Digital Commons Network^™

Griggs At Midlife, Deborah A. Widiss

Michigan Law Review

Not all Supreme Court cases have a midlife crisis. But it is fair to say that Griggs v. Duke Power Co., which recently turned forty, has some serious symptoms. Griggs established a foundational proposition of employment discrimination law known as disparate impact liability: policies that significantly disadvantage racial minority or female employees can violate federal employment discrimination law, even if there is no evidence that the employer “intended” to discriminate. Griggs is frequently described as one of the most important decisions of the civil rights era, compared to Brown v. Board of Education for its “momentous social consequences.” In 1989, …

Six Overrulings, Andrew Koppelman

Michigan Law Review

John Paul Stevens, who retired in 2010 at the age of ninety after more than thirty-four years on the Supreme Court, has capped his astoundingly distinguished career by becoming an important public intellectual. He reviews books, gives high-profile interviews, wrote a memoir of the chief justices he has known, and has now written a second book. Six Amendments revisits half a dozen old, lost battles. Stevens appeals over the heads of his colleagues to a higher authority: the public. Now that he is off the Court, Stevens explains why six decisions in which he dissented should be overruled by constitutional …

Flourishing Rights, Wendy A. Bach

Michigan Law Review

There is something audacious at the heart of Clare Huntington’s Failure to Flourish. She insists that the state exists to ensure that families flourish. Not just that they survive, or not starve, or be able, somehow, to make ends meet—but that they flourish. She demands this not just for some families but, importantly, for all families. This simple, bold, and profoundly countercultural demand allows Huntington to make a tremendously convincing case that the state can begin to do precisely that. Failure to Flourish is a brave, rigorously produced, carefully researched, and politically astute book. Huntington seeks to persuade a wide …

The Classified Information Procedures Act In The Age Of Terrorism: Remodeling Cipa In An Offense-Specific Manner, Arjun Chandran

Duke Law Journal

The Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) sets the balancing point between the government’s interest in preventing disclosure of classified information with a criminal defendant’s right to exculpatory material. Although CIPA was originally drafted with espionage cases in mind, the statute has become more commonly associated with terrorism prosecutions. This contextual shift has disrupted CIPA’s interest-balancing formulation by altering the governmental interests at stake. CIPA’s discovery burdens on the defendant are ordinarily constitutionally justified by the strong countervailing state interest in preserving vital national-security information. This concern is less salient with terrorism defendants, who are unlikely to possess state secrets. Accordingly, …

Small Data Surveillance V. Big Data Cybersurveillance, Margaret Hu

Faculty Publications

This Article highlights some of the critical distinctions between small data surveillance and big data cybersurveillance as methods of intelligence gathering. Specifically, in the intelligence context, it appears that "collect-it-all" tools in a big data world can now potentially facilitate the construction, by the intelligence community, of other individuals' digital avatars. The digital avatar can be understood as a virtual representation of our digital selves and may serve as a potential proxy for an actual person. This construction may be enabled through processes such as the data fusion of biometric and biographic data, or the digital data fusion of the …

A History Of Antisocial Personality Disorder In The Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Illness And Treatment From A Rehabilitation Perspective, Mallory Cole Houser

Research Papers

This paper researched publications and articles to understand the history of antisocial personality disorder in the DSM. Upon gaining information regarding the history and diagnostic criteria of the antisocial personality disorder in the DSM, the author of this paper sought to provide knowledge of counseling techniques to be used by rehabilitation counselors and other counseling professionals when treating antisocial personality disorder. Many people diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder find themselves in the criminal justice system and have many problems involving interactions and socialization with others in the community. By delivering history and techniques, this author hopes to make …

A Contagion Of Fear: Post-9/11 Alarm Expands Executive Branch Authority And Sanctions Prosecutorial Exploitation Of America's Privacy, Carol M. Bast, Cynthia A. Brown

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

No abstract provided.

Why Can't I Know How The Sausage Is Made?: How Ag-Gag Statutes Threaten Animal Welfare Groups And The First Amendment, Daniel L. Sternberg

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

No abstract provided.

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In Public Education, Mariela Flores

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Current and projected demographics, as well as data reflecting high school completion rates across ethnic groups in the U.S. demand a reexamination of pedagogical approaches in public schools. Despite substantial research demonstrating the success that Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) has with students of color, it remains a widely underutilized approach. This paper investigates factors inhibiting the use of CRP with Latino students. The researcher interviewed two English teachers at an East Salinas high school with a 98% Latino student body. Teachers were asked how they feel about CRP, what are factors inhibiting its implementation and what could be done to …

Transitional Justice And Judicial Activism— A Right To Accountability?, Ruti Teitel

Articles & Chapters

Victims of systemic rights abuses, their families, and non-governmental organizations are turning to international and regional human rights tribunals to address the failure of states to investigate, prosecute, and remedy past human rights violations. In many cases this relates to acts that occurred decades ago and for which a previous repressive regime was responsible. In other cases there may be powerful interests within the state, such as the police or security service, that are complicit with the violations in question. This Article explores the historical and political contexts in which these cases have arisen, how the courts approach the question …

Motivation, Persistence, And Achievement In Community College Asynchronous Online Courses, Rachel Michelle Desmarais

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Community college students enrolled in asynchronous online courses were examined for the correlational effects of motivation factors upon achievement and persistence in major and non-major courses. A modified version of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, & McKeachie, 1991) was employed to obtain measurements on motivation and self-regulatory factors. Demographic factors and first generation student status were used to determine any interaction effects.

A series of binary logistic regressions demonstrated significant, positive correlations between self-efficacy and modified MSLQ task value on persistence for these students. A series of ordinal logistic regressions demonstrated significant, positive correlations between …

Predictors Of Self-Esteem In Children Exposed To Potentially Traumatic Events, Colleen Michelle Ray

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Self-esteem is not only important for the well being of a child, but the effects of low levels of self-esteem can continue well into adulthood. Past research identifies many possible predictors of self-esteem including: age, gender, Ethnicity, interpersonal relationships, parenting techniques and locus of control. One downfall of previous literature is the lack of exploration performed with high-risk samples. This study aims to begin to fill this void.

Utilizing data from the INVEST project, the current analysis examines predictors of self esteem among 161 children and adolescents aged 8-17, referred to a hospital based Child Advocacy Center due to exposure …

Solving Batson, Tania Tetlow

William & Mary Law Review

The Supreme Court faced an important ideological choice when it banned the racial use of peremptory challenges in Batson v. Kentucky. The Court could either ground the rule in equality rights designed to protect potential jurors from stereotyping, or it could base the rule on the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to an “impartial jury” drawn from a “fair cross-section of the community.” By choosing the equal protection analysis, the Court turned away from the defendant and the fair functioning of the criminal justice system, and instead focused on protecting potential jurors. In doing so, the Court built a fatal error …

Course Schedule Spring 2015, William & Mary Law School

Course Information

No abstract provided.

Lawyer: Spring 2015, Seattle University School Of Law

Lawyer

•Retiring professors Paula Lustbader ’88, Hank McGee, and John Mitchell
•John McKay reflects on his time in Palestine
•Environmental Law seminar sees Elwha River restoration work up close

Hana Financial, Inc. V. Hana Bank, Rachael Dickson

DePaul Journal of Art, Technology & Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

Rights At Risk In Privatized Public Housing, Jaime Alison Lee

All Faculty Scholarship

Traditional public housing is dwindling. Federal policy has increasingly encouraged privatization, shifting stewardship of public housing out of the hands of government and into the hands of private, for-profit companies. Privatization in this context has both benefits and risks. A particularly compelling area of study is the attempt by lawmakers to conscript private contractors into serving public policy goals. Private landlords are obligated not merely to provide housing, but to conduct themselves in ways that promote the interests of vulnerable people. The case of public housing suggests that legislative mandates and contractual obligations are not enough to assure this outcome, …

Student, Parent, And Teacher Perceptions Of School Racial Climate In A Charter Middle School In South Los Angeles: A Microcosm Of Missed Opportunity, Joan Y. Wicks

LMU Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study explores student, parent, and teacher perceptions of school racial climate and its impact on students’ academic and personal lives at a charter middle school in South Los Angeles. The study also explores teacher handling of the impact of racial tensions at this school with a majority Latin@ student enrollment and a predominantly Black teaching staff. School climate refers to the perceived quality of interpersonal interactions among teachers, students, staff, and parents. A positive school climate is associated with increased academic achievement and decreased disciplinary problems. Conversely, schools wrought with interethnic conflict or a poor racial climate …

What Is Criminal Law About?, Guyora Binder, Robert Weisberg

Journal Articles

In a recent critique, Jens Ohlin faults contemporary criminal law textbooks for emphasizing philosophy, history and social science at the expense of doctrinal training. In this response, we argue that the political importance of criminal law justifies including reflection about the justice of punishment in the professional education of lawyers. First, we argue that both understanding and evaluating criminal law doctrine requires consideration of political philosophy, legal history, and empirical research. Second, we argue that the indeterminacy of criminal law doctrine on some fundamental questions means that criminal lawyers often cannot avoid invoking normative theory in fashioning legal arguments. Finally, …

Substance Use Among Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Clients Entering Substance Abuse Treatment: Comparisons To Heterosexual Clients, Annesa Flentje, Nicholas C. Heck, James L. Sorensen

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Objective: This study evaluated whether sexual orientation-specific differences in substance use behaviors exist among adults entering substance abuse treatment. Method: Admissions records (July 2007–December 2009) were examined for treatment programs in San Francisco, California receiving government funding. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) persons (n = 1,441) were compared to heterosexual persons (n = 11,770) separately by sex, examining primary problem substance of abuse, route of administration, age of first use, and frequency of use prior to treatment. Results: Regarding bisexual males, the only significant finding of note was greater prevalence of methamphetamine as the primary substance of abuse. When compared …

A Past And Future Of Judicial Elections: The Case Of Montana, Anthony Johnstone

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article searches for lessons from Montana’s experience for the future of American judicial elections. Part II considers the origin of judicial elections and history of reforms in Montana, which is marked both by substantial worries about outside political intervention in state courts and by several innovative responses to it. Part III reviews the practice established by Montana’s reformed model of judicial selection over the past four decades. Part IV examines the Montana Supreme Court’s engagement with Citizens United, followed by a close analysis of an election held in its aftermath: the hardfought 2014 campaign between incumbent Justice Mike Wheat …

Political Science News And Views, Spring 2015, Department Of Politics And Government

Department of Politics and Government News and Views

Newsletter of the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University

Beginning To Learn How To End: Lessons On Completion Strategies, Residual Mechanisms, And Legacy Considerations From Ad Hoc International Criminal Tribunals To The International Criminal Court, Dafna Gozani

Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Debate Over Autonomous Weapons Systems, Gregory P. Noone Dr., Diana C. Noone Dr.

Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Splitting The Bill: Creating A National Car Insurance Fund To Pay For Accidents In Autonomous Vehicles, Carrie Schroll

Northwestern University Law Review

While self-driving cars may seem like something that can exist only in a futuristic movie, the technology is developing rapidly, and many states already allow test runs of self-driving cars on state roads. Many car companies have announced that they will make self-driving cars available as early as 2020. However, several manufacturers of the self- driving car technology predict that personal ownership of vehicles will be replaced by a car-sharing system, where companies own the self-driving cars and rent them to consumers who pay per use. With more widespread introduction of this technology comes many questions about how to assess …

Armstrong Magazine, Marketing & Communications Department, Armstrong State University

Armstrong News & Publications: Armstrong Magazine (Archived)

No abstract provided.

The Attorney General As Lawyer (?): Confidentiality Upon Resignation From Cabinet, Andrew Flavelle Martin

Dalhousie Law Journal

The unique role of the attorney general raises several special issues oflegal ethics. This paper addresses one previously unaddressed: whether it is appropriate for the attorney general to publicly announce his or her reasons for resighing from Cabinet. Unlike other ministers, the attorney general is almost always a practicing lawyer and thus bound not only by Cabinet solidarity and Cabinet confidentiality, but also by the lawyer's professional duty of confidentiality and by solicitor-client privilege. The paper begins by canvassing a hierarchy ofreasons for a principled resignation and the rare historical examples where these have occurred. It then turns to the …

Ban The Box: A Call To The Federal Government To Recognize A New Form Of Employment Discrimination, Christina O'Connell

Fordham Law Review

    As the number of Americans with criminal histories grows significantly, states and cities across the nation have reacted by adopting ban-the-box laws. Ban-the-box laws received their name because they ban the criminal history box on initial hiring documents. The goal of the ban-the-box movement is to promote job opportunities for persons with criminal records by limiting when an employer can conduct a background check during the hiring process and encouraging employers to take a holistic approach when assessing an applicant's fit for a position.

    There is no federal ban-the-box law, but states have taken varying approaches to adopting ban-the-box statutes. …

Sox On Fish: A New Harm Of Overcriminalization, Todd Haugh

Northwestern University Law Review

The harms of overcriminalization are usually thought of in a particular way—that the proliferation of criminal laws leads to increasing and inconsistent criminal enforcement and adjudication. For example, an offender commits an unethical or illegal act and, because of the overwhelming breadth and depth of the criminal law, becomes subject to too much prosecutorial discretion or faces disparate enforcement or punishment. But there is an additional, possibly more pernicious, harm of overcriminalization. Drawing from the fields of criminology and behavioral ethics, this Essay makes the case that overcriminalization actually increases the commission of criminal acts themselves, particularly by white-collar offenders. …

An Appeal To Common Sense: Why "Unappealable" District Court Decisions Should Be Subject To Appellate Review, Matthew D. Heins

Northwestern University Law Review

28 U.S.C. § 1291 vests jurisdiction in the United States Circuit Courts of Appeal to hear “appeals from all final decisions of the district courts of the United States.” Various circuit courts have, however, determined that they may only hear appeals of final “judicial” decisions, and that they do not have jurisdiction to hear appeals from final decisions of United States district courts if those decisions are “administrative.” Circuit courts have been loath to explicitly define the dividing line between the two classes of case, and have frequently invoked the potential availability of mandamus review as a means of placating …