Digital Commons Network^™

Unequal Paths: Experiences Navigating The U.S. Naturalization Process And The Role Of Education, Cecilia Rayburn

Honors Theses

This study examines how educational attainment shapes immigrants’ experiences with the U.S. naturalization process, with a focus on how education influences confidence, access to resources, and the ability to manage bureaucratic demands. While the legal requirements for naturalization are standardized, the ability to navigate them varies widely across individuals. Applicants’ experiences reveal that the U.S. naturalization process is often more complex and unequal than it may appear. This research was conducted through five semi-structured interviews with naturalized citizens of varying levels of higher education. These interviews explored participants’ experiences with the application process, including their preparedness, access to support systems, …

Prinsip Military Necessity Dalam Hukum Internasional Humaniter, Hersapta Mulyono

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

The Prosecution Of Nicolás Maduro, Jose Manuel Vanegas

NSU Undergraduate Law Journal

This paper examines the complex legal and political issues that came from the capture of Nicolás Maduro by United States authorities, an event that has generated controversy in both domestic and international legal debate. It begins by providing the necessary background of Maduro’s rise to power, his role as president, and the broader political and economic conditions of Venezuela under his administration. The paper then analyzes the criminal charges brought against him in U.S. federal court, including allegations of narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and related offenses tied to alleged collaborations with transnational criminal organizations. Building on this foundation, the …

Property And Social Justice In Thomas Paine’S Agrarian Justice: Revaluating Modern American Property Law, Amanda Infante

NSU Undergraduate Law Journal

This paper critically examines the philosophical core of property law through the lens of Thomas Paine’s Agrarian Justice. Paine challenges the conception of property as a natural right, instead theorizing land ownership as a social construct contingent on communal needs and obligations. This framework is situated as an intellectual precursor to contemporary legal debates regarding the legitimacy and moral limits of private property. The analysis engages with pivotal Supreme Court decisions, including Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, and Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, to set …

The Manifestation Of George Orwell’S 1984 In The Legal Profession’S Use Of Ai, Alexa Cedras

NSU Undergraduate Law Journal

George Orwell’s 1984 tells the chilling story of an oppressive regime that uses information control and manipulation to further its political agenda. Within the realm of 1984, the Party, the head of the regime, weaponizes instruments, such as a telescreen, to subject citizens to ongoing surveillance with the promise that any suspicious activity will be punished. In furtherance of that agenda, the Party controls every existing narrative of the past, present, and future, using their authoritarian position to alter primary and secondary sources for their benefit. Lastly, by creating a new language to serve as a linguistic constraint, the Party …

“Supreme Court, Tear Down This Wall!”: Kennedy V. Bremerton School District And The Erosion Of The Barrier Between Church And State, Ari Allon

NSU Undergraduate Law Journal

This Article conducts a critical examination of Kennedy v. Bremerton’s ruling, which replaced the Lemon test with the historical practices and understandings test. Following a brief background on the Religion Clauses’ jurisprudence, the author contests that the historical practices and understandings test fails to adhere to long-held Supreme Court reasoning behind the creation of the Religion Clauses. This new test is likewise an insufficient framework for determining Establishment Clause violations.

The Article continues with an analysis on the conflicting fact patterns between the majority and dissenting opinions of Kennedy v. Bremerton. The author then discusses the precedential impact …

Lineup Construction Strategies In The Presence Of Within-Person Variability, Abbey M. Greenfield

Student Theses

Photographic lineups are used more frequently than live lineups, but photographs are not always reliable representations of a person’s appearance. Oftentimes, images used in lineups are drawn from mug books, passports, and driver’s license photographs—which may be outdated. As a result, even when a culprit is correctly identified for inclusion in a lineup, the photograph used may differ significantly from their appearance during the event due to natural changes in appearance (Jenkins et al., 2011). Further, the degree of suspect-filler similarity sufficient to achieve optimal discriminability remains a topic of debate (Fitzgerald et al., 2013). We examined the impact differing …

Democratic Legitimacy And Data Governance: Data Privacy Philosophy And Regulatory Preferences In The U.S. Vs Eu, Mia H. Truong

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence and large-scale data collection has intensified tensions between commercial innovation and consumer privacy, raising a fundamental democratic question: do Americans understand their data protections–and does this shape their demand for regulation? The EU and U.S. represent two fundamentally opposed approaches to data privacy regulation: the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) treats personal data as a fundamental human right, rooted in post-WWII constitutional protections against state surveillance and authoritarianism, while the U.S. operates through fragmented, sector-specific state laws that treat personal data as a market commodity. This study is the first to empirically investigate …

A New Age Dawns On First Street: The Supreme Court’S Use Of Loper Bright During The October 2024 Term, Ryan P. Mulvey, Michael Pepson

Liberty University Law Review

This Article analyzes the impact of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overruled Chevron deference and redefined judicial review of legal questions in the administrative-law context. Specifically, the Authors explore how the Court operationalized Loper Bright throughout the October 2024 Term to emphasize the importance of independent, de novo review, as well as the robust use of traditional canons of statutory interpretation to reach the original public meaning of statutes. The Article also explores the implications of the Court’s recent use of Loper Bright for related doctrines like so-called “Skidmore deference,” the …

Balancing The Triangle: Restoring Judicial Interpretation Without Ignoring Agency Expertise After Loper Bright, William L. Burner

Liberty University Law Review

For nearly forty years, Chevron required courts to defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute, even when a better reading was available. This approach undermined the role of the judiciary and disrupted the separation of powers. Rather than interpreting the law, courts became second to the Executive Branch in determining what statutes meant. Congress contributed to the problem by drafting vague laws and depending on agencies to resolve the ambiguity. The result was a structural imbalance that left courts out of place and agencies in charge.

In Loper Bright, the Supreme Court ended Chevron deference and …

Legal Conservatism And The Rise And Fall Of Chevron, Ryan Bangert

Liberty University Law Review

Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo marks a watershed moment in administrative law and conservative legal thought by formally overruling Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council and restoring judicial responsibility for resolving questions of statutory interpretation. This Article situates Loper Bright within the longer intellectual history of the modern conservative legal movement, arguing that Chevron deference emerged and was popularized, at least in part, as a conservative response to the perceived excesses of judicial activism during the Warren and Burger Court eras. While Chevron was initially embraced as a doctrine of judicial restraint that respected democratic accountability, it ultimately …

Loper Bright: Big Deal Or Same As The Old Boss?, John J. Vecchione, Kara M. Rollins

Liberty University Law Review

On June 28, 2024, forty years of judicial deference to an agency’s interpretation of silent or ambiguous statutes fell. The dethronement of Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.,¹ “a decaying husk with bold pretensions,” by Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo² was heralded by the proclamation that “Chevron is overruled,” and its accompanying command that “[c]ourts must exercise their independent judgement in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority, as the [Administrative Procedure Act] requires.”³ The ruling was expected to upend the practice of administrative law. But more than a …

Foreword: Raising Our Voices, Together, Lauren Sudeall

Vanderbilt Social Justice Reporter

No abstract provided.

Let’S Break Chains: Ending Solitary Confinement In Prisons, Charlotte Kim

Vanderbilt Social Justice Reporter

No abstract provided.

Band-Aid Over A Bullet Hole: The Lack Of Mental Health Care In Women’S Prisons And The Culture That Perpetuates It., Deborah, Julie, Karli Tellis, Misty, Olivia Hatch, Sara Manian

Vanderbilt Social Justice Reporter

No abstract provided.

Furtherance Or Failure Of Justice: Felony Murder Framework In Tennessee, Anokhi Patel, Erika, Joelyn Onyekachi, Meleah, Oluwafunmilayo Oguns, Vernice, Erin Melton

Vanderbilt Social Justice Reporter

No abstract provided.

Information Access And Correspondence Education For Incarcerated People, Evan J. Pasco

Library Research Scholars Program Spring 2026

Having quality access to education is an important factor in improving outcomes for incarcerated individuals, which includes higher employment rates and reduced recidivism. Unfortunately, incarcerated learners face many barriers when attempting to participate in these educational programs, such as high cost, censorship, and institutional restrictions. Despite the importance of continuing education, limited centralized information remains available on it or the obstacles that affect participation.

This project focuses on the broader information landscape for incarcerated learners, particularly examining correspondence education programs in the United States. This research includes an analysis of common barriers in accessing education, a review of scholarly literature …

The Carceral State, The Criminalization Of Black Thought And Behavior, And Its Effects On The Black Community And Black Art, Sydney Stewart

Vanderbilt Social Justice Reporter

No abstract provided.

Rehabilitation In Name Only: Structural And Procedural Failures In Tennessee’S Parole System, Laney Quickel, Ashia Davis, Kresha Patel, Michelle, Camillia, Sherra

Vanderbilt Social Justice Reporter

No abstract provided.

The Need For A Sentencing “Second Look” Statute In Tennessee, Alisha, Bershia, Lindsey, Rhyma Asim, Cassandra Berice, Kyle Smith

Vanderbilt Social Justice Reporter

No abstract provided.

Estimator And Reflector Variables In Eyewitness Recall, Sakshi Mundra

Student Theses

Eyewitnesses are frequently asked to describe culprits following a crime, but how accurate and complete are such descriptions? This study examined eyewitness description completeness and accuracy by investigating estimator variables (Race and Gender), reflector variables (Confidence and Response Time), and elicitation methods (Free Recall and Prompted Recall). Participants viewed one mock-crime video featuring a culprit who varied in race (White or Black) and gender (Female or Male), then provided free recall descriptions followed by prompted descriptions of facial features. Prompted recall improved completeness beyond free recall, though with a minor reduction in accuracy. Descriptions were more complete for same-race and …

Substantive Biases? Analyzing Ideological Bias In Substantive Due Process Claims On The Roberts Court, Nicholas J. Ginsberg

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines whether judicial ideology has a stronger influence on Supreme Court decision making in substantive due process claims when compared to other areas of law through the Roberts Court. Previous scholarship has noted that ideology is a factor in judicial decision making, however, there is little scholarship on if specific areas of law makes ideology play a larger factor in decision making. Utilizing justice-level voting records from the Roberts Court and Segal-Cover scores to measure judicial ideology, a logistic regression model is utilized to analyze the relationship between ideology and voting behavior in substantive due process cases and …

What’S The Difference Without Deference: How The Eleventh Circuit Stopped Deferring To The Sentencing Commission And Shaped A New Landscape Of Federal Sentencing, Katherine Howard, Conrad Kahn

University of Miami Law Review

The Sentencing Guidelines shape nearly every federal sentence. Judges must calculate and consider the Guidelines’ recommended range before deciding how long someone goes to prison. For decades, though, courts treated the Sentencing Commission’s commentary about the Guidelines as controlling—even when the guideline’s text was clear and unambiguous.

That changed with United States v. Dupree. Sitting en banc, the Eleventh Circuit held that the Supreme Court’s decision in Kisor v. Wilkie—which limits when courts may defer to an agency’s interpretation of its own rules—applies to the Sentencing Guidelines. After Dupree, courts may not defer to the commentary unless, …

Judgment By The Record: How The Eleventh Circuit Is Shaping Retail Litigation And Regulation, Susan L. Shin, Aubrianna L. Mierow

University of Miami Law Review

The Eleventh Circuit’s 2025 term reinforced a disciplined, text-driven approach to statutory and contractual interpretation and a firm demand for proof: the court vacated an FCC rule that restricted consent beyond what the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) provides. It rejected a constitutional challenge to adjudication by the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO) while emphasizing the Attorney General’s supervisory role. It required plaintiffs alleging deception through promotional content to identify the specific communication at issue. It denied standing for credit file inaccuracies absent dissemination or real-world effect. It interpreted standard limitation clauses to preserve direct damages under …

Kajian Dari Perspektlf Hak-Hak Perempuan Tentang Perkawinan Campuran, Mutiara Hikmah

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Gagasan Pengadilan Pemllihan Umum Dalam Perspektlf Sejarah Hukum Penyelenggaraan Pemilu 1999, Satya Arinanto

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

From Claiborne To Climate: Anti-Esg Boycott Legislation And Corporate First Amendment Rights, Ingrid Tjendro

Fordham Law Review Online

Since 2021, at least twenty-one states have enacted laws targeting financial institutions and companies that incorporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into their business practices. This Comment examines the First Amendment implications of one specific category of such legislation—state anti-ESG boycott statutes—and argues that they constitute an unconstitutional suppression of protected corporate speech and association.

Drawing on traditional anti-boycott jurisprudence, including NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. and Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, Inc., and the circuit split over anti-Israel boycott legislation, this Comment centers on the recent decision in American Sustainable Business Council v. Hegar …

What Is A House?: Searching For The Meaning And Scope Of Curtilage At Common Law, Mitchell A. Del Bianco

Fordham Law Review Online

No abstract provided.

The Long Arm And The Short Stick: How Citizenship Transforms White-Collar Enforcement, Andrey Spektor, Henry B. Blaikie

Fordham Law Review Online

Transnational white-collar enforcement has expanded steadily, even amid recent Department of Justice rhetoric favoring restraint. Yet the enforcement apparatus imposes markedly different—and more costly—consequences on noncitizen defendants than on similarly situated U.S. citizens. Noncitizens are more likely to be detained pretrial and more likely to serve longer and harsher custodial terms because they are excluded from sentence-reducing mechanisms, housed in more restrictive facilities, and face an additional layer of postsentence immigration detention. These structural features convert nominally equivalent sentences into more punitive sanctions while increasing burdens on courts, prisons, the immigration system, and taxpayers.

This Essay argues that courts, as …

Men’S Courts Or Women’S Laws? Domestic Violence, Men’S Rights Activism, And The Specter Of False Cases, Arushi Gupta

LL.M. Essays & Theses

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Indian newspapers and magazines began reporting stories of domestic abuse in matrimonial homes ranging from women subjected to dowry demands, beatings, everyday mistreatment, financial control, expulsion from the home, and even being burnt to death. Feminists recognized this as an urgent issue to respond to as these reports highlighted that domestic violence is endemic. Everybody knew a victim. Their own mothers, sisters, friends and, in some cases, they themselves were facing violence within marriage. The lobbying of women’s groups helped prompt the passage of Section 498A in 1983, which criminalized cruelty against women …