Digital Commons Network^™

Preserving Progress: Why The Dd Network Matters Now More Than Ever, Matt Wappett

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

No abstract provided.

Misinformation And The Law, Gustavo Ribeiro

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This Article bridges critical gaps between the growing body of social science research on misinformation and the persistent challenges jurors face in evaluating potentially unreliable evidence in courtrooms. Misinformation—a pervasive issue undermining decision-making in democratic societies—mirrors the difficulties jurors encounter in distinguishing truth from falsehood amid compelling but unreliable evidence. The consequences of such challenges are dire: wrongful convictions, racial disparities, and the erosion of public trust in the legal system.

This Article is the first piece of legal scholarship to provide a comprehensive discussion of current research on the psychological mechanisms underlying susceptibility to misinformation—such as the illusory truth …

Law’S Limits: Abortion And The Social Determinants Of Health, Maya Manian

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

After Dobbs: How the Supreme Court Ended Roe but Not Abortion (“After Dobbs”) is a prescient and timely response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and upended nearly five decades of constitutional protection for abortion. In this meticulously structured oral history, law professor David S. Cohen and sociologist Carole Joffe center the voices of abortion providers, clinic administrators, funders, and advocates from across the country. After Dobbs, not only documents the extraordinary persistence of abortion supporters in the face of legal devastation but also bears witness to …

Digital Emblems In Cyberspace: A Deterrent Or A Target?, Fatemah Albader

Emory International Law Review Recent Developments

In 2022, the ICRC proposed a digital emblem to identify and protect medical and humanitarian digital assets during armed conflict. While this initiative marks a pivotal evolution of IHL into cyberspace, its effectiveness depends on whether states can ensure accountability, attribution, and compliance. This article argues that digitalizing IHL’s distinctive emblems, such as the red cross, is not optional but mandatory under both conventional and customary law. Once developed, states must adopt and regulate the digital emblem to protect hospital networks and medical personnel online as they are protected offline. However, emblem digitalization alone cannot deter deliberate cyberattacks or unintentional …

How International Law Failed To Minimize U.S. Use Of Burn Pits During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Sophia Mcwilliams

Emory International Law Review Recent Developments

No abstract provided.

Beyond Judicial Intent: The Agency Of The Defense Counsel In Ozawa’S And Thind’S Supreme Court Cases, Bret K. Luchs

Master's Theses or Doctor of Nursing Practice

This thesis seeks to examine how specific legal strategies by the defense counsel in Ozawa v. United States, 260 U.S. 178 (1922), and United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind, 261 U.S. 204 (1923), compelled the Supreme Court of the United States into a reactive and contradictory position. A re-examination of Ozawa and Thind delves deeper into the legal briefs and arguments made by Takao Ozawa and Bhagat Singh Thind, alongside their legal teams. These briefs, opinions of the court, past lower court cases, and personal statements by Ozawa and Thind demonstrate how they did not surrender to the confines of …

Law Student As Client: Applying Client-Centered Lawyering Skills To Law Student Development, Rachel Johnson

Newsletters & Other Publications

In this article I demonstrate how I’ve brought my client advising skills into my work with law students. My work with law students is informed by my use of the client-centered lawyering model as adapted from my practice background. I will address how the skills of client-centered lawyering model translate remarkably well advising law students through what I call the law student-centered development model. This model of working with law students helps advisors train the next generation of lawyers in key lawyering skills through the modeling of those skills.

Constitutionalizing Parents’ Rights, Akshat Agarwal

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Tax Breaks For Debt Cancellation, James M. Puckett

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Calibrating Agnosticism In Administrative Law: Qualitative Bayesian Reasoning On Bureaucratic Motivation, Kenta Tsuda

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Toward A Modern Implementation Of In Re Ratti And A Patent’S Principle Of Operation, Benjamin Fugate

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Call For Return: Does The Fourth Amendment Resolve Retentions?, Owen Stickney

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

Human Rights On Pause: Assessing The Cbp Digital Metering Process And Obligations Of Non-Refoulement Beyond Borders, Brandon Delia

Journal of Law, Technology, & the Internet

Migrants are once again being told to wait in line before seeking their right to the asylum process. In 2023, the Biden administration introduced the CBP One app as a new requirement for asylum seekers approaching the US-Mexico border. Not long after, it evolved into a strict legal prerequisite where without a CBP One appointment, migrants faced either immediate turnbacks or, if they nonetheless attempted to seek asylum defensively after entry, expedited removal and a potential five-year bar on reentry. Those who managed to register often waited months in cartel-controlled border towns, risking extortion, kidnapping, or worse. Paired with CBP’s …

Artificial Intelligence And Automated Decision-Making In Employment: The Future Of The Embattled Disparate Impact Theory Of Discrimination Under Title Vii, Daniel S. Alcorn

Journal of Law, Technology, & the Internet

Artificial intelligence now makes core employment decisions—from resume screening and video interviews to promotion and termination—yet Title VII’s disparate impact doctrine was built for paper tests, not black-box models. This Article argues that, while under attack by the Trump Administration and a minority of the U.S. Supreme Court, disparate impact remains indispensable but increasingly inadequate without adaptation. We show how algorithmic opacity frustrates causation, vendor delegation diffuses liability, predictive-accuracy claims distort “business necessity,” and trade-secret barriers impede proof of less-discriminatory alternatives. Drawing on emerging U.S. and comparative regimes, we propose a practical toolkit: (1) treat the algorithmic system as the …

Volume 76 Issue 3 (2026), Case Western Reserve Law Review

Case Western Reserve Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Law Enforcement Paradigm For The New Form Of Money, Jim Harper

Journal of Law, Technology, & the Internet

Over the last two centuries, transfers of money have evolved from movements of tangible things to digital communications events. Over the last half-century, financial surveillance law has taken root. The product of the two trends is a comprehensive, global financial surveillance regime that has substantial costs in both dollar terms and in values such as privacy, free speech, and autonomy. Those costs appear to vastly outstrip the benefits of such surveillance. Along with its infirmity as policy, general financial surveillance stands on shaky constitutional ground in the United States. It impedes the full development of digital forms of money and …

Massachusetts Community Mediation Center (Cmc) Grant Program: Fiscal Year 2025 Evaluation Report, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Karina Zeferino

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

The CMC Grant Program remains a vital statewide investment in equitable access to justice and community well-being in Massachusetts. In FY2025, the Commonwealth allocated $3,100,202 to the Program, with $2,376,002 awarded directly to 12 community mediation Centers for operational support, technical assistance, and participation in statewide initiatives. These funds continued to serve as the financial foundation of the community mediation system, accounting for half of Centers’ collective revenue and enabling them to leverage an additional $2,435,797 from private, municipal, state, and federal partners—demonstrating strong public return on state appropriations. Despite a funding reduction in FY2025, the Program generated …

Uncharted Waters: Barriers To Ocean Carbon Removal In The High Seas Under Unclos And The Bbnj, Connor Stevens

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

No abstract provided.

Nest Eggs And Lifelines: The Overlooked Strain Of Economic Volatility On 401(K) Participants, Samantha Prince

Faculty Scholarship

Many Americans rely on defined contribution plans like 401(k) plans for retirement savings. These plans do not guarantee a fixed retirement benefit; rather, the benefit is based on accumulated contributions and investment performance. When the stock market drops, so do retirement account balances. When inflation hikes living expenses, money does not go as far. President Donald Trump's policies, including those associated with tariffs, are causing economic and resource volatility leading to financial hardship. Americans worry as they watch living costs increase and their retirement savings diminish. It is well known that retirees rely on 401(k) plan balances to fund their …

Exploit Machina, Andrea Matwyshyn

Faculty Scholarship

Over half a century ago, Hannah Arendt cautioned us to “think what we are doing” when we build new technologies. Engaging with her counsel and a set of historical case studies, this Article frames what it calls exploit machina problems. Exploit machina refers to situations where broken technologies and broken governance combine to irreparably harm the public. In other words, exploit machina involves organizational choices to knowingly leverage technology as part of legally problematic conduct, including various forms of fraud. In the language of data science, exploit machina situations implicate strategic decisions in building and managing artificial intelligence (AI); they …

The Federal Rules Of Evi-Dance: Exploring And Reimagining Evidence Law Through Music, And Proposing Amendments To Rule 604, Brian C. Potts

Faculty Articles

Every trial has a rhythm and a flow. Every trial is a performance. This article extends the literature on law and music further into the field of evidence. I offer a new exploration and reimagining of the Federal Rules of Evidence through leitmotivs. I contend that leitmotivs—musical calling cards—reify principles of evidence law. As I spin these leitmotivs, I propose two amendments to Rule 604 regarding the oath for courtroom interpreters. I propound a new critique explaining how and why courts are wrong when they often claim “Daubert did not work a ‘seachange’ over federal evidence law.” I tender two …

The Elusive Nexus Standard: Differing Approaches To The Asylum Nexus Standard As Applied To Religious Persecution Perpetrated By Gangs, Chloe Schalit

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

In 2015, Ms. Odalis Mireida Chicas-Machado, the secretary of an evangelical church in El Salvador, started getting harassed by members of the MS-13 gang during her walks to and from the church. Chicas-Machado believed that the harassment began because the gang considered her to be an enemy due to her work spreading the message of God to young people who otherwise might have joined the gang. Approximately one year after the harassment commenced, gang members threatened Chicas-Machado with death if she refused to alert the gang when police cars drove by a local store. The gang sought out Chicas-Machado for …

Artificial Elections: How Artificial Intelligence Can Affect Elections And Decide Our Future, Ryan D. Granger

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis examines the growing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in democratic elections, highlighting both its transformative potential and its associated risks. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of existing literature, the study explores how AI is increasingly integrated into political campaigns, election administration, and voter engagement. Key benefits include enhanced data analysis, personalized political messaging, and improved efficiency in campaign operations. AI also supports real-time fact-checking and more accurate vote tabulation, which can strengthen transparency and trust in electoral processes. However, the thesis emphasizes that these advantages are accompanied by significant challenges. AI technologies enable the rapid creation and dissemination …

Who Makes The Jury? Demographics And Decision-Making In The Jury Process., Ana B. Pons

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Within the American judicial system, juries have played a central role in promoting representation and fairness in the courtroom. However, limited information exists on whether prosecutorial decisions during jury selection, jury composition, or jury behavior differ based on the sex, race/ethnicity, type of case, political ideology, or geographic location of potential jurors. Following PRISMA guidelines, this scoping review synthesizes 48 peer-reviewed articles published between the 1940s and 2026 to examine whether prosecutorial decision-making and jury outcomes vary based on the sex, race/ethnicity, type of case, political ideology, or geographic location of potential jurors. Findings indicated that men are disproportionately selected …

Eroding Protections: The Decline Of Miranda Rights And Its Impact On Due Process In Contemporary America, Autumn G. Pelfrey

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis examines whether the protections established in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), remain robust within contemporary criminal justice practice or have been weakened through doctrinal and practical developments. Miranda warnings were originally designed to mitigate the risk that coercive custodial interrogation would produce compelled or unreliable self-incrimination. Since 1966, however, both judicial interpretation and evolving law-enforcement practices have created a growing gap between Miranda’s formal legal promise and its practical operation in real-world interrogations.

The study evaluates the erosion of Miranda’s protective force through three primary mechanisms. First, doctrinal developments have narrowed Miranda’s scope by redefining …

The Rise Of Biometrics And The Erosion Of Privacy: A Case Study Of Biometric Systems In Amusement Parks, Sarah A. Yarger

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis explores data privacy concerns surrounding the implementation of facial recognition technology using amusement and theme parks as a case study. With the lack of general federal guidelines, states have been left to address this rapid expansion of technology. This situation has left consumers with inconsistent protections and varied levels of liability for corporations. This thesis will explore the current gaps of legislation on legal use of facial recognition technology using amusement and theme parks as the context of focus. As this technology continues to advance and become normalized in society, the inconsistency in privacy protections amongst states suggests …

The Psychological Effect Of Maternal Separation From A Child During Incarceration: A Survey And Critique Of Risk Needs Assessments, Samantha Yearwood

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This study examines whether frequently used correctional assessment instruments adequately capture the psychological impacts of maternal-child separation among incarcerated women. This research was conducted in response to growing criticisms that traditional risk and needs assessments fail to account for gender-specific experiences, specifically those related to caregiving roles and pregnancy. Using a qualitative analysis content analysis to assess four widely used instruments, the Women’s Risk and Needs Assessment (WRNA), Correctional Offender Management Profiling for Alternative Sanctions (COMPAS), Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18), and Level of Service Inventory–Revised (LSI-R), the thesis  examines the inclusion of pregnancy-related variables, caregiving responsibilities, and separation-related psychological factors. …

Between Borders - The Realities Of Immigration Limbo, Jennifer C. Valenzuela

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In this research, I looked into different immigration pathways in the United States and determined different characteristics from those pathways that might be leading the Latino population into a limbo status. With the Latino population being the largest minority group in the United States, and the continuously growing number of Latino immigrants, I decided to do this research to spread awareness of possible barriers and struggles that Latinos might face when applying for an immigration pathway. I researched the different immigration pathways, focusing on Asylum, TPS, and Family Reunification, to understand the requirements that each requires to apply and the …

Intersectional Dynamics Of Race And Gender: Voting Behavior And The 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, Daniella Basdeo

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Presidential elections do more than choose a leader; they give us an inside look at how identity shapes voters’ choices. The 2024 election made this especially clear. Looking at Kamala Harris, who represents multiple underrepresented identities, we see a candidate who is not only a woman and a person of color, but specifically a woman of color running at the national level. This election is the first time we see several minority identities in a candidate in a presidential race, and what makes this unique is that, at the national level, it is much harder for candidates to be fully …

Pretrial Publicity In A Modern World: Exploration Of Defense Attorney Experiences And Perspectives, Giray Uzen

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This research examined how pretrial publicity, like statements made by law enforcement and prosecutors, affects criminal defense strategy. Using a qualitative, phenomenological design, interviews were held with practicing defense attorneys to understand how they deal with media coverage, protect their clients’ rights, and adjust their strategy when a case starts getting attention. The project identifies common themes, including attorney concerns about biased jurors, distorted narratives, and pressure created by public commentary. Findings work towards reforming policy discussions to respect free speech while protecting the constitutional right to an impartial jury in our modern media environment.