Digital Commons Network^™

Regulating Decentralised Finance? A Singapore Perspective, Rachel Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The emergent phenomenon of decentralised finance (“DeFi”) can be understood as the performance of financial functions through applications that are built on distributed ledger technology and operate using cryptoassets and smart contracts, without the need for traditional centralised intermediaries. In what ways does DeFi challenge existing financial regulation, and how should regulation develop in light of the DeFi phenomenon? In addressing this question, this article provides an overview of DeFi, surveys the current regulatory landscape in Singapore, considers key regulatory issues and policy considerations associated with DeFi, and discusses some potential directions for the future development of the regulation of …

Why Courts Should Not Discipline Trump's Lawyers, Rebecca Roiphe

Cardozo Law Review

After the first Trump administration, there were multiple coordinated efforts to discipline lawyers in highly charged political cases. For example, a California bar court recommended that John Eastman be disbarred. Eastman helped craft the legal argument that then-Vice President Mike Pence had the right to delay or decline to certify the election results, and the disciplinary case concluded that he lied publicly, in his memos to his client and Pence, and to courts. This Article draws on Eastman's case to argue that disciplinary charges in politically charged cases are often unconstitutional and even when they are not, they are unwise …

An Unfair Chance For The Formerly Incarcerated: Yim V. City Of Seattle And The Commercial Speech Doctrine, Emilee Kaminski

Cardozo Law Review

Formerly incarcerated persons face disproportionately challenging barriers to housing upon reentry; criminal records are used as a basis to deny otherwise suitable prospective tenants. In 2017, the City of Seattle passed the "Fair Chance Housing Ordinance," prohibiting landlords from relying on criminal history when evaluating prospective tenants. In 2023, the Ninth Circuit struck this provision down on the grounds that this complete ban violated Seattle landlords' constitutionally protected free speech rights. The circuit court held that the ordinance implicated commercial speech and failed to pass intermediate scrutiny review under the four-part test outlined in Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. …

Airlines, Sick Time, & Interstate Commerce: The Dormant Commerce Clause And Its Impact On State And Municipal Paid Sick Leave Laws, Zachary Mcgarry

Cardozo Law Review

The United Statesis the only industrialized nation lacking a universal paid sick leave law that guarantees employees the right to time off from work to attend to their own or their family's medical needs. Nonetheless, many states and municipalities have created their own paid sickleave laws to fillin the gap left open by the federal government. Following the passage of three state referendums on paid sick leave laws in the 2024 general election, there are now eighteen states, plus the District of Columbia, which mandate that employers provide employees with paid sick leave. Although there continues to be a growing …

Taking Back The Takings Clause: The Case For Compensating Innocent Property Owners Caught In The Crossfire Of Police Activity, Kathleen Collins

William & Mary Law Review

Part I of this Note will provide an overview of the history of the Takings Clause, the role of the police power in takings jurisprudence, and the necessity exception to takings. Specifically, Part I will demonstrate that (1) the gravity of physical government intrusions has led the Supreme Court to consistently treat such intrusions as per se takings, (2) any distinction between eminent domain and the police power exists in the context of regulatory takings, and (3) the necessity exception rests on a shaky foundation as a common law tort doctrine. Part II will refute Lech’s conclusion that law …

Shaq, Ripple, And The Future Of Crypto Regulation, James C. Spindler

William & Mary Law Review

Crypto is at a regulatory crossroads. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulators have taken a hard line on enforcing traditional regulatory requirements that would severely limit crypto offering activities. At the same time, crypto advocates seek preferential treatment, under the guise of “regulatory clarity,” that would allow them to bypass much of the applicable regulatory regimes. After a halt to legislative activities, brought on by the FTX implosion and ensuing crypto winter, the battle for crypto’s future is currently in the courts. Two pending, bellwether cases—the class action against Shaquille O’Neal and other celebrity spokesmen for FTX, …

Bostock And The Limits Of Textualism: A Doctrinal Structuralist Approach, Martin Katz

William & Mary Law Review

In Bostock v. Clayton County, the Supreme Court held that Title VII prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This result, the majority claimed, was required by the interpretive theory called textualism. But textualist Justices in the dissent vehemently disagreed. This split, and the controversy that has followed it, has had two consequences. First, it added fuel to the ongoing debate about the value of textualism. Second, it opened the door for lower courts to decline to apply Bostock to similar antidiscrimination laws, such as Title IX in education or the Equal Protection Clause.

This Article argues …

Procedural Political Economy, Luke P. Norris

William & Mary Law Review

When the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure came into being in 1938, a broad political economy discourse was driving significant legal and policy reform efforts. Legal scholars, economists, political leaders, and others placed questions of economic power and their relationship to democracy at the center of those reform efforts, honing and developing a political economy tradition that is a forebearer to today’s law-and-political economy (LPE) approach. Both then and today, the relationship of civil procedure to these trends has not been fully mined. This Article tells a vital part of that story, tracing the federal civil procedure system’s political economy …

Deadly Choices: Political, Legal, And Moral Understandings Of U.S. Supreme Court Death Penalty Decisions, Anabelle S. Bergstrom

Honors Scholar Theses

This thesis explores the political, legal, and moral factors that influence Supreme Court justices when penning capital punishment decisions. It also examines the evolution of thinking toward the death penalty by former justices John Paul Stevens and Harry Blackmun throughout their tenure on the Court. Cases are analyzed through fact-pattern analysis and the jurisprudential regime theory, which quantitatively build upon existing literature detailing the theoretical background of judicial decision-making through the attitudinal model. An analysis of Justices Blackmun and Stevens’ papers at the Library of Congress focuses on rhetoric that reflects utilitarian and retributive theories of punishment. Findings show that …

How Alternative Sentencing Methods Can Reduce Recidivism And Incarceration Rates For Drug Offenders In Wisconsin, Mitchell D. Fugate

Master of Public Administration Capstone Papers

The criminal justice system in the U.S. has typically been focused more on punishment in the past, but in recent times has shifted more towards implementing rehabilitative measures as a means to reduce the recidivism rate, and thus decrease the overall incarceration rates for the U.S.. An area that is especially different is drug offenses, as many of those that are arrested are addicted, and punishment does not address that addiction directly. By using alternative sentencing as a means of rehabilitation for drug offenses, the criminal justice system can work to address the issues at the root causes as well …

Zero Waste Initiatives Across Three Institutions: Local Government, An Academic Institution, And A Retail Business, Soren G. Gray

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Medical-Legal Partnerships On Social Determinants Of Health For Vulnerable Populations In The Inland Empire, Sabrina C. Kinnally

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

San Bernardino and Riverside counties face significant challenges in addressing the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) for vulnerable populations, including housing instability, healthcare access, and food insecurity. This project examined the role of Medical-Legal Partnerships (MLPs) in providing services to vulnerable populations. Through a systematic review, the study explored the current state of MLPs and their effectiveness in addressing SDOH to reduce health disparities. The other purpose is to assist Agape Legal Service, Inc. (AGAPE), a non-profit organization, in completing their strategic plan, which aims to address the legal needs of vulnerable populations within the Inland Empire. The systematic review …

Goodbye, Zoning?, Michael Allan Wolf

Vanderbilt Law Review

American zoning is under attack on multiple fronts. The concerns of zoning’s many critics range from social and racial justice, to private property rights, to the extreme shortage of affordable housing, to climate-change resilience and sustainability. A growing number of voices have called for, at a minimum, the elimination of single-family zones; some even champion the abolition of this ubiquitous method of American land use regulation. This Article is the first detailed look at what would happen if zoning’s critics got their way. The most efficient means for erasing zoning from American law would be for the U.S. Supreme Court …

The Illusion Of Stability In Family Law, Kaiponanea T. Matsumura

Vanderbilt Law Review

Stability is universally accepted as a central value in family law. Within the context of adult relationships, stability determines which relationships the law will recognize and support. Within the context of parent child relationships, stability determines who will be recognized as a parent, whose parental rights will be terminated by the state, and who, among fit parents, will receive custody. This Article challenges stability’s pride of place in family law, identifying three problems with the law’s use of stability.

First, stability is often used in a circular way. Lawmakers treat stability as a requirement—a trait to which the law responds—even …

Defense Wins Championships (And Labor Disputes): How The Minor Leagues Can Field Their Position Against Mlb’S ‘Inside Baseball', Blake Morain

Vanderbilt Law Review

For years, minor league baseball players received salaries far below the federal minimum wage, despite working sixty hours per week. It was not uncommon for these professional athletes to share cramped hotel rooms, sleep on floors, or live out of their cars. Most had to secure loans and pursue odd jobs to make ends meet during the offseason. Such sacrifices were necessary for minor leaguers to achieve their dreams of reaching the major league level, particularly as those abysmal working and living conditions became entrenched by adverse legislation and judicial rulings.

Only within the last five years have minor leaguers …

A Crust Of Bread: Religious Resistance And The Fourteenth Amendment, Kurt T. Lash, Stephanie Hall Barclay -- Professor Of Law

Vanderbilt Law Review

In Employment Division v. Smith, the U.S. Supreme Court denied heightened constitutional protection to religiously motivated exercise burdened by neutral and generally applicable laws. The history presented in this Article suggests that the Smith approach conflicts with the original understanding of the Fourteenth Amendment. Out of the crucible of religious abolitionist resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act emerged a substantive theory of constitutional religious freedom: American citizens should have the right to obey the Biblical command to care for the needy and provide the hungry a “crust of bread,” even if doing so was contrary to neutral and generally applicable …

Positive Covenants And The Inherent Instability Of Alteration Agreements Within Condominium: The Owners, Strata Plan Nw 2476 V. Jensen, Douglas C. Harris

All Faculty Publications

Positive covenants—contractual obligations to do things that touch and concern land—are not recognized as property interests at law or in equity. A positive covenant, including the requirement to maintain or repair a building, only binds the parties that contract to be bound. The obligation is personal to the contracting parties and does not run with the land; future owners are bound only if they agree to be bound. The Supreme Court of Canada confirmed as much in 2020 in a dispute between owners of air space parcels over an obligation to pay parking fees: “Where positive covenants are concerned, the …

A Distinctive Court: A Glimpse Into The History And Significance Of The D.C. Circuit, Judge J. Michelle Childs

Fordham Law Review

Judge J. Michelle Childs serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Before her appointment, Judge Childs received a B.A. from the University of South Florida Honors College and a J.D. from the University of South Carolina School of Law. She also received Masters degrees from the University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business and from Duke University School of Law, as well as an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the University of South Carolina. After working in private practice for eight years, Judge Childs received an appointment to serve as the Deputy Director for the …

Litigating Corporate Risk, Henry B. Blaikie

Fordham Law Review

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires companies to disclose risk factors in Item 105 of Regulation S-K, which calls for “a discussion of the material factors that make an investment speculative or risky.” Whether companies incur liability for omitting or mischaracterizing risk factors in their disclosures is the subject of a three-way split between eight federal courts of appeals. The majority approach among the circuits—consisting of the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Fifth, Tenth, and District of Columbia Circuits—imposes liability when companies omit or mischaracterize a risk factor that, at the time of disclosure, is …

Text, Context, Or Both?: Considering When And How To Use Statutory History In The New Textualist Framework, Devon Brostoff

Fordham Law Review

Statutory history represents the evolution of a statute through enacted amendments. Although textualists have widely rejected traditional forms of legislative history, statutory history has not received the same fate. Instead, textualists have accepted the use of statutory history as a resource separate from—and superior to—legislative history. Thus, this Note examines how courts are using statutory history, focusing primarily on the author’s analysis of a set of courts of appeals cases that rely on statutory history. Using these cases, this Note explores whether statutory history is best understood as text or context within the interpretation process. Further, this Note challenges the …

The Conversation Continues: The Judiciary’S Evolving Role In Perpetuating Racial Disparities In Addiction Treatment, Sydney Crute

Fordham Law Review

Language is a powerful means of social control, an idea that resonates deeply with court rhetoric as it relates to race. This Note examines the language courts use when discussing cases related to drug use and addiction. During the crack epidemic, when Black individuals represented the race of the primary drug user and drug dealer, courts relied on racially coded language related to crime and fear. Alternatively, during the opioid epidemic, when White individuals represented the race of the primary drug user, courts relied on more neutral language related to the health and well-being of society. Finally, the language courts …

Misusing Eminent Domain: Pretextual Takings For A Traditional Public Use, Cameron P. Hellerman

Fordham Law Review

Eminent domain is a powerful tool at the disposal of local, state and federal governments. The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution imposes two conditions on this sovereign power: the taking must be for “public use,” and the condemner must pay “just compensation” to the property owner. There are minimal guardrails in place to police potential misuse of the eminent domain power in the courts. The U.S. Supreme Court equates “public use” with “public purpose” and applies a deferential standard of review to a condemner’s determination that a taking serves a public purpose. Nonetheless, the Court in Kelo v. City …

When Prenatal Care Becomes A Crime, Casey Hunter

Fordham Law Review

For decades, pregnant women have increasingly faced criminalization for their actions and conduct during pregnancy, with Alabama emerging as a focal point due to its aggressive use of section 26-15-3.2: Chemical Endangerment of Exposing a Child to an Environment in Which Controlled Substances Are Produced or Distributed. Originally intended to protect children from the dangers of methamphetamine labs, this law has been reinterpreted to prosecute pregnant women who test positive for controlled substances. Central to these prosecutions are positive drug tests obtained from prenatal health records, causing many women to avoid prenatal care for fear of legal consequences.

This Note …

“Shipping” Away The Captive Audience Meeting, Nathan Kakalec

Fordham Law Review

On November 14, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) overturned seventy-six years of labor law precedent by banning captive audience meetings in Amazon.com Services LLC. Captive audience meetings, mandatory meetings where employers discuss unionization with their employees, were a powerful anti-union tool used by employers to coerce their employees into rejecting unionization. The NLRB argues that captive audience meetings are inconsistent with § 7 and § 8 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Employers reject the NLRB’s assertion and contend that banning captive audience meetings infringes on their First Amendment right to communicate their views on unionization. …

Contracted Wars, Compromised Oversight: Private Military Companies In Iraq, Afghanistan, And The Decline Of U.S. Accountability Standards, Brianna N. Buzzell

International Studies (MA) Theses

The Global War on Terror, beginning in 2001, started U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, facilitating the expansion of Private Military Contractors (PMCs) through a combination of operational necessity, strategic policy decisions, and systemic oversight failures. Despite their growing role, PMCs operate in legal and oversight grey zones. Despite a growing body of work on PMC accountability, there remains little agreement on how U.S. military interventions created conditions for their proliferation. This paper examines how U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan facilitated the expansion of PMC influence, resulting in reduced oversight and accountability for both the U.S. government …

The Sheriff's Constitution, Farhang Heydari

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The county sheriff is unique among our nation's law enforcers, with an ancient pedigree, elected status, and special protections as a state constitu- tional officer. But these factors combine to cause a recurrent problem elected sheriffs often assert for themselves the power to refuse to enforce criminal laws of their choosing. Today's constitutional sheriffs-a group of sheriffs who view themselves as the highest authority in their county, answerable only to their electorate-are the latest manifestation of this ethos, declaring opposition to gun control measures, pandemic restric- tions, environmental protections, and more. Lest one think these nonen- forcement decisions are entirely …

Valuing Heat-Related Mortality Risks, W. Kip Viscusi, Clayton J. Masterman

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Heat-related mortality risks are a substantial component of the looming costs of climate change in the United States and globally. This article presents the results from a risk-risk survey to test whether U.S. respondents place a valuation premium on mortality risks from heat relative to cancer and transportation risks. The questionnaire exploits exogenous shocks to temperatures during a heat wave and randomized elements to further test whether preferences vary with heat exposure or the age of individuals exposed to heat risks. The results provide strong evidence that there is no valuation premium in the U.S. for heat-related risks. Subjects valued …

Torts Mismatches, Edward K. Cheng

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

In torts, the damages required for full compensation of the victim and optimal deterrence of the injurer are normally the same. This correspondence is perfectly natural: If the injurer fully compensates the victim, then the injurer will completely internalize his externalities. Yet sometimes full compensation and optimal deterrence do not align. A well-known example is punitive damages, in which victims are purposely overcompensated to optimally deter injurers. What the literature has failed to acknowledge is that these torts mismatcheswhen full compensation of victims and optimal deterrence of injurers are incompatibleoccur elsewhere and explain controversial and unresolved doctrinal areas of torts. …

Symbiotic International Law: Combatting Uyghur Forced Labor, Preston Jordan Lim

Utah Law Review

Since 2017, the Chinese government has launched a campaign of repression against the Muslim Turkic minorities of Xinjiang, a region located in China’s Northwest. While most scholars have focused on the mass internment of Uyghurs and other minorities, this Article highlights an under-discussed aspect of China’s campaign: the construction of a sophisticated forced labor system. Minority forced labor supplies key sectors of the global economy—from the automotive to the energy sectors—and allows Chinese companies to outcompete foreign firms. The unprecedented scope and sophistication of what I term the “modern Xinjiang forced labor system” imperils the very future of the international …

Clarifying Parens Patriae, James G. Dwyer

Faculty Publications

Throughout the Anglo-American legal world, the state claims an authority, termed parens patriae, to exert control over the lives of nonautonomous persons in ways it does not presume to control autonomous persons. Philosophers have given little attention to when and how that authority should be exercised, yet there is disagreement or confusion about this among courts and legal scholars. This article examines how parens patriae differs from other government roles, identifies which conceptions of the parens patriae role are coherent, and then presents a normative case for adopting a conception of the role as that of fiduciary for nonautonomous …