Digital Commons Network^™

Mass Resettlement Politics And The Future Of Hyper-Local Climate Migration Strategies, Sarah Rogerson

Pace Environmental Law Review

Climate change is requiring state and local governments to engage in short- and long-term strategic thinking and municipal planning. Critically, the movement of people from communities that have become uninhabitable due to climate change to other communities in more resilient areas (sometimes called “climate havens”) is a reality that most municipalities in the United States are not currently well-equipped to address. Experts predict as many as 1.2 billion climate-related migrants worldwide by 2050, with at least 93 million Americans expected to relocate to more habitable places by 2070. To put this into perspective, 93 million people is just under the …

Climate Migration And Reparations: Reflections On The Icj Advisory Opinion On Climate Change, Carmen G. Gonzalez

Pace Environmental Law Review

Climate mobility governance is at an inflection point. Major developments, such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion on climate change, are opening legal pathways to climate reparations and reshaping global policy debates on climate-induced migration. Climate-vulnerable states and peoples are calling for reparations for the intertwined injustices of slavery, colonialism and climate change and for legal frameworks that recognize the right to stay and the right to migrate based on the right to self-determination. This article examines the legal and ethical basis for reparative approaches to climate-induced migration. The article discusses the link between climate change and …

Perception Is Reality: The Obvious Interest Of State And Local Governments In Fighting Corruption Through The Enactment Of Contribution Limits, Jordan Al-Rawi

San Diego Law Review

Individual campaign contribution limits are one of the few remaining constitutional tools in a state or local government’s toolkit for fighting corruption, or its appearance, in elections.  Because contribution limits marginally burden a contributor’s First Amendment freedoms, a challenged limit must survive an arduous tailoring analysis to ensure that the limit is closely drawn to the government’s purported interest in combatting actual or perceived quid pro quo corruption.  However, before a challenged limit is subjected to this tailoring analysis, the government must first demonstrate that it has an individualized interest in addressing the existence of actual or perceived quid pro …

Calling Balls And Three Strikes, Tobie J. Smith

San Diego Law Review

The Supreme Court has revitalized the jury’s role in criminal sentencing over the past quarter century, reaffirming that the Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury extends to factfinding that increases the punishment range for a conviction.  But one class of sentencing findings—those related to a defendant’s criminal history—has been excluded.  The Court has upheld an exception to the jury right where the fact to be found is whether a defendant has a prior conviction.  Relying on that prior-conviction exception, many jurisdictions have continued to allow judges to increase the possible sentence based on their own preponderance-of-the-evidence findings about disputed …

Penetrating The Veil: Why Congress Regulating The Sperm Donation Process Is Not Nuts!, Matthew Leung

San Diego Law Review

The Commerce Clause is one of the strongest and most expansive powers granted to Congress under the U.S. Constitution.  While its strength has fluctuated throughout history, its power will undoubtedly be important in tackling modern problems, including regulating the Wild West of sperm donation.  The rapid expansion of the commercial sperm banking industry and the rise in the need for sperm donors have exposed significant regulatory gaps in the United States.  Although these groups support family formation for individuals facing infertility, same-sex couples, and single parents, federal oversight is largely limited when screening donors.  As a result, critical issues, including …

Zero-Sum Empathy: The Supreme Court's 2025 Term Decisions On Gender Identity, Susan Etta Keller

ConLawNOW

This past term, the Supreme Court majority continued to follow a pattern of rendering transgender individuals essentially invisible in the cases that concern their rights. In last year’s United States v. Skrmetti, the transgender youth affected by the ban on transgender care were largely absent from the majority opinion holding that such bans discriminated on the basis of neither sex nor transgender status. This term, the majority continued a similar trend, deciding two cases on the emergency docket that ignored the lived experience of transgender individuals while significantly affecting them, and one case on the merits, West Virginia v. …

Fines, Fees, And The Carceral Economic Conditions Of Public Education, Thalia González

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

In this Article, I apply an expanded concept of education carcerality to identify and analyze a largely unexamined modality of punitive economic governance—intra-system educational fines and fees. Distinguished from other forms of childhood financial sanctions, including the criminalization of ordinary child and adolescent behavior in schools through the use of municipal fines and fees, these carceral-penal practices are exclusively defined, imposed, and collected within school systems themselves. Drawing on original data from 101 publicly available policies governing the two largest school districts by student population in each state and the District of Columbia, this Article contributes to the literature with …

Deportation By Deception: Coerced Administrative Voluntary Departures And The Illusion Of Choice, Fonda Pham

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

Administrative voluntary departure allows noncitizens facing removal to leave the United States by waiving their right to a hearing before an immigration judge. Although this process provides noncitizens with a quicker alternative to a lengthy removal hearing, the process is not always as “voluntary” as its name suggests. Over the past four decades, noncitizens have alleged that immigration officers threatened and intimidated them in order to obtain waivers of consent, including threats against family members, prolonged detention, and physical abuse. Although the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution states that all persons physically present in the U.S. must receive due process …

International Law Can't Get No Respect, Cindy G. Buys

ConLawNOW

This Essay addresses the recent trend in the U.S. Supreme Court of refusing to seriously engage with the United States’ commitments under international law. It argues this refusal to acknowledge the role of international law in U.S. law disregards the U.S. Constitution’s inclusion of treaties as part of the Supreme Law of the Land and the Court’s own long-standing position that “international law is part of our law.” This Essay uses two cases from the Court’s 2025 term, Mullin v. Al Otro Lado and Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Doe to illustrate the Court’s disregard of international law and highlights some …

Voices Of Resistance: The People, The Press, And The Law, Robert S. Chang, Erica Lomeli Corcoran, Memo Torres, Gary Williams, Isais Benavides, Julie Morales, Astrid Hernandez

Loyola Interdisciplinary Journal of Public Interest Law

Loyola Public Interest Palooza Panel Transcription

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Chin Music: Chilling Legal Advocacy Through Executive Orders Attacking Law Firms, Robert S. Chang

Loyola Interdisciplinary Journal of Public Interest Law

Introduction to amicus brief challenging executive orders targeting law firms.

The amicus brief itself is reproduced as filed with the Supreme Court of the United States.

Her Discerning Eye, Abigail Stepnitz

ConLawNOW

Court watchers read each Supreme Court term like tea leaves, seeking in the record a deeper meaning about who we are and where we are going. To read the recent term, this Essay takes up Oliver Wendell Holmes’s image of law as a tapestry woven for its initiates and Robert Cover’s account of courts as jurispathic, killing competing legal meanings to preserve a coherent archive. It sees the 2025–26 term not as a set of doctrinal developments or even political compromises, but as a weave of foreclosed claims, in which what the discerning eye can read is those foreclosures, those …

An Integrated Review Of Maritime Emission Reduction Through Regulatory Operational Fuel And Technological Approaches, Ehab S. Elabd, Ahmed M. Shama

Blue Economy

The research endeavor at hand is basically meant to trace the most prominent regulatory, operational, fuel-related, and technological approaches employed for maritime emission reduction. From a quantitative perspective, the conducted review comprises four major categories and 80 research contributions. Operational optimization and efficiency strategies and alternative-fuel solutions take the largest shares of the investigations reviewed. Operational optimization and efficiency strategies comprise 29 studies (36.3%), while alternative-fuel solutions comprise 28 studies (35.0%). Comparably, port-related emissions and mitigation strategies include 15 studies (18.8%), whereas design optimization and technological innovations incorporate 8 studies (10.0%). Considering the fact that maritime transport is responsible for …

Muscle Shoals: A Plan For The Use Of The United States Properties On The Tennessee Power By Private Industry For Of "The Manufacture Of Fertilizers And Other Useful Products", Muscle Shoals Commission, United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1931

Documents

A plan created by the Muscle Shoals commission for instituting a series of fertilizer production operations in the Tennessee Valley area. In addition to written analysis, the document contains multiple images, illustrations, charts, graphs, and maps of the area to illustrate the reasoning of the plan.

Although the plan was never fully brought to fruition, it represents a crucial piece of agricultural and infrastructural history in the Shoals, Alabama alongside existent history on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the development of the nitrate plants.

Between Shut It Off And Keep It On: The Legality Of Internet Shutdowns Under International Law, Yohannes Eneyew Ayalew

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Internet shutdowns are on the surge across the globe, at least four dozen states-imposed internet shutdowns in 2024 alone, in armed conflicts and other situations. In some states where an authoritarian propensity or “digital sovereignty” reigns, internet shutdowns are being imposed to control political narratives during the conduct of hostilities. These states justify their actions using a “shut it off” argument, claiming that the internet is a luxury and further asserting that access to the internet may be overridden by national security or other justifications. On the other hand, there are states that advance open access to the

Internet shutdowns …

Improving Case Management For Refugee Child Brides, Harper Kelly Esterle

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A significant number of forcibly displaced persons throughout the world are not only children, but children who are married. When these married minor refugees arrive in host countries, they are often met with concern, judgment, or a critical lack of understanding or regulated procedure for handling their immigration cases. Children are often forcibly separated from their partners and thus isolated from the only family they came with, or they are forced to undergo an extensive judicial review process that, by the time it is resolved, is no longer relevant as the married minors at issue have since reached the age …

A Century Of Complexity: Reassessing Jurisdictional Veil Piercing In Light Of Modern Corporate Structures, Dominic Steve Brown

Vanderbilt Law Review

Modern corporate enterprises frequently operate through intricate networks of layered subsidiaries, yet courts continue to rely on a rigid and outdated presumption of corporate separateness rooted in a decision predating the current personal jurisdiction regime. In the context of jurisdictional veil piercing, this presumption of separateness has produced doctrinal confusion, inconsistent outcomes, and underenforcement against parent corporations that frequently control, and profit from, forum-based activities carried out by subsidiaries.

This Note argues that the prevailing approach, involving the importation of substantive corporate law doctrines into the jurisdictional analysis, contravenes both modern personal jurisdiction doctrine and contemporary corporate practice. Drawing on …

The Normative Canons Of Criminal Law, Brian G. Slocum

Vanderbilt Law Review

The rule of lenity is an ancient maxim directing that ambiguities in criminal statutes be interpreted in favor of defendants. Courts rarely rely on the rule of lenity, though, and its future is currently being debated. Justice Kavanaugh argues for its elimination, even as Justice Gorsuch argues for it to be strengthened. Most commentators agree with Justice Gorsuch, typically advocating that the rule of lenity be made more powerful. This Article argues for a different approach: The rule of lenity can be strengthened by limiting it to resolving linguistic ambiguity. 

This Article explains why the rule of lenity plays an …

Weird Cops (Agency Police), Farhang Heydari

Vanderbilt Law Review

The police badge has migrated deep into the administrative state. Parks, schools, transit, housing, revenue, conservation, insurance, and gaming agencies now field tens of thousands of sworn “Agency Police”—often with full arrest powers despite missions far removed from general public safety. The footprint of these officers is significant and expanding, outpacing the growth of traditional law enforcement. Far from being limited to certain communities, Agency Police attract support across the political spectrum, from law-and-order policymakers to reformers. And yet, Agency Police are largely ignored in legal scholarship. The result is that a large slice of U.S. criminal enforcement is poorly …

Marine Spatial Planning In The Asean Countries: Lesson Learned For Future Ocean Governance In Malaysia, Husni Alhan Md Salimun, Mohd Fadzil Akhir, Nazli Aziz, Che Din Mohd Safuan, Wan Izatul Asma Wan Talaat

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) has emerged as an important governance instrument for balancing ecological protection, economic development, and social inclusion amid the rapidly intensifying blue economy in Southeast Asia. Although several ASEAN Member States (AMS) have initiated MSP processes, the existing literature on MSP governance in this region  remains fragmented and largely descriptive, limiting systematic cross-country comparison and evidence-based lessons. This study addresses this gap by assessing MSP governance performance across ASEAN countries and againts internationally recognized MSP governance benchmarks. A structured narrative review was conducted using selected PRISMA-informed procedures for literature identification and screening. Academic publications from 2003 to …

Buffeted By Change, Researchers Seek Continuity And Investment: Results From The Ithaka S+R Us Researcher Survey, Chelsea Mccracken, Dylan Ruediger, Ruby Macdougall

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

Executive summary

The research enterprise in the United States, established after the second world war, is experiencing massive disruption. US colleges and universities are grappling with federal and state disinvestment and intervention at a time when AI and other technologies are reshaping how research is conducted and its findings are communicated. As a result, researchers at US higher education institutions are operating in an unstable environment. Against this backdrop, the findings from our survey of 4,003 researchers, fielded in late 2025, demonstrate that they remain committed to carrying out essential work and that they are doing so in innovative ways—through …

Good Governance In The Concept Of Climate Justice: Decarbonisation Policies In Economic Considerations Of Losses And Sacrifices, Daryanti Daryanti, Albertus Sentot Sudarwanto, Erna Dyah Kusumawati, Rosita Candrakirana

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Projections of losses resulting from the impacts of climate change in Indonesia are estimated to reach USD 30.5 million, affecting four key sectors: agriculture, water supply, health, and the maritime sector. This study shows that good governance based on climate justice in the implementation of decarbonization policies is the most important factor in avoiding long-term economic losses caused by the adverse impacts of climate change or investing in climate resilience. This study employed a normative methodology using a statutory approach to examine efforts related to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The findings of this research indicate that regulations in Indonesia, …

Digital Media And Its Effect On Domestic And International Copyright, Jasmine Martin

Latin American & Caribbean Law Review

This article explores the history of modern copyright law and identifies the pitfalls of a legal framework built around physical media, such as the doctrines of first sale and fair use. As markets have shifted to digital distribution, these doctrines have been weakened or displaced by licensing regimes that redefine ownership as limited access. The article argues that this transition has systematically eroded consumer rights, allowing copyright holders to impose restrictions through contracts and technological controls that bypass traditional protections.

Invisible Empires: Transnational Illicit Trade & The Global Threat To Law And Justice, Víctor Hugo Guerra Hernández

Latin American & Caribbean Law Review

Transnational illicit trade has evolved beyond the mere economic and individual concerns of public or private sectors isolated. It now poses a profound threat to the integrity of democratic institutions, the rule of law, and global justice systems. This article explores the intricate links between illicit international trade and transnational organized crime within the concepts of a postmodern State. The article demonstrates how these criminal and clandestine networks undermine state sovereignty, fuel corruption and international briberies, and erode public trust. By analyzing the legal, political, and socio-economic dimensions of illicit markets, from old fashioned contraband activities to modern trafficking of …

Illegal And Informal Mining And The Violation Of Fundamental Rights: The Peruvian Case, Carla Mares Ruíz

Latin American & Caribbean Law Review

This article critically examines the impact of illegal and informal mining in Peru and its relationship with the violation of fundamental rights, with particular emphasis on the rights to health, a healthy environment, and effective judicial protection. It also examines the regulatory evolution of the formalization process for artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), placing special emphasis on the resounding failure of these laws and the perverse effects of the continuous extension of REINFO (Comprehensive Registry of Mining Formalization), particularly with regard to the expansion of ilegalmining and the promotion of impunity. The paper also explores the environmental, social, and criminal …

Algorithmic Law In Contemporary Brazil: From Cyber-Libertarianism To Constitutional Rights, Pedro Rubim Borges Fortes

Latin American & Caribbean Law Review

This article provides a reflection of Brazilian algorithmic law, exploring how law regulates algorithms by defining prohibitions, permissions, standards, and rights in contemporary Brazil. Importantly, the concept of “algorithmic law” implies a normative idea, that is, that law should regulate algorithms, defining prohibitions, permissions, standards, and rights. This study examines the ideological transformation of law and technology, as Brazilian society moved from a libertarian approach to a perspective of establishing protective legislation, regulation, and constitutional rights to technology users. It explains the ‘Civil Rights Framework for the Internet.’ the ‘General Data Protection Law,’ the legislative project of an Artificial Intelligence …

2026 Annual Justice Festival Program, Caudill College Of Arts, Humanities, And Social Sciences

Justice Festival at Morehead State University

The program for the 6th Annual Justice Festival held on October 6, 2026 on the campus of Morehead State University.

The Colorado River Upper Initial Units Take Center Stage, Eric Kuhn, Anne Castle, Jack Schmidt, Kathryn Sorensen, Katherine Tara

The Traveling Wilburys of the Colorado River

In 1956, Congress authorized the Upper Initial Units—Flaming Gorge Reservoir,

Navajo Reservoir, and the Aspinall Unit (UIUs)—for a variety of water use

purposes in the Upper Colorado River Basin, including compliance with the

1922 Colorado River Compact (1922 Compact). The historical record is clear

that the primary reason these reservoirs exist is to satisfy the math of the 1922

Compact and the obligations it imposed on the Upper Division States

regarding flows at Lee Ferry.

Victim Behaviour And Phone Snatching In Kano Metropolis: A Literature Review Based On Victim Precipitation Theory, Mu'azu Ya'u Abdullahi

African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies

This paper reviews studies on the problem of phone snatching in Kano Metropolis, with focus on the behaviour of victims. Many studies have explained the crime by linking it to poverty, unemployment, and weak policing among others. However, less attention has been given to how people’s everyday actions may increase their risk. Using Victim Precipitation Theory, this review shows that behaviours such as openly displaying phones, walking alone in unsafe places, or using phones while distracted create easy chances for offenders. The review also notes that wider issues, such as poor street lighting and active black markets, combine with victim …

Tech Oligarchs And Corporate Vigilantism, Joao Marinotti, Asaf Lubin

Articles by Maurer Faculty

Big Tech’s unchecked power has evolved from a regulatory crisis into one concerning the rule of law itself. Shielded by the First Amendment, Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, corporate law, and contract law, technology giants have circumvented traditional government oversight, amassing a level of power that eclipses even that of some sovereign states. No longer guided by cautious boards of directors, today’s tech empires are often ruled by impulsive billionaire CEOs, who, through a single policy change or algorithmic tweak, can upend individual rights, destabilize global markets, and erode democratic governance itself.

The scale of such dangers …