Digital Commons Network^™

Against The Drafter: An Empirical And Theoretical Analysis Of The Doctrine Of Contra Proferentem, Farshad Ghodoosi, Tal Kastner

Fordham Law Review

Contra proferentem, the enduring maxim that directs courts to interpret an ambiguity in a contract against its drafter, appears simple on its face. Although it might be best known as a fundamental principle of insurance law, contra proferentem figures in courts’ interpretation of a range of contract types. As an interpretive rule of thumb that parties can easily override with a simple contract provision, the doctrine and its boilerplate antidote seem to offer a straightforward means to facilitate private ordering—a central goal of contract law.

However, neither courts’ application of the doctrine in case law nor contract drafters’ treatment …

Clark Memorandum: Spring 2026, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Byu Law School Alumni Association, J. Reuben Clark Law Society

The Clark Memorandum

• Going Forward with Religious Freedom and Nondiscrimination
• Saving Our Democracy
• Contention Is of the Devil; Confrontation Is of God
• Mystery, Faith, and Law

The Brave New World Of Judicial Election, Charles G. Geyh

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election heralded the arrival of a new generation of judicial races in which state supreme courts are becoming war-torn forums for the resolution of deeply divisive policy questions that the federal courts and the other branches of government are unwilling or unable to address. It is a development that portends to be of unprecedented intensity, relative to the fractious “new politics of judicial elections” of the recent past and poses new challenges for legal theory and the existing judicial elections literature to explain. It adds new urgency to an increasingly stark choice: fight for the …

The History Of Multi-Member Commissions At The Founding, 1789-1840: New Evidence On Independent Agencies, Victoria Frances Nourse

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The executive removal power figures prominently on the Supreme Court’s current agenda. That agenda is beset, however, by a historical misunderstanding, when it comes to multi-member bodies, which too often are assumed to be modern creatures. This paper provides crucial new historical evidence showing that the Founders, indeed a who’s who list of Founders, approved and even sat on commissions in the Republic’s early years. In some cases, the Founders called these early commissions “independent,” deferred to their judgments as “final,” and demanded that the members be “impartial.” Given the vast discretion given these commissions, these characteristics are best described …

The Pro Bono Industrial Complex, Tanina Rostain

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Recent settlements between corporate law firms and the Trump Administration, consisting of donations totaling nearly $1billion in free representation, have brought law firm pro bono to the fore. Pro bono has been institutionalized in corporate law firms since the turn of the 21^st century. Pro bono evangelists and corporate law firms contend that pro bono increases access to justice and protects individual rights. Scholarship on pro bono has not challenged these claims, focusing instead on managerial and organizational incentives that could increase the number of hours corporate firms devote to pro bono. Given the prominence of corporate law firm …

From Doctrine To Practice: Shūrā-Centred Islamic Ethics For Sustainable Ecological Solutions, Fatima Dhanani, Cecilee Glaus Jones

Abdou Filali-Ansary Occasional Paper Series

This paper examines how Islamic ethics, when translated into lived practice, generate both moral frameworks and scalable solutions to pressing ecological challenges. Focusing on shūrā, tawḥīd, khilāfa, and taʿaddudiyya, and drawing on case studies of Stewardship Canada and the Aga Khan University’s Carbon Management Tool, the authors show how Islamic values move beyond doctrinal abstraction to guide institutional decision-making, programme design, and community engagement. More than treating ethics as fixed theological propositions, they frame them as negotiated, context-sensitive processes that align with ecological resilience, distributive justice, and economic viability.

Grounded in shūrā …

Shadow Probate, Felix Chang

Nevada Law Journal

This Article argues that nonprobate instruments (trusts, life insurance, retirement plans, and joint accounts) now comprise a shadow probate system that per-forms the core functions of probate but evades judicial oversight and public scrutiny. Like probate, shadow probate facilitates succession, though in a manner that caters to the privacy, business continuity, and asset sheltering goals of wealthy clients. By contrast, most households use wills for estate planning—or they avoid planning altogether and lapse into intestacy.

Wills and intestacy must wind through probate courts, which are vested with state authority and therefore follow due process. Shadow probate, on the other hand, …

Lies That Matter: Retheorizing Rape And The Limits Of Consent, Seran Gee

Nevada Law Journal

This Article proposes a novel assent-based framework for understanding rape law, challenging the traditional focus on consent as the sole determinant of rape. It argues that rape occurs when there is an absence of assent, rather than simply a lack of consent. The Article distinguishes between assent, which reflects a feeling of willingness, and consent, which is an exercise of autonomy that waives one’s right to bodily integrity. By incorporating this distinction, the assent model provides a more nuanced approach to rape law, explaining why certain deceptions—such as misrepresenting the nature of a sexual act—constitute rape, while others do not. …

Exception To Abolition: Reforming Prison Labor Through Constitutional And State-Level Change, Caren Abourjeily

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

By Fair Means: The Inapplicability Of Bristol-Myers Squibb To Flsa Collective Action Lawsuits, Paige Maxa

Washington Law Review

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), passed by Congress in 1938, sets federal workplace standards and protects over 100 million workers in the United States. The FLSA also includes a collective action provision, which allows workers to privately sue their employers for FLSA violations in a unique way. A collective action lawsuit is a distinct form of aggregate litigation that allows an employee to sue their employer for FLSA violations on behalf of other similarly situated employees in one action. Similarly situated employees who wish to join a collective action must affirmatively opt in and consent to participate in the …

Still A Picture, Not A Life: Scrutinizing Media In Federal Court, Hope Forsyth

Washington Law Review

Before COVID-19, federal judges largely resisted cameras in their courtrooms; during it, they used webcams to hold court. The American legal system is designed for in-person interaction, yet cases during the pandemic were frequently adjudicated outside the courtroom’s shared physical space. Judges and policymakers must now harmonize pre-pandemic law and policy with pandemic-era experience. To do so, decisionmakers need an analytical framework to harmonize adjudication’s tangible foundation and media’s intangible effects. This Article provides it.

The Article first argues that pre-pandemic judicial intuition (as seen in three judicial philosophies) holds post-pandemic promise. The strictest philosophy requires physical presence for crucial …

The Guarantor's Lifebuoy In The Bankruptcy Ocean, E. Jason Dennis, Carter S. Plotkin

SMU Law Review Forum

The Guarantor’s Lifebuoy in the Bankruptcy Ocean is an article by a practicing litigation law firm partner and associate based on their recent real-world experience arguing in Texas state court and federal bankruptcy court and lessons learned. The article is designed to examine an evidently underutilized bankruptcy stay exception and give actionable how-to advice on invoking it to litigators defending guarantors in scenarios they commonly face: a bankrupt principal obligor defaulting on the guarantied debt.

Mda Advocacy: Advocacy Continues Despite A Challenging Climate, James Budd Mpp

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This update reviews the MDA's legislative efforts during a period of significant gridlock in the Michigan Legislature. It highlights key priorities such as bills addressing virtual credit card payments and dental specialty advertising. The source emphasizes that advocacy remains essential even when progress is slow, as it builds the relationships necessary for future success. Additionally, it outlines the "MDA Service Promise" and announces an upcoming PAC competition at the Annual Session to support the association's political activities.

Copyrighting Nature, Cathay Y. N. Smith -- Professor Of Law

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Article introduces a "work of nature" doctrine for copyright law. In 1903, the U.S. Supreme Court established the principle in copyright law that, while anyone can copy the original source of a copyrighted work, they cannot copy an author's copy of the original source. A century later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit hinted at a "work of nature" exception, suggesting that even if copying the copy is restricted, copying elements of expression that nature displays for all observers is permissible. U.S. patent law excludes products of nature from protection, but this Article is the first …

Opting Out Of Court? Reputation And Informal Norms In Private Equity, Kobi Kastiel Professor Of Law, Yaron Nili Professor Of Law

Vanderbilt Law Review

Private equity, an industry characterized by high-stake investments and complex contractual arrangements, operates almost entirely outside of courts. Despite the substantial financial stakes involved--billions of dollars locked in for years--and the potential for fiduciary conflicts, litigation between limited partners ("LPs") and general partners ("GPs") who manage the investment is exceptionally rare. In stark contrast to public markets, where shareholder litigation plays a prominent role in deterring misconduct and shaping corporate norms, the private equity world is largely defined by its absence. The puzzle, then, is this: In an industry where fiduciary breaches or misaligned incentives are not uncommon, why do …

Law Library Blog (March 2026): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

2026 Ruth Bader Ginsburg Essay/Art Contest, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Wellness Connection Newsletter March 2026, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

A Ghost Of Slavery: Osha’S De Facto Exclusion Of Incarcerated Workers, Jacqueline Glenn

The Business, Entrepreneurship & Tax Law Review

From chattel slavery to convict leasing to sharecropping to present-day prison work, exploitative labor has always had a place in the American economy. Incarcerated workers are compelled to perform long hours of dangerous work for mere pennies, often without adequate breaks and under the threat of solitary confinement, physical abuse, or other punitive measures if they refuse. Federal labor protections that shield free people from such conditions are largely unapplied to incarcerated workers, leaving them with little legal recourse. Tracing the development of involuntary labor through American history, this article contends that the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 …

When Detention Becomes A Death Sentence: The Urgent Need For Greater Due Process Protections For Ice Detainees, Kyle J. Smith

Vanderbilt Law Review

This Note argues that U.S. immigration detention, though legally classified as civil, operates as a punitive carceral system that routinely subjects immigrants to abuse, neglect, and preventable death. Drawing on the tragic case of Ernesto Javier Rocha Cuadra and other documented instances of physical violence, medical neglect, solitary confinement, and sexual abuse, it demonstrates how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ('ICE') relies on detention as a default mechanism rather than as a last resort. The result is a system that mirrors the criminal legal system in scale and severity but denies detainees its constitutional safeguards.
The analysis situates the rise …

Beyond Redemption?: Examining The Sixth Circuit’S Dangerousness Approach For As-Applied Challenges To The Felon-In-Possession Ban, Jack Baker

Vanderbilt Law Review

The federal felon-in-possession statute permanently bans felons from possessing firearms, regardless of the severity of the predicate felony conviction. Both a murder conviction and a mail-fraud conviction equally satisfy the statute's elements. Critics thus argue that the statute is too expansive. Despite the criticism, the felon-in-possession ban has generally survived Second Amendment challenges. But the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen opened a new angle for constitutional challenges to the felon-in-possession ban. In Bruen, the Supreme Court established a history-and-tradition test for Second Amendment cases. Courts must now find historically analogous gun …

Beyond Precedent: Leveraging Non-Precedential Writings In Pursuit Of Social Justice Advocacy, Marissa C. Meredith

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

The role of law in society is complex and often intersects with evolving societal norms, politics, technology, etc. Despite this complexity, students, especially our current Gen-Z students, enroll in law school, hoping to enact positive change within their communities through the legal system. As noted by recent studies, law students' reasons for attending law school have shifted from a “desire to have a challenging and rewarding career” to a focus on “helping others or uplifting their communit[ies]” and addressing “social justice” issues. With this change in purpose, students' expectations about the education they will receive in law school have shifted, …

Our Eviction Court Clients Need This Treaty: The U.S. Must Finally Ratify The International Covenant On Economic, Social, And Cultural Rights, Fran Quigley

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Anyone enduring poverty in the U.S. or working with persons enduring poverty–as we do in our law school eviction clinic–is aware that housing, healthcare, food, and sufficient income are essential to human survival and dignity. Yet those basic necessities are not rights guaranteed under U.S. law. Instead, discretionary, underfunded efforts to address economic needs have led to widespread U.S. poverty and a toxic one-step-forward/one-step-backward policy dance, characterized by safety net programs expanding only to be cut when political winds shift.

The U.S. should join nearly every other nation in the world by ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and …

Adoption And Parentage Inequality For Same-Sex Couples In Wisconsin In The Age Of Assistive Reproductive Technology, Isabella Barnard

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

In the age of assistive reproductive technology, same-sex couples have more avenues than ever before to become parents, but the law has failed to match pace. With the ever-growing number of same-sex couples conceiving children through artificial insemination, Wisconsin must take action to remedy the inequality of same-sex couples adopting their biological or intended children. As of the publication of this comment, it is recommended that same-sex couples follow the adoption process for their child, as a formal adoption constitutes a court order granting full parentage security because other more efficient options, such as a gender-neutral voluntary parentage acknowledgement, are …

The Urban Talented Tenth: Race, Higher Education, And The Law Of Opportunity, Walter A. Jean-Jacques

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

This Article reexamines W.E.B. Du Bois’s theory of the “Talented Tenth” through the lens of contemporary African American males in urban educational contexts. Drawing on historical origins, critical race theory, and modern jurisprudence surrounding higher education, it argues that law and policy have systematically overlooked those who form what this Article terms the “Urban Talented Tenth.” These students, often lacking traditional markers of privilege, navigate structural inequities while achieving academic excellence. By situating their experiences against the backdrop of landmark Supreme Court cases such as Brown v. Board of Education, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, Grutter v. …

Front Matter

Hofstra Law Review

No abstract provided.

Conceptions Of Law, Ideology, And The Rule Of Law, Alani Golanski

Hofstra Law Review

This Article claims that law and the rule of law ought not be seen as coextensive concepts, for if a legal order’s deviations from rule of law ideals count equally as departures from criteria for being a legal system at all, then the rule of law loses motivation as a discrete concept. In turn, the Article emphasizes the need to galvanize critical assessments of the legal system rooted in rule of law moralities. Toward this end, the argument shifts the terrain on which we discuss law’s nature from concepts to conceptions, critiquing certain currently influential conceptions, with special emphasis on …

Every Road You Take: Where Federal Doctrine Stalls, State Law Can Pick Up In The Fight Over Persistent Surveillance, David A. Lord

Hofstra Law Review

In recent years, automated license plate reader (“ALPR”) systems have transformed criminal investigation by providing law enforcement with extensive information about suspects’ movements. Prosecutors have defended this practice as firmly grounded in the Supreme Court’s traditional Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. Privacy advocates have responded by arguing that certain Supreme Court cases dealing with new technology show an emerging interest in modifying those doctrines to enhance individual liberty. But to date, with a few isolated exceptions, both state and federal courts have declined to require law enforcement to obtain search warrants before using evidence from ALPRs. This Article explores ALPR evidence in …

Reconstructing The "Best Interests" Inquiry In Termination Of Parental Rights Cases: Setting The Threshold At "Affirmative Need", Vivek Sankaran, Timothy Pinto

Hofstra Law Review

No abstract provided.

Squeezing The System: How The Orange Book Is Ripe For Exploitation, Sarah Kopyto

Hofstra Law Review

No abstract provided.