Digital Commons Network^™

Deliberately Silenced, Rachel Kincaid

Mercer Law Review

The Prison Litigation Reform Act is celebrating its 30^th birthday this year. It was designed to make it harder for incarcerated people to file lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of their conditions of confinement and to restrict their remedies even when they do so successfully. It has been wildly effective at achieving those objectives. It has also propped up mass incarceration and facilitated the persistence of dismal conditions of confinement in carceral facilities in the United States.

The PLRA’s exhaustion requirement—arguably its most damaging provision—silences carceral voices without regard for the merit of their complaints. It does so by mandating …

Lyrics On Lockdown: An Analysis Of The Admissibility Of Rap Lyrics Under The Rules Of Evidence And The First Amendment, Lucious M. Moore

Mercer Law Review

“Freddy Mercury did not confess to having ‘just killed a man’ by putting ‘a gun against his head’ and ‘pulling the trigger.’ Bob Marley did not confess to having shot a sheriff. And Johnny Cash did not confess to shooting ‘a man in Reno, just to watch him die.’” However, a troubling trend in state and federal courts across the country is that rap lyrics are not being granted the same protections and latitudes that other forms of artistic expressions are afforded. In a movement that is shocking—yet formulaic—creators of rap music are seeing their lyrics used against them in …

Globalne Łańcuchy Wartości – Perspektywa Publicznego Regulatora, Karol Gustaw Kopczyński

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

Fenomen globalnych łańcuchów wartości skupia coraz większą uwagę regulatorów i prawników, a przepisy prawne coraz częściej zaczynają kształtować globalną produkcję. W ostatnich latach można zauważyć dynamicznie rozwijającą się tendencję uchwalania przepisów regulujących transgraniczną zrównoważoną produkcję. Niniejszy artykuł ma na celu przedstawienie zjawiska globalnych łańcuchów wartości z perspektywy publicznych regulatorów. Na wstępie artykułu przedstawiono podstawy teoretyczne koncepcji eksterytorialności lokalnego prawa, tj. teorii Efektu Kalifornii/Brukseli. Następnie opisano rozwój regulacji dotyczących globalnych łańcuchów wartości, zaczynając od mechanizmów soft law aż do wiążących regulacji państw o najsilniejszej pozycji. Aby ukazać w jaki sposób prawodawca widzi globalny łańcuch wartości, dokonano analizy prawnej wybranych aktów prawa …

Gender-Based Violence And Botswana's Constitutional Failure To Protect Women's Rights, Cameron Mcdonald

Immigration and Human Rights Law Review

Gender-based violence (“GBV”) remains a pervasive human rights issue throughout Botswana. When it comes to gender equality, Botswana’s dual constitutional and customary legal system is a paradox. Despite its commitment to equality and nondiscrimination, Botswana’s Constitution allows customary courts to discriminate freely to preserve traditional practices that disadvantage women. These traditional practices affect women’s right to property, inheritance, marriage, legal representation, and personal safety. Customary law continues to constrain women’s right to economic autonomy and access to justice, leaving many women dependent on the men who abuse them. As a result, many Batswana women experience structural discrimination in both their …

The International And Comparative Aspects Of United States V. Skrmetti: The Detrimental Rise Of Anti-Trans Sentiment In The United States, Julia Parrey

Immigration and Human Rights Law Review

In recent years, anti-trans sentiment has significantly increased in the United States. This Article examines the legal advocacy by the LGBTQ+ community that laid key legal groundwork for basic protections through landmark US Supreme Court decisions like Lawrence v. Texas and Obergefell v. Hodges and analyzes how recent judicial and legislative actions signal a dangerous reversal of that progress.

The central analysis focuses on the consequences of United States v. Skrmetti, where the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors by applying rational-basis review, concluding that the law classified based on age or medical diagnosis, rather …

Silencing Liberty: Why Curtailing Noncitizens' Speech Is Un-American, Erin Gray

Immigration and Human Rights Law Review

Since the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel thousands of students across the world protested Israel’s involvement in the war on Gaza. Many of these protests occurred at American universities. When President Trump returned to the White House in 2025, he publicly threatened to and deport noncitizen students who participated in these protests. Following through with his promise, President Trump revoked multiple students’ visas after they participated in some form of Pro-Palestine advocacy. This Article explores whether President Trump’s actions are constitutional under the First Amendment. Ultimately, this Article concludes that President Trump violated the First Amendment by targeting noncitizen …

The Myth Of The Immigrant As A Criminal: Rhetoric, Otherness, And The Legal Construction Of Danger, Katerina Fernandez

Immigration and Human Rights Law Review

The figure of the “criminal immigrant” occupies a central place in contemporary U.S. immigration discourse, shaping public perception, enforcement priorities, and legal doctrine. Yet a substantial body of empirical research consistently demonstrates that immigrants—both documented and undocumented—commit crimes at lower rates than native-born citizens. This Note examines why the narrative of immigrant criminality persists despite this evidence and how it influences the development and operation of immigration law. It argues that “immigrant” functions not only as a legal category but also as a socially constructed marker of Otherness, encompassing perceived differences in race, language, culture, and religion. Through this lens, …

The Expanding Digital Border: Ai, Surveillance, And The Fight For Justice, James Chesser

Immigration and Human Rights Law Review

As artificial intelligence transforms the mechanisms of immigration control, the modern border has become a digital filter—one governed less by geography and more by code. This Article examines the legal, technical, and ethical implications of AI-driven systems now central to global border enforcement, including biometric surveillance, algorithmic risk scoring, and predictive profiling. It explores how states use these technologies not only to manage irregular migration, but to compete for global talent—constructing migration regimes that reward capital and compliance while eroding transparency, due process, and equality.

Through an international and comparative lens, the piece highlights the expansion of algorithmic decision-making across …

The Evasive Epidemic Of Missing Black Children, Trinity D. Garlick

Criminal Law Society Blog

The Evasive Epidemic of Missing Black Children” brings to light the disproportionately low amount of media support for missing Black Children. It draws on examples of missing Black Children, like Adam Walsh and other Atlanta Black children, to illustrate how Black children have gone ignored by the public for too long. It discusses factors such as failure of state legislatures, lack of media exposure, unfair and racial fixed labels, and law enforcement discretionary conduct, as the leading drivers of the epidemic of missing Black children. This Article then dives into efforts to reform the American system to adequately address when …

Advokat Dan Penegakan Hukum Dalam Perspektif Peradilan Pidana, Luhut M.P. Pangaribuan, S.H.

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Abstract

The Inequity Of Elective Shares In Second Marriages, Cynthia Li

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

Elective share statutes, the modern successors to the historical doctrines of dower and curtesy, serve as a vital legal safety net designed to prevent a decedent from intentionally disinheriting a surviving spouse. By forcing the decedent’s estate to distribute a specific share to a spouse who has been omitted from a will, these statutes protect against the rise of non-probate transfers and inter vivos gifts that might otherwise leave a survivor destitute.   Since 1990, the Uniform Probate Code (UPC) has grounded this protection in a “partnership theory” of marriage, which posits that spouses contribute to an economic partnership through both …

Historians For Hire: Evaluating Historian Expert Witnesses After Bruen, Jake Mcauliffe

Duke Law Journal

The Supreme Court in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen introduced a history-and-tradition test for Second Amendment challenges, directing courts to compare modern firearm regulations to past ones. To conduct this historical inquiry, litigants and judges have increasingly turned to professional historians as expert witnesses. This Note qualitatively examines how historian experts are used and received in post-Bruen federal litigation. It finds that a small group of repeat players—sixteen historians—make up this emerging field, typically appearing exclusively for either challengers or governments. These historians serve primarily in civil litigation, leaving a relative expertise gap in criminal cases, …

Legal Pluralism And The Reception Of Trial By Jury In The Republic Of Georgia, Anna Dolidze, Valerie P. Hans

International Law Journal

This Article explores the historical, political, and socio-legal dimensions of the introduction and evolution of jury trials in the Republic of Georgia, framed through the dual lenses of legal pluralism and legal transplantation. It examines Georgia’s historical practices of peer judgment, its adoption of jury trials in the early 20th century, the abolition of jury trials under Soviet rule, and their revival after constitutional reforms in 2004. The study incorporates insights from legal pluralism theory, which emphasizes the influence of indigenous legal traditions and the dynamic interplay of official and unofficial laws. The Article describes the significant role of U.S. …

Sports Equality In The Ring: All Genders Can Catch These Hands, Gordon Chan

International Law Journal

This Article examines the intersection of sports governance, gender identity, and international human rights law, using boxing as a central case study to explore the inclusion of transgender and nonbinary athletes. Tracing the historical and cultural evolution of gender participation in sports from ancient civilizations to contemporary institutions, the Article highlights how colonial, patriarchal, and pseudoscientific ideologies have long shaped the regulatory frameworks of modern sports. The doctrine of lex sportiva, which governs international sports through autonomous legal norms, is analyzed for its exclusionary gender practices and resistance to external legal oversight. Focusing on the World Boxing Council (WBC), the …

Fairness To Informants And Cooperators Vs. Public Interest Protection -- A Comparative Analysis Of Legal Frameworks In The United States And Brazil, Luis Henrique Machado

International Law Journal

This Article offers a comparative analysis of the legal frameworks governing cooperation agreements in the United States and Brazil, focusing on how each system balances the competing imperatives of public interest protection and fairness to informants and cooperators. While both jurisdictions rely on the use of cooperating defendants to prosecute unlawful activities such as cybercrime, political corruption, narcotics offenses, and transnational organized crime, their institutional approaches diverge sharply. The United States—operating within an adversarial, prosecutor-centered tradition—grants prosecutors broad discretion in negotiating and enforcing cooperation agreements, with minimal judicial oversight. This discretion reflects a utilitarian logic that prioritizes prosecutorial efficiency and …

Beyond Borders: Exploring The Role Of Arbitration In Enforcing Mandatory Human Rights Due Dilligence Across Global Supply Chains, Ying Chen, Winnie Jo-Mei Ma

International Law Journal

Despite the recent global shift towards hard law regulation of corporate social responsibility, human rights violations continue to persist across global supply chains; businesses are rarely held accountable for their harmful practices. This Article examines two key instruments that regulate corporate responsibility with respect to human rights, with a particular focus on their enforcement and liability mechanisms. The first is international soft law instruments, specifically the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, as well as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development guidelines. The second is regional and domestic hard laws, including the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence …

Consent, Coercion, And Rupture: Rebuilding Trade In A Post-Authoritarian Future, Frank J. Garcia

International Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Addressing Legal Uncertainties In Article Versions And Institutional Copyright Policies To Support Immediate Public Access To Federal Grant-Funded Publications, Yuanxiao Xu

Copyright, Fair Use, Scholarly Communication, etc.

New federal public access policies—mandated by the 2022 OSTP Memo and already adopted by several key federal grant-making agencies—require authors funded by federal grants to deposit peer-reviewed publications for immediate public access. This paper explains how grant- receiving institutions and their affiliated authors can dispel legal uncertainties and comply with the new public access policies. Section I delineates how valid prior licenses enable public deposit of manuscripts notwithstanding later publishing agreements transferring copyright to the journals. Section II discusses the different versions of a manuscript created during the publication process. Section III describes the different types of third-party contributions incorporated …

Technology-Based Challenges To The Law Applicable To Trade Interdiction During Armed Conflict At Sea: The Law Of Naval Warfare And Convoy Operations, Rob Mclaughlin

International Law Studies

The practice of convoy involves the concentration of a group of merchant vessels under the control and direction of warships and military aircraft for the purpose of protecting it from belligerent capture or attack. The practice has often been described as obsolete, but asserting the demise of the convoy has been as regular as it has been premature. It is fitting that this operational practice be subject to an updated legal treatment and identification of new legal challenges. This article seeks to reassess the law applicable to convoys based on the consequences of certain post-1945 technological developments. It notes that …

Historical Facts And Constitutional Law: New Challenges For Lawyers, Judges, And Scholars, Joseph Blocher, Brandon L. Garrett, H. Timothy Lovelace Jr.

Duke Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Unwanted Histories, Christen Hammock Jones, Karen M. Tani

Duke Law Journal

The Supreme Court’s turn to history as a method of constitutional decisionmaking has both intrigued and alarmed professional historians, for reasons now well-rehearsed in the literature. This Article takes as a given that history is now part of judges’ work. It then invites judges to think more expansively about the type of history they could—and perhaps should—be producing. This task, in turn, means engaging with some of the central questions about methodology and sources that preoccupy professional historians.

This Article focuses on a source base that historians routinely rely upon but that courts have shied away from: personal accounts of …

Falsifying Tradition, Darrell A. H. Miller

Duke Law Journal

From cases spanning gun rights, reproductive freedom, religious liberty, and personal jurisdiction; to separation of powers and other structural features of the Constitution, courts increasingly rely on tradition to guide their decisions. Often, judges appeal to tradition in a vaguely empirical way, as “facts to study, not convictions to demonstrate about,” in the words of Justice Antonin Scalia. Yet, for a claim that purports to be factual, there’s very little agreement, or even analysis, about what renders this factual assertion—tradition—true or false. This Article tackles that basic issue.

Part I surveys the ways in which courts use tradition in different …

Udział Społeczeństwa W Inwestycjach W Elektrownie Jądrowe W Świetle Sprawiedliwości Energetycznej, Artur Tyński, Bartłomiej Kupiec

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

Artykuł analizuje udział społeczeństwa w procesie inwestycyjnym dotyczącym elektrowni jądrowych w Polsce w kontekście sprawiedliwości energetycznej. Autorzy przedstawiają teoretyczne podstawy partycypacji obywatelskiej oraz powiązanie sprawiedliwości proceduralnej i uznania z akceptacją społeczną inwestycji jądrowych. W artykule omówiono aktualny stan prawny i praktykę udziału społecznego, wskazując na ograniczenia obecnych mechanizmów konsultacji i niedostateczne wdrożenie rozwiązań zwiększających transparentność i wpływ obywateli na decyzje. Przeanalizowano również przypadki panelu obywatelskiego w Republice Korei oraz praktykę konsultacji społecznych przy planowaniu pierwszej polskiej elektrowni jądrowej. W części końcowej przedstawiono rekomendacje de lege ferenda na rzecz wzmocnienia udziału społeczeństwa i realizacji zasady sprawiedliwości energetycznej w krajowych regulacjach.

When The Weeds Strike Back: Rethinking Aphis's Regulation Of Genetically Engineered Plants Post-National Family Farm Coalition V. Vilsack, Reagan Powers

Celebrating WCL Student Authors

No abstract provided.

2025-2026 School Of Law Academic Honors & Awards, University Of San Diego School Of Law

Academic Honors and Awards

No abstract provided.

Tradition Without Text?, Daniel B. Rice

Duke Law Journal Online

No abstract provided.

Article Iii's Constraints On The Legislative Power, Elizabeth Beske

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Article III’s heightened concreteness standard for statutory harms takes federal judges deep into legislative terrain, jeopardizing statutory damage provisions and confining Congress to post hoc solutions rather than preemptive strikes. The Supreme Court has insisted that creating a cause of action is a legislative function. At the same time, its recent standing cases instruct lower federal courts to permit suit on statutory injuries only when they find actual harm that bears a tight connection to injuries recognized at common law. This new harm requirement rests uneasily with countless statutes featuring statutory damage provisions that are in place precisely because damages …

Is The Vice Presidency In Decline?, Roy E. Brownell Ii

Missouri Law Review

During the first four years of Dick Cheney’s vice presidency (2001–2005), the second office reached dizzying heights. His next term and the ensuing vice presidency of Joe Biden (2009–2017) witnessed a reduction in the office’s executive-branch prestige, influence, and accomplishments and a return to earlier modern norms. Afterwards, the vice presidencies of Mike Pence and Kamala Harris saw an additional decline, and the first fifteen months of JD Vance’s tenure do not seem to have reversed this trend. Is the office suffering from long-term decline, or is it merely experiencing an extended bump in the road?

Lawless Antitrust, John M. Newman

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Public Utility Law As Anti-Oligarchy Regulation, Ganesh Sitaraman

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.