Digital Commons Network^™

Opening Remarks, Gideon Taylor

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

If You Love Something, Let It Go: Giving Up Government Mandated Online Age Restrictions In Favor Of § 230 Inspired Immunity, Cole Pedro

North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology

No abstract provided.

Teaching With Ai: Insights From A Faculty Focus Group, John M. Lande

Faculty Publications

This report summarizes insights from a focus group of law faculty who discussed their experiences and perspectives about using artificial intelligence (AI) in legal education.  The focus group took place at the 2025 Works-in-Progress Conference sponsored by the ADR Section of the Association of American Law Schools.

The responses reflect a range of reactions, providing a snapshot of how some faculty are experimenting with AI, evaluating its risks and benefits, and considering how best to achieve their pedagogical goals.  Participants expressed interest in using AI as a teaching tool – particularly in communication exercises, simulations, and written assignments – and …

Setting International Technical Standards To Shape Digital Trade Policy: Approaches, Challenges, And Opportunities For Developing Countries, Craig Atkinson, Hanane Becha

Centre for Digital Law

Digital trade, the “intentional application of digital technologies at any stage of the trade process” (DiCaprio, 2024, p. 1), is reshaping patterns of economic growth1 and development (International Monetary Fund [IMF] et al., 2023a). As its basis, digital trade depends on internationally agreed-upon “digital technical standards”: rules and guidelines that ensure digital technologies can work together (i.e., interoperability) and be used widely (i.e., scalability) (Bergsen et al., 2022). These standards support how information and communication technologies (ICTs) are designed, interact, and are adopted across borders. Without such technical standards, digital trade would not be possible.

Regulating The Unseen In A Borderless World: Digital Currency And Its Socioeconomic Impact On Industry, Paolina H. Engibegian

University of the Pacific Law Review

No abstract provided.

Pore Some More: Current Legal Considerations Of Pore Space Ownership In Texas, Peter E. Hosey, Charles P. Hosey

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the legal landscape governing pore space ownership in Texas. It traces the evolution of Texas law from early uncertainty and conflicting case law—such as Mapco, Inc. v. Carter—to the Texas Supreme Court’s recent clarification in Myers-Woodward, LLC v. Underground Services Markham, which firmly establishes subsurface pore space as an attribute of the surface estate. The authors examine the practical implications of this rule, including the interplay between mineral and surface estates, the accommodation doctrine, and issues related to trespass, correlative rights, and contamination of native reservoirs. The article also explores ongoing legislative efforts …

Upcycled And Rightful: Navigating Trademark Law And The Circular Economy, Irene Calboli, Gabrielle Armstrong

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

This Article elaborates on the practice of upcycling and argues that upcycling should be considered a lawful practice under current trademark rules in the United States. Upcycling is the process of taking existing products lawfully sold on the market, in most instances, used products, and giving these products a second life by adding additional elements and decorations or by using the still viable product parts to create new products altogether. Because of its focus on reusing existing products or product parts, the practice of upcycling has become increasingly popular, also because it promotes circular and environmentally friendly production practices. However, …

Presidentialism In Post-Conflict Kachin Constitution: Political Imagination, Institutional Realities, And Executive Design, Dashi Blessing Seng Htoi Lu

Maurer Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the relationship between cultural identity, political imagination, and constitutional design in the Kachin context, focusing on the strong preference for presidentialism among political thinkers and interim constitution drafters. Rooted in traditions of armed resistance, charismatic leadership, and the desire for visible sovereignty, presidentialism is widely viewed as the most viable executive model for a post-conflict Kachin future. Yet this preference is often shaped more by symbolic ideals than by a clear understanding of the structural demands of democratic governance.

At the heart of this vision lies the expectation of a strong president: directly elected, culturally rooted, and …

Llms Are Bad Judges. So Use A Classifier Instead., Jack Kieffaber, Kimo Gandall, Steven Foster, Kenny Mclaren

SMU Law Review Forum

Large Language Models suffer from prompt variance—meaning they’ll give you totally different legal answers depending on how you phrase your question. Jonathan Choi demonstrated this recently when he asked ChatGPT five legal questions, each rephrased 2,000 times, and watched as the bot spat out different answers every time. When you tell somebody that AI is going to replace the judge, the lawyer, and the legal system in the next twenty years, Choi’s article has become the go-to rebuttal; it’s the crown jewel of the “AI bad” genre.

Choi’s absolutely right that LLM’s are bad judges. And, if every AI was …

Wreck Removal : Assessing Nigeria’S Compliance With The Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention 2007, Richard Oritsejomayo Iyinbo

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Complete Preemption Via Historical Evolution, Ryan Jain-Liu

University of Chicago Law Review

Complete preemption is a jurisdictional doctrine that applies when a federal statute so wholly envelops certain state law claims that those claims effectively cease to exist. Aside from an explicit complete preemption hook, the Supreme Court has recognized just one way for a federal statute to completely preempt state law claims: it must provide an exclusive federal remedy and also have a special nature that makes it especially federal. Courts shirk this second prong to their own detriment. One example of complete preemption generating confusion is § 303(i) of the Bankruptcy Code, which provides remedies for involuntary debtors against bad …

The Progression Of Deinstitutionalization And Its Effects On The American South: A Judicial Analysis Of 20th-Century United States Supreme Court Decisions, Eva-Marie V. Jones

Honors College Theses

This thesis explores the effects of four landmark Supreme Court cases on the deinstitutionalization movement in the American south. Previous literature frequently discusses the legislative implications of this era; however, no law is applicable without the interpretation and application of the judiciary, which so often contextualizes the greater public perspective. Rarely has an analysis of judicial decisions involving psychiatric care merged with regional focus, and certainly not in a format accessible to the average individual.

From unmarked graves to abandoned infrastructure, the legacy of historic psychiatric care in the United States has been largely obscured – yet its consequences continue …

Chimeric Contacts And Consent: The Ill-Reasoned Expansion Of Corporate Jurisdictional Exposure, James Paul George

Faculty Scholarship

Two recent Supreme Court decisions have imposed aspects of general jurisdiction in a way that exposes corporations and possibly other legal actors to litigation in spuriously connected forums. One case-Ford Motor Company v. Montana-reached a fair result but with strained reasoning that will support unfair results. The second case-Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railroad Company-was wrong on the facts and the law, imposing general jurisdiction based on a vaguely worded corporate registration statute validated by a more than century-old precedent based on Pennoyer v. Neff's limited territorial model. Both decisions were the result of conceptual corners the Supreme Court has created …

Trips And Its Futures, Peter K. Yu

Faculty Scholarship

The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) was adopted on 15 April 1994, along with the estab-lishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO). With the WTO’s recent celebration of its thirtieth anniversary, it is high time we explore what the future will hold for this agreement. This chapter begins by revisiting the past to examine whether the TRIPS Agreement would be adopted if it were negotiated today. The chapter then discusses whether WTO members will undertake a major overhaul of this agreement in the future. Taking note of the fast-evolving international norm-setting environment and …

Assembly-Line Public Defense, David S. Abrams, Priyanka Goonetilleke

Faculty Scholarship

Each year, millions of Americans rely on public defenders to fulfill their Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Despite being the linchpin of the criminal justice system, public defense remains both underfunded and understudied. This Article provides empirical analysis to contribute to a critical question: How should public defender systems be structured?

Criminal justice advocates, scholars, and the American Bar Association strongly favor vertical representation in public defense. Under this model, a single public defender represents a defendant throughout their case, from their initial appearance through sentencing. The alternative approach—horizontal representation—operates like an assembly line: Different attorneys handle each stage of …

Critical Approaches To Jurisdiction: The Struggle For Control Of Indigenous Lands And Resources, Dayna Scott

Articles & Book Chapters

This chapter questions the starting assumptions in thinking through questions of “jurisdiction” in public law, specifically in relation to assertions of inherent Indigenous territorial governing authority. It reviews the common conceptual images of jurisdiction we employ in law schools and offers resources from critical interdisciplinary theory for new conceptions. In highlighting examples of the present exercise of Indigenous territorial jurisdiction, such as the Kunst'aa guu— Kunst'aayah Reconciliation Protocol and the Tsleil-Waututh Sacred Trust Assessment of the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) project, the chapter urges public law scholars to adopt an orientation of prefiguration in order to bring into being conceptualizations …

Safe Or Not? A Constitutional Review Of California’S Safety Act, Avery Bernard

University of the Pacific Law Review

No abstract provided.

Chimeric Contacts And Consent: The Ill-Reasoned Expansion Of Corporate Jurisdictional Exposure, James P. George

William & Mary Business Law Review

Two recent Supreme Court decisions have imposed aspects of general jurisdiction in a way that exposes corporations and possibly other legal actors to litigation in spuriously connected forums. One case—Ford Motor Company v. Montana—reached a fair result but with strained reasoning that will support unfair results. The second case—Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railroad Company—was wrong on the facts and the law, imposing general jurisdiction based on a vaguely worded corporate registration statute validated by a more than century-old precedent based on Pennoyer v. Neff’s limited territorial model.

Both decisions were the result of conceptual corners …

Sustainability And Climate-Related Regulations And Due Diligence, Adolf Peter

Asian Management Insights

Why does it matter?

Hey, Bruh . . . I Mean, Your Honor—The Evolution (Or Devolution) Of Legal Communications In Modern Times, Michael J. Fleck

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The ability to effectively communicate, whether such communication is oral or written, is a primary tool in any lawyer’s toolbox. How we communicate is a reflection on our level of professionalism, both as individual attorneys, and as the legal body at large. It is how we convey ideas with our client, with our colleague, and with the court. It is how we persuade through legal reasoning. There is no doubt that the style of communication has evolved over time. One need only to read legal opinions from a century ago to see what was acceptable as proper communication. The standard …

Electronic Will Legislation: A Comparison Of The Uniform Act And Illinois, Jada Stephens

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The Illinois Wills and Remote Witnesses Act is a body of law that was created in response to evolving technology and the COVID-19 pandemic. It addresses how electronic wills and remote attestations should occur in Illinois. Picking up where the executive order allowing for remote attention in Illinois left off, the passing of this Act solidifies processes that allow for different modes of estate planning and attestation to occur. Pennsylvania will be examined as a state that exemplifies the consequences of a lack of electronic will legislation. Illinois is not the first and most likely will not be the last …

A Schönberg Approach To Devillier V. Texas: Synthesizing Text, Structure, And History Of The Takings Clause, Jordan Fortunati

University of the Pacific Law Review

No abstract provided.

Singapore Awakened: How Success – And Flourishing – Shape Family, Seow Hon Tan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Assoc. Prof. (Dr.) Tan Seow Hon delivered the keynote address at Cultivate SG’s second annual conference, “Unfiltered – The Family on Trial”, on 17 November 2025. In her speech titled “Singapore Awakened: How Success – and the Alternative of Flourishing – Shape Family”, Dr Tan reflects on the “Singapore Dream”, the narrow mindset of success in contrast with the concept of flourishing, and how these impact marriage and family. She concludes by offering some thoughts on how to move from success to flourishing.

Beyond Mass Deportation, Nancy Plankey-Videla, Huyen Pham, Angela D. Morrison, Luz E. Herrera

Faculty Scholarship

Donald Trump’s threats to carry out the mass deportation of unauthorized immigrants helped propel him to a second term as President of the United States. For the estimated 11 million people in the U.S. without lawful status, those threats have increased fears of forced returns to their countries of origin. While American immigration law is heavily focused on the legal processes leading to deportation, little attention has been paid to the post-deportation experiences of individuals who must reintegrate into their home countries. This gap in understanding is especially alarming given the high stakes of reintegration. A successful transition can empower …

Corporeal Property And The Limits Of Nagpra, M. Alexander Pearl

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

When The Taxpayers Are Not Innocent: The Need For Punitive Damages Against Municipalities Under The Fair Housing Act, Charlotte Saltzman

Fordham Law Review

Combatting housing discrimination by municipalities is a core function of the Fair Housing Act (FHA). Courts disagree, however, as to whether punitive damages can be awarded against municipal defendants. The purpose of this Note is twofold. First, it compares the Second Circuit’s recent decision in Gilead Community Services, Inc. v. Town of Cromwell, which held that punitive damages were appropriate against the Town of Cromwell, with the reasoning of district courts that came to the opposite conclusion in reliance on § 1983 precedent. Second, notwithstanding the sufficiency of the statutory analysis, it evaluates the public policy concerns of awarding …

Reading American Anarchy As A Legal History Of Immigrants: Forum On Willrich's American Anarchy Forum: Willrich's American Anarchy, Daniel J. Sharfstein

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Michael Willrich’s American Anarchy is at once an extraordinary history of ideas about anarchism and the rule of law, a history of lawyering, and a history of the simultaneous emergence of a capacious administrative state alongside a robust set of judicially protected civil liberties. While Willrich tells a rich and intricate story of illiberal border administration, American Anarchy also shows radical immigrants at work over decades in New York, with the border and its oppressive administrative apparatus little more than a dim memory. This essay explores how the book is more than a history of the border—it’s a history of …

Killing Through Their Kids, Dyllan Moreno Taxman

William & Mary Law Review

In early 2024, James and Jennifer Crumbley were sentenced to over a decade in prison after their son, Ethan, shot and killed four classmates at Oxford High School in Michigan. The Crumbley parents incurred manslaughter liability by ignoring Ethan’s deteriorating mental state, gifting him the murder weapon, and failing to act on concerns about Ethan’s behavior on the day of the shooting. The Crumbleys were the first parents of a school shooter to be convicted of a homicide in American history. This Article suggests they will be far from the last. Indeed, less than one year after the Crumbley convictions, …

Smu To Build Open Legal Database With Support From Ministry Of Law, Singapore Management University

SMU Press Releases and News

The Singapore Management University (SMU) will be developing Singapore’s first open empirical legal database with support from the Ministry of Law (MinLaw). Housed at SMU’s Centre for Digital Law, the three-year project will compile and release machine-readable datasets containing key statistical information about Singapore court decisions, statutes, legal scholarship and court structures. Named Singapore Open Legal Informatics Database (SOLID), the database will be freely accessible to researchers worldwide through a public website and Application Programming Interface (API), positioning Singapore alongside leading jurisdictions around the world that have invested in building up their legal data infrastructure.

Child-Taking Justice And The Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, Diane Marie Amann

Scholarly Works

The focus of this article is the 2022–2024 Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative undertaken the U.S. Executive Branch. The article chronicles this three-year process, which included sessions with survivors and their descendants, and which resulted in a two-volume report, in an apology by President Joe Biden, and in designation of a national memorial at one of the most notorious school sites. This article examines the initiative as an example of “child-taking justice”; that is, as a process of what is called “transitional justice”, done in an effort to redress the takings of children from their community, followed by efforts to …