Digital Commons Network^™

Expanding Astrobiology: The Case For A Lunar Biorepository, Mary Hagedorn, Lynne R. Parenti, Robert A. Craddock, Pierre Comizzoli, Paula Mabee, Bonnie Meinke, Susan Wolf, John C. Bischof, Rebecca D. Sandlin, Shannon N. Tessier, Mahmet Toner, Baptiste Journaux, Robert Ambrose, Garret Fitzpatrick

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Earth’s resources are essential to support an expanding presence beyond the planet. Yet global conflicts, environmental change, and natural disasters threaten ecosystems and biodiversity, putting the integrity of Earth’s ecosystems and its resources at risk. These converging challenges underscore the urgency to develop innovative strategies to conserve Earth’s biodiversity. Astrobiology—seeking to understand life’s origins, limits, and potential beyond Earth—plays a central role in this effort, helping to preserve Earth’s species while also providing critical assets to explore and work in space. A Lunar Biorepository was proposed to hold cryopreserved samples from among the most critical species on Earth. Here, we …

Teaching Cross-Cultural Communication In Law School: Lessons From Medicine, Social Work, And Business, Mireille Butler, Jaclyn Celebrezze

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Legal clients in the United States are increasingly multilingual and multicultural. More than 71 million people living in the United States communicate in a language other than English. Consequently, the lawyer’s duty of shared understanding is taking on new meaning. With the advent of ABA Ethics Opinion 500, cross-cultural communication skills are a lawyer’s ethical duty and a law school’s mandate. Additionally, ABA Standard 303(c) and the potential of increased experiential learning credit requirements make clear that immediate curricular changes are needed. To prepare for the modern practice of law, tomorrow’s lawyers need to develop cross-cultural skills while in law …

Forget Me Not? Machine Unlearning’S Implications For Privacy Law, Jevan Hutson, Cedric Whitney, Jay T. Conrad

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Generative AI systems are increasingly relied on and are already actively reshaping how we think about privacy and data protection law. Models ingest and process vast amounts of personal and sensitive data, challenging assurances of compliance with legal frameworks like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) with increasing intensity. Machine unlearning is an emerging tool in practitioners’ attempts to address these challenges: the act of selectively removing or suppressing specific data, such as personal data that a data subject requests be deleted, from AI models as means of complying with legal obligations or …

Authorship Nonsense, Jessica Litman

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Copyright law’s primary device for promoting progress is to bestow rights on the authors of works. Rights vest automatically and last for a very long time. Authors’ choices to retain, license, or transfer those rights fuel opportunities to communicate the works to their audiences. The copyright system’s mechanisms for determining who authored works (and therefore automatically obtained copyright rights) should be both accurate and reliable, since misidentifications will undermine the law’s working as intended.

This article examines authors’ creation of works and copyright law’s handling of authorship disputes. Many works result from creative collaboration. Although the copyright statute incorporates mechanisms …

Boundaries Of Rules: Social Reactions To Legal Intervention, Francesco Parisi

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This chapter examines what happens at the boundaries of rules: when social practices acquire legal recognition, when legal rules seek to reshape social expectations, and when formal and informal enforcement operate together. The conventional economic model treats the expected formal sanction as the principal source of compliance. Although this model provides a fundamental benchmark, it captures only part of the effects of legal intervention. The taxonomy developed here identifies the different ways in which legal, moral, and social incentives may interact. The kinds of public and private enforcement through which individuals express norms shape the additive, nonadditive, and countervailing effects …

Ghosts At The Gate: A Call For Vigilance Against Ai-Generated Case Hallucinations, Christina Frohock

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No abstract provided.

Public Defender Discretion, Alma Magaña

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A focus of criminal legal system reform efforts has been the curtailment of police, prosecutorial, and judicial discretion, which has been criticized for its arbitrariness and its contribution to racial, class, and gender disparities. However, one system actor has largely escaped similar scrutiny: public defenders, who, by grant of authority from ethical rules of practice and Supreme Court jurisprudence, have significant decision-making authority in the cases of indigent persons charged with crimes.

This Article will, for the first time, explore the historical rationale for giving public defenders the power to make life-altering decisions for their clients. Specifically, it dissects the …

Did Copyright Fail Music Artists?, Rachel Landy

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Music soundtracks our lives, supports over two million domestic jobs annually, and is listened to more than ever before. The record industry is thriving, having made over $17 billion in 2024. Yet, many professional artists are barely surviving. Artists signed to record deals lament royalty payments that amount to a fraction of a penny for each stream of their songs. So where is all the money going, and who, or what, is to blame? Public rhetoric and existing legislative proposals implicate copyright as a guilty party. But are those concerns justified?

This Article unpacks the music supply chain. It builds …

New Judicial Federalism And The Establishment Clause: Classroom Ten Commandments As A Case Study In State Constitutional Protection, Caroline Mala Corbin

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Louisiana recently enacted a law requiring a Ten Commandments display in every public school classroom from kindergarten to college. Forty-five years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a nearly identical attempt to introduce Christianity into the public schools violated the Establishment Clause—the clause in the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment that requires some degree of separation between church and state.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court has since reduced the Establishment Clause to a shadow of its former self. It replaced doctrinal tests that protected religious minorities with a history and tradition test that is easily manipulated and that presumes the …

The Active Classroom: A Narrative Review Of Active Teaching Methods And The Flipped Classroom Model In Graduate Medical Education., Kalyan Kandra, Praneetha Vennam

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Graduate medical education (GME) is undergoing a significant pedagogical transformation, moving away from traditional, passive learning environments toward more dynamic, learner-centered approaches. This narrative review examines the implementation and impact of active teaching methods in GME, with a specific focus on the flipped classroom model. In this narrative review, we compare and contrast these innovative strategies with traditional didactic lectures, evaluating their effects on learner engagement, knowledge retention, clinical reasoning, and overall satisfaction. Active learning, grounded in constructivist theory, repositions the resident as an active participant in their education, utilizing methods such as case-based learning, team-based learning, and simulation. The …

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly: A Comparative Constitutional Analysis Of Whistleblowing Speech, The Government's Managerial Domain, And The Imperatives Of Democratic Self-Government, Ronald J. Krotoszynski Jr.

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Since issuing its 1968 landmark decision in Pickering, which first recognized that the First Amendment protects government employees' speech about matters of public concern, the US. Supreme Court has proceeded to whittle away First Amendment protections for government employees. The Justices have done so by adopting a series of categorical exclusions to Pickering that all strongly favor the government as an employer and manager. These subsequent decisions have created a jurisprudential obstacle course that government employees must successfully run in order to invoke the Free Speech Clause at all. The current U.S. approach is plainly bad. However, it could be …

Leaving Delaware? The Essential Role Of Specialized Corporate Courts, Zohar Goshen, Tomer S. Stein

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Following the Delaware Court of Chancery's invalidation of Elon Musk's fifty-six-billion-dollar compensation package, Tesla moved its incorporation from Delaware to Texas. Shortly thereafter, Delaware's legislature, seeking to protect Delaware's dominant incorporation position, passed the most sweeping corporate law amendments in fifty years. 

Both supporters of Musk and defenders of Delaware's judiciary have accused each other of partisanship, but neither side has addressed the central question: What is the role of specialized corporate courts? 

This Essay presents a novel theory of why such courts are necessary. Corporate disputes are distinct because they arise within ongoing relationships between shareholders and management, governed …

Swiping Rights: Hidden Costs Of Hidden Laws, Rachel Landy

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While many legal regimes have undergone fundamental shifts to account for the online economy, one lags behind: industry-specific mandatory contract rules. These rules, frequently buried in decades-old, nonintuitive statutes, are often overly prescriptive and come with draconian penalties, hampering the goals of entrepreneurship and impeding startup growth.

Much has been written about the intersection of regulation and entrepreneurship. But sparse attention has been paid to the unintended consequences on early-stage companies of more subtle regulatory interventions like contract rules — especially those with inconsistent or conflicting requirements among the states. This Article begins to fill that gap and uses as …

Must A Consumption Tax Be Regressive?, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

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Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers once explained why the United States is the only developed country that has not yet adopted a value-added tax: “Liberals think it’s regressive and conservatives think it’s a money machine.... If they reverse their positions, the VAT may happen.” It is true that the VAT is a money machine. It has been estimated that each percentage point of a broad-based U.S. VAT would raise $100 billion each year. This means that a 10 percent VAT (which may be politically possible) would raise $1 trillion each year, and a 25 percent VAT (less likely, but equal …

Gas Station Heroin: A Case Report Of Tianeptine Use Disorder And A Literature Review., Kalyan Kandra, Raghavendran Gajagowni, Gabriela A Fernandez, Natalie Polechonski, Brandon P Blewett

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Tianeptine, an atypical antidepressant prescribed in several countries, is not approved for medical use in the United States. Despite this, it is widely available as an unregulated supplement, popularly known as "gas station heroin," contributing to a growing public health crisis characterized by dependence, severe withdrawal, and overdose. We present the case of a 22-year-old male with major depressive disorder who developed severe tianeptine use disorder. He presented with worsening depression and suicidal ideation, with his psychiatric symptoms substantially exacerbated by cycles of intoxication and withdrawal. The patient declined referral to medication-assisted treatment, highlighting ongoing barriers to care. This case …

The Academic, Psychological, And Physical Impact Of Motor Skills Difficulties On College Students: A Scoping Review, David Gaul Phd, Suzanne Mccarthy Wolf

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Purpose of Review

This scoping review examines the extent and quality of research literature to determine the impact of motor skills difficulties on college or university students. It assesses the adequacy of current institutional supports and identifies opportunities for more inclusive educational practices.

Recent Findings

Four databases (PubMed, SCOPUS, PsycINFO, and Web of Science) were searched for English-language studies published since 1970. Eighteen studies met inclusion criteria: 12 empirical, 4 descriptive, and 2 program evaluations. Six papers from the UK addressed support, social isolation, and academic confidence; six Israeli studies focused on handwriting, dysgraphia, and accommodations; three US studies examined …

Organizational Memories Of Extreme Events: Evidence From Us Public Transit Agencies, Mattia Caldarulo, Ignacio Pezo, Elizabeth A. Corley, Shaika L. Islam, Eric W. Welch

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The increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events require organizations to effectively manage the threats these phenomena pose. To respond to these challenges, public agencies often turn to their organizational memories for guidance. Organizational memories support information processing capacity, facilitate sensemaking, and legitimize and speed up decision-making processes. While memories influence different aspects of organizational life, little is known about their antecedents and the mechanisms behind the retrieval of past events. This study contributes to the broader literature on organizational memory by investigating the elements shaping public agencies’ retrieval of extreme weather events. Integrating weather data from the National …

Corporate Taxation And Industrial Policy, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

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The Trump administration recently announced two new ventures into industrial policy. First, it will impose a levy on chip exports to China by Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). Under the agreement, Nvidia and AMD will pay the government 15 percent of their gross revenue from sales to China. The secretary of the Treasury has said the administration will consider expanding this type of deal to other industries. Second, the administration announced that it will take a 9.9 percent equity stake in Intel

Antitransgender Legislation And Needs Of Transgender Floridians, 2018–2024, Callan Hummel, Kim-Phuong Truong-Vu, Kathryn Nowotny, Ashley Mayfaire, Beaux Ramos, Jasmine Mckenzie, Charlton C. Copeland, Tiffany R. Glynn

Articles

Objectives. To document transgender Floridians’ service needs before and after antitransgender state legislation.

Methods. We conducted descriptive and change point analyses of intake survey data collected by a transgender-led community-based organization in Florida from 701 clients who requested services between 2018 and 2024.

Results. Findings show enrollment for services increased during the rise in antitransgender legislation, with pressing needs for legal and financial support for name changes and gender-affirming health care. The percentage of clients requesting sexual health resources increased, especially among Black clients.

Conclusions. Findings underscore the urgency of (1) understanding the impact of antitransgender legislation on service needs, …

Antitrust’S Consumer Tradeoffs, Samuel N. Weinstein

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In modern antitrust law, courts are required to ask only one question: did the challenged action harm consumers? This Article asks a different question: which consumers? Over the last few decades, the Supreme Court has increasingly required antitrust plaintiffs to prove not only that they were harmed, but also that their harm outweighed any other consumers’ gains. The doctrine forces courts to pit groups of consumers against each other. In Amex, it was merchants against credit card holders. In Brooke Group, it was consumers buying a product during predation against consumers buying it during recoupment. In cases involving aftermarkets for …

Look What You Made Me Do, Russell M. Gold

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We have understood for centuries that crime is both the product of social forces and individual choice. We know now that crime is affected by economic deprivation, addiction, trauma, and mental health issues. But American criminal legal processes hide this reality by coercing defendants into expressing a profoundly simple narrative: crime is solely individual choice to do wrong. This coerced narrative finds defendants during a plea colloquy standing up in court saying that they are pleading guilty because they are guilty and for no other reason. A defendant who goes off-script to tell the judge that they have been repeatedly …

Innovation Interrupted: Legal And Institutional Risks Of Undermining Public-Private Partnerships, Jennifer S. Fan, Xuan-Thao Nguyen

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Part I traces the development of the Bayh–Dole Act and discusses public–private partnership collaboration. Part II focuses on intellectual property generation by universities, illustrating the benefits of public– private partnership. Then Part III highlights the Trump administration’s federal funding cuts to universities that jeopardize the established public–private partnerships. Finally, Part IV details the consequences of how federal funding cuts impact the venture capital sector and the legal architecture of innovation, eroding the United States’ standing in the innovation race.

Should Tax-Free Triangular Mergers Be Eliminated?, Reuven Avi-Yonah

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The tax advantages of reverse triangular mergers under section 368(a)(2)(E) are well known. They enable the acquiring corporation (P) to use up to 60 percent cash consideration to acquire the stock of target (T) through a merger with a controlled subsidiary (S), with T surviving. This amount of boot is higher than what is allowed under a B or C reorganization. Because it is a triangular merger, it avoids exposing the assets of P to the liabilities of T (unlike a direct merger), and because it is equivalent to a stock acquisition, it avoids having to transfer assets, which is …

Understanding The Experiences Of People With And Without Vision Impairments When Using Mobile User Interface Alternative Color Modes, Sarah Andrew, Garreth W. Tigwell

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A current trend in mobile user interface design is to provide alternative color modes (ACMs), such as light mode, dark mode, and high contrast mode, to improve people’s interaction experiences according to their vision access needs and/or the environment. For example, high contrast mode can improve UI visibility for people with low vision and for people using their smartphones in bright sunlight. However, little is known about the experiences of people using ACMs. To address this, we interviewed 29 people with and without vision impairments to discuss the benefits and challenges of ACMs. We found that while ACMs are beneficial, …

An Exploration Of The Evolving Boundary-Spanning Leadership Role Of Architects, Rory Concannon, Roisin Murphy, Oluwasegun Seriki

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Architects form part of multidisciplinary teams in the construction of the built environment. Traditionally they have played a leading role within the construction process, often managing entire projects to completion. In recent years the composition of construction teams have evolved, leading to a perception that the architects leadership role has been diminished. Little is known about the boundary-spanning leadership required by architects, particularly in the light of the evolving roles. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews, this research reduces this gap by exploring architect’s leadership practices in the context of changing boundaries within the construction team. Our findings reveal six specific competencies …

The Collision Course Between Outdated State Laws And Automated Vehicles, William Hubbard, Colin Starger

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America stands at the precipice of a vehicular revolution. Myriads of self-driving vehicles—often referred to as “automated vehicles” or “AVs”—are already rolling out across the nation, and innovators assert that AVs will make our roads safer, less congested, and more economically productive. However, reaching these dreams of self-driving utopias will require more than just technological progress. The uses of traditional vehicles are heavily regulated by hundreds of thousands of state laws that ensure public safety, health, and order. Will these traditional laws still make sense when AVs shift the paradigm? Despite the hype and optimism of many AV advocates, this …

Reforming The Indian Bar: The Limits Of Technological Solutions, Varsha Aithala, Karthik Suresh

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A majority of Indians do not have effective access to legal services, despite the constitutional promise of access to justice. There are two intertwined reasons for this: the unavailability of a sufficient number of good quality lawyers, and the high costs of accessing legal services. The Indian legal profession is highly unequal, with ‘prestige’ being the currency of upward professional mobility. The professional regulator, the Bar Council of India, simply lacks the capacity to regulate quality. As a consequence, clients lack the information to access lawyers, and to understand the outcomes they desire from them, and the fees they have …

Understanding The Interplay Between The Digital And The Physical In Shared Augmented Reality Gaming: Probing Through Urban Legends, Jiangnan Xu, Sanzida Mojib Luna, Garreth W. Tigwell, Nicolas Lalone, Michael Saker, Samuli Laato, John Dunham, Yihong Wang, Alan Chamberlain, Konstantinos Papangelis

Articles

Shared Augmented Reality (Shared AR) is an emerging technology that enables multiple users to interact synchronously within a collocated AR environment. Yet, there is limited research on the group interactions and dynamics in Shared AR, particularly in the context of gaming. To address this gap, we investigate Shared AR group interactions using a phone-based Shared AR mobile game called Urban Legends. Through in-situ observations, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews with 22 participants, we examine how users collaborate and communicate within the game. Our findings reveal that while verbal communication predominates, non-verbal cues are often overlooked by collocated participants, and …

Artificial Ignorance: Understanding The Role Of Ai In Modern Agnotology, Amit Ray, Michael Nolan

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This paper explores the concept of agnotology, the deliberate production of ignorance, within the context of modern scientific endeavors, particularly in the corporate and technological sectors. It examines how industries use various tactics to manipulate public understanding of scientific issues, often to protect profits and limit liability. The rise of private sector funding and the increasing reliance on technologies like AI and machine learning have exacerbated this process by making scientific inquiry more opaque and less accountable. Ultimately, we argue that as knowledge production becomes more entangled with corporate interests and technological systems, traditional methods of oversight and regulation are …

Redressing The Harm Of Accelerated Approval, Laura Karas

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The accelerated approval pathway of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enables drugs to come to market more quickly than would be possible under a traditional FDA approval pathway. Accelerated approval is based upon the agency's determination that changes in a surrogate or intermediate clinical endpoint are "reasonably likely" to predict a clinical benefit meaningful for patients. In essence, the pathway affords sick patients earlier access to potentially beneficial drugs while trials to confirm clinical benefit continue. Accelerated approval has been likened to a social compromise in which promising drugs enter the market sooner in exchange for a …