Digital Commons Network^™

Incarcerated Youths In Canada And The United States: A Comparative Analysis, Grace A. Mastrangelo

Binghamton University Undergraduate Journal

Are children, who commit adult crimes, deserving of adult punishments? According to the United Nations, not if it harms their well-being. Article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) adopted by the United Nations in November 1989, states that 1) the best interests of the child should be the primary consideration of all state actions involving children, 2) governments must allot children the protection and care necessary for their well-being, and 3) governmental institutions, services, and facilities that deal with children must uphold adequate standards for the safety, health, and supervision of children. The CRC is …

Actual Innocence In Virginia: Why The Requirements For A Successful Writ Must Remain Limited, Cameron D. Barshinger

Liberty University Law Review

Benjamin Franklin once said, “It is better a hundred guilty persons should escape than one innocent person should suffer.” To achieve this goal, the Commonwealth of Virginia has implemented a system through which a falsely convicted person is given another opportunity to prove his innocence: writs of actual innocence. A writ of actual innocence provides a second chance to a person wrongfully convicted of a crime. It can allow a “murderer” to prove his innocence and expunge his record after falling short of convincing a judge or jury at trial. Virginia has strict requirements for those seeking writs of actual …

Vol. 70, No. 6 (February 16, 2026)

Indiana Law Annotated

No abstract provided.

Mmu: 02/16/26-02/22/26, Student Bar Association

Monday Morning Update

This Week @ NDLS

Mass Times

Commons Daily Menu

Saint of the Week

General Announcements

Collaborative Nullification: Bending Or Ignoring The Law To Free The Over-Punished, David A. Singleton

Arkansas Law Review

The United States accounts for about 25% of the world’s prisoners but only about 5% of its population. It has the fifth- highest imprisonment rate—higher than China and Russia—with people of color disproportionately impacted. This racialized mass incarceration, and the lack of political will to meaningfully address it, demands bold remedies. Certainly, sentencing reform for low-level, non-violent offenders is needed, but contrary to popular belief, these offenders are not driving mass incarceration. Instead, the problem largely results from increasingly long sentences for violent offenders.

This article proposes that the option, which I call “collaborative nullification,” can provide the over-punished needed …

Proportionality And Theft, Christopher T. Wonnell

San Diego Law Review

Criminal law can serve a variety of utilitarian purposes including deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation.  Nevertheless, there is broad agreement among criminal justice scholars that the pursuit of these purposes should be constrained by a requirement that punishment not be disproportionately severe relative to the offense charged.  The proportionality constraint is likely to be especially important when considering the less heinous predatory crimes such as nonviolent thefts.  Recent years have seen experiments by progressive prosecutors who deemphasize theft offenses as well as statutory schemes that treat many thefts as misdemeanors.  With some empirical support, critics charge that these experiments have increased …

Artificial Intelligence In The Prosecution Of International Crimes, Marta Bo

International Law Studies

International criminal prosecutions face growing evidentiary challenges due to the vast and heterogeneous digital material generated during conflicts, including user-generated videos, social media, and intercepted communications. This article examines the potential role of artificial intelligence (AI) in supporting investigations and trials before the International Criminal Court (ICC). Rather than replacing judicial decision-making, AI can assist with specific tasks, particularly in establishing contextual elements and linkage evidence central to international crimes. The article explores three main areas: AI-driven biometric tools for facial and speech recognition; AI techniques for detecting patterns of violence and mapping command structures; and applications during trial proceedings, …

Unprotected: The Lack Of Legal Safeguards For Child Entertainers, Paul Simpson

Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review

No abstract provided.

“I Plead Ignorance”: Autonomous Weapons And Criminal Liability For Not Knowing The Knowable, Jonathan Kwik

International Law Studies

This article argues that the unpredictability and unintuitive behavior of modern artificial intelligence provide more opportunities for users of autonomous weapon systems (AWS) to remain ignorant of risks posed by their systems to protected entities on the battlefield, and that this ignorance can be maintained even in iterative situations featuring a prior civilian casualty event. It demonstrates this theorem through illustrative targeting scenarios, before formalizing the argument through a model showing the evolution of an AWS-user’s mens rea as they receive notice of a prior incident, and choose to pursue—or not pursue—an inquiry. This analysis reveals a perverse incentive structure, …

The Perlmutter Center For Legal Justice And The Death Penalty And Criminal Defense Clinic Present A Screening Of The Oscar-Nominated Film: The Alabama Solution, Perlmutter Center For Legal Justice At Cardozo Law, Death Penalty And Criminal Defense Clinic

2026 Event Invitations

The Alabama Solution is a groundbreaking, critically-acclaimed HBO documentary released in 2025, documenting prison conditions in Alabama from footage recorded by people experiencing incarceration. The screening will be followed by a panel led by Perlmutter Center Deputy Director Derrick Hamilton.

Panelists

• Jose Saldana: Director, Release Aging People in Prison Campaign

• Dr. Donna Hylton: Founder and CEO, A Little Piece of Light

• Alex Duran: Co-Producer of Academy Award Nominated Film, The Alabama Solution

• David Garlock: Reentry professional and criminal justice reform advocate

• Sumeet Sharma: Director, Policy and Communications at the Correctional Association of New York

Mmu: 02/09/26-02/15/26, Student Bar Association

Monday Morning Update

This Week @ NDLS

Mass Times

Commons Daily Menu

Saint of the Week

General Announcements

Disbarment Disparities: How Law School Prestige Affects Disbarment Rates, Michael Conklin, Christopher Houston, Gayle Randall

Journal of Business & Technology Law

No abstract provided.

Victims’ Rights Or The Public’S Right To Know: Rethinking The Boundaries Of The Right Of Publicity In True Crime, Millicent F. Dye

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

Advancements in technology and the development of new online platforms have paved the way for true crime to become one of the most popular genres today. While some believe true crime content is akin to news reporting, others have raised ethical concerns and believe that victims’ identities should be protected by a right of publicity.  The key is to find a balance between protecting victims and protecting free speech. This Note explores the right of publicity laws in a select few countries and addresses the shortcomings of the current approaches. This Note asserts that certain true crime content must be …

Transforming Indigent Appellate Advocacy, Rachel T. Goldberg, Estelle M. Mckee

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Indigent appellate advocacy has long been confined to a narrow, technocratic model—one that prioritizes legal expertise over client autonomy and treats appellate cases solely as isolated legal battles rather than opportunities for systemic change. Unlike their trial-level counterparts, appellate attorneys representing indigent clients have received little scholarly attention, leaving critical questions about client participation, ethical representation, and social justice largely unexplored.

This Article challenges the status quo, arguing that appellate attorneys should rethink their role in ways that empower clients and confront the broader injustices shaping their cases. We introduce two alternative frameworks—client-centered appellate representation and participatory appellate representation—that draw …

Reconceiving Safety Regulation For Ai And Ml Medical Software, Barbara J. Evans, Eric S. Rosenthal, Azra Bihorac

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This article explores the challenges of regulating AI and ML clinical decision support tools intended to assist trained health care professionals in delivering clinical care. Two old, twentieth-century regulatory models have dominated discussions of medical AI policy since 2013. Thinking inside these old regulatory boxes has not produced effective regulatory solutions to address the novel risks AI poses in clinical care. The first regulatory box treats software as a medical device, which tasks medical device regulators with making software safe but neglects the crucial roles physicians, nurses, administrators, medical practice regulators, and other health oversight bodies must also play to …

A Citizenship Model Of The Fourth Amendment, Danieli Evans

Articles

Fourth Amendment law is in disarray. In recent years, courts and scholars have questioned central aspects of Fourth Amendment doctrine—in particular, the reasonable expectations of privacy test that has governed since the 1960s. Scholars and judges have argued for abandoning this test and instead looking to private law (sub-constitutional rules governing private conduct, such as tort, property, and contract law) to determine Fourth Amendment protection.

At a moment when judges and scholars are questioning core aspects of Fourth Amendment doctrine, the time is ripe to reconsider the values Fourth Amendment law ought to serve. I advance a novel vision for …

The Brady Materiality Standard, Brandon L. Garrett, Adam M. Gershowitz

Faculty Publications

The Brady doctrine requires prosecutors to disclose all favorable and material evidence to the defense. To effectuate that rule, the U.S. Supreme Court has defined materiality as a “reasonable probability” that the evidence would have affected the outcome at trial. But apart from that definition, the Court has resisted offering any further guidance to lower courts. While far too little is known about how Brady materiality claims are actually adjudicated, there is strong evidence that courts often reject Brady claims involving withheld evidence on the grounds that the evidence was not significant enough to be material.

To examine how Brady …

From Ancient Practices To Modern Law: The Evolution Of Mediation, Shannon Hoggatt

Journal of Dispute Resolution

From property disputes in ancient Sumer to complex corporate conflicts in modern America, mediation has long served as a vital tool for resolving disputes without resorting to formal adjudication. Defined as “a process in which an impartial third party helps others resolve a dispute or plan a transaction,” mediation has been used to settle disputes since as early as 4500-1900 B.C.E. Over millennia, mediation has evolved in response to cultural, legal, and technological shifts, reflecting the diverse values and priorities of the societies that employed it.

Topple Headfirst Into The Dark: Restorative Justice In Missouri And Hope For The Future, Emma Donaldson

Journal of Dispute Resolution

Imagine you are not reading this article. Instead, you are walking back home from dinner with your friends. As you walk down the street, someone comes up behind you and demands you hand them your money. You turn around to give them all the money you have, only to lock eyes with the barrel of a gun. What are you feeling in this moment? A little bit of rage perhaps. Maybe your hands have started shaking. Or, just maybe, you are feeling a little defiant. But before you can even react, a police officer is running down the street, yelling …

Resolving Ranks: The Role Of Adr In Military Justice, Dane Puckett

Journal of Dispute Resolution

The United States (U.S.) Armed Forces is composed of seven military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Guard, and Space Force. Each military branch has an alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) program. These programs use a collection of techniques, generally informal and collaborative in nature, to resolve disputes as a substitute for litigation. The characteristics of ADR proceedings tend to produce quicker, less expensive outcomes compared to litigation. This very reason is why Congress enacted the Administrative Dispute Resolution Act (“ADRA”) of 1996, directing federal agencies to establish ADR policies and programs.

Table Of Contents

Missouri Law Review

No abstract provided.

Eugenics And The Carceral State: Progressive-Era Reform & The Creation Of The Modern Criminal Justice System, Laura I. Appleman

Missouri Law Review

No abstract provided.

Debating The Self-Pardon: A Dialogue Of The Evidence For And Against The Constitutionality Of A Presidential Self-Pardon, Michael Conklin, Peter B. Bayer

Missouri Law Review

In light of recent events, the constitutionality of presidential self-pardons is set to potentially become one of the most pressing constitutional questions of the twenty-first century. This Article consists of a dialogue between two scholars regarding the evidence for and against the constitutionality of presidential self-pardons. By providing their best arguments for and against each side, readers are left better equipped to reach their own educated conclusions. The benefits of discussing this issue before anyone attempts to self-pardon are considerable, as doing so could contribute to solutions, potentially averting, or at least helping to resolve peaceably, a true constitutional crisis. …

Memory Warriors, Pluralists, And Abnegators In Constitutional Interpretation: An Essay On Jack Balkin's Pluralist Originalism In Memory And Authority, Jed Handelsman Shugerman, Zachary Shugerman Handelsman

Texas A&M Law Review

One of the most compelling and generative aspects of Jack Balkin’s Memory and Authority: The Uses of History in Constitutional Interpretation is its synthesis of constitutional theory, history, and the growing field of the “politics of memory,” and especially the concept of the “memory entrepreneur.” The book project itself is entrepreneurial, if you will, in its cultivating, connecting, and building from different disciplines, academic languages, and national narratives (in that the “politics of memory” is already such an international and interdisciplinary field itself).

A "Simple" Second Look: The Argument For Mandatory Judicial Recusal In Pennsylvania Post Conviction Hearings, Taylor Banks

Criminal Law Society Blog

The Due Process Clause guarantees criminal defendants an impartial adjudicator, yet post-conviction proceedings often escape meaningful judicial recusal. In Pennsylvania, the same judge who presided over a criminal trial commonly adjudicates that defendant’s post-conviction review, even when prior rulings are challenged. This Article argues that such self-review creates an objectively intolerable risk of bias, undermining due process and public confidence in the judiciary. Drawing on Supreme Court precedent and psychological research on confirmation bias, the Article demonstrates that existing recusal standards fail to address structural risks in post-conviction adjudication. It proposes legislative reform mandating judicial recusal when a judge previously …

Extraordinary Or Excessive? Rethinking Nonretroactive Changes In Decisional Law As Grounds For Compassionate Release, Anna Zumbar

Akron Law Review

Federal courts are deeply divided on whether nonretroactive changes in decisional law affecting sentencing are an “extraordinary and compelling reason” for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), The First, Second, Fourth, and Tenth Circuits recognize district courts’ broad discretion to weigh such changes, emphasizing that broad judicial discretion supports consideration of any relevant factors. In contrast, the Sixth, Seventh, Eights, and D.C. Circuits exclude nonretroactive changes in decisional law from consideration, confining “extraordinary and compelling reasons” to narrower circumstances. This circuit split has produced inconsistent outcomes, with similarly situated defendants subject to disparate treatment based solely on geography. The …

Milbank Expands Partnership With The Perlmutter Center For Legal Justice At Cardozo Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School Of Law

Cardozo Law News Archive

Milbank LLP announced a significant expansion of its partnership with the Perlmutter Center for Legal Justice at Cardozo School of Law, increasing its charitable commitment to $2.5 million through 2029. The expanded funding will strengthen the Milbank Exoneration Review Unit, support additional staffing, and advance post-conviction advocacy for wrongfully convicted and excessively sentenced individuals.

The Laura And Isaac Perlmutter Foundation Expands Support For The Perlmutter Center For Legal Justice At Cardozo Law Of Yeshiva University, Bringing Their Total Contribution To $16 Million, With Up To An Additional $2 Million Committed, Benjamin N. Cardozo School Of Law

Cardozo Law News Archive

The Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Foundation announced an additional $500,000 gift to the Perlmutter Center for Legal Justice at Cardozo School of Law, along with a four-year matching commitment of up to $2 million. The expanded support will strengthen the Center's work on wrongful convictions, clemency, resentencing, and experiential legal education while advancing criminal justice reform initiatives.

Modes Of Liability For Ai-Enabled Crimes In International Criminal Law, Antonio Coco

International Law Studies

As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies become increasingly embedded in human activity, the question of individual accountability for AI-enabled international crimes grows more pressing. This article examines how established doctrines of individual criminal responsibility under international criminal law—particularly the modes of liability recognized in the Statute of the International Criminal Court and in the jurisprudence of international criminal tribunals—may be applied to human actors who interact with AI systems in the commission of core international crimes. Through four hypothetical scenarios, the article explores varying forms of human involvement—from programming to deployment—and assesses whether existing modes of liability, such as perpetration, instigation, …

(Re)Individualizing Criminal Law, Itay Ravid

Faculty Publications

Criminal law purports to care about the individual culpability of those committing crimes. Individual mental states or defenses based on one’s beliefs are considered foundational to moral responsibility and criminal conviction. The expansion of algorithmic risk assessment tools in the criminal legal system, however, threatens these principles, changing the criminal law subject from an autonomous individual to merely a predicted object. This Article argues that risk assessment tools—now functioning as gatekeepers at both the entry and exit stages of the criminal process, from predictive policing to compassionate release eligibility—have shifted the criminal system away from its foundation in individual culpability. …