Digital Commons Network^™

Immigration Federalism And The Promise Of State Constitutions, Joanne Gottesman

Lewis & Clark Law Review

This Article explores state constitutions’ promises and pitfalls for immigrant rights advocacy. This is a particularly urgent endeavor, given the anti-immigrant measures of President Trump’s second term and a U.S. Supreme Court that is willing to reverse longstanding precedent. Even cases like Plyler v. Doe, with its guarantee of free public education to undocumented children, could be vulnerable. While U.S. Supreme Court opinions protecting immigrant rights are the gold standard because they apply nationwide, state courts and state constitutions provide critical alternative avenues for relief that should not be overlooked.

This Article considers some state constitutional provisions that may help …

Ai Deference, Kevin Frazier

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

Existing AI tools allow administrative agencies to chart a more aggressive regulatory path. AI can identify which statutes and regulations, if reinterpreted, would further the agency's agenda. AI can also draft new regulations and forecast their likely effects.

No laws explicitly ban agencies from using AI. In fact, successive presidential administrations have encouraged agencies to increase their use of AI. Cities and states have already been integrating AI into ever more substantive governance tasks. Governments around the world are likewise finding novel ways to incorporate AI into drafting, enforcing, and adjudicating laws. In short, it is a matter of when, …

Prison Labor Exploitation, As Easy As “Pie”: Private Industry Exploitation Under Pie Certified Prison Work Programs, Jack Burum

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Public Schools: Immigration & Customs Enforcement’S Unconstitutional And Inhumane Hunting Ground, Ma Camille Briones

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Boggs V. Johnston Asphalt, Llc, 334 A.3d 965 (R.I. 2025)., Gracie May Mccall

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rewriting The Sentence: Second Look Sentencing In Rhode Island, Carter Hazzard

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

A New Middle Ground: The Continuous Treatment Doctrine As A Solution To Rhode Island’S Incomplete Tort Reform, Justin Edward Keyes

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mile V. Kirkbrae Country Club, 331 A.3d 1003 (R.I. 2025)., Taylor Payne

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

State V. Roman, 335 A.3d 782 (R.I. 2025)., Kylie Rau

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

In Re N.O., 336 A.3d 29 (R.I. 2025)., Salvamarie Alifonso

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

High Stakes And Random Rewards: A Critical Look At Loot Boxes And Illegal Gambling, Brian T. Wersan

Touro Law Review

Since their inception in the mid-2000s, loot boxes have been legal and virtually unregulated in the United States. Ever-growing mountains of evidence demonstrate the harms of loot boxes, but their structure has not yet been found to be in violation of any current U.S. gambling law, leading to a complete lack of recovery for victims. Certainly, if people experience harm, a legal avenue providing justice must exist. While other avenues are referenced, this Note ultimately argues that loot boxes can be interpreted by courts to satisfy the elements of, and thus, violate multiple state gambling laws, revealing a path to …

Justice For The Accomplice: Minnesota's 2023 Accomplice Liability Amendment And Its Shortcomings, John M. Thompson

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Vicarious Liability In Sexual Misconduct Cases In Minnesota, Mike Steenson

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

Employers are vicariously liable for torts committed by their employees acting within the course and scope of their employment. The predominant test turns on whether the employee acted, at least in part, out of a desire to serve the employer’s interests. That test is problematic in cases involving intentional torts committed by an employee, particularly in sexual assault cases. Existing vicarious liability rules have been heavily criticized for the motive rule’s limiting effect, even where the nature of the employment may facilitate the tort. A minority of jurisdictions impose vicarious liability in cases where the tort is a characteristic risk …

Key

California Regulatory Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Asset Forfeiture As An Animal Welfare Law: A Case Study On South Carolina's Bond-Or-Forfeit Statute, Morgan Mercer

Animal Law Review

This Comment examines South Carolina’s 2024 bond-or-forfeit statute (H.B. 3682) as a case study in the growing trend of extending existing legal frameworks to promote animal welfare. Traditionally, asset forfeiture treats animals purely as property subject to seizure. However, by shifting the costs of caring for seized animals from public agencies to the animals’ owners, H.B. 3682 embeds a concern for animal well-being into a framework historically focused on economic and property interests. This Comment argues that bond-or-forfeit statutes are part of a broader trend toward recognizing animals as sentient beings with welfare interests distinct from their owners’ property rights. …

A Mandate With Teeth: Biting Back At The Neglect Of New York's Humane Education Law, Mei Brunson

Animal Law Review

New York passed its compulsory humane education law in 1917, which obligates school districts to provide weekly instruction in the “humane treatment and protection of animals” to all elementary school students. Though this mandate is clear, New York school districts routinely ignore it and deprive students of the humane education that they are statutorily entitled to. To make matters worse, the New York Commissioner of Education has abdicated their responsibility to enforce this minimum educational standard. Over the years, the laudable efforts of advocacy groups, educators, and legislators have brought about some instances of district compliance. Nevertheless, widespread district noncompliance …

Species Of State Constitutional Lockstepping, Michael L. Smith

Faculty Articles

When interpreting state constitutional provisions, state courts frequently take a "lockstep" approach by adopting the United States Supreme Court's interpretation of analogous federal constitutional provisions. Critics often portray lockstep interpretation as misguided and have identified varieties of lockstepping, including unreflective, reflective, prospective, and methodological lockstep interpretation. This Article contributes to these discussions by identifying several additional forms of lockstep interpretation that have thus far gone undiscussed: lazy, mandatory, atextual, and sticky lockstepping.

Several of these variations highlight distinct failures of state courts to independently interpret state constitutions. This includes lazy lockstepping, where state courts tend to engage in repeated, thoughtless …

Rethinking The Religious Purpose Test After Catholic Charities Bureau: The Sincerity-Then-Standards Framework, Victoria Litman

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Koziol Firearms, Inc. V. Marchand, 334 A.3d 439 (R.I. 2025)., Grace D. Guachione

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Kazarian V. New London Cnty. Mut. Ins. Co., 331 A.3d 984 (R.I. 2025)., Nicole Aprile

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

2025 Rhode Island Public Laws, Ryan Claudino

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rights Retained: Constitutional Protections For Incarcerated Persons In U.S. Prisons, Alison J. Brochu, Olivia F. Johnson

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

New England Prop. Servs. Grp., Llc V. Vt. Mut. Ins. Co., 331 A.3d 730 (R.I. 2025)., Kayla Badstubner

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Martinez V. State, 328 A.3d 626 (R.I. 2025)., Carter Lee Hazzard

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cashman Equip. Corp., Inc. V. Cardi Corp., Inc., 335 A.3d 430 (R.I. 2025)., India E. Awe

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Time Out: Mandatory Holds As A Tool For Domestic Violence Response & Prevention In Rhode Island, India Awe

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Another Look At Judicial Review Of Labor Arbitration Awards In Rhode Island, William E. Smith, Stefanie Fischer, Kai Wiggins, Sam Jaksa

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Property Rights V. Taxpayer Rights: The Battle Over Tax Foreclosures, Stewart E. Sterk

Articles

No abstract provided.

Runey V. Faring, 336 A.3d 16 (R.I. 2025)., Jessica Galego

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Breaking Patterns Of Abuse: How Amending The Federal Rules Of Evidence Would Strengthen Domestic Violence Prosecutions, Isabelle Ryan

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.