Digital Commons Network^™

Planning A New Paradigm: Tribal Co-Stewardship And Federal Public Lands Planning, Monte Mills, Martin Nie

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Planning is a critical part of the federal government’s management of the nation’s public lands. Over the last half century, Congress has mandated that each of the four major public land management agencies; the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service, develop and rely on plans to guide their oversight of public lands and resources. Virtually every activity or decision affecting these public lands can be traced back to language in—or missing from—a plan. But, despite the importance of planning, the process by which each agency develops and …

The New Redlining: How Progressive Policies Restrict The Development Of Housing Supply And Perpetuate America's Racist Property Law Past, Steve Calandrillo, Kelsey Dunn

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Recent scholarship has exposed America’s racist property law past. During the twentieth century, decades of deliberate state-sponsored discrimination (a.k.a., “Redlining”) made homeownership—and the accumulation of wealth—more difficult for people of color. In 1948, the Supreme Court outlawed these practices in the seminal case, Shelly v. Kraemer. However, the damage had been done, and has proven to be long-lasting. Redlining slowed economic mobility for people of color and exacerbated the racial wealth gap. As a result, America is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis that disproportionately impacts people of color.

Readers well versed in economics and public policy …

The Equal Protection-Fourth Amendment Shell Game: An Essay On The Limited Reach Of The 2023 Affirmative Action Cases, The Fourth Amendment, And Race Beyond Skin Color, David B. Owens

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In striking down race-conscious admissions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, the Supreme Court used lofty rhetoric about the importance of ending race discrimination, even calling the command of Equal Protection “universal.” In two ways, this Essay explores the legal and practical limits of the affirmative action cases and illustrates how the Court’s claimed concern about race discrimination rings hollow. First, this Essay discusses state actors permitted to use race in their decision-making: the police. Unlike elite universities whose policies are subject to exacting scrutiny, the Supreme Court permits police to use race when deciding whom to seize …

Does Third Party Litigation Funding Need Regulations On Consumer Protection, Ronen Avraham, Eric Schuller, Anthony J. Sebok

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Transcript of a roundtable discussion during the Third-Party Litigation Symposium at the S.J. Quinney College of Law.

How Experts View The Legal System's Use Of Scientific Evidence, Shari Seidman Diamond, Richard Lempert

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Legal scholars and courts frequently write about how scientific evidence is vetted and presented in legal proceedings, but the views of experts themselves have received little attention. Our research aims to fill that gap. This paper reports some of what we learned from a series of surveys we conducted, beginning with a survey in 2016 of scientists who had been elected to membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.3 Subsequent surveys were directed to subscribers of the journal Science who identified as scientists and engineers and to self-identified experts who advertised their availability as experts to lawyers or …

‘I Could Replicate The Situation Exactly The Same As I Do In Class’: Apprentice Lecturers Use Of A Learning Management System At An Irish University During And After Covid-19, Eleanor Attridge, Tom O'Mahony

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While technology is playing a more critical role in learning, apprentice lecturers’ use of technology to support learning is under-researched. This qualitative study explores apprentice lecturers’ use and experience of a Learning Management System during and after COVID-19. Thematic analysis was used to make sense of the rich data, gathered using semi-structured interviews, from ten apprentice lecturers. The analysis revealed that technology use largely mirrored participants’ teacher-centric face-to-face methods. This approach did not sustain apprentice online engagement. Applying the theoretical framework, TPACK revealed that limited pedagogical expertise and, to a lesser extent, limited technological proficiency shaped participants’ approaches. Systemic constraints …

Letter From Jeffrey Kadet To The Internal Revenue Service Re: Notice 2025-6, T.D. 10022, Reg-107420-24, Jeffery M. Kadet

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I applaud the thought, care, logic, and thoroughness that are reflected in the recently finalized regulations in T.D. 10022 and the proposed regulation in REG-107420-24. I hope the comments set forth below will be useful to you. I am happy to respond to written questions or to discuss the comments herein by phone. If it is decided to hold public hearings and it is possible to provide testimony remotely by phone or electronic medium, then I request that I be allowed to present and discuss some of the matters raised within this submission.

In the following pages, I have provided …

Letter From Jeffrey Kadet To The Internal Revenue Service Re: Notice 2025-19, 2025-2026 Priority Guidance Plan, Jeffery M. Kadet

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Based on my working experience with numerous clients that spanned over thirty years and my studies over the past twenty-three years both as an academic and in connection with my published articles and governmental submissions, I have identified a number of projects that should be considered a high priority for the Treasury and the IRS. These projects, which are attached as appendices to this letter, cover a number of areas. Importantly, I have not been a paid advisor for over a decade and a half. As such, my recommendations are free of any influence from potentially affected taxpayers. I do …

The President's Orders Targeting Law Firms As Unconstitutional Bills Of Attainder-- Damning Lessons From The Past, Gary Simson

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“Sentence first, verdict afterwards,” the Queen in Alice in Wonderland insisted at the trial of the Knave of Hearts for stealing the Queen’s tarts. Such an upsidedown process obviously leaves quite a bit to be desired, but compared to the process provided by President Donald Trump’s executive orders announcing and inflicting debilitating penalties on particular law firms, it’s not all that bad. After all, the Knave of Hearts, unlike the targeted firms, at least got some sort of trial before punishment was announced.

Also, it’s one thing to be punished for stealing the Queen’s tarts—something that any law-abiding citizen of …

Deglobalization, Tax Competition, And The Potential Revival Of The Welfare State, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah, Doron Narotzki

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Before 1980 the world was relatively closed. There were significant barriers to cross-border trade and investment in the form of tariffs and exchange controls. Martin Feldstein, former President Reagan’s chief economic adviser, coauthored an article in 1979 that showed that investment in the U.S. economy was about equal to U.S. savings, so the United States could manage without any foreign direct or portfolio investment.

Memorable Whale Watching Tourism Experiences: Insights From The Azores, Erose Sthapit, Teresa Borges-Tiago, Muhammet Kesgin, Carlos Picanco, Brian Garrod

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This study examines the roles of learning, experience co-creation, and experiential satisfaction as antecedents of a memorable whale-watching tourism experience, as well as the relationships between experiential satisfaction, memorable whale-watching tourism experience, hedonic well-being, place attachment, and pro-environmental behavior. Using data collected from 247 tourists who had taken a whale-watching trip in the Azores, partial least squares structural equation modeling was then applied to the dataset. The results indicate that the higher the levels of learning, experience co-creation, and experiential satisfaction, the more memorable is the whale-watching tourism experience. Experiential satisfaction and memorable whale-watching tourism experience are, in turn, significant …

Optimising Non-Cycloplegic Screening Strategies For Early Detection Of Pre-Myopia And Myopia In Young Children, Síofra Harrington, Michael Moore, James Loughman, Ian Flitcroft, Veronica O'Dwyer

Articles

Purpose: Early detection of myopia is essential to delay its onset and progression. Pre-myopia, defined by an inadequate hyperopic reserve, increases myopia risk in childhood. However, effective screening methods remain limited. This study aimed to develop practical non-cycloplegic screening methods for pre-myopia and myopia in 6- to 7-year-olds to support earlier interventions.

Methods: This cross-sectional study of 621 Irish schoolchildren (mean age: 7.12 ± 0.45 years; 51.8% boys) assessed uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA). Cycloplegic spherical equivalent refraction (SER) classified refractive status (myopia: SER ≤ −0.50D; pre-myopia: SER > −0.50 ≤ 0.75D). Pre- and post-cycloplegic SER were measured using the Welch …

Winning The Battle, Losing The War: Rahimi, Women, And The Supreme Court, Dana Raigrodski

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Domestic violence and DV-related firearm use are a grave and persistent issue in the United States and have an extensive harmful and deadly impact in the lives of many women. In its 2024 Rahimi decision, the United States Supreme Court held that, as applied to the facts of the case, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), which bans firearms possession by those subject to a DV protective order, is facially constitutional under the Second Amendment. The Court upheld § 922(g)(8) under Bruen’s “Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulations” test, finding that founding era laws included provisions preventing individuals who threaten physical harm …

Novel Corporate Governance Structures, Jennifer S. Fan, Xuan-Thao Nguyen

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Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) startups have taken center stage, rapidly disrupting conventional industries at an unprecedented pace with their groundbreaking innovations. Hailed by many as the most significant technological advancement of our era, AI’s profound societal impact has garnered heightened public and governmental scrutiny. The spotlight has recently fallen on OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, which weathered a tumultuous period marked by the ouster and subsequent rehiring of CEO Sam Altman, a board reconfiguration, and Altman’s later return to the board. Concerns over AI safety were offered as the rationale for the tandem corporate governance structure of nonprofit and for-profit at …

The Ai Input Class: Constitutional Urgency And Fair Licensing In Ai Copyright Class Actions, Xuan-Thao Nguyen, Elizabeth G. Porter

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The humanities have long been under attack; now Big Tech is eating them for breakfast. Artificial Intelligence is undermining the cultural and constitutional values of human creativity; it is also threatening the livelihoods of the creative working class. Because neither Congress nor regulators can keep pace with AI’s pace of change, class actions have stepped into the breach. In the first wave of such litigation, authors and artists in courts on both coasts claim that AI companies violate intellectual property law when they “train” their systems on copyrighted works.

This Article analyzes what we call “input” AI claims—that is, proposed …

Refractive Error And Axial Length (Real) Study: Feasibility Of A Population Study In The United States, Sarah E. Singh Dr, Lisa A. Ostrin, Kristen Kerber Dr, Concepcion Cayle, Celia Gong Dr, Lal Barsha Dr, Ian Flitcroft, Síofra Harrington, James Loughman, Kathryn Saunders Prof, Fuensanta Vera-Diaz Dr

Articles

Myopia is the most common eye disease and a leading cause of blindness. A contemporary, large, and ethnically and geographically diverse study of ocular biometry and refractive error in children in the United States is needed to help better describe differences between myopic and nonmyopic eyes.

This is an initial cross-sectional report from the Refractive Error and Axial Length Growth Curve Study that includes ocular component data as a function of age, gender, and geographic location. This feasibility report will inform a planned larger longitudinal ocular growth study in children in the United States.

Cross-sectional data on children, ages 3 …

An Empirical Evaluation Of Communication Technologies And Quality Of Delivery Measurement In Networked Microgrids, Ruairí De Fréin, Yasin Emir Kutlu

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Networked microgrids (NMG) are gaining popularity as an example of smartgrids (SG), where power networks are integrated with communication technologies. Communication technologies enable NMGs to be monitored and controlled via communication networks. However, ensuring that communication networks in NMGs satisfy quality of delivery (QoD) metrics such as the round trip time (RTT) of NMG control data is necessary. This paper addresses the communication network types and communication technologies used in NMGs. We present various NMG deployments to demonstrate real-life applicability in different contexts. We develop a real-time NMG testbed using real hardware such as Cisco 4331 Integrated Services Routers (ISR). …

Why Did The Irs Restart Transfer Pricing Litigation?, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Articles

In his excellent recent article on Coca-Cola’s appeal of its transfer pricing defeat in the Tax Court, Tax Notes contributing editor Ryan Finley explains that Coca-Cola’s main argument is based on the idea that “the IRS led the company into an ambush.” In 1996 the IRS entered into a closing agreement with Coca-Cola that provided that for the 1987 through 1995 tax years, the division of profits between Coca-Cola and its foreign “supply points” (the subsidiaries responsible for mixing the secret formula) would be based on a 10 percent return to the subsidiary and that any profit above that would …

Exploring Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Peoples' Perspectives On Tasks In Augmented Reality: Interacting With 3d Objects And Instructional Comprehension, Sanzida Mojib Luna, Jiangnan Xu, Garreth W. Tigwell, Nicolas Lalone, Michael Saker, Alan Chamberlain, David I. Schwartz, Konstantinos Papangelis

Articles

Tasks in augmented reality (AR), such as 3D interaction and instructional comprehension, are often designed for users with uniform sensory abilities. Such an approach, however, can overlook the more nuanced needs of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) users who might have reduced auditory perception. To better understand these challenges, our study utilized the single-player AR game Angry Birds AR as a probe to explore how 11 DHH participants and 15 hearing participants experienced AR interactions. Our findings highlight that DHH users prefer interaction based on context, effective haptic cues, audio cue substitutes, and clear instructional design. We, therefore, propose …

Investigating The Intersection Of Cultural Design Preferences And Web Accessibility Guidelines With Designers From The Global South, Laleh Nourian, Vinaya Hanumant Naikar, Kristen Shinohara, Garreth W. Tigwell

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Cultural background influences aesthetic web design preferences, and aesthetic design impacts accessible design. However, limited research has focused on this intersection of cultural background and accessible web design. With the majority of HCI and design resources originating from the Global North, we investigated the conflicts experienced due to the cultural background of digital designers from the Global South and current web accessibility guidelines. We conducted a design activity and interview study with 10 designers from five countries in the Global South to identify how current web accessibility guidelines conflict with our participants’ cultural design preferences. We found there are specific …

The Return Of Private Law, Anthony J. Sebok

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Recent events offer a grim picture of the future of public law. In particular, President Trump’s assault on the administrative state seems destined to hamper the ability of agencies to protect the public in familiar areas such as drug safety, auto safety, environmental protection, and consumer protection.

Democracy’S Distrust: The Supreme Court’S Anti-Voter Decisions As A Threat To Democracy, Gilda R. Daniels

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This Essay explores perceived biases within recent Supreme Court decisions affecting voting access and their implications for American democracy. The Supreme Court plays a pivotal role in enforcing democratic principles. This Essay examines historical and contemporary examples of judicial decisions that have privileged powerful political candidates and legislatures to the detriment of voters. As a lens for assessing these decisions, the Essay introduces a conceptual dichotomy between candidate-centered and voter-centered perspectives. The Essay argues that the Court’s prioritization of the former perspective has forced citizens to bear the burden of antidemocratic decisions, which in turn has led to widespread distrust …

Should The States Return To Worldwide Combined Reporting?, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

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On February 20 the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) released a report on the revenue implications of states adopting worldwide combined reporting (WWCR). WWCR refers to a method of taxation that several states (for example, California) applied from the 1970s to the 1990s. Under WWCR, the state takes the entire worldwide profit of a multinational operating in the state and multiplies it by a formula that traditionally combines payroll, tangible assets, and sales in the state divided by worldwide payroll, assets, and sales. The result is the amount of profit taxable in that state.

Integrating Standards For Infrastructure Improvement And Resilience In University Curricula, Lisa Greenwood, Jennifer Schneider, Sumita Mishra, Yewande S. Abraham, Shriram Karpoora Sundara Pandian

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In today’s ever-changing world, we are increasingly vulnerable to shocks and stresses that disrupt industry and society. Persistent threats from natural and manmade hazards require our communities and infrastructure to be resilient despite possible disruption. Creating robust infrastructures is founded on operational and physical standards to withstand and respond to threats such as environmental exposures, climate change, and informational security breaches. The significant U.S. investment in infrastructure projects through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has amplified the need for professionals in engineering and related fields who – in addition to technical knowledge - possess the necessary knowledge and skill …

Nevadaware Divergence In Corporate Law, Wendy G. Couture

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The differences between Nevada and Delaware corporate law - which I call "Nevadaware divergence" - are the subject of media attention, scholarly critique, and current litigation. Nevada corporate law has a reputation as being a no-liability Zone where officers and directors are free to defraud stockholders without consequences. My goal in this article is to inform a more fulsome understanding of Nevada corporate law, both substantively and theoretically, as compared to Delaware corporate law). Starting with the premise that Nevada corporate law is more nuanced than common wisdom suggests, I highlight Nevadaware divergence - not only about substantive corporate law-but …

Strong Democracies Need Reliable Citations, Margie Alsbrook

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Legal systems must hold the trust of citizens in order for democracies to survive. Unfortunately, the American legal system is suffering from an unprecedented credibility crisis. Analyses of the roots of this problem have largely focused on political causes, with blame going to an array of issues ranging from the partisan nature of the judicial appointment process to the lack of ethical oversight for judges with lifetime appointments to the bench.

Thus far, scholarly articles analyzing the modern erosion of precedent have generally examined precedent from political or subject-matter-specific perspectives. This Article takes a more universal approach by discussing the …

Biglaw's Race Problem, Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Anthony V. Alfieri

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Ever since the 1970s when BigLaw firms began to hire Black lawyers into their associate ranks, these firms have wrestled with problems in both recruiting and retaining Black associates. During the ensuing decades, BigLaw firms have minimally increased the low numbers of Black attorneys who have become partners, particularly equity partners, within their organizations. Numerous scholars have explored how racial bias and discrimination, both within BigLaw firms and greater society, have contributed to such failures in the recruitment, retention, and promotion of Black lawyers. In his new book The Black Ceiling: How Race Still Matters in the Elite Workplace, Professor …

Saving Agency Adjudication, Aaron L. Nielson, Christopher J. Walker, Melissa F. Wasserman

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When discussing the federal judiciary, commentators typically fixate on the 800 or so “Article III” judges who are nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and enjoy life tenure and salary protection. Yet most federal adjudication does not take place in federal courthouses at all. Instead, it occurs in nondescript hearing rooms in administrative agencies—if not telephonically. Indeed, the more than 12,000 agency adjudicators scattered across the federal government collectively issue millions of decisions per year on subjects ranging from Social Security and veterans benefits to immigration and patent rights. In recent years, however, scholars and agency adjudicators have …

Drivers Of Effective Laws For Automated Vehicles, William Hubbard

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Hundreds of thousands of automated vehicles (AVs) are currently driving on America’s roads. The defining feature of AVs is that sophisticated technological systems control some or even all aspects of vehicle movement. Like any motor vehicle, AVs provide many benefits but also raise significant safety concerns. Indeed, people are already dying in collisions with AVs. Effective AV regulation is therefore critical.

This Article addresses an important—perhaps the most important— issue of AV regulation today. Recent empirical research has uncovered a shocking legal crisis: more than 40,000 conventional state laws are unclear or ineffective when applied to AVs. Fortunately, the vast …

Lessons For The Trump Administration From The Biden U.S. National Strategy To Counter Antisemitism, Lili Levi

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In May 2023, the Biden Administration issued the first-ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism [hereinafter National Strategy] with a goal of hindering further normalization of antisemitism by increasing public awareness of antisemitism and highlighting positive Jewish contributions to America. Recent events, however-particularly the social and political upheaval over protests of the war in Gaza-have led to public contestation over Israel, increased instances of antisemitism, and the partisan politicization of Jewish issues. Now, the Trump Administration explicitly purports to fight antisemitism by widespread attacks on universities over antisemitism on campus. Does this mean that the National Strategy has become anachronistic, …