Digital Commons Network^™

Until The Cages Are Empty: Transgender Criminal Defense As A Necessary Tactic Of Prison-Industrial Complex Abolition, Lark Mulligan

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

This article is a practical guide in the fight to abolish the prison-industrial complex as well as institutionalized transphobia and cissexism. Focusing specifically on the practice area of criminal defense, this article proposes a model that must be replicated across jurisdictions wherever transgender people are criminalized. By instituting an interdisciplinary team approach that is non-hierarchical, strengths-based, trauma-informed, community focused, holistic, harm-reductionist, and abolitionist, practitioners will find their role in this movement as one of consensus building, knowledge sharing, community empowerment, institutional navigation, and access distribution. As discrimination and violence against trans people continues to rise, practitioners must learn to not …

Racial Privacy I: The Quest For Whiteness By European Immigrants In America, Najarian R. Peters

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

Privacy law scholars have disregarded and under-theorized racial privacy practices, meaning racial/ethnic passing, in the United States of America. This article is a defining first step in conceptualizing racial passing as an indispensable privacy protection practice, that affirmed the following individual and group privacy rights of European immigrants, who became White in America: (1) the right to be let alone, (2) the right to erasure of stigmatized racial identity, and inherent in that right, (3) the right to forget an assigned racial identity, burdened by socio-economic deprivation and predation. Whiteness was required to access citizenship for the vast majority of …

Foreword, Grace Perez

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

No abstract provided.

The Feminist Challenge To Global Justice: How International Law Reproduces And Resists Patriarchy, Shashwati Wagle

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

This article seeks to introduce feminist approaches to international law. It examines how traditional state-centric security concepts in international law reflect masculine ideals of military strength and sovereignty, contrasted with human security approaches addressing intimate violence and displacement. The piece details international law’s recognition of sexualized violence in armed conflict as a war crime and analyzes international institutions, noting their advancements in gender protections alongside failures to fully incorporate intersectionality. Overall, feminist engagement positions international law as a transformative process challenging gendered power structures.

California’S Attempt To Confront Implicit Bias In Jury Selection: A Critique Of Ab 3070, Sarah Bodisco

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

No abstract provided.

The Political Economy Of Fashion Sustainability Regulation, Meital Peleg Mizrachi, Rachel Chambers

UC Law Business Journal

The global fashion industry is one of the world’s most polluting and exploitative sectors, emitting more greenhouse gases than all international flights and maritime shipping combined, driving extensive water contamination and waste, and relying on labor conditions that remain chronically unsafe and underpaid. Regulation has attempted to respond, but with limited success. Existing sustainability oversight—ranging from import bans and human rights due diligence statutes to environmental taxes and voluntary industry frameworks—remains fragmented and unevenly enforced, shaped by geopolitical tensions, protectionist agendas, and shifting policy priorities. This Article reviews the rapidly evolving landscape of fashion sustainability regulation over the past decade …

Completely Abandon Complete Auto: Why Modern Tax Policy Challenges Require Removing The Commerce Clause’S Restrictions On State Taxation, Peter Nielsen

UC Law Business Journal

The Complete Auto four-prong test is the modern analytical framework for courts to analyze whether a state-level tax discriminates against interstate commerce in violation of the Dormant Commerce Clause. The test asks whether (i) the taxpayer has substantial nexus to the taxing state, (ii) the tax is fairly apportioned to reflect the taxpayer’s activities in the state, (iii) the tax discriminates against interstate economic activity in favor of local activity, and (iv) the tax is fairly related to the goods and services provided by the state. The Complete Auto test faces critiques from both judges and scholars for its inconsistent …

California (+6.5) Vs. Sportsbooks: Cooperative Federalism & The Future Of Sports Gambling In California, Kyle Geffon

UC Law Business Journal

No abstract provided.

No Cuts: How Hayao Miyazaki Highlights The United States’ Inadequacy In Protecting Foreign Authors’ Integrity, Bridget Johns

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

Although the United States joined the Berne Convention in 1989, U.S. copyright law reflects a restricted approach to moral rights protection. Unlike many Berne signatories, the U.S. largely frames copyright as an economic right rather than as a way to protect artistic integrity. Japanese law, by contrast, treats moral rights as central to creative work protections, emphasizing the importance of the work’s dignity and author’s intent. This incongruity has significant consequences in the globalized era, particularly when foreign works are distributed within the U.S. Weak statutory moral rights protections leave authors vulnerable to misattribution and distortion without meaningful recourse. This …

What The Court Tells Reporters: A Discourse Analysis Of Press Interviews With The Justices Since 2000, Brown James

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

The Supreme Court of the United States is among the most influential institutions in American life, yet it is also well known to be one of the most secluded and inaccessible. By and large, the justices only pass their thoughts and decision-making processes to the public via their official written opinions, and seldom grant interviews to reporters. General press coverage of the Court has been given considerable scholarly attention, but the limited interviews the justices grant to the press receive comparatively little attention. This article examines those interviews by analyzing 82 press interviews with active and retired justices from 2000 …

Copyright In Film Adaptations: Protecting Moral Rights In The Age Of The Internet, Amanda Mell

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

Mama Meant To Make You Cry: Who Protects Children From Their Parents’ Social Media Rage Bait?, Danya Hajjaji

UC Law SF Communications and Entertainment Journal

No abstract provided.

Municipal Zoning Challenges For Solar Energy, Patrick Seroogy

UC Law Environmental Journal

No abstract provided.

Ecocide In Palestine: A Call For A New Criminal Designation For Environmental Crimes, Carley A. Bomrad

UC Law Environmental Journal

Gaza has frequently been the target of environmental damage from Israel. Dating back to its immigration to Palestine, Israel has impacted Palestine’s water systems, destroyed its natural landscape, and forcibly changed much of the landscape through invasive species. This environmental harm is only worsened by the repeated conflict in the region, which has damaged infrastructure and water systems and caused contamination of air, water, and soil. Gaza was already struggling with these environmental concerns, coupled with its susceptibility to climate change, when the conflict with Israel intensified in October 2023. All progress that was being made to strengthen Gaza’s infrastructure …

Liability Standards In Autonomous Robotic Surgery, Hee Jung Cho

UC Law Science and Technology Journal

No abstract provided.

Masthead

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Foreword, Marlene Coss

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Nondelegation In Winter (Again), David Zaring

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

Last term, the Supreme Court – these days thought to be intensely interested in reviving a formalist separation of the branches of government – has finally abandoned the quintessence of that project, a revitalization of the nondelegation doctrine. This essay argues that the Court’s decision in FCC v. Consumers’ Research reflects a pragmatic turn: rather than rewriting the test for nondelegation, the Court retained the old test, gave up on formalist reform, and indicated that it will be looking elsewhere for separation of powers remedies. The result is a jurisprudence that remains formally attached to its precedents while embracing the …

The Supreme Court’S New Map Of Federalism, Stephen M. Griffin

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

The American Samoan Oxymoron: The Noncitizen National And The Meaning Of Citizenship, Craig R. Shagin, Delaram Rezaeikhonakdar

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

This article examines the legal distinction between U.S. citizens and noncitizen nationals, with a particular focus on American Samoa. While residents of other U.S. territories—such as Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands—are granted U.S. citizenship by legislation, American Samoa remains the only unincorporated U.S. territory whose inhabitants are recognized as nationals but not citizens. This distinction results in significant political disabilities for American Samoans even when residing in a state, as they may not vote, hold public office, or serve on juries. The article argues that there is no substantive distinction between “citizen” and “noncitizen national” beyond the …

The Florida “Educational” And Employer Censorship Statutes: Constitutional Challenges, Joel E. Davidson

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Originalism Chokes: The 2024 Trump Cases, Lawrence Rosenthal

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

By 2024, a majority of the Justices of the Supreme Court had expressed the view that to be legitimate, constitutional adjudication must be based on the original meaning of the Constitution’s text. Anything else, these Justices have argued, is illegitimate judicial policymaking. Yet, in what were likely the two most critical and high-profile cases decided in 2024, the Court, including its avowedly originalist Members, made no use of originalism. In the first case, the Court faced the question whether a State could bar President Trump from running for President under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. In the second, the …

Masthead

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Editor-In-Chief's Foreword, Marlene Coss

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Bruen, Levels Of Generality, And Our Historical Tradition Of The Regulatory “Why”, Kevin K. Wang

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

To pass Second Amendment muster under New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, gun laws encompassed by the Amendment’s plain text must align with our nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. A challenged law comports with history and tradition when it is sufficiently analogous to historical regulations along two metrics: “how” and “why” the regulation burdens the right to keep and bear arms.

One glaring ambiguity leftover from Bruen is the level of generality at which courts, when analogizing between laws past and present, must frame a regulation’s “how” and “why”—an issue of major consequence. Characterizing the “how” …

The Body At The Mercy Of The State: Sama V. Hannigan And The Fragmented Right To Refuse Across State Lines, Mallory Yeates

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

Courts have long recognized bodily autonomy as a core constitutional value. Yet, doctrine governing reproductive healthcare tells a different story. Sama v. Hannigan exposes the fragility of the right to refuse medical treatment, particularly for incarcerated patients whose claims must survive the demanding standard of qualified immunity. When physicians removed Carrie Rahat Sama’s ovary despite her explicit refusal, her constitutional claim failed because no precedent with sufficiently similar facts had previously condemned such conduct. This case reveals how the “clearly established” prong of qualified immunity can foreclose redress for blatant violations of autonomy.

This Note argues that the viability of …

United States V. Skrmetti: On Realism, Reason, And Hope, Marc Spindelman

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Bread, Work, Freedom! The Urgent Call For Action And Accountability In Afghanistan, Nancy J. Newman, Zubaida Akbar, Mahwish Moazzam, Sussan Tahmasebi

UC Law SF International Law Review

This Article examines the systematic degradation of women and girls in Afghanistan since the Taliban reclaimed power in 2021, and the resulting violations of international human rights law. To provide context for the legal analysis, the Article includes a historical perspective of women’s rights before the takeover, as well as first-hand accounts of life under the current regime. Centering its legal analysis on Afghan women’s demands for “Bread, Work, and Freedom,” the Article explains how the Taliban’s edicts have criminalized women’s education, employment, and mobility, erasing women from public life in blatant violation of multiple international treaties and obligations. It …

A Human Rights Approach To International Criminal Liability: From The Promises Of The 1990s Criminal Tribunals To Selective Impunity, Ilias Bantekas

UC Law SF International Law Review

Since the adoption of the UDHR in 1948, it has become clear that state responsibility for human rights violations ought to be complemented by perpetrators’ individual responsibility under criminal and civil law. The concept of individual responsibility suggests that criminal liability is the “natural” corollary of conduct considered to be a violation of human rights. Even if such criminal liability does not, for whatever reason, arise under national law, this is certainly the outcome under international law. The extent to which this concept is applicable to all violations of human rights involves an examination of the legal basis of human …

Sovereignty As A Shield? The Icc’S Role In Addressing War Crimes In Nagorno- Karabakh, Grigori Sahakyan

UC Law SF International Law Review

This Note argues that the International Criminal Court (ICC) should assert jurisdiction over atrocities from the 2023 Nagorno-Karabakh offensive and pursue prosecutions for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Proper International Humanitarian Law (IHL) classification places the situation in an international armed conflict—via direct interstate action and/or occupation—triggering the full Article 8 framework. Jurisdiction is grounded in Armenia’s ratification and retroactive Article 12(3) acceptance; admissibility is satisfied because Azerbaijan is unwilling to conduct genuine proceedings. While cooperation obstacles remain, targeted enforcement measures can strengthen execution of warrants. The bottom line is doctrinal, not diplomatic: sovereignty cannot shield atrocity crimes; the …