Digital Commons Network^™

Legislation Is Hot: Reforming The Troubled Teen Industry In California, Jaclyn Ragusa

Hofstra Law Review

No abstract provided.

Weird Cops (Agency Police), Farhang Heydari

Vanderbilt Law Review

The police badge has migrated deep into the administrative state. Parks, schools, transit, housing, revenue, conservation, insurance, and gaming agencies now field tens of thousands of sworn “Agency Police”—often with full arrest powers despite missions far removed from general public safety. The footprint of these officers is significant and expanding, outpacing the growth of traditional law enforcement. Far from being limited to certain communities, Agency Police attract support across the political spectrum, from law-and-order policymakers to reformers. And yet, Agency Police are largely ignored in legal scholarship. The result is that a large slice of U.S. criminal enforcement is poorly …

The Effects Of Restorative Practices On Student Behavior And School Climate: A Case Study, Victoria Smith, M.A.T., Donna Governor, Ph.D, Carlise Womack-Wynne, Ed.D

Current Issues in Middle Level Education

Schools have been seeking alternatives to punitive discipline measures. As an alternative, restorative practices offer healing, community, and relationships. This case study examined a middle school that had been implementing restorative practices since the 2019–2020 school year, three full years at the time of study. A mixed-methods design was used in order to investigate whether the implementation of restorative practices had resulted in a decrease of student misbehaviors and an increase in staff perceptions of school climate. Staff were interviewed (n = 19) and surveyed (n = 44). A thematic analysis was conducted on the interview data, and …

Are Accountability Courts In Georgia A Cost-Effective Public Health Policy Alternative?, Brian D. Graves, Orion Mowbray, Leaanne Derigne, Holly Lynde, Angel Ellis, Rachel Meyer

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: This study evaluates the cost-effectiveness of accountability courts in Georgia, presenting them as a viable alternative in public health policy.

Methods: The research utilized survey data collected from 37 court programs across 40 distinct accountability court programs; it was conducted by the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government in collaboration with the Council of Accountability Court Judges. The analysis includes a comparative assessment of cost savings, benefits, and differences among various court types, specifically focusing on drug courts, DUI courts, mental health courts, family treatment courts, and veterans treatment courts.

Results: Results reveal that …

Horticultural Diplomacy: A Framework For Growing Culturally Aware Gardeners, Stephen Stresow-Cortez, Stephen Reiners, Ashley Miller Helmholdt

Journal of Extension

Derived from person-to-person diplomacy models, a ``horticultural diplomacy'' framework was implemented in a statewide vegetable variety trial program for two seasons to introduce Master Gardeners to diverse crops and cultures. Scaffolding learning with relevant recipes, bed groupings, community tasting events, and collecting community (citizen) science data helped participants build garden skills, gain a greater appreciation for other cultures, and inform new educational materials. Horticultural diplomacy is part of a deliberate effort aimed at growing food and building understanding among (primarily White) volunteers. The techniques that helped make this program successful, adaptable to other garden programs, and aspects that require improvements …

Indigenous Religion And Community Order: Crime Prevention Strategies Among Worshippers Of Igbe Orhe In Nigeria, Onoseme Fortune Afatakpa Dr

African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies

This ethnographic study examines crime prevention strategies within Igbe Orhe, an indigenous African religious tradition practiced in Delta State, Nigeria. While existing security studies primarily emphasize formal and direct approaches to crime prevention, this research foregrounds the less explored structural mechanisms embedded in cultural spirituality. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with purposively selected participants, including the Uku Supreme (global leader), High Priests (Uku), High Priestess (Omote Uku), Chief Priests (Inori), Chief Priestesses (Ini Igbe), and Votary Singers (Akpine). Two focus group discussions were also conducted with female and youth members of selected …

Workplace Stress And Coping Mechanisms Among Law Enforcement Officers In Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria: An Empirical Study, Akaninyene O. Unaam, Akanimo A. Unaam Esq.

African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies

Law enforcement officers face unique occupational stressors that can impair well-being and performance. This study examined stress levels and coping mechanisms among police officers in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, within Lazarus and Folkman's transactional framework. A cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted among 400 randomly selected officers. Data were collected using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) and Brief COPE inventory. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and hierarchical multiple regression were employed. Moderate stress levels predominated (52.5%), with high stress reported by 32.5% of officers. The mean PSS score was 24.6 (SD = 5.8). Significant associations emerged between stress and years of service …

Language As A Strategic Security Resource: Criminological Perspectives On Collective Efficacy, Cultural Security, And Community Resilience, Declan Onwudiwe

African Journal of Criminology and Justice Studies

Language is typically examined as a medium of communication, identity formation, cultural transmission, and education. This article advances a broader argument: language should also be understood as a strategic security resource and a significant criminological variable. Drawing on collective efficacy theory, societal security scholarship, linguistic relativity, decolonial language theory, and ethnolinguistic vitality theory, the article argues that language can facilitate social cohesion, informal social control, intelligence gathering, conflict resolution, procedural legitimacy, and community resilience. Indigenous African languages serve as repositories of historical memory, customary law, social norms, and security-relevant knowledge that may contribute to public safety and social order. The …

Reckless Accomplices, Ben A. Mcjunkin

Northwestern University Law Review

In recent years, criminal prosecutors have pursued homicide charges against the parents of teenaged school shooters. Two high-profile cases—one from Michigan and one from Georgia—provide paradigmatic examples. In each case, the parents provided their children with weapons and ammunition despite obvious signs of each child’s dangerousness and instability. Criminal liability for such reckless conduct is appropriate. But homicide charges are not. This Article critiques this new trend in prosecutions as distorting the substantive criminal law to obtain an outcome that is otherwise unavailable without criminal code reform.

It is a long-held criminal law tenet that intentional wrongful conduct by one …

Demographic And Socioeconomic Factors Influence Perceived Community Needs And Risk Factors For Firearm Violence In Mississippi, Masoumeh Karimi, Matthew Morris, Xiaoshan Gordy, Matthew Kutcher, Leila Seidfaraji, Michelle Brassfield, Erin Dehon, Alyscia Severance, Rukia Lumumba, Fredrick Womack, Lei Zhang

Journal of Public Health in the Deep South

Background: The burden of firearm-related injuries and deaths is not borne equally across sociodemographic groups. The present study investigated the perceived needs and risk factors of firearm related injuries and mortality across gender, education, and income levels through a quantitative needs assessment completed by community members and firearm injury survivors living in the greater Jackson, Mississippi, metropolitan area.

Methods: A total of 93 participants including gunshot wound patients, survivors and community members who have been recruited through community organizations completed the needs assessment survey collecting data on demographic information, firearm exposure, substance use, community exposure to crime and …

Financial Recovery Capital: Exploring The Role Of Extension Education In Promoting Substance Use Recovery, Alex Elswick, Nichole L Huff, Omolola A. Adedokun, Leslie Workman

Journal of Extension

Substance use is a widespread and complex public health challenge. Financial stress (e.g., unemployment, inadequate housing, transportation access, poor financial literacy) is pervasive among people with substance use disorder (SUD). However, few educational interventions exist to address financial stress for this group. Through the theoretical lens of recovery capital (an asset-based approach that describes the totality of resources that support SUD recovery), we summarize the association between financial stress and substance use, offering implications for Extension educators by highlighting PROFIT, an exemplary program that leverages Extension education as a tool to promote financial recovery capital among people with SUD.

Volunteer Managers’ Leadership Competency Impact On Court Ordered Volunteer Service Programs, Bex Takacs-Britz

PNHA Review

This paper explores how nonprofit leaders can build more effective and more equitable court-ordered community service programs that support both organizational missions and the long-term success of justice-involved individuals. Drawing from literature in nonprofit management, volunteer administration, ethics, leadership, and criminal justice, this paper examines the barriers that often limit meaningful opportunities for court-ordered volunteers and the leadership competencies necessary to create stronger programs. To better understand current practices, I conducted semi-structured interviews with volunteer managers from Michigan nonprofit organizations about their experiences managing court-ordered volunteers, navigating organizational culture, and balancing inclusion with risk management concerns. Across interviews, several themes …

Editor-In-Chief's Note, Surekha K. Rao

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Volume 29, Issue 1 Full Contents

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Social Bonds In Specialized Courts: An Expanded Integrated Model Of Treatment Court Effectiveness, Christopher Salvatore

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Specialized court programs, which began with drug treatment courts, now include reentry, domestic violence, prostitution, mental health, veterans, and other problem solving courts, have been shown to reduce recidivism and provide improvements in participant outcomes. Over the last thirty years, scholars have provided theoretical explanations for these programs, including therapeutic jurisprudence, life course theory, deterrence, risk-needs-responsivity, and procedural justice. These theoretical paradigms have not fully integrated the central role of relationships and prosocial connections in specialized courts. This article extends the integrated theoretical model presented by Kaiser and Holtfreter by integrating social bond theory as a critical mechanism connecting specialized …

Author Biographical Notes

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Fabricating The Crime Of Undocumented Presence, Eric S. Fish, Doug Keller

Fordham Law Review

In 2025, the Trump administration’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) declared that it is a federal crime simply to be an undocumented immigrant. Congress has enacted no such crime. Congress has made it a crime for an immigrant to enter the United States in a manner that “eludes examination or inspection.” For nearly 100 years, this “elude” offense has been understood to occur only at the moment an immigrant enters the country. But the Trump administration’s OLC has reinterpreted this crime as a continuing offense. Under this new reading, an immigrant who entered unlawfully eludes examination until the moment of …

Student Perceptions Of Artificial Intelligence-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material: An Qualitative Content Analysis, Paige Horton, Amanda Isabel Osuna

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), especially generative AI and deepfake technology, has introduced new challenges in the production and dissemination of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). While existing research has examined the technological and legal implications of AI-generated child sexual abuse material, less is known about how the public, especially young adults who are most likely to use AI technologies, perceive these developments. The present study addresses this gap by examining undergraduate student perceptions of AI-generated child sexual abuse material at a medium-sized private university in the Southeastern United States. Using data from a Qualtrics survey, this study …

The High Cost Of Low Pay: How Mississippi's Compensation System For Indigent Defense Violates The Sixth Amendment, Whitney L. Dowell

MC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Restoring The Right To Effectiveness: How An Unreasonably High Burden For Proving Ineffective Assistance Violates The Sixth Amendment, May Hebert

MC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rekonstruksi Pengawasan Peradilan Substantif Atas Perjanjian Penundaan Penuntutan Korporasi Dalam Perspektif Civic Trust Dan Reintegrative Shaming, Merlin Swantamalo Magna, Ariesta Wibisono Anditya

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Law Number 20 of 2025 on the Criminal Procedure Code introduces the Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) as a special mechanism for corporate offenders. Article 328(8) grants judges substantive authority to assess proportionality, the impact on the national economy, and the suspect's ability to meet the agreed conditions—yet provides no clear parameters. This absence risks legal uncertainty, judicial formalism, and abuse of power, while colliding with the presumption of innocence within Indonesia's civil-law tradition, in which judges have traditionally played a passive role. This study aims to construct a dogmatic framework for judges' substantive judicial-supervision authority in the DPA mechanism. Employing …

Oh No, Don't Let The Rain Come Down..., Mervyn Bennun

Nebraska Journal on Advancing Justice

No abstract provided.

“Playing Mental Gymnastics”: Exploring Black Women College Athletes' Mental Health Experiences At Historically White Division I Universities, Ezinne D. Ofoegbu

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

Between 2002 and 2022, over 125 college athletes died by suicide, and Division I athletes represented 45% of these deaths. In 2023, Black women college athletes at Division I universities identified racism as a mental health stressor at a higher rate than their non-Black peers. The intersectional nature of social identities and athlete status may create gendered and racialized stressors that are uniquely experienced by Black women athletes. Given the underrepresentation of Black students (i.e., athletes and nonathletes), coaches, faculty, and staff at historically white institutions (HWIs), Black women athletes are likely navigating campus relationships and environments that are shaped …

การพัฒนามาตรการปฏิบัติต่อผู้กระทำความผิดอาญาแทนการควบคุมตัว (Non-Custodial Measures) ในประเทศไทย: กรณีการปล่อยชั่วคราวและการควบคุมตัวในชุมชน (Development Of Non-Custodial Measures In Thailand: Provisional Release And Community-Based Supervision Of Offenders), Thitinant Tengaumnuay

Chulalongkorn University Law Journal

การใช้มาตรการควบคุมตัวผู้กระทำความผิดเกินกว่าความจำเป็นอาจก่อให้เกิดผลกระทบต่อสิทธิและเสรีภาพของบุคคล ตลอดจนเป็นปัจจัยหนึ่งที่นำไปสู่ปัญหาความแออัดในเรือนจำและยังมีข้อจำกัดในการแก้ไขฟื้นฟูผู้กระทำความผิด แนวคิดเกี่ยวกับมาตรการปฏิบัติต่อผู้กระทำความผิดแทนการควบคุมตัว (Non-custodial Measures) จึงมีความสำคัญในฐานะแนวทางที่มุ่งลดการใช้การควบคุมตัวและการจำคุกที่ไม่จำเป็นในกระบวนการยุติธรรมทางอาญา ทั้งยังสอดคล้องกับหลักสิทธิมนุษยชนและมาตรฐานสากล โดยเฉพาะหลักเกณฑ์ตามข้อกำหนดมาตรฐานขั้นต่ำแห่งสหประชาชาติว่าด้วยมาตรการไม่ควบคุมตัว หรือ ข้อกำหนดโตเกียว (Tokyo Rules) บทความวิจัยนี้มุ่งศึกษาการพัฒนามาตรการปฏิบัติต่อผู้กระทำความผิดแทนการควบคุมตัวในกฎหมายไทยในสองประเด็นสำคัญ ได้แก่ การปล่อยชั่วคราวในระหว่างการพิจารณาคดี และ มาตรการควบคุมตัวผู้กระทำความผิดในสังคม โดยศึกษาหลักเกณฑ์ตามกฎหมายไทยประกอบกับการศึกษาเปรียบเทียบกรอบกฎหมายของประเทศสหรัฐอเมริกา ประเทศอังกฤษ และประเทศออสเตรเลีย เพื่อนำเสนอแนวทางที่เหมาะสมสำหรับการพัฒนามาตรการของประเทศไทย

Assessment Of Nigeria's Military's Efforts In Combating Boko Haram Terrorism (2015-2023), Adedoyin Jolaade Omede, Oluwafemi Babatunde Oladimeji

Journal of Peace, Conflict, and Security Studies

This study assessed the Nigerian military’s efforts in combat against Boko Haram's terrorism between 2015 and 2023. This study adopted a qualitative methodology. Secondary data was utilised, and the data was analysed using content analysis to achieve the objectives of this study. The key findings are: initially, the Western states particularly the US hesitated to give Nigeria support against Boko Haram due to Herskovits Factor and human rights (Leahy Law) concerns but later in 2015, they provided military aid and financial support alongside other international actors; there was a decline in Boko Haram’s attacks and fatalities between 2015 and 2023 …

Intimate Partner Violence And Child Wasting Across Countries: An Ecological Cross-Sectional Study, Wanri Lumbanraja, I Ketut Kasta Arya Wijaya, Ruben Cornelius Siagian

Journal of Indonesian Health Policy and Administration

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health issue that can affect the well-being of women, their families, and the child-rearing environment. Meanwhile, wasting in under-five children reflects acute malnutrition linked to food insecurity, infectious diseases, poverty, and access to healthcare services. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between the prevalence of IPV among women in the past 12 months and the prevalence of wasting in children under the age of five at the national level. This study addresses the gap in cross-national research, which remains limited in linking IPV as an indicator of social vulnerability with wasting as …

Fitness Standards For Police, Kam Robles

PNHA Review

This research addresses the inherent stressors within police work and the health and wellness problems prevalent among law enforcement officers. Police officers are at a higher risk of many of the health concerns currently plaguing the population of the already unhealthy United States. Of particular note is that back injury and pain stands out as potentially the most prevalent among the health issues experienced by law enforcement personnel. Worsening this fact is the recent trend of law enforcement administrators shying away from the issue of the unhealthy employees of law enforcement agencies. The solution of implementing widespread voluntary physical fitness …

Mental Health Standards In Michigan Juvenile Detention Facilities: At Odds With Best Practice And State’S Own Public Health Code, Jessica M. Montgomery

PNHA Review

This paper details the current standards and qualifications established for mental health providers in Michigan juvenile justice system (JJS) detention facilities. The state policies regulating JJS detention facilities are compared with Michigan’s Public Health Code Act (1978) and best-practice recommendations published by national mental health and juvenile justice authorities. This paper finds that Michigan policies regulating JJS detention facilities fall below both national best-practice recommendations and the state Public Health Code (1978), and effectively establish a standard of mental health care for youth in JJS detention facilities that is below what is established for youth in the general public. It …

High Times Or Hazy Horizons? Michigan’S Cannabis Market As A Rural Economic Development Tool, Jakob L. Bigard

PNHA Review

Since legalizing cannabis for adult use in 2018, Michigan’s (recreational) cannabis market has become the second largest in the nation. As the state’s market sees rapid maturity, it serves as a model for other states with ongoing legalization efforts. Michigan’s actions, and others like it, have begun to impact movement at the federal level, with multiple cannabis-related bills being introduced in Congress to President Biden signing the first standalone marijuana reform bill earlier this month. As Michigan’s cannabis market continues to mature and grow, it deserves attention from economists and academics alike. Using traditional economic development metrics, this paper evaluates …

Ending Political Prosecutions: Criminalizing Vindictive Federal Charging, Todd Berger

Public Interest Law Journal

No abstract provided.