive role has been especially understudied. Yet, courts can raise significant sums through fees, fines, and confiscating property, particularly in less-developed states. These three roles of courts in state-building are explored in two highly disparate cases: the medieval Welsh Marcher lordships and the Union …

Answering The Call: A History Of The Emergency Power Doctrine In Texas And The United States, P. Elise Mclaren

St. Mary's Law Journal

During times of emergency, national and local government may be allowed to take otherwise impermissible action in the interest of health, safety, or national security. The prerequisites and limits to this power, however, are altogether unknown. Like the crises they aim to deflect, courts’ modern emergency power doctrines range from outright denial of any power of constitutional circumvention to their flagrant use. Concededly, courts’ approval of emergency powers has provided national and local government opportunities to quickly respond to emergency without pause for constituency approval, but how can one be sure the availability of autocratic power will not be abused? …

S11, E05: The Department Of Justice, Nia Rodgers, John Aughenbaugh

Civil Discourse Podcast

Aughie and Nia move on to the next department in the series, the Department of Justice. They discuss the various Attorneys General, the structure of the Department of Justice, and interesting tidbits about the history, political intrigues, and the people who have served within the DoJ.

Critical Review Of The Use Of The Rorschach In European Courts, Igor Areh, Fanny Verkampt, Alfred Allan

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

In relation to the admissibility of evidence obtained using projective personality tests arose in F v. Bevándorlási és Állampolgársági Hivatam (2018). The Court of Justice of the European Union has held that an expert’s report can only be accepted if it is based on the international scientific community’s standards, but has refrained from stipulating what these standards are. It appears timely for European psychologists to decide what standards should be applied to determine whether or not a test is appropriate for psycholegal use. We propose standards and then apply them to the Rorschach because it was used in this case …

“I Want Justice From People Who Did Bad Things To Children”: Experiences Of Justice For Sex Trafficking Survivors, John G. Morrissey, James Havey, Glenn M. Miles, Nhanh Channtha, Lim Vanntheary

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

This research from the Butterfly Longitudinal Research Project focused on understanding the experiences and perceptions of justice and the justice system for 93 Cambodia participants (including 88 survivors of sex trafficking) as they navigated the legal system. Thirty-two of these survivors had experiences in court and provided details into their courtroom experiences, predominantly within Cambodia but also in the United States. The survivors’ experiences were diverse; however, the prevailing themes were: fear throughout their legal journeys; a low level of awareness and understanding of their legal experiences; and that NGO support was essential for these survivors to engage in the …

Jobs For Justice(S): Corruption In The Supreme Court Of India, Madhav S. Aney, Shubhankar Dam, Giovanni Ko

Research Collection School Of Economics

We investigate whether judicial decisions are affected by career concerns of judges by analyzing two questions: Do judges respond to incentives to pander by ruling in favor of the government in the hope of receiving jobs after retiring from the Supreme Court? Does the government reward judges who rule in its favor with prestigious jobs? We construct a data set of Supreme Court of India cases involving the government for 1999–2014. We find that incentives to pander have a causal effect on judicial decision-making, and they are jointly determined by the importance of the case and whether the judge retires …

Roadblocks To Access: Perceptions Of Law And Socioeconomic Problems In South Africa, Kira Tait

Doctoral Dissertations

My dissertation explores ordinary Black South Africans' perceptions of the law and how these perceptions impact their views of the desirability and appropriateness of appealing to courts when they have problems accessing constitutionally guaranteed services. Specifically, I study why people choose not to use courts to secure access to water, healthcare, education, and housing when it is both legal and possible to do so. Since it transitioned to democracy, South Africa has become one of the leaders of socioeconomic rights protection through courts. It is globally recognized for its progressive constitution buttressed by an expansive system of rights and a …

To What Extent Are Appropriate Resources Provided To Veterans With Mental Illness To Prevent Contact With The Criminal Justice System?, Riley Christine Doyle

Master’s Theses and Projects

United States military veterans are a special population of men and women that have willingly sacrificed their lives to serve their country. They are perceived to be patriotic, honorable, strong, and disciplined people. Unfortunately, veterans are not exempt from committing criminal acts that land them in the criminal justice system. In fact, veterans are highly susceptible to developing mental illnesses and substance use disorders which can ultimately lead to criminal behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine to what extent available resources are provided to veterans to help them prevent contact with the criminal justice system. This study …

Foreign Judgments: The Limits Of Transnational Issue Estoppel, Reciprocity, And Transnational Comity, Tiong Min Yeo

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp v Merck KGaA [2021] SGCA 14, a full bench of the Singapore Court of Appeal addressed the limits of transnational issue estoppel in Singapore law, and flagged possible fundamental changes to the common law on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in Singapore. The litigation involves multiple parties spread over different jurisdictions. The specific facts involved in the appeal are fairly straightforward, centring on what has been decided in a judgment from the English court, and whether it could be used to raise issue estoppel on the interpretation of a particular term of …

The Effect Of Selection Process On Judicial Behavior, Grant Baldwin

Student Works

Does the judicial selection process affect judicial behavior? In this paper I argue that the judicial selection process does affect the behavior and the character of the judiciary. Specifically, I argue that judges that are selected by executives in systems where no accountability to the people is present will mirror the ideological views of the executive in making their judicial decisions. I also argue that the competitive nature of elections influences judges to be more responsive to public opinion than those held accountable on non-competitive retention ballots. Lastly, I argue that judges that are elected or retained on non-partisan ballots …

Incitement, Insurrection, Impeachment: Inside The Second Trump Impeachment, Roger Williams University School Of Law, Michael M. Bowden

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Law School News: Whitehouse, Cicilline To Offer 'Inside View' Of 2nd Trump Impeachment Trial 02-17-2021, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Forgotten In Local Jails: A Carceral System Created To Fail Women., Hayley Jackey

Online Theses and Dissertations

The United States has seen an influx of incarcerated women since the 1980s with a 750% increase between 1980 and 2017. There is a substantial amount of literature about how women experience prison and the unique challenges they face as they reenter society such as motherhood, previous abuse, mental health, and housing. Conclusions drawn suggest that the current structure fails to prepare women for a society that denounces women who have been incarcerated. What is less known is how this research translates to the jail environment. For reasons to be discussed, it is likely that local jails are even less …

Ai In Adjudication And Administration, Cary Coglianese, Lavi M. Ben Dor

All Faculty Scholarship

The use of artificial intelligence has expanded rapidly in recent years across many aspects of the economy. For federal, state, and local governments in the United States, interest in artificial intelligence has manifested in the use of a series of digital tools, including the occasional deployment of machine learning, to aid in the performance of a variety of governmental functions. In this paper, we canvas the current uses of such digital tools and machine-learning technologies by the judiciary and administrative agencies in the United States. Although we have yet to see fully automated decision-making find its way into either adjudication …

Moving Forward Not Back: The Rule Of Law & Equitable Growth Save Democracy, Michael J. Pickering

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the relevant factors that influence people’s perceived levels of democracy in their country. Using World Values Survey Wave 6 (2010-2014) I demonstrate that an interactive-effect between individuals’ confidence in the courts and their beliefs about the possibility of equitable economic growth account for the greatest effect on their perceived levels of democracy.

Law School News: 'Law Isn't A Foreign Language Anymore' 11/24/2020, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Law Library Blog (November 2020): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

How Shall We ‘Hammer’ And ‘Dance’?, Wee Kiat Lim

Asian Management Insights

On the promises and perils of domestic tourism during the Covid-19 pandemic.

May It Please The Court: A Longitudinal Study Of Judicial Citation To Academic Legal Periodicals, Brian T. Detweiler

Law Librarian Journal Articles

Part I of this article examines the proportion of reported opinions from U.S. federal and state courts between 1945 and 2018 that cite at least one academic legal periodical, while Part II applies that data beginning in 1970 to compare the proportion of opinions that cite to the flagship journals of 17 law schools selected and hierarchically categorized based on their U.S. News & World Reports rankings. Representing the most elite schools are Harvard Law Review and Yale Law Journal, the two longest running student-edited journals at arguably the two most prestigious law schools in the United States, followed by …

Shareholders’ Rights And Corporate Meetings Post Covid‐19, Christopher Chao-Hung Chen

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This short paper reflects on corporate governance and shareholders’ rights during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdown has affected the way companies’ organs operate. It is unfortunate that the pandemic took place around the critical time of year when most companies hold annual shareholders’ meetings (or general meetings). How, then, can shareholders exercise their rights? How can the board of directors and senior management function during the lockdown period? Technology naturally provides a solution, similar to online teaching and working from home. However, do virtual and remote meetings serve the purpose of having those meetings? Even when we get …

Pragmatism In The Pandemic: The Protection Of Commercial Tenants In Singapore, Edward Ti

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The COVID-19 epidemic has not spared any country, not least a densely populated country like Singapore. The government has been working tirelessly developing new policies and laws to mitigate the human and economic devastation brought on by the virus. The COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020 (COTMA) is intended to tackle some of the negative effects brought about by COVID-19. With an initial application period of 6 months which can be amended at the Minister’s discretion, the COTMA covers a wide range of issues. Summarily, the COTMA provides for public health controls necessary to manage the health crisis, increases bankruptcy and …

Covid‐19 As A Frustrating Event Under Singapore Contract Law, Yihan Goh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

COVID-19 has had an unprecedented impact on commercial arrangements around the world. This would appear to fit the textbook definition of a frustrating event under Singapore contract law. Alternatively, one might expect COVID-19 to be covered by the doctrine of force majeure. This commentary will provide a brief overview of the contractual issues arising from COVID-19.

Covid‐19 Crisis And Its Impact On Trustees And Beneficiaries, Man Yip

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The COVID-19 pandemic has been described by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as the “crisis of our generation”. We have to swiftly adjust to a new “normal” characterised by safety measures, travel restrictions, economic downturn and uncertainties in the days ahead. What is the new “normal” for trustees and beneficiaries? How should they respond to the legal and practical uncertainties in these challenging times? This commentary discusses two categories of uncertainties for trustees and beneficiaries: (1) uncertainty relating to trust investments; and (2) uncertainty relating to day-to-day administration.