Digital Commons Network^™

The New Red Scare: The Shocking Truth Behind The Fda's Unethical Regulation Of Red 40 And Other Synthetic Food Dyes, Angelica Martuscello

Pace Law Review

For decades, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allowed synthetic food dyes to remain in the American food supply, despite evidence linking them to cancer and behavioral issues in children. These additives offer no nutritional value yet remain common in everyday products. This essay scrutinizes the FDA’s failure to enforce its own legal obligations, particularly its continued approval of synthetic dyes, which were later found to be harmful to human health. Harmful dyes have been kept on the market due to weak oversight, outdated science, and industry lobbying. In 2025, the FDA finally announced a plan to phase …

Lessons In Pedagogy: My Experience With Problem-Based Learning, Leslie Y. Garfield Tenzer

Pace Law Review

This Article chronicles my experimental adoption of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in first-year Contracts. After three decades of conventional teaching, I observed that Gen Z students struggled to transition from undergraduate memorization strategies to law school-level analytical reasoning, prompting my desire to engage in a fundamental pedagogical change. Drawing on successful PBL implementations in medical and mathematics education, I restructured my Contracts course around collaborative problem-solving in small groups, transforming my role from lecturer to facilitator. Students worked through authentic legal scenarios at whiteboards, developing rule-based reasoning through active engagement rather than passive reception.

This article first details my reasons for …

Soil And Sovereignty: An Analysis Of Federal And State Laws Affecting Foreign Investment In U.S. Agricultural Land, Brantley Swindell

Mercer Law Review

Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land has risen significantly in recent years. From 2014 to 2023, the share of agricultural acres owned by foreign interests increased by 67%. Although the share of agricultural acres owned by foreign countries and interests only amounts to just over 3% of the total U.S. private farmland, the U.S. federal government and many states have passed laws to prohibit, restrict, limit, regulate or create requirements for foreign ownership of agricultural land and real property. As of 2025, twenty nine states have passed laws to regulate such foreign ownership.

This Comment outlines the regulations on foreign …

Hold Your Horses: The Eleventh Circuit Recognizes A Direct Cause Of Action Under The Takings Clause In Fulton V. Fulton County Board Of Commissioners, Brock Gumbel

Mercer Law Review

“[No person shall be] deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” In just twelve words, the drafters of the Bill of Rights guaranteed property owners a significant protection. The Fifth Amendment Takings Clause is not an express ban on government takings. Rather, it guarantees that when the government takes property from private citizens, it must provide just compensation. Although this guarantee is generally well established, its enforcement in federal court introduces unique and significant challenges.

Plaintiffs must have a cause of action to invoke …

The Culture Cure: Behavioral Supervision And The Regulation Of Financial Institutions, David B. Lourie

Mercer Law Review

This Article advances a normative claim: U.S. financial regulators must move beyond primarily adversarial, enforcement-driven models and adopt behavioral supervisory tools—particularly elements of culture assessments—to proactively help guide ethical firm conduct and mitigate systemic risk. Importantly, the proposal here is incremental and resource-efficient. Many recommendations place the onus on firms to assess and demonstrate their culture, while regulators set expectations, review outputs, and selectively verify findings. The framework proceeds in progressive stages—beginning with voluntary, partnership-based initiatives, moving toward light-touch integration within existing examinations, and scaling only where persistent governance weaknesses or systemic risks warrant closer attention. This tiered approach reflects …

Stuck In The Waiting Room: Medina V. Planned Parenthood’S Restriction On The Enforcement Of Spending Statutes Through 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Rebekah Rooks

Mercer Law Review

42 U.S.C. § 1983 was originally enacted in response to Ku Klux Klan violence during the Reconstruction era that had gone largely unpunished in state courts. The statute granted individuals an alternative means to enforce their “rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws” in federal courts. What began as a lifeline for civil rights violations soon expanded to allow enforcement of all rights secured by federal and constitutional law. This broad interpretation of § 1983 language expanded the statute’s reach to include private enforcement of federal spending statutes against the states. The expansion ignited extensive debate over …

Requesting Less, Winning More: A Plaintiff Strategy To Eliminate Low-Value Anchors, Emily V. Shaw, Jade E. Larson

Mercer Law Review

Picture this: You are a plaintiffs’ lawyer representing a permanently injured client in a high-stakes lawsuit. You think you can earn millions of dollars for your client based on their injuries—but something is holding you back: your client’s past medical bills. To date, she has only had to pay around $20,000. You worry that this fact might make your request for several million dollars in non-economic damages seem excessive to a jury. So, you make a plan: on the eve of trial, you withdraw your request for economic damages and stick to only requesting non-economic damages in the millions. There …

From Phone Booths To Digital Booths: Rethinking Fourth Amendment Privacy In The Age Of Open Source Intelligence, Major Theodore H. Massey Iii

Mercer Law Review

The use of Open Source Intelligence (“OSINT”) by the U.S. intelligence community marks a paradigm shift in national security practices, leveraging vast troves of publicly available and commercially acquired data. Yet this shift raises urgent constitutional questions regarding the applicability of the Fourth Amendment’s protections in the digital age. As OSINT practices increasingly rely on sophisticated aggregation techniques and artificial intelligence tools, the line between publicly available information and constitutionally protected privacy interests begins to blur. This Article critically examines whether certain forms of OSINT collection and analysis, particularly those that aggregate digital data at scale or use predictive algorithms, …

Recent Case Decisions

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Michigan, M. Vafa Barissi, Delainey Banks

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Parents’ Lived Experiences With Competitive Integrated Employment For Children With Intellectual And Developmental Disability, Dr. Aisha J. Omar

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

This phenomenological qualitative study explores the lived experiences of Kentucky parents seeking Competitive Integrated Employment (CIE) for their children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Guided by the research questions—How do parents experience this process, and what barriers or supports do they encounter?—the study highlights systemic challenges despite legislative efforts such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. In-depth interviews with five parents revealed three themes: (a) parental transformation and the pursuit of meaningful work, (b) systemic challenges in accessing CIE, and (c) overcoming protective instincts: navigating fear, independence, and self-advocacy. Findings suggest a …

The Abortion Case The Supreme Court Has Been Waiting For?, Rachel Landis

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and Social Justice (ERSJ) Blog

This past week, Louisiana’s Attorney General filed a lawsuit, Markezich v. FDA, challenging the distribution of medication abortion to patients without an in-person doctor’s appointment. When the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA’s”) approval of mifepristone in 2024, it was considered a setback for the anti-abortion movement.  Markezich confronts the FDA’s approval of telehealth, and the Supreme Court could rule differently this time because of key differences in standing.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and Social Justice website on February 26, 2026. The original post can be …

When Constitutional Protection For Religious Liberty Gets Lost In Translation: A Case Study From Washington State, Robert W. Gomulkiewicz

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

Protecting religious liberty can present difficult challenges when religious liberty conflicts with laws prohibiting discrimination. Balancing religious liberty and nondiscrimination requires courts to accurately apply the U.S. Supreme Court’s complex First Amendment jurisprudence, including cases that address compelled speech, expressive association, and church autonomy. Amidst all the complexity, protection for religious liberty can get lost in translation. One important venue where protection can get lost in translation is in religious liberty cases decided by state supreme courts. The decisions of state supreme courts are especially significant because they provide the authoritative construction for state statutes and the state constitution. In …

Comments On The Draft Environmental Impact Statement On Post-2026 Operational Guidelines And Strategies For Lake Powell And Lake Mead, Anne Castle, John Fleck, Eric Kuhn, Jack Schmidt, Katherine Tara, Kathryn Sorensen

The Traveling Wilburys of the Colorado River

Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement on Post-2026 Operational Guidelines and Strategies for Lake Powell and Lake Mead (DEIS). The undersigned colleagues with experience in Colorado River matters commend the Bureau of Reclamation and its consultants for the tremendous effort involved in preparing this environmental impact analysis. We are especially impressed by Reclamation’s effort to analyze policy alternatives within the context of the deep uncertainty about what future hydrology might be. Your work is novel in its effort to provide the public with a sense of what the performance, robustness, and vulnerability …

Silvanus V. State Of Nevada, 142 Nev. Adv. Op. 15 (Feb. 26, 2026), Rocco Marino

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

In cases with split ‘guilty but mentally ill’ and ‘not guilty by reason of insanity’ verdicts, district courts retain discretion in sequencing civil commitment and incarceration under NRS 175.539 and NRS 175.533.

Amicus Brief In Trump V. Barbara: An Originalist Defense Of Birthright Citizenship, Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Evan D. Bernick

Faculty Scholarship

For nearly all of the first 235 years under the Constitution, the citizenship of every child born in the United States to alien parents, with immaterial exceptions, was a given. Then, in 2025, the Trump administration changed course. Even though the Fourteenth Amendment makes no mention of limiting birthright citizenship to the children of domiciled parents, the Government now claims that is what “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” has always meant. While the Government and its amici admit that the common law recognized the citizenship of children of transient aliens, their remaining “survey of history range[s] from the constitutionally irrelevant” …

Penal Protection For Women In Jordan: How Compatible Are International Agreements And Jordanian Legislation?, Hasan Altarawneh, Hamzeh Abu Issa

Journal of International Women's Studies

This article analyses the degree to which Jordanian penal legislation conforms to international human rights standards regarding the protection of women from violence, specifically the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the United Nations Bangkok Rules. Jordan has implemented legislative reforms targeting gender-based violence; however, these reforms are incomplete, disjointed, and frequently misaligned with international standards. This study employs a doctrinal methodology to analyse Articles 292–311 of the Jordanian Penal Code and associated procedural rules, assessing their substantive and procedural provisions in relation to international legal obligations. This analysis includes rulings from the …

Law School News: Expanding Access And Equity: Rwu Law's Cle Series Supports Rhode Island Attorneys 2-25-2026, Jane Govednik

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Cle Program: Putting People At The Center Of Representation 2-24-2026, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

An International Human Rights-Based Approach To Reducing Maternal Mortality And Enhancing Safe Motherhood In Africa, John Mukum Mbaku

San Diego International Law Journal

In 2015, the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) noted that almost fifteen years after the global community had agreed to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which provided an important framework for economic and human development, significant progress has been made in several areas. However, the UNGA explained that many developing countries have not been able to achieve the MDGs, especially those goals related to maternal and reproductive health. Although the global maternal mortality rate has declined significantly, only 50% of pregnant women in developing countries receive the recommended minimum of four antenatal care visits. Additionally, complications suffered during pregnancy and childbirth …

Beyond The Cisg: Utilizing Unidroit Principles To Synchronize International Contract Law Beyond Sales Of Goods, Noor Albandar

San Diego International Law Journal

Modern advancements have made it easier than ever for individuals and businesses to enter into cross-border transactions. Contract law in the United States employs legal instruments such as the UCC to aid contracting parties, and international law consists of tools such as the CISG supporting cross-border contracts for the sale of goods. Such tools are important because international transactions for goods occur frequently. This Comment will examine the complexities that arise in the face of international contracts, discuss tools for uniform law that are currently utilized by various governing bodies, and propose further implementation of uniform international contract law. In …

Tinjauan Terhadap Perkembangan Delik-Delik Khusus Masyarakat Yang Mengalami Modernisasi, Mardjono Reksodiputro, S.H., M.A.

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Inter Partes Litigation And Ex Parte Appeals Before The Trademark Trial And Appeal Board: A Primer, Theodore H. Davis Jr.

Akron Law Review

No abstract provided.

"Equitable Takings" And The Limits To Their Normative Foundations, Dylan Oliver Malagrino

Akron Law Review

This article constructs the concept of “equitable takings”—a new term of art to describe judicially crafted doctrines or decisions that result in a de facto redistribution of property interests without formal legislative authorization or compensation. It argues that the normative foundations of these equitable takings are insufficient to justify their growing influence in property law. This article examines key judicial decisions, surveys scholarly perspectives, and offers a critical evaluation of the principles that courts invoke to justify these takings. It ultimately contends that these equitable takings risk undermining both the rule of law and the stability of property doctrine. Equitable …

Do We Really Want Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justices Practicing Law? A Public Policy Critique To U.S.Supreme Court Term Limits, Michael J. Broyde, Hayden H. Hall

Akron Law Review

Debate over imposing term limits on U.S. Supreme Court Justices has intensified in recent years, with proposals emphasizing potential benefits for judicial independence, ideological balance, and the confirmation process. Yet, much of the scholarly and political discourse has overlooked a significant and underexamined consequence: the post-judicial careers of justices whose service ends well before traditional retirement age. This Article addresses that gap by analyzing the strong likelihood—based on historical patterns from other courts without life tenure—that former Justices would reenter the legal profession, particularly in highly compensated private practice roles. We argue that this prospect raises profound ethical, institutional, and …

The 41st Annual Tei – Sjsu High Tech Tax Institute Conference On November 3-4, 2025: Building A Relationship With The Board Of Directors, Jasleen Hothi

The Contemporary Tax Journal

No abstract provided.

Mmu: 02/23/26-03/01/26, Student Bar Association

Monday Morning Update

This Week @ NDLS

Mass Times

Commons Daily Menu

Saint of the Week

General Announcements

The Contemporary Tax Journal Volume 14, No. 2 – Winter 2026

The Contemporary Tax Journal

No abstract provided.

Can The Uk, Australia, And India Master The Defence Against Dark Patterns? A Comparative Study Of Jurisdictional Approaches, Swetha Meenal Ananthapadmanaban, Jeannie Marie Paterson

Indian Journal of Law and Technology

This paper examines how the United Kingdom (the ‘UK’), Australia, and India approach the regulation of one of the most pressing issues in contemporary digital markets – Dark Patterns. Taking the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (‘DMCC’) in the UK as a potential benchmark, it evaluates the structural strengths and shortcomings of Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, in India and the proposed grey list of unfair trading practices in Australia. Through case studies of Amazon Audible’s subscription cancellation flow and Epic Games’ in-app purchase design, the paper illustrates how identical practices receive uneven legal …

Unleash The “Potential” Of The Collective Action Mechanism In Flsa Suits, Anthony Decaprio

Catholic University Law Review

Congress enacted the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to provide relief to low-income workers at risk of being taken advantage of by their larger, more sophisticated employer. The FLSA provides a collective action mechanism that allows similarly situated workers to bring suits together against a common employer outside the strictures of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. To ensure all potentially similarly situated workers have sufficient notice of the suit in order to affirmatively opt-in, the Supreme Court authorized the district courts to facilitate notice to all “potential plaintiffs.”

The circuits are currently split regarding the standard …