Digital Commons Network^™

The Public Utility Regulation Of Dollar General, Olivia R. Sokos

West Virginia Law Review

As food insecurity persists across the country, few solutions have been proposed to address the lack of access to healthy food in rural regions. This Note explores whether public utilities regulation is a theoretical avenue for addressing rural food deserts. The contribution of this Note is to encourage the recognition of healthy food as a critical public good through a modern public utility lens and build solutions to inadequate food access in rural regions by considering the qualities unique to rural populations. One solution proposed herein is to apply a modern public utility framework to dollar stores, ensuring reliable and …

Liability For Ai Agents, Maarten Herbosch

North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology

No abstract provided.

Self-Defense Or Served Justice? Kirstin Lobato Case, April L. Wayne

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Kirstin Lobato spent 16 years in prison for the crimes of voluntary manslaughter and sexual penetration of a dead body. The Innocence Project took on her case and helped to exonerate her in 2017. After critical evidence that was withheld during the original trial was brought forward, Lobato was retried and had her conviction reversed. She was awarded $34 million in retribution for her time in prison due to her mistrial.

Algorithmic Bias In Hiring: Amending Title Vii To Prohibit Ai Discrimination, Michael H. Leroy

Journal of Legislation

I propose amendments to Title VII to address discriminatory hiring related to AI technologies. Section 703(c)’s definition of an “employment agency” should be modified to include “any person who uses artificial intelligence” to procure employees. I also propose a new definition in section 703 that incorporates the expansive definition of AI in 15 U.S.C. 9401(3). These small changes would make AI hiring firms more responsible for discriminatory screening and selection of job applicants, and better protect applicants who are adversely selected by sex, race, disability and other protected characteristics.

Volume 51, Issue 2 - Full Combined Issue

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Judicial Review Of Settlements Under The Class Action Fairness Act And Deference Due To The Department Of Justice And State Attorneys General, Michael E. Solimine, Hailey E. Martin

Journal of Legislation

The Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 (CAFA) makes it easier to remove consumer class actions from state to federal court and, among other things, regulates the procedure of federal court approval of settlements of those cases. CAFA requires that before any court approval or disapproval, the parties must notify the Attorney General of the United States, and the attorneys general of states where members of the class live, of the pending settlement in order to receive any objections or other input. While such notice is frequently sent, since most class action cases settle out of court, it appears that …

The Myth Of The Best Interest Of The Child, Victoria Mikesell Mather

West Virginia Law Review

One of the basic tenets of Family Law as applied to children is consideration of “best interest of the child” in making decisions. Standards for custody, termination, adoption, and all other matters affecting children are overlaid with consideration of best interest. Unfortunately, the promise of best interest is lost in the actual mechanics of making these critical decisions involving children. This Article explores the disconnect between the ideal of using the best interest of the child as a key factor in legal decisions affecting children and the practicalities of competing interests. The Article first explores the common concern of the …

How Seeing Rural America As A Commons Can (Re)Build Mutual Respect Across The Rural-Urban Divide, Lisa R. Pruitt

West Virginia Law Review

This Essay, written for a symposium that honors and amplifies Ann Eisenberg’s 2024 book, Reviving Rural America: Toward Policies for Resilience, contemplates benefits that could flow from taking seriously Eisenberg’s conceptualization of rural America as a commons. In particular, I argue that the mutual respect and collaboration necessary for a successful commons could help heal the rural-urban rift, which has widened dramatically in the last few decades. Recent studies suggest that rural residents have what scholars call a rural consciousnesses, which means that living in a rural place is a key aspect of their identity. One feature of this identity …

Autonomous Vehicles: Security And Privacy Concerns, Christopher Z. Shiu

Senior Honors Theses

The rapid development of self-driving vehicles provides many benefits. Even then, there are various security and privacy concerns that must be addressed. Autonomous vehicles are dependent on advanced machine learning systems in order to communicate. However, concerns about cyber threats and the misuse of data are not studied adequately enough. With the integration of technical and human factors, these developments can address communication and regulatory compliance weaknesses to offer safer implementations to autonomous vehicles. It is only after understanding these challenges, can strategies be developed to counteract threats. As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, autonomous vehicles have the potential to …

Church And State Collide: The Constitutional Implications Of Louisiana's Ten Commandments Bill, Kimberly Aliaga

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

: In the summer of 2024, Louisiana’s governor signed House Bill 71 (HB71), which mandated all K-12 schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. While proponents of the bill claim it serves a secular purpose to promote morality and historical literacy, precedent cases like Stone v. Graham (1980) suggest otherwise. By requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public classrooms, HB71 is a violation of the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause found in the First Amendment. This article analyzes the bill by comparing it to similar cases, and by applying both the Lemon and Endorsement Test to …

Rights Violations Faced By Women And Girls Migrating Through The Darién Gap, Jessica Alejandra Arroyave Buitrago

Immigration Law Blog

This article aims to highlight how the rights of women and girls migrating through the Darién Gap are specifically violated due to their gender, making them disproportionately vulnerable to certain forms of rights violations.

Scientific Educations Among U.S. Judges, Christa Laser

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

Should more judges have technical and scientific educations than are currently prevalent in the federal judiciary? This empirical study of the educational background of federal judges reports the undergraduate and graduate majors of active U.S. federal Article III judges. Information on the subject area of study is largely not publicly available, especially for judges appointed decades ago. This is the first and only publicly available research study of the subject areas of study of U.S. judges, collected via phone and email surveys to U.S. judges. The results of this study show that only 7.35% offederal judges have majors in science …

Assisted Outpatient Treatment: A State-By-State Comparative Review, E. Lea Johnston, Autumn Klein

UF Law Faculty Publications

Assisted outpatient treatment, otherwise known as preventive outpatient commitment, is rapidly expanding across the United States, aiming to address mental health needs and reduce homelessness, hospital costs, and community violence. Since 2019, fifteen preventive outpatient commitment statutes have been passed or expanded. These statutes, which authorize courts to mandate community treatment for nondangerous individuals with mental illnesses, have evaded close scrutiny, rest on misconceptions, and raise significant constitutional concerns. An analysis of legislative debates, court opinions, and scholarship reveals a fundamental misunderstanding about the prevalence of these laws, which contributes to their speedy passage. Additionally, no analysis exists of these …

Giving Birth Should Never Be A Death Sentence: Chapter 621 And The Path To Maternal Equity, Lacy Johnson

University of the Pacific Law Review

No abstract provided.

Chapter 584: Navigating Hate Literature And The Freedom Of Speech Through Strategic Legislation, Christine J. Miller

University of the Pacific Law Review

No abstract provided.

Labor And Environment Entwined: A Radical Green New Deal And Just Transition In Appalachia, Anne Marie Lofaso, Nicholas F. Stump

West Virginia Law Review

In this Article, Professor Lofaso and Professor Stump propose a genuinely transformative Green New Deal and Just Transition in Appalachia. The Article opens by tracing the long history of the Appalachian labor and environmental movements. Next, the Article interrogates the common contention that the Appalachian environmental and labor movements are opposed. While this contention has substantial truth, more complex forces have been at work in the region. Fossil fuel industry elites, for instance, have wielded exaggerated “jobs versus environment” rhetoric to maximize profits and quash emergent solidarities among local workers, residents, and activists. This Article contends that a key solution …

Think, Reflect, Refine: Shaping The Modern Lawyer, Camesha Little

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Modern law students are entering the profession during an era when our society is fraught with many atrocities. These societal challenges come at a time when students are increasingly engaged in more social advocacy. Modern law students are also coming into legal training with skills and resources different from those of generations in the past. Additionally, almost daily, our newsfeeds are littered with headlines about the benefits, challenges, and fears of integrating generative artificial intelligence (“AI”) into our world. The legal system is not immune to this conversation. There have been discussions about how generative AI, such as ChatGPT, will …

How The United States Fails Immigrant Youth, Abigail "Abby" Reinhard Greene

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Immigrants are some of the most marginalized members of society. Immigrant youth, in particular, endure additional stresses due to their dual status as children and immigrants. Many fled their home country from persecution or entered the U.S. without a parent or legal guardian.

By May 2024, over 120 million individuals were “forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations.” In 2022, over 152,000 unaccompanied immigrant youths crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. The United States faces several challenges in supporting these immigrant youths, and it currently fails to meet those challenges. ...

This note details how …

Fetal Personhood And The Judicial Erosion Of Women's Rights Following Dobbs, Brendan Williams

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

In Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its prior precedents recognizing a constitutional right to abortion, a recognition that began nearly a half-century before with its decision in Roe vs. Wade. In its granting certiorari in a case involving a Mississippi law restricting abortion, the New York Times reported that the Court majority took advantage of the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by allowing “Mississippi to perform a baitand-switch, widening what had been a narrower attempt to restrict abortion while she was alive into a full assault on Roe — the kind …

Beyond The Cell: The Impact Of Parental Incarceration On Children Based On The Factors Of Age, Gender, And Race, Ella M. Zeigler

Senior Theses

Incarceration is a life-changing event. It is humbling to be surrounded by three cement walls and a row of metal bars reaching from the floor to the ceiling. Millions of individuals are impacted by the adverse effects of incarceration, but millions more feel the effect of their incarceration as well. There are obvious negative impacts on those who have personally experienced incarceration, but one of the largest impacts is widely overlooked; one that comes from beyond the cell. This thesis considers the variation in the impact of parental incarceration on children, specifically based on the factors of age, gender and …

Olmstead 25 Years Later: Advocating For Children With Mental Health And Behavioral Health Needs, Laura C. Hoffman

Mercer Law Review

On June 22, 1999, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a monumental decision in the history of the disability rights movement in Olmstead v. L.C. by Zimring. As people with disabilities, especially those with mental health conditions or developmental disabilities, were frequently institutionalized without much of any thought to allowing them to be a part of the community, the Olmstead decision changed all of that, at least in terms of the acknowledgment of the legal right to a placement in the least‑restrictive environment whenever possible and cementing into legal protections the understanding that community integration was firmly …

Discrimination That Requires A Remedy: The Case Of Mothers Of Children With Disabilities, Ewa Rejman

Mercer Law Review

International human rights law devotes particular attention to the protection of vulnerable groups owing to their special needs and distinctive challenges which should be adequately considered. Building upon this premise and stressing the importance of gender approach, the Article describes particular vulnerabilities that mothers of children with disabilities face and explains how addressing them remains contingent upon safeguarding, in particular, the right to the highest attainable standard of health, the right to social security, the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to family life. Through the analysis of the responsibility for the omission in international law, …

Beyond Politics: Rethinking The Conversation On Gender-Affirming Care For Youth, Olivia Sanders

Mercer Law Review

According to a study conducted in June of 2022 by the Williams Institute School of Law, nearly 300,000 youth members in the United States identify as transgender. According to these calculations, this statistic indicates that “[t]he number of young people who identify as transgender has nearly doubled in recent years.” Gender‑affirming healthcare is usually administered to treat gender dysphoria, which is defined as “a state of distress or discomfort that may be experienced because a person’s gender identity differs from that which is physically and/or socially attributed to their sex assigned at birth.” A 2021 study conducted by Reuters exposed …

Rational Choice Theory: An Evaluation, Camille Liebergen, Troy Terry

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

The Rational Choice Theory is the view that individuals who commit crime behave in a rational way. This theory suggests that criminal behavior is not impulsive, but rather a result of a cost-benefit analysis evaluating the perceived rewards from the act against the potential punishment. It suggests that the criminal justice system can reduce crime by increasing the risks associated with criminal behavior. (Siegel, 101)

Christopher Tapp, Haley Schoenberger

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Christopher Tapp was wrongfully convicted for the murder and rape of 18-year-old Angie Dodge and the use of a deadly weapon in Idaho. This took place in 1996. This highlights the damages and dangers of coerced confessions and failures within the criminal justice system. Tapp was convicted even though there was no physical evidence linking him to the crime. He was sentenced to 30 years to life because of a confession extracted by the police’s interrogation and a false witness statement. The DNA at the scene did not match Chris but he was still imprisoned for 20 years. In 2019, …

Are Technology And The Law On The Same “Wavelength”?: Examining The New Frontier Of Brainwaves And Data Privacy, John G. Browning

North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology

No abstract provided.

Too Much Time Alone: Disciplinary Segregation As A Cruel And Unusual Punishment, Elijah Swolgaard, Spencer Schlag

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

Disciplinary segregation has historically been used as an arbitrary form of punishment in American prison systems. The severe psychological effects of this confinement allow it be classified as a cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment and generally lead to higher recidivism rates. This Note argues that in order to prevent these effects from occurring, disciplinary segregation should be ruled unconstitutional. Previous scholarship has argued for removal of solitary confinement generally. In contrast, this Note argues for the removal of disciplinary segregation specifically, while maintaining the use of necessary forms of solitary confinement such as administrative segregation. This will …

Full Issue

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

No abstract provided.

The Harms Of Expanding Physician-Assisted Suicide, Katherine Drabiak

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

Currently, nine states and the District of Columbia have passed laws in the U.S. to legalize and regulate the practice of physicianassisted suicide (“PAS”). Proponents initially garnered public support by portraying PAS as distinct from suicide, framing it as a rare mechanism for patients with terminal illness to achieve a peaceful death, enhance autonomy, and reduce suffering. Original state laws contained numerous eligibility requirements designed as safeguards to provide stringent limits. However, over the past few years proponents of PAS have systematically worked to expand PAS and erase these limits by increasing eligible providers, reducing waiting periods, and eliminating residency …

Medical Necessity And Prior Authorization: The Unregulated Power Of Insurers, Virginia Lefever

Health Matrix: The Journal of Law-Medicine

The absence of a uniform federal definition of “medical necessity” in employer-sponsored health plans has allowed insurers to create their own coverage standards, often resulting in inconsistent and opaque determinations that limit access to essential care. This Note argues that ERISA’s silence on medical necessity grants insurers excessive discretion, enabling restrictive prior authorization policies that disadvantage patients and providers alike. By analyzing judicial interpretations, regulatory gaps, and the disparate standards imposed by insurers, this Note makes the case for a federally mandated definition of medical necessity applicable to all employer-sponsored plans. A standardized definition would promote transparency, reduce litigation, and …