Digital Commons Network^™

Frye Is So Last Century: It’S Time For Washington To Get With The Times, Darian Mullen

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

This paper argues that Washington State should finally abandon the

Frye test for expert witnesses and adopt the Daubert test used by federal

courts and most states. It begins with a discussion of the background of

expert witnesses in the U.S. court system and its evolution through Frye.

Then, it looks at the increase in drunk driving in Washington State as a

case study for how the public depends on quality science to protect

individuals and punish wrongdoers. Through the case study, it is

apparent that Frye is an unworkable standard that should be superseded

by Daubert.

Welcome Tilly Norwood: Forecasting Hollywood’S Ai Policy Futures, Samuel P. Rooker

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

In late 2025, weekly trade publication Variety Magazine reported on the announcement of a new acting talent in Hollywood: Tilly Norwood. Norwood is an industry outsider and the pet project of Eline Van der Velden, who unveiled the actress’ existence to the world at the Zurich Film Festival. The announcement quickly gained media coverage while Van der Velden has since faced cyclical backlash from Hollywood trade unions, which does not seem entirely without reason. Tilly Norwood is a digital persona, a generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) program, designed by Van der Velden’s novel AI talent studio, Xicoia, to become the next …

“Parties Vs. The People” Reconsidering The Voting Mechanisms That Entrench A Bi-Party System In American Democracy, John A. Guthrie

Honors Scholar Theses

This thesis argues that while the founders accepted factions as inevitable within a free republic, the rise of plurality voting and the modern two-party system has distorted the constitutional balance they envisioned. By examining the emergence of America’s first political parties and the evolution of electoral systems, this thesis contends that electoral reforms such as ranked-choice, approval, and STAR voting may better preserve republican representation and reduce partisan domination.

“A Land No One Would Want”: Environmental Activism And The Rejection Of ‘Wasteland’ Narratives In Southern Nevada, Steven Butler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper traces events within the history of environmental activism in Southern Nevada. The first chapter discusses the proposed high level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. The second chapter examines the closure of the Reid Gardner Generating Station in Moapa, Nevada. The third chapter details the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s Groundwater Development Project. Each of the three chapters is linked by common themes within the history of Southern Nevada environmental activism, including dedicated coalition-building and the refusal of “wastelanding” of the region.

Awards Ceremony: Class Of 2026, Notre Dame Law School

Commencement Programs

On Friday, May 15, Notre Dame Law School recognized its graduating students at the annual Awards Ceremony. Awards were presented for academic achievement, including Honor Roll, Dean’s Circle, Faculty Excellence, and Program of Study distinctions, as well as for excellence in writing, trial advocacy, and moot court. Students were also celebrated for their service to Notre Dame, their classmates, and the broader community. Below, we highlight a selection of this year’s awards and recipients. Read the full news story here.

Cardozo Law News Brief: May 15, 2026, Benjamin N. Cardozo School Of Law

Cardozo Law News Briefs

Highlights from the May 15, 2026 Cardozo Law News Brief include:

• Cardozo Law announced the addition of three new faculty members: Mridula Raman, Stefen R. Short, and Fregine Sheehy, further strengthening the law school’s teaching, scholarship, and clinical programs.
• Professor Wilfred Codrington III spoke to Bloomberg Law about Voting Rights Act litigation and recent redistricting decisions, criticizing the Supreme Court’s approach to election law disputes.
• Professor Jessica Roth spoke to CNN and The Guardian about the South Carolina Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions and the implications of a potential retrial.
• Professor Michael Pollack …

Off-The-Shelf Danger: The Need For Overhauling Faa Regulations To Combat The Misuse Of Commercial And Recreational Drones, Ka Ching "Cyrus" Au

Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental, & Innovation Law

This article discusses how FAA Part 107 has not kept pace with

advances in drone technology and advocates for a tailored solution for

drones. The increasing accessibility of sophisticated drone technology

presents significant national security and public safety challenges.

Regulatory frameworks posed by the Federal Aviation Administration

(FAA) are insufficient to address these growing concerns. The drone

technology originally marketed and developed for photography,

agriculture, and package delivery is now being repurposed for military use

and illegal activities. In the Russo–Ukrainian war, drones are now used to

carry advanced reconnaissance capabilities or are equipped with remotely

detonated explosives. Along a …

Revolution At A Snail’S Pace: Lessons From Chiapas, Adil Khan

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

On Knowledge As An Act, Zakaria Al Shmaly

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Experience As A Site Of Knowing, Daphne Nicolaidis Saunders

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Resilience Otherwise: Ambivalence, Care, And The Cultural Politics Of Endurance Under Neoliberal Capitalism, Vered Ben David

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

Over the past two decades, resilience has emerged as a central cultural keyword circulating across psychology, public policy, education, labor, and popular culture. Frequently celebrated as a marker of strength and adaptability, resilience has also become entangled with neoliberal forms of governance that relocate responsibility for managing insecurity onto individuals and communities. This analysis offers a critical cultural account of resilience as an ambivalent formation that operates simultaneously as a lived capacity for adaptation and as a normative demand that responsibilizes subjects under conditions of structural precarity. Drawing on scholarship in developmental psychology, political economy, and critical cultural theory, the …

Thinking Life: The Question Of Reproduction In Marx. Translated By James Chamberlain, Isabelle Garo

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

The Political Economy Of Fashion Sustainability Regulation, Meital Peleg Mizrachi, Rachel Chambers

UC Law Business Journal

The global fashion industry is one of the world’s most polluting and exploitative sectors, emitting more greenhouse gases than all international flights and maritime shipping combined, driving extensive water contamination and waste, and relying on labor conditions that remain chronically unsafe and underpaid. Regulation has attempted to respond, but with limited success. Existing sustainability oversight—ranging from import bans and human rights due diligence statutes to environmental taxes and voluntary industry frameworks—remains fragmented and unevenly enforced, shaped by geopolitical tensions, protectionist agendas, and shifting policy priorities. This Article reviews the rapidly evolving landscape of fashion sustainability regulation over the past decade …

The Early American Tradition Of Arms Regulation: Common Law, Common Weapons, And Common Use, Saul Cornell

Duke Law Journal Online

No abstract provided.

Completely Abandon Complete Auto: Why Modern Tax Policy Challenges Require Removing The Commerce Clause’S Restrictions On State Taxation, Peter Nielsen

UC Law Business Journal

The Complete Auto four-prong test is the modern analytical framework for courts to analyze whether a state-level tax discriminates against interstate commerce in violation of the Dormant Commerce Clause. The test asks whether (i) the taxpayer has substantial nexus to the taxing state, (ii) the tax is fairly apportioned to reflect the taxpayer’s activities in the state, (iii) the tax discriminates against interstate economic activity in favor of local activity, and (iv) the tax is fairly related to the goods and services provided by the state. The Complete Auto test faces critiques from both judges and scholars for its inconsistent …

Foreword, Jonathan Engelmann, Audrey Nguyen

UC Law Business Journal

No abstract provided.

After The “Partner Run”: The Dewey & Leboeuf Diaspora, Andrew Granato

UC Law Business Journal

“Partner runs”—mass, near-instantaneous departures of partners from distressed law firms—are a distinctive feature of the American legal profession, produced by an interaction of legal ethics rules, partnership governance, and bankruptcy law. A partner run means that even large and profitable law firms can abruptly liquidate. Given this fragility, it is urgent to learn: do partner runs and the governance law that enables them impose lasting harm on the legal profession by permanently damaging the careers of the lawyers caught in them?

This Article provides the first comprehensive empirical examination of this issue using the 2012 bankruptcy of Dewey & LeBoeuf, …

How The Dma Obligations Model Fails To Protect Online Markets’ Contestability And Proposals For Reform, Dermot Cahill, Jing Wang

UC Law Business Journal

This Article makes a significant contribution to the debate on whether the model underpinning the much-heralded European Union Digital Market Act (“DMA”) can provide a comprehensive level of protection against online gatekeepers’ abusive practices and achieve the DMA’s proclaimed ambition to protect online markets’ contestability in the digital space. To illustrate model-failure, key European Commission (“Commission”) enforcement decisions in the years leading up to the DMA’s enactment are examined to show less than optimal outcomes were achieved by the Commission’s attempts to grapple with gatekeepers’ anti-competitive exclusionary practices. The Authors proceed to demonstrate how the DMA’s “obligations list” model will …

California (+6.5) Vs. Sportsbooks: Cooperative Federalism & The Future Of Sports Gambling In California, Kyle Geffon

UC Law Business Journal

No abstract provided.

Pwnagotchi: Deauthentication Attacks, Wpa Handshakes, And Wireless Network Security, Emily Musgrove

Computer Science Honors Papers

Wireless networks are the foundation of modern device communication infrastructure. This project examines the security implications of automated WPA/WPA2 handshake collection using the Pwnagotchi, a portable Wi-Fi network auditing and penetration testing device. The paper provides a technical analysis of WPA and WPA2 authentication mechanisms, including the structure of the 4-way handshake, the creation of cryptographic keys, and the role of deauthentication attacks in forcing reconnections for handshake capture. Additionally, the project explores the vulnerabilities associated with using legacy wireless security protocols such as WEP and TKIP to allow for older technologies that continue to require such encryption methods. This …

Comparative Environmental Jurisprudence: A Multi-Country Analysis Of Rights Of Nature Applications, Lillian C. Johns

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

This thesis examines three distinct cases, Ecuador, the United States, and India, in their conceptualization and implementation of the Rights of Nature and environmental jurisprudence. Although the Rights of Nature have gained global traction as a response to accelerating ecological degradation and as a potential legal mechanism for addressing it, issues with implementation and enforcement consistently arise. The outcomes in each case are largely shaped by institutional design, political context, and legal cultures. Ecuador’s constitutional recognition of the Rights of Nature, the United States multilevel recognition, and India’s judicial assertions of ecological personhood represents divergent pathways for articulating environmental rights. …

Treatment Of Different Non-State Actors In Detention: A Legal, Moral, And National Security Analysis, Alison P. Raedel

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

This thesis analyzes state behavior regarding the treatment of non-state actors through three major frameworks: international law, ethical theory, and national security. Two cases are compared: the treatment of al-Qaeda detainees by the United States after the attacks of September 11th, 2001, and the treatment of the Angolan liberation movements by the Portuguese during the Angolan War of Independence. These cases were chosen to assess how the three frameworks apply across different non-state actors, which include terrorist organizations and liberation movements. International law provides a baseline for rights and protections, but it is often selectively interpreted. Just war theory gives …

Rosenbrook V. Lloyd, 142 Nev. Adv. Op. 36 (May 14, 2026), David Elder

Nevada Supreme Court Summaries

Motions to dismiss in defamation cases should not be granted in full when some communications are protected under the anti-SLAPP statute and others are not.

The Continuum Of Contractual Commitment, David Snyder

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Contracts frequently call for one or more differentiated levels of contractual commitment. Although contractual liability in the common law is said to be strict liability, and a claim that a good attempt was made is said to be no defense, often a party promises only to try. Contract theory in the United States struggles with departures from the paradigm of strict liability, and it has failed to fully consider the continuum of contractual commitment. To encompass the range of assent-based commitment and its consequent liability, U.S. contract theory needs to distinguish more clearly between (1) promises to try, which do …

Pemberantasan Kejahatan Korupsi Dalam Rangka Proses Penyesuaian Dengan Konvensi Pbb Anti Korupsi, Aji Sekarmaji

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Hukuman Mati Pasca Putusan Mahkamah Konstitusi, Todung Mulya Lubis

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

Penyalahgunaan Letter Of Credit Dalam Perdagangan Ekspor Impor Untuk Melakukan Trade Based Money Laundering Studi Terhadap Kasus Lic Fiktif Bni, Karbela Karbela

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

When The Second Amendment Meets The Third Dimension: Bruen In The Age Of 3d-Printed Firearms, Andrew Touma

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar

3D-printed firearms pose a serious threat to the public by allowing individuals to circumvent traditional regulatory safeguards. Although the first shot from a 3D-printed firearm was over a decade ago, these weapons continue to exploit gaps in the federal regulatory scheme. In the meantime, state governments have adopted a variety of approaches to regulating 3D-printed firearms. As 3D printing pushes firearms technology into the future, the Supreme Court's decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen directs Second Amendment doctrine to look to history, leaving questions over whether a decidedly historical methodology could effectively adapt to technological …

No Cuts: How Hayao Miyazaki Highlights The United States’ Inadequacy In Protecting Foreign Authors’ Integrity, Bridget Johns

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Although the United States joined the Berne Convention in 1989, U.S. copyright law reflects a restricted approach to moral rights protection. Unlike many Berne signatories, the U.S. largely frames copyright as an economic right rather than as a way to protect artistic integrity. Japanese law, by contrast, treats moral rights as central to creative work protections, emphasizing the importance of the work’s dignity and author’s intent. This incongruity has significant consequences in the globalized era, particularly when foreign works are distributed within the U.S. Weak statutory moral rights protections leave authors vulnerable to misattribution and distortion without meaningful recourse. This …

What The Court Tells Reporters: A Discourse Analysis Of Press Interviews With The Justices Since 2000, Brown James

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The Supreme Court of the United States is among the most influential institutions in American life, yet it is also well known to be one of the most secluded and inaccessible. By and large, the justices only pass their thoughts and decision-making processes to the public via their official written opinions, and seldom grant interviews to reporters. General press coverage of the Court has been given considerable scholarly attention, but the limited interviews the justices grant to the press receive comparatively little attention. This article examines those interviews by analyzing 82 press interviews with active and retired justices from 2000 …