Digital Commons Network^™

Trial By Fire: Disaster Justice And Lessons Learned, Clifford J. Villa

Natural Resources Journal

Disaster Justice reflects the intersection of environmental justice and disaster law. The study of disaster justice is becoming increasingly essential as disasters become more frequent and devastating in the face of accelerating climate change. Disaster law is marked by statutes such as the federal Stafford Act and by theory such as the “disaster cycle” of readiness, response, and recovery. Environmental justice recognizes that the distribution of harms such as bad air or water quality may be distributed inequitably among groups such as low-income populations or racial minorities. In similar fashion, the adverse impacts of disasters may also be distributed inequitably …

Injury-In-Fact Of Nothing: Why Federal Courts Cannot Certify Classes With Uninjured Members After Labcorp, Jacob Davenport

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Enemies To Lovers: An Unsuspecting Friendship In The Journey To Save The Endangerment Finding, Sophie Ballah

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Violent White Exclusionary Destruction Of Black Property Is A Public Nuisance: The Tulsa Race Massacre And Beyond, Eric Miller

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Jurisprudence Of Humanity, Tyler Rose Clemons

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

(Excerpt)

It has become common for Supreme Court Justices—the most powerful legal actors in our society—to explain why “the law” requires them to facilitate, or at least tolerate, terrible human suffering. Such claims are wrong, not just morally but legally. More specifically, they expose the decisions of the Roberts Court as a based on a jurisprudence of nihilism, one that justifies human suffering through vague appeals to the rule of law. These appeals, in turn, thinly conceal a substantive political and moral project.

To support this claim, I proceed in five parts. Part I introduces Albert Camus’s account of nihilism …

Words Matter: The Rhetoric Of National Security And The Reality Of Individual Rights, Christopher J. Borgen

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

(Excerpt)

While the meanings of words can be flexible or contested, they are not infinitely pliable. These limits on words and their uses help define the outer bounds of legitimate state action. However, even the written law is only as stable as our interpretation of what those words mean. There is the risk that a deliberate and persistent misuse of words by states and other actors can eventually change our understanding of the law it.

Some of my work has analyzed the use of words and phrases such as “self-determination,” “sovereignty,” and “secession.” But, in this Essay, I focus on …

From Smallpox To Synthetic Biology: The Evolving Threat Of Biological Weapons And The Jus Ad Bellum, Sabrina I. Slagowitz

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

Biological weapons are not new, but recent developments in genetic technology have fundamentally transformed their threat potential. Advances in genome sequencing, editing technologies, and CRISPR have made pathogen modification faster, cheaper, and more accessible than ever before, reinvigorating fears of large-scale biological warfare and giving rise to a new class of synthetic bioweapons. This note examines the implications of genetically modified biological weapons for the jus ad bellum, the international law governing the use of force. Drawing an analogy to cyberweapons, it argues that bioweapons share key characteristics with cyberweapons—stealth, latency, asymmetry, non-kinetic lethality, and anonymity—that will generate similar legal …

How Licensing Compromised The Library, Aaron Perzanowski

Seattle University Law Review Online

Public libraries are besieged on multiple fronts: spiraling costs, budget cuts, book bans, patron privacy risks, inaccessible digital exclusives, embargoed titles, and unstable collections—not the mention a general decline in reading coupled with an upswing in reliance on artificial intelligence. No single development can explain all of the many challenges facing libraries today. But this Article argues that the shift from library-owned print collections to licensed digital ones is an overlooked throughline that has contributed to this constellation of challenges in underappreciated ways. For centuries, the first sale doctrine gave libraries broad autonomy over what they acquired, preserved, and lent. …

The Heat Of The Moment: Rethinking The Endangered Species Act Amidst The Sixth Mass Extinction, Sarah Morton

Texas A&M Law Review

The biggest natural disaster facing humans today likely won’t be on the front page of the news. That doesn’t mean its impacts aren’t already being felt. Despite other disasters, like wildfires and hurricanes, dominating headlines, extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related mortality in the United States. Even worse, extreme heat makes other natural disasters more severe and is decimating the Earth’s biological diversity at a rate that could soon become irreversible. The cost of widespread biodiversity loss is incalculable. Depleting ecosystems eradicates crucial services that nature provides for humanity, including clean air and water, food security, and cooling. …

How Licensing Compromised The Library, Aaron Perzanowski

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

No abstract provided.

No Bones About It: Ohio’S Food Negligence Standard Should Be The Model For The Rest Of The Country, Malachi I. Morrison

Liberty University Law Review

On July 25, 2024, the Ohio Supreme Court issued one of its most controversial decisions since its founding in 1802. It ruffled many feathers when it appeared to defy common sense by ruling, in Berkheimer v. REKM, L.L.C., that boneless wings may contain bones. However, hidden beneath all the public backlash for this seemingly illogical ruling, one will find an opinion that made significant strides in the field of food negligence. How does this ruling advance food negligence law, you ask? Well, the court finally provided a satisfying answer to a long-standing question in food negligence: What test should …

Public Use On The Loose: Clarifying The Takings Clause’S Public Use Requirement, Megan Hoefs

Pepperdine Law Review

The Fifth Amendment permits the taking of private property for “public use,” but modern courts refuse to question legislative determinations of that use. Although the Supreme Court has implicitly reserved a prohibition on takings done under a “mere pretext of public purpose,” lower courts are unsure of how to identify or evaluate such pretext. This Comment argues that the Public Use Clause requires a showing of good faith to be constitutionally sufficient. By reframing public use around good faith, this Comment offers a modest but necessary clarification that preserves the structure of existing doctrine while restoring the Clause’s function as …

Judicial Appointments Before Vacancies, Vasan Kesavan

Pepperdine Law Review

Appointments are about power—presidential power. There is no greater presidential appointment power than the power to appoint federal judges who are expected to serve for life. Judicial appointments allow the President to shape one branch of the federal government for decades to come, perhaps decisively, thereby helping to define his legacy. Of all judicial appointments, there is nothing more significant than appointments to the Supreme Court, if the President even has the opportunity during his term. But these appointments are the most difficult for the President to make in the most partisan political period in our lifetimes. May a President, …

Beyond The Ban: Chhaupadi Abolition And The Governance Of Menstrual Autonomy In Western Nepal, Nikita Paudel

Master in Public Policy Theses

This thesis examines how two decades of efforts to abolish chhaupadi have shaped the everyday conditions under which women and girls experience menstruation in western Nepal. Chhaupadi, commonly understood as menstrual seclusion, has been addressed through Supreme Court directives, national policy, criminal law, municipal implementation instruments, hut demolition campaigns, public health programming, and rights-based advocacy. Yet the practice has persisted, adapted, and in some cases moved into less visible spaces. Rather than treating this as a simple gap between law and practice, this thesis asks how abolition efforts themselves have become part of the regulatory regime through which menstruation is …

The Necessity Of Capacity Building For Indonesia's Effective Utilization Of Wto Dispute Settlement Mechanism: Implementation Of Gait Article Xx For Trade And Environment Issues, Windu Kisworo

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Norma Kesusilaan Sebagai Batasan Pornografi Menurut Undang-Undang No. 44 Tahun 2008, Hwian Christianto

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Variations In Moral Decision Making: In Morally Ambiguous Scenarios, Riley N. Eaton, Victoria Kempton, Edward Lansing, Troy R. Welker

Aurora

People are tasked with making decisions that often come with consequences, whether it be for someone else or themselves. Due to this, there is an ambiguity in understanding what is “right” and “wrong” in a given scenario. However, limited research has examined how interpersonal relationships and intensity of the punishment may affect this decision-making process. This study examines the effect of interpersonal closeness and punishment intensity on moral decision-making, defined in terms of fairness and empathy. Participants (N = 54) from a midwestern university were randomly assigned to one of three interpersonal closeness conditions (close friend vs. close friend, close …

U.S. V. Washington: Considering The Continuing Injunction Of The Boldt Decision, Nicholas Brown

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Judge George Hugo Boldt’s 1974 opinion in United States v. Washington was a landmark decision in the recognition of treaty fishing rights for tribes in western Washington. Not only did it recognize the entitlement to 50% of harvestable yields of fish within the tribes’ usual and accustomed fishing sites, but it also provided a permanent injunction to protect future fishing rights for generations to come. Now, over fifty years since the original “Boldt decision” was made, judges in the Ninth Circuit are debating whether the continued injunction to litigate intertribal disputes over treaty fishing rights is proper. This article considers …

Western Watersheds Project V. Schultz, Cv 22-149-M-Dlc-Kld, 2025 Lx 449507, 2025 Wl 2410283 (D. Mont. Mar. 27, 2025), Luke A. Zagar

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Western Watersheds Project v. Schultz delineates what the Forest Service is required to consider for revising Allotment Management Plans as prescribed by NEPA. Environmental plaintiffs sued, arguing that the Forest Service’s reliance on an older baseline assessment was arbitrary and capricious and that the revised AMP failed to consider major impacts on the grizzly bear population. The District of Montana held that the reliance on an older baseline assessment was acceptable but simultaneously found the AMP to be arbitrary and capricious under the “hard look” standard.

San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper V. Cnty. Of San Luis Obispo, 161 F.4th 590 (9th Cir. 2025), Erika C. Rader

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper v. Cnty. of San Luis Obispo, the Ninth Circuit addressed how to consider a mandatory preliminary injunction for an Endangered Species Act claim when multiple listed species may be affected by the requested relief. The Plaintiffs brought ESA and state law claims to compel the County of San Luis Obispo to change its operation of the Lopez Dam on Arroyo Grande Creek, which they claimed adversely affected South-Central California Coast steelhead trout. The tidewater goby and California red-legged frog, both listed species, are also present in Arroyo Grande Creek. The Ninth Circuit determined the …

Unleashing Consultation: Tohono O’Odham Nation V. Department Of Interior And The Case For Reforming The National Historic Preservation Act, Elizabeth Tobey

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Ninth Circuit’s 2025 decision in Tohono O’odham Nation v. Department of Interior highlights an ongoing failure by federal land management agencies to consult meaningfully with tribal nations as mandated by the 1966 National Historic Preservation Act. This article argues that the NHPA’s framework for tribal consultation enables federal land management agencies to sidestep meaningful engagement with tribes, undermining both cultural resource protection and the federal Indian trust responsibility. To address these deficiencies—particularly in the context of renewable energy development on federal public lands, directly at issue in Tohono O’odham Nation—this article proposes amendments to the NHPA informed by …

Wilderness Watch V. U.S. Forest Service, No. Cv 23-133-M-Dwm, 2025 Wl 2985292 (D. Mont. Oct. 23, 2025)., Gardner Dee

Public Land & Resources Law Review

This comment argues that the District of Montana’s decision in Wilderness Watch v. U.S. Forest Service correctly applied the Ninth Circuit’s Kofa framework to strike down a multi-agency native trout restoration project in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, holding that the Forest Service unlawfully prioritized Yellowstone cutthroat trout conservation over the Wilderness Act’s mandate to preserve wilderness character. Dee further contends that while large wilderness watersheds offer valuable climate refugia for native coldwater fish, watershed-scale restoration projects will continue to conflict with the Act’s prohibitions on motorized and mechanized intrusions so long as agencies rely on helicopter transport and rotenone application at …

“A Land No One Would Want”: Environmental Activism And The Rejection Of ‘Wasteland’ Narratives In Southern Nevada, Steven Butler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper traces events within the history of environmental activism in Southern Nevada. The first chapter discusses the proposed high level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The second chapter examines the closure of the Reid Gardner Generating Station in Moapa, Nevada. The third chapter details the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s Groundwater Development Project. Each of the three chapters is linked by common themes within the history of Southern Nevada environmental activism, including dedicated coalition-building and the refusal of “wastelanding” of the region.

Experience As A Site Of Knowing, Daphne Nicolaidis Saunders

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Thinking Life: The Question Of Reproduction In Marx. Translated By James Chamberlain, Isabelle Garo

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

The Early American Tradition Of Arms Regulation: Common Law, Common Weapons, And Common Use, Saul Cornell

Duke Law Journal Online

No abstract provided.

Comparative Environmental Jurisprudence: A Multi-Country Analysis Of Rights Of Nature Applications, Lillian C. Johns

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

This thesis examines three distinct cases, Ecuador, the United States, and India, in their conceptualization and implementation of the Rights of Nature and environmental jurisprudence. Although the Rights of Nature have gained global traction as a response to accelerating ecological degradation and as a potential legal mechanism for addressing it, issues with implementation and enforcement consistently arise. The outcomes in each case are largely shaped by institutional design, political context, and legal cultures. Ecuador’s constitutional recognition of the Rights of Nature, the United States multilevel recognition, and India’s judicial assertions of ecological personhood represents divergent pathways for articulating environmental rights. …

No Cuts: How Hayao Miyazaki Highlights The United States’ Inadequacy In Protecting Foreign Authors’ Integrity, Bridget Johns

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Although the United States joined the Berne Convention in 1989, U.S. copyright law reflects a restricted approach to moral rights protection. Unlike many Berne signatories, the U.S. largely frames copyright as an economic right rather than as a way to protect artistic integrity. Japanese law, by contrast, treats moral rights as central to creative work protections, emphasizing the importance of the work’s dignity and author’s intent. This incongruity has significant consequences in the globalized era, particularly when foreign works are distributed within the U.S. Weak statutory moral rights protections leave authors vulnerable to misattribution and distortion without meaningful recourse. This …

Copyright In Film Adaptations: Protecting Moral Rights In The Age Of The Internet, Amanda Mell

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

Mama Meant To Make You Cry: Who Protects Children From Their Parents’ Social Media Rage Bait?, Danya Hajjaji

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.