Digital Commons Network^™

Special-Purpose Governments, Conor Clarke, Henry Hansmann

University of Chicago Law Review

When one thinks of government, what comes to mind are familiar generalpurpose entities like states, counties, cities, and townships. But more than half of the ninety thousand governments in the United States are strikingly different: they are “special-purpose” governments that do one thing, such as supply water, fight fire, or pick up the trash. These entities have expanded far more rapidly than any other form of government. Yet they remain understudied, and they present at least two puzzles. First, special-purpose governments are difficult to distinguish from entities that are typically regarded as business organizations—such as consumer cooperatives—and thus underscore the …

Ideological Testing, Renagh O’Leary

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Nonbanks And The Social Contract, Lindsay Sain Jones

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Decline Of Corum Claims: How Washington V. Cline Limited Constitutional Protection For State Infringement Of The Speedy Trial Right, Mary Anneliese Childs

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Elderly & Incarcerated In North Carolina, Juliana Whittington

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Understanding The Mechanisms Of Interpretive Change, Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl

North Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Every Law School Should Have A Poet, Susan Ayres

Faculty Scholarship

This is an imaginative work that explores gaslighting in the workplace.

The "Not Seen" Effect Of International Financial Centers: Innovation In The Global Financial Ecosystem, Charlotte Ku, Andrew P. Morriss

Faculty Scholarship

International Financial Centers (IFCs) are hubs of legal and financial innovation, developing specialized frameworks that facilitate cross-border investment, enhance global capital mobility, and support economic growth. Through jurisdictional competition, professional clustering, and adaptive regulatory frameworks, IFCs have pioneered legal structures that enable enterprises of all sizes to participate in the global economy. Using case studies of the International Business Company, the Limited Liability Company, the Protected Cell Company, and advances in trust law and applying the theoretical frameworks of social scientist Richard Florida and psychologist Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, this Article illustrates how IFCs serve as laboratories for financial experimentation, generating widely …

A New Parlor Is Open: Microfeminisms Are Needed In Law School To Combat Gender Bias, Stephanie J. Thompson

Faculty Scholarship

A recent viral trend on TikTok has spotlighted women attorneys who are leveraging microfeminisms to uplift other women and challenge entrenched gender norms within the workplace. The hashtag #microfeminism has garnered over a billion views, underscoring a growing interest in this nuanced form of advocacy. Microfeminism encompasses the subtle, everyday actions individuals—regardless of gender—take to promote gender equity and disrupt traditional expectations, both personally and professionally. In contrast to broader feminist movements that often seek systemic reform, microfeminism focuses on the interpersonal and individual level, recognizing the transformative potential of seemingly small gestures. This Article aims to initiate a critical …

The Chilling Effects Of Dobbs, Jonathon W. Penney, Danielle Keats Citron, Alexis Shore Ingber

Articles & Book Chapters

The Supreme Court’s evisceration of the federal constitutional right to abortion has raised the specter of criminal and civil liability for abortion providers and patients. Police and prosecutors have easy access to commercial reservoirs of intimate data. As individual accounts made clear in the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, corporate surveillance of intimate life chilled expressive activities, such as searching for information about reproductive health and using period tracking apps. Health professionals did not feel safe to speak out about the impact of new abortion laws. Harassment and threats directed at abortion clinics and at …

Mda At Your Service: Questions About Dental Insurance Participation, Kristin Johnson Dds

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This article by the MDA membership Chair Kristin Johnson and the Michigan Dental Association (MDA) Department on Membership addresses common questions from dental professionals. It highlights the MDA's endorsement of PPO Negotiation Solutions to help members maximize profitability through insurance network participation and fee negotiation.

The MDA also provides guidance on hiring associates and their network participation, emphasizing the importance of understanding patient base and practice goals. Furthermore, the document outlines the MDA's resources for patient inquiries on water fluoridation, including talking points and online materials. Information on MIOSHA regulations and compliance within dental practices is also available through the …

Dentistry And The Law: What Causes A Lara Investigation?, Daniel Schulte Jd

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This "Dentistry and the Law" column by MDA Legal Counsel Dan Schulte addresses the process by which the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) initiates investigations against dental professionals. He explains that most investigations begin with a filed allegation, which can come from various sources, including patients, ex-employees, insurers, and other dentists.

LARA is required to review all allegations and generally needs authorization from the Board of Dentistry to proceed with an investigation, unless immediate jeopardy exists or the licensee has a history of substantiated allegations or significant malpractice settlements. The column highlights that LARA may possess more …

Mda Services: Get Help To Take The Pain Out Of Regulatory Compliance, Reva Darling

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This article from MDA Services highlights the challenges dentists face with regulatory compliance and the MDA's efforts to endorse companies that offer solutions. It emphasizes that MDA-endorsed companies, such as Eagle Associates, provide HIPAA compliance systems, OSHA safety programs, and OIG compliance programs with policy manuals, training, and ongoing support. The article also discusses HIPAA-compliant email solutions offered by iCoreConnect (iCoreExchange) and electronic prescribing software (iCoreRx) that integrates with MAPS, both available to MDA members at discounted rates.

Evaluating Accuracy In Legal Research: A Comparative Analysis Of Traditional And Artificial Intelligence-Driven Methods, Lily Collins

Honors Theses

Legal professionals are challenged with performing accurate legal research to meet professional standards. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) presents a potential for enhanced efficiency. However, knowledge and process gaps exist, questioning the accuracy of results generated by AI. The uncertainty of accurate results poses a risk for poor outcomes for all stakeholders. This thesis aimed to quantitatively measure the accuracy of AI legal research in comparison to traditional legal research. Accuracy and relevance were measured by analyzing case precedent results using three legal research platforms, Westlaw, Nexis Uni, and Chat GPT. The three platforms represented traditional and AI-driven research, …

The Effect Of Non-Profit Organizations On The Passage Of Climate Change Legislation In Connecticut, John-Henry Burke

Honors Scholar Theses

Connecticut has a long history of climate action. In this study, I looked into the effect that non-governmental organizations have on the passage of climate change legislation in Connecticut. Eighteen different climate policy stakeholders, including legislatures, non-governmental organization (NGO) staff members, youth activists and state employees were interviewed to gain their perspective on how non-profits forward climate initiatives. I found that non-profit organizations do have a significant impact on the passage of climate change legislation in Connecticut by working as providers of information to legislators and mobilizers of constituents. This impact can be limited by various political factors.

How The Law Makes Smart Cities Unaccountable, And How To Start Making It Better: Lessons From Sidewalk Toronto, Beatriz Botero Arcila

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Sidewalk Toronto was the flagship project of Sidewalk Labs, the smart-city subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet. It was the largest smart-city project planned in North America or Europe. It is also the most notable failure of such a project to date.

Smart city projects and the technologies behind them improve the delivery and efficiency of city services, produce data to help local policymakers learn from their policy interventions and bring several economic development benefits. At the same time, they can create important risks to fundamental rights and enhance the capabilities of corporate and public surveillance. When Sidewalk Toronto was …

Investigating Exoneration Patterns Among Juveniles, Kristin Mahan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Exoneration from crime has been studied among adults, but exoneration of juveniles (i.e., persons under age 18) has not been analyzed as a separate entity, despite distinct legal systems and developmental considerations. Wrongful conviction, while not always indicative of innocence, devastates lives of convicted individuals and their families, while increasing public mistrust and sometimes failing to convict truly guilty individuals. This devastation, as well as vulnerability to wrongful conviction, is significantly increased for youth who miss out on crucial developmental years, milestones, and opportunities.

In the current study, I examined differing and intersecting contributors (i.e., individual characteristics, crime characteristics, legal …

The Founders’ Common Law And Bruen’S Text, History, And Tradition Test: From History ‘Lite’ To History Right, Saul Cornell

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Meaning Of Lawful Self-Defense: State Criminal Law And The Scope Of The Second Amendment, Shira Feldman, Tess Fardon

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

In Keeping With Heller, Kevin Schascheck

Buffalo Law Review

Evaluating the constitutionality of modern firearm regulations under the Second Amendment requires recourse to historical evidence under Bruen v. New York State Rifle and Pistol Association. Generally, the government bears the burden to demonstrate that modern firearm regulations are consistent with the nation’s historical traditions. But the Supreme Court’s earlier opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller stated that certain categories of firearm restrictions are longstanding and thus presumptively lawful. And yet, litigants are inviting courts to reject this presumption, arguing that presumptively lawful regulations should be subject to the same historical test as presumptively unlawful regulations.

Courts should reject …

Gun Regulation After Loper Bright: The Statutory Interpretation/Policymaking Continuum, William D. Araiza

Buffalo Law Review

The Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, rejecting “Chevron deference” to administrative agency interpretations of their organic statutes, has caused great uncertainty about the fate of federal regulation. This Essay considers that question in the context of federal gun regulation. Using examples of regulatory actions taken by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, it illustrates the wide range of functions reflected in agency actions—in particular, how those actions can span the spectrum from pure statutory interpretation to pure policymaking, with hybrid way stations between those two extremes.

The variety of functions agencies perform suggests …

The Affordable Care Act: Analyzing Rates Of Healthcare Claim Denial, Lauren Sitter

Political Science Theses and Capstones

The United States healthcare industry is an integral aspect of every American’s life. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 reformed the healthcare system by expanding coverage to millions of Americans and eliminating claim denials due to pre-existing conditions. It requires participating states to submit transparency data. Despite these reforms, coverage denials continue and vary by plan category, metal level, and among different states. I analyze data from The Kaiser Family Foundation (2023) and The CommonWealth Fund to test the correlation between claim denial and a variety of variables, including state political culture, plan type, metal level, and out-of-pocket costs. …

Breaking The Black Box: The Impact Of The 2023 Changes To The Japanese Penal Code On Rape, Lee Smith

Washington International Law Journal

In 2017, the Japanese penal code was amended to broaden protections for victims of sexual assault. However, pressure mounted for further protections after several decisions on cases involving rape shocked the nation in 2019. In 2023, the penal code was amended again including to raise the age of consent to 16 and broaden the definition of rape to include nonconsensual sexual acts. This comment examines the history of rape law in Japan, introduces challenges that victims of sexual assault face when trying to seek justice, and analyzes the first cases determined under the amended code. Finally, it looks to the …

Hunting For Employees, Employers, Independent Contractors, Dependent Contractors And Other Figments Of The Legal Imagination, Brian Langille, Ben Mayer-Goodman

Dalhousie Law Journal

This paper exposes the falsity of a fundamental assumption of labour law—namely that there is such a thing as an “employee” or “employer” or “independent contractor” and that such legal entities can be “found” through an examination of the facts. As we shall demonstrate, once we have discarded the flawed assumption that “employees” or “employers” (or “independent” or “dependent contractors,” or “worker,” or any other legal creature) exist in the real world, we see that labour law’s purpose as it is currently widely understood is also fundamentally flawed. It is from this standpoint that a new conceptual framework for—and normative …

“Any Rebroadcast, Retransmission, Or Account Of This Trial Without The Express Written Consent Of The Judge Is Prohibited”: The First Amendment And Judicial Constraints On Redistributing Courtroom Video, Frank D. Lomonte, Rachel Jones

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Undeserving Poor And The Marketization Of Medicaid, Elenore Wade

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Juggling Tires, Teapots, Burning Torches, And Pennies: The Challenge Of Defining The “Communities Of Interest” Criterion In Municipal Redistricting, Steve Burke

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

"You Gonna Be Like Mama": A Case Study Of Intergenerational Sex Trafficking, Lindsey M. Grabowska

Honors Thesis

Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a range of experiences inflicted upon children that involves sexual exploitation for financial benefit and results in many psychological harms on exploited youth. Familial sex trafficking is a subset of CSEC where the child is exploited by a family member through either intergenerational prostitution or exchanging sexual access to their child to others for commercial gain. This paper will review the available literature on CSEC and familial trafficking, focusing specifically on two important questions (1) What makes minors vulnerable to CSEC and sex trafficking and (2) What maintains the involvement on people in …

Movement Lawyering For Pretrial Justice In Eastern Tennessee, Kiah Duggins, Allen Shropshire, Avery Fairburn, Tyler Foster

Vanderbilt Social Justice Reporter

Judges in Tennessee regularly jail legally innocent people simply because those people cannot afford to pay money bail. Many of Tennessee’s citizens do not have access to healthcare, transportation, employment, or housing, which increases their chances of being arrested, being unable to afford money bail, and becoming further destabilized by pretrial detention. This socioeconomic context, combined with judges’ violations of federal law, make it difficult for advocates to protect indigent people’s pretrial liberty solely through legal tactics. Community organizers in Tennessee have, therefore, strategically combined grassroots organizing with legal tactics to advocate for automatic pretrial release. These organizers’ work demonstrates …

Why Legal Attacks On Transgender People Should Concern All Of Us, Kyle C. Velte

Vanderbilt Social Justice Reporter

No abstract provided.