Digital Commons Network^™

Complying With Title Ix In The Nil Era, Benjamin Moyer

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

On July 1, 2021, college athletics forever changed when the NCAA allowed college athletes to receive financial compensation for the use of their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) in endorsements and other marketing engagements. While NIL has empowered college athletes and enabled them to profit from their athletic abilities, it has also thrown the college sports industry into chaos. The House v. NCAA settlement agreement, which was officially approved on June 6, 2025, was expected to establish better guardrails for universities. However, the agreement’s approval may only increase universities’ exposure under Title IX. Part of the House settlement agreement enables …

It’S Gone To The Dogs: The Need For Regulation In Professional Service Dog Training, Crystal J. Elsner

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Currently, no state requires professional service dog trainers to pass any test or obtain any occupational licensure to prove their competency. While the Americans with Disabilities Act and its implementing regulations do not require that dogs complete a professional training program to be considered service dogs, many individuals with disabilities choose to use such programs. The unregulated nature of the industry allows inexperienced individuals to market themselves as professionals, which can harm not only the dogs receiving training but also the humans that will eventually take them home. Further, the lack of industry oversight leaves room for bad actors to …

Envisioning Antiracist Legal Education In Aotearoa New Zealand: The Role Of Leadership, Mele T. Vaitohi

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

This Essay presents a comprehensive examination of antiracism within Aotearoa New Zealand’s legal education, underscoring the critical need to embed antiracist principles across both the curriculum and the legal profession. It highlights the imperative for systemic change to dismantle structural inequities and advocates for an educational framework that prepares future lawyers to address and challenge racial injustice. Additionally, the Essay demonstrates how visionary leadership can spearhead transformative initiatives that amplify Pacific voices, cultivating a legal landscape that is both inclusive and equitable. Through these insights, this Essay aims to contribute to ongoing dialogues on creating a justice system reflective of …

Guilty Till Proven Innocent: Pennsylvania’S Battle With Eyewitness Misidentification And Wrongful Convictions, Chante Whyte

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

In his dissent in Watkins v. Sowders, Justice William J. Brennan of the United States Supreme Court found, “[T]here is almost nothing more convincing than a live human being who takes the stand, points a finger at the defendant, and says ‘That’s the one!’” Eyewitness identifications play a crucial role in the investigation and prosecution of crimes. However, the reliance on eyewitness testimony has also given rise to a significant issue within the criminal justice system: eyewitness misidentification. This phenomenon is now recognized as the leading cause of wrongful convictions in the United States. Over the years, extensive scientific and …

The Future Of Title Ix After House V. Ncaa, Abigail Perkiss

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

In October 2025, attorneys representing current and former Division I college athletes filed preliminary briefs in the Ninth Circuit, calling on the appellate court to reverse the settlement in House v. NCAA,¹ which in April 2025 turned intercollegiate athletics on its head. The brief argued that the terms of the settlement stand in violation of Title IX of the 1972 Educational Amendments, the legislation that prohibited sex-based discrimination in education programs and related activities that receive federal funding. According to the settlement terms, 90 percent of the backpay is earmarked to fund men’s football and basketball players, 5 percent …

Advocating For Cause: The California Recall Process Needs A Purpose, Mary-Beth Moylan

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Democratic systems and the tools that sustain them need to operate by the people and for the people with consideration to the realities of the era in which they exist. The use of direct democracy, and in particular the recall process, in recent decades suggests that what was once a progressive reform intended to ensure good government has now become a political tool for stoking partisan disruption. It is time for a close look at how and why some states continue to allow for recall and the circumstances under which a recall election should be called. During the COVID-19 pandemic, …

A Level Playing Field: Title Ix, The House Settlement, And A Sustainable Solution For College Athletics, Delaney Sniffen, Kirk Wolff

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Collegiate student-athletes are increasingly viewed as employees by scholars, judges, and the market, though not yet by colleges or Congress. As stakeholders press Congress to clarify, universities must balance NLRA labor rights for athletes who likely meet the employee test with Title IX obligations tied to federal funding; neither can be sacrificed. This Essay traces gender discrimination that constrained women’s sports; explains why many athletes satisfy the NLRA employee test; and underscores Title IX’s central role in women’s equal participation. It shows how recognizing athletes as employees would modify the Title IX analysis and create tension between collective bargaining and …

The Efficiency Paradox Of Majoritarian Democracy, Barbara Luppi, Francesco Parisi

Articles

Majoritarian democracy is widely regarded as the canonical procedure for converting heterogeneous individual preferences into collective decisions, yet its welfare properties are far more fragile than legal and political theorists suggest. This paper contributes to the literature on the limits of majoritarianism by applying a spatial voting model to demonstrate that the conditions under which majoritarian democracies produce efficient outcomes are narrowly constrained by the structural features of majority rule itself. We formalize a multidimensional policy environment in which voters bargain over both the policy vector and lump‑sum transfers. We show that—even with transferable utility among members of the majority …

Administrative Self-Constitutionalism, Brian Lipshutz

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

Since the days of the Interstate Commerce Commission, federal agencies have generally refused to address the constitutionality of statutory provisions. They have offered little reasoning to justify that refusal, yet scholars have generally accepted it. This Article explains why agencies can—and should—address constitutional challenges to statutory provisions.

Agencies have the power to assess the constitutionality of statutory provisions. They already exercise a similar authority when they apply the canon of constitutional avoidance and consider the constitutionality of individual actions. There is no basis for stopping short of addressing challenges to statutes. And many scholars have recognized that, as a formal …

General Law Revivalism And The Problem Of 1938, Jack Landman Goldsmith, Curtis Bradley

Public Law and Legal Theory Working Papers

From the constitutional Founding until Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64 (1938), federal courts routinely applied a body of “general law” to resolve a wide range of legal issues, including issues relating to commercial law, tort law, international law, conflict of laws, equity, and procedure. This general law regime became politically fraught and difficult to administer, and the Supreme Court repudiated it in Erie, declaring that “there is no federal general common law” and requiring the federal courts to ground all rules in either federal or state law. Erie and its progeny created what this Article terms the …

The Future Of U.S. Higher Education: Equity Implications Of Shifting Immigration Policies, Research Institute For Social Equity Rise

Research Institute for Social Equity

This report examines the impact of U.S. immigration policies on higher education and international students from 2000 to 2025. It traces five major policy eras, from the post- 9/11 security overhaul and Obama-era expansion to the restrictive turns of 2017–2020 and 2025, and analyzes how shifting regulations have influenced enrollment patterns, economic contributions, and student well-being. Despite hosting more than 1.1 million international students in 2023–2024, the U.S. share of the global student market has fallen from 20% to 16%, underscoring how policy volatility and restrictive measures weaken national competitiveness. Drawing on federal data, scholarly research, and institutional reports, this …

The Seeds Of Peace And Justice, Shai Dothan

Chicago Journal of International Law

Some positive developments in international law had humble beginnings. They started from a small group of idealists who wanted to change the world for the better. Once their ideas gathered momentum, they got the support of people with power and transformed the world. State after state followed each other in a cascade toward improving international law. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the conditions that are beneficial for the initial germination of ideas with the potential to positively revolutionize international law. By using a series of case studies focused on the initiation of major transformations that improved international …

The Territorial Independence Of Intellectual Property Rights, Aaron X. Fellmeth

Chicago Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Balancing Nationalities In International Investment Law, Peter J. Spiro

Chicago Journal of International Law

How can you tell where someone is “from”?  Historically, an individual’s national identity was singular, starting with formal nationality. One’s national center of gravity was readily determinable. Not so today. Determining one’s primary national identification is no longer an easy thing in many cases. This is consequentially enabled by the growing acceptance of dual citizenship. One can openly identify as a formal member of more than one country in a way that was disfavored in the past.

International investment law, however, has not caught up to this reality. In an increasing number of international arbitrations, tribunals are shutting the doors …

The Nlrb’S Authority To Make Workers Whole, Wanny Mei

Fordham Law Review

In December 2022, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the “Board”) announced a modified make-whole remedial framework in Thryv, Inc.For all standard make-whole relief orders, the Board would order relief for direct or foreseeable pecuniary harms that employees suffer as a result of an unfair labor practice. Proponents of this remedial design assert that this is consistent with the Board’s authority under section 10(c) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). On the other hand, opponents find that this design exceeds the Board’s statutory authority and conflicts with the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial.

This Note …

The Dead Hand And Frozen Lives: Embryonic Personhood And The Disruption Of Property Interests, Emma Miloglav

Fordham Law Review

Advances in assisted reproductive technology and the expansion of fetal personhood laws are colliding with a body of property doctrine built on assumptions about reproduction that no longer hold. In LePage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine, P.C., the Supreme Court of Alabama held that extrauterine embryos—fertilized and frozen in a laboratory—are “children” under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act. LePage represents a dramatic extension of fetal personhood.

This shift carries profound consequences for trusts and estates. If frozen embryos are treated as legal persons, they may qualify as heirs under intestacy statutes and as beneficiaries of wills, …

“Because We Take Our Values To War” Analyzing The Views Of Un Member States On Aidriven Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems, Rangita De Silva De Alwis

Chicago Journal of International Law

In paragraph two of its resolution 2 on lethal autonomous weapon systems, pursuant to U.N. General Assembly resolution 78/241, the General Assembly requested the Secretary-General to solicit the views of Member States and Observer States regarding lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS). Specifically, the request encompassed perspectives on addressing the multifaceted challenges and concerns raised by LAWS, including humanitarian, legal, security,

Climate Change As A Security Interest: A Novel Defense In Fossil Fuel Investment Arbitration, Nabil Kapasi

Chicago Journal of International Law

Thousands of international investment and trade agreements contain provisions protecting investments made by parties from the signatory states. One such provision is Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), a mechanism allowing foreign investors to sue host states in arbitration for treaty violations. Fossil fuel investors are increasingly utilizing ISDS successfully to hold states liable for climate action; arbitral tribunals are awarding large compensations to these investors when states deny them permits for upstream activities or enact phase-out policies attempting to ban fossil fuel consumption. These awards impose heavy burdens on states while simultaneously deterring climate action by creating fears of liability. This …

Effects Of Expropriation Of Private Real Estate For Public Benefit In Saudi Law And Islamic Law, Hayat Mohammadali Hassan Nimir

Theses and Dissertations

The expropriation of private real estate for public benefit represents one of the most sensitive and complex legal issues, as it directly intersects with the protection of individual ownership rights while simultaneously addressing the demands of public interest and state development. This research provides a comprehensive analytical study of the legal framework governing expropriation in Saudi Arabia, examining both historical and contemporary legislation, while assessing its consistency with the objectives of Islamic Sharia, which grants strong protection to ownership rights but allows their restriction under strict conditions to serve genuine public needs.

The dissertation explores the theoretical foundations of property …

Striving To Thrive: Balancing Digital Health Innovation And Patient Protection Under Thailand’S Legal Framework, Thidarat Liamsomboon

Theses and Dissertations

The digitalization of health care has fundamentally transformed how health care services are accessed, delivered, and experienced worldwide. Telemedicine, artificial intelligence–assisted diagnostics, electronic health records, wearables, and mobile health applications are no longer novelties, but have become a substantial part of a modern clinical practice. Although these technologies offer great prospects for making health care more accessible, reducing administrative burden, and improving the quality of care, they also pose significant legal and regulatory challenges. The rate of technological development has far outpaced Thailand’s existing legal frameworks for regulating medical practice, professional accountability, and patient protection. This regulatory “lag” has generated …

Peter A.R. Lardy Scholarship Award, Notre Dame Law School

Student, Faculty, and Staff Awards

In Recognition of our Beloved Classmate

We, the Class of 1975, Dedicate this Scholarship Award to those who exemplify his, Courage, Love and Understanding toward his fellow man.

It’s like this: When I was a child I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I became a man my thoughts grew far beyond those of my childhood, and now I have put away the childish things. In the way, we can see and understand only a little about God now, as if we were peering at a reflection in a poor mirror, but someday we are …

Breaking The Cycle: Rethinking Bar Exam Scoring And Portability For Nextgen Examinees, Steven Foster, Nachman Gutowski

Scholarly Works

The development of the NextGen Bar Exam presents a crucial opportunity to address longstanding challenges in both bar exam scoring and portability concerns. The reliance on recent graduates' performance on the Uniform Bar Examination (UBE) as a baseline for setting future standards is flawed due to relative scoring and scaling. In addition to concerns regarding how the future bar exam is scored, there are also concerns regarding how the new scoring metric on the NextGen bar exam will be used for portability and, more specifically, what will happen between 2026 and 2028 as the NextGen bar exam is progressively adopted …

The Keystone State Should Forge A New Path To Lawyer Licensure, Ashley M. London, Nachman Gutowski, Sarah J. Garrison, Steven Foster

Scholarly Works

Pennsylvania should reject the adoption of the NextGen bar examination and instead develop a new, state-specific pathway to lawyer licensure that better serves the needs of the legal profession and the public. The NextGen exam, designed by the National Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE), introduces significant challenges, including its lack of transparency, inadequate preparation materials, and reliance on a rigid, memorization-heavy format. These deficiencies hinder equitable access to licensure, disproportionately affecting underrepresented groups and perpetuating systemic barriers within the profession.

Moreover, NextGen's failure to robustly address critical legal areas, such as trusts and estates, jeopardizes the ability of new lawyers …

Civil Rights Microviolations, Michael Kagan, Alissa Cooley Yonesawa

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Second-Class Asylum, Third-Country Danger, Michael Kagan

Scholarly Works

The Trump Administration has aggressively pursued a policy of deporting people who have been found to be in danger of persecution or torture in their countries of origin to third countries. It has primarily impacted people who have two types of what may be called second-class asylum, namely withholding or deferral or removal. This Article examines the structural problems posed by second-class asylum as defined in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The INA’s collection of tiered protected status for people in danger in their countries of origin was always illogical, though its incoherency was more manageable before 2025, when …

Memoir: The Brain, Neuroethics, And Bioethics, Leslie C. Griffin

Scholarly Works

This Essay examines how developments in neuroscience (or brain science) affect our views of law, medicine, ethics, and religion. Part I shows how lack of clarity about brain death can lead to premature organ donation. Part II argues that health care too often provides inadequate brain care and incomplete rehabilitation. Part III explains why recovery may be possible for those braininjured patients who are told it is not. Part IV demonstrates how the fear of a brain-injured patient oddly affects my perspective on Tort and Criminal Law, which are being influenced by neuroscientific advances. Part V examines the new developments …

Legal Ethics Of Ai Snake Oil: Navigating The Hype, Harm, And Hope Of Legal Ai, Drew Simshaw

Scholarly Works

This paper argues that the legal ethics of AI extend far beyond competence and hallucinations. It shows how AI often functions as a mirror, exposing deeper ethical questions about institutional incentives, lawyer wellbeing, access to justice, and AI's broader social and environmental impacts.

C.A.S. Full Assessment Report: State Of Florida Government Portal, Delante Clark

Graduate Scholarship and Creative Works

The purpose of this assessment is to evaluate the cognitive overhead, transparency, and attentional integrity of

official State of Florida digital interfaces using the Cognitive Attentional Standards (C.A.S.) platform.

While the Florida Digital Bill of Rights (FDBR) establishes strict regulatory guardrails for consumer data

transparency, tracking opt-outs, and attentional safeguards, the State of Florida explicitly exempts its own

government agencies, public universities, and non-profit entities from complying with these rules.

This assessment serves to investigate the tension between legislative intent and government execution. By

analyzing public sector websites through the C.A.S. platform, this project will establish a “state-enforced vs.

state-executed” …

Table Of Contents (V. 50, No. 2)

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

The Path To Abundance: The Legal, Policy, And Political Challenges Of An Abundance Agenda, Eric Biber

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

A range of public intellectuals and academics have argued that America is increasingly unable to advance major projects, such as housing, renewable energy, and innovation, because of legal obstacles such as judicial review and regulatory requirements. In response, the abundance movement has called for legal reforms to speed up project development. The abundance movement has identified real problems that require solutions. Unfortunately, the movement also faces political and legal challenges as well. Reform will require difficult tradeoffs, which will be politically difficult. Abundance reforms will likely not be politically popular, and will be particularly hard to implement in a polarized …