Digital Commons Network^™

Politicians The Founders Warned You About, Neil Fulton

Faculty Publications

Many articles have explored the Founders' intentions regarding the constitutional text. Much less attention has focused on the Founders' ideas regarding the traits needed of the leaders in a constitutional republic. The Constitution focuses on governing structures, many of which relate to the electoral process. The Constitution does not spell out the ideal traits of the leaders elected pursuant to those processes. Nonetheless, the Founders possessed clear views about the virtues and qualifications that ideal political leaders required. Indeed, the Founders issued warnings about certain archetypal political figures who, because of their flagrant disregard of the ideal virtues and qualifications, …

Assessing A Potential Deviation In The Legislative Process: The Use Of Vehicle Bills In South Dakota, Neil Fulton, Sarah Kammer, Patrick Garry

Faculty Publications

Vehicle bills are used by many state legislatures, including the South Dakota Legislature. These bills serve as empty shells to be amended with substantive text later in the legislative session. Critics charge that such vehicles allow legislators to meet the filing deadline with an essentially meaningless bill that gets amended late in the session, thereby depriving the public and opposition legislators from adequately investigating and debating the newly amended bill. This article examines how, and to what extent, the South Dakota Legislature has used vehicle bills over the past decade. In so doing, the article may provide some insight into …

Rethinking Environmental Disclosure, Annie Brett

UF Law Faculty Publications

Twenty years ago, legal scholars and regulators alike were convinced that information-forcing regulations heralded a new era in environmental law. Coming off the success of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), which seemed to decrease toxic chemical pollution solely by forcing industry to disclose if they released certain chemicals, many called information regulation the third wave of environmental law. New information disclosure policies were enacted and old policies reinvigorated, leading to a plethora of information-based regulations throughout environmental law. Now, twenty years later, the emergence of big data and artificial intelligence (AI) approaches to environmental analysis have only further increased the …

Alternatives To The Squad Car: A Strategy Providing Hope For People With Mental Illness, Judy Ann Clausen, Joanmarie I. Davoli

UF Law Faculty Publications

Frontline healthcare providers and first responders have had enough of mental health care policy rooted in ideology and utopian visions instead of the practical realities of the nature of Serious Mental Illnesses (SMI). The current system of a severe shortage of mental health beds and strict criteria for administering mental health treatment in contravention of illness-induced treatment refusals has caused the real-world preventable tragedies of mass shootings, incarceration, homelessness, victimization, and death of people suffering from untreated SMI. Innovative programs and long-established protocols have been profiled by the media and examined by scholars. Momentum is brewing. Across the country, creative …

Compassionless Plea Bargaining, Julian A. Cook Iii

UF Law Faculty Publications

Too often, the guilty plea hearing process practiced in our federal courts fails to adequately ensure the validity of a defendant’s change of plea decision. Rather than engage in colloquies that are sufficiently in-depth and truly aimed at ascertaining voluntariness and defendant comprehension, critical details are frequently glossed over, and defendant guilty pleas are accepted without meaningful inquiry.

While academics have skillfully critiqued the Sixth Amendment and its trial-focused provisions, comparatively scant focus has been expended on the equally, if not more, critical change of plea hearing. Compassionless Plea Bargaining seeks to fill this gap with its focus on a …

Federal Sentencing Reform: Determining The Scope Of The Retroactive Application Of The First Step Act Of 2018, Alexa Brown

Western New England Law Review

The First Step Act of 2018 was signed into law by President Trump in December of 2018. This Act sought to adopt a less-retributive approach on sentencing while advancing criminal justice reform toward reducing excessively long federal sentences. This Note will specifically focus on section 403 of the Act. Section 403 was created to eradicate stacking sentences from second or subsequent convictions within the same indictment. Following the enactment of the First Step Act, only defendants with a prior conviction from a separate, prior indictment would be subject to the imposition of the higher mandatory minimum sentence.

The issue that …

Assemblages And Actor Networks In The Borderlands - The Apposition Of Reproductive Rights Along The Mexican-American Border, Madeleine M. Plasencia

Articles

In 1971, Sarah Weddington argued Roe v. Wade as a class action on behalf of pregnant women living in Texas, many of whom, including herself had to flee the State to obtain an abortion in Mexico. In 2021, Texas enacted S. B. 8, otherwise known as the Texas Heartbeat Act, which created a private cause of action for injunctive relief and statutory damages awards against any person assisting in and any physician accused of performing an abortion, thus reigniting the cross-border flows that historically have made Mexico a haven for runaway enslaved people and pregnant persons heading south to freedom. …

"I Call Them Supermoms": Therapists' Reflections On The Impact Of Youth Sexual Offending On Latina Mothers, Mauricio P. Yabar

Theses and Dissertations

Families of youth who have sexually offended often suffer significant collateral consequences following the discovery of the sexual offense. Samples in research with these families disproportionately consist of mothers and other female parental figures. This is rarely acknowledged in the literature, and the experiences of these mothers have not been explicitly examined. In addition, research on the experiences of these families has largely ignored factors related to race and ethnicity. This is a significant oversight considering the prevalence of systemic racism and discrimination in the United States, particularly in the systems with which these families must interact (e.g., juvenile justice …

2024-25 Executive, Managing And Editorial Boards, Georgia Journal Of International And Comparative Law

GJICL Editorial Boards

No abstract provided.

When Commanders Decide: Military Prosecutorial Decision-Making In Sexual Assault Cases, Chris Cox

Scholarly Works

Congress enacted legislation that went into effect in 2023, which transferred prosecutorial decision-making for serious cases, including sexual assault, from Commanders to military lawyers. While there is some research on the military’s criminal justice system that supports shifting the decision-making to military lawyers, there is a large body of research that suggests lawyers, too, suffer from similar impediments when handling decision-making for sexual assault cases. In the wake of this new amendment, it is important to continue assessing how the change will impact case processing, by first clearly understanding what was happening when Commanders had complete authority. This article explores …

Focal Concerns In China's Misdemeanor World: An Empirical Investigation Of Prosecutorial Dismissal Of Misdemeanor Cases, Dan He

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Drawing on the focal concerns perspective, this dissertation attempts to answer three research questions: (a) What are the prosecutorial considerations most relevant to dismissal decisions in misdemeanor cases? (b) How are those considerations relevant to dismissal? (c) What are the variations of dismissals in misdemeanor cases with respect to individual-level characteristics? An exploratory sequential mixed methods design is used and proceeds in the following manner: (a) focal concerns relevant to the Chinese context are derived from qualitative thematic analysis on 324 public hearings on misdemeanor cases under the prosecutorial consideration of dismissal, and the original focal concerns perspective has been …

Perceptions And Prejudices: The Impact Of Societal Views On Minority Populations And Their Relations With Law Enforcement, Charlize K. Mejia-Velilla

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis explores the perspectives of University of Central Florida (UCF) students on the complex interactions between minority communities and law enforcement. Through a carefully designed survey, this study captures a range of student opinions on the social dynamics shaping these encounters, with a particular focus on the underlying factors that influence these perspectives. By examining elements such as media exposure, personal encounters, and societal narratives, this research delves into how students form their views on policing and minority relations. This study also investigates potential biases, whether implicit or explicit, that may arise from these factors and contribute to shaping …

An Initial Investigation Of Measuring Change In Reading Proficiency During Letrs Implementation, Beverly Hart

Doctor of Education Dissertations

This study aimed to investigate the impact of LETRS professional development on reading proficiency. I used ANOVA tests to analyze third- through fifth-grade EOG assessment scores for changes in proficiency from 2021-2023. The results indicated a statistically significant change in the means for all grades. Third-grade results reflected the most impact from the professional development. The analysis also showed that the third-grade achievement gap had declined slightly. A dependent t test was conducted to ascertain any change in the growth index scores of schools. The test results showed no statistically significant change. The study's limitations include the lingering impact of …

Are ‘Friends’ Electric?, James Cooper

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Supreme Court, Constitutional Development, And Evolution Theory: A Critique, Charles M. Lamb Ph.D., Jacob R. Neiheisel

Indiana Law Journal

This article spotlights how University of Chicago Professor David Strauss’s publications present the early stages of a descriptive theory of constitutional interpretation and evolution, and how his theoretical contributions might be strengthened. Specifically highlighted here are ten milestone Supreme Court rulings with the objective of determining which were “evolutionary” as opposed to “modernizing,” based on Strauss’s theoretical formulations. On various occasions these cases demonstrate how Strauss’s theory can be not only refined but broadened. The concluding section assesses Strauss’s contribution to the study of American constitutional development and how it might be revamped. There we argue that despite Strauss’s influence …

A New Criminal Response Framework: Rejecting The "Four Horsemen Of The Carceral State", George Glass

Indiana Law Journal

Many first-year criminal law courses begin with a discussion of the nineteenth-century English case Regina v. Dudley & Stephens. In this case, a ship was caught in a storm, and while stranded at sea, two men decided to kill and eat a younger man in order to survive. The case considers whether these two men should be punished for killing the third man, and if so, how severe should that punishment be. For many law students, this is one of the rare occasions when they are asked whether punishment is justified. Soon, they will instead be asked which of the …

Verses Turned To Verdicts: Ysl Rico Case Sets A High-Watermark For The Legal Pseudo-Censorship Of Rap Music, Nabil Yousfi

Seattle University Law Review

Whichever way you spin the record, rap music and courtrooms don’t mix. On one side, rap records are well known for their unapologetic lyrical composition, often expressing a blatant disregard for legal institutions and authorities. On the other, court records reflect a Van Gogh’s ear for rap music, frequently allowing rap lyrics—but not similar lyrics from other genres—to be used as criminal evidence against the defendants who authored them. Over the last thirty years, this immiscibility has engendered a legal landscape where prosecutors wield rap lyrics as potent instruments for criminal prosecution. In such cases, color-blind courts neglect that rap …

A Worldwide Hunger Games: Why Russia’S De Facto Blockade Of Ukrainian Grain Export Ports Is A Crime Against Humanity, Kazel Kapadia

Student Works

No abstract provided.

Arrests: Legal And Illegal, Daniel Yeager

Faculty Scholarship

The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. An arrest—manifesting a police intention to transport a suspect to the stationhouse for booking, fingerprinting, and photographing—is a mode of seizure. Because arrests are so intrusive, they require roughly a fifty percent chance that an arrestable offense has occurred. Because nonarrest seizures (aka Terry stops), though no “petty indignity,” are less intrusive than arrests, they require roughly just a twenty-five percent chance that crime is afoot. Any arrest not supported by probable cause is illegal. It would therefore seem to follow that any arrest supported by probable cause is legal. But it …

Youth Transitions Advisory Council 2024 Annual Report, Tennessee. Commission On Children And Youth.

Youth Transitions Advisory Council

No abstract provided.

Differences In Psychosocial Functioning Among Adolescents Before And During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Julia M W Hall, Catheryn A. Orihuela, Sylvie Mrug

Inquiro (undergraduate research journal)

pp. 35-47

https://www.uab.edu/inquiro/issues/current-issue/differences-in-psychosocial-functioning-among-adolescents-before-and-during-the-covid-19-pandemic

Time To Abolish The Dea: Evaluating The Agency’S Failures And Calling For Community Investments, Ifetayo Harvey

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Federal Government’S Role As The Warden Of Immigrants, Pedro Gerson

Nebraska Law Review

This Essay examines the evolving landscape of immigration enforcement within the broader context of federal confinement in the United States. The current “crisis” at the southern border, characterized by historic levels of migrant influx and shifting political tides toward restrictionism, underscores the federal government’s increasing emphasis on confinement as a tool of migration control. Furthermore, this Essay argues the need to conceptualize federal confinement as a unified system encompassing both immigration detention and incarceration, which reveals the extent to which immigration has become a dominant factor in federal custody. Drawing on data and analysis, it demonstrates that immigration-related offenses now …

Front Matter

SMU Annual Texas Survey

No abstract provided.

A Critique Of The Current Epidemic In Our Criminal Justice System: “Guilty Until Proven Innocent”, Jaclyn Marsh

SMU Law Review

It has been a long-held notion of American jurisprudence that a citizen of this country shall not be deprived of their fundamental rights until required so by law. It is an offshoot of this notion that an American should not be deprived of these fundamental rights through being confined to jail or prison until twelve of their own fellow peers have laid down a finding of guilty. However, this phenomenon is exactly what is happening today, and the issue has been steadily increasing in occurrence since the passing of a federal statute in 1984.

Because of judicial interpretation and government …

Press Freedoms Under Pressure: Clinical Perspectives On The State Of Press Freedoms In Texas In 2024, Peter B. Stefensen, Thomas S. Leatherbury

SMU Law Review

Amid existential challenges to the press as an institution, public accountability journalists in Texas are navigating their own set of difficulties. For those who report on state and local entities, journalists are encountering increasingly constrained avenues for obtaining public information, a greater tendency for government bodies to prioritize image control over transparency, a higher likelihood of retaliation from public officials for performing important accountability work, and a judiciary that seems to respect the press less and less. By surveying journalists, and members of press and legal organizations who support accountability journalism, we use their accounts to evaluate these trends, to …

The Future Of Indigent Defense In South Dakota, Brooklyn Bollweg, Neil Fulton

South Dakota Law Review

No abstract provided.

"The Impact Of Being Seen": A Study Of Restorative Practices At Community Colleges, Mikel Birch

Dissertations of Practice

Restorative justice provides a relationship-centered framework for addressing challenges that build community and promote social justice. While there are various applications of restorative justice in U.S. Public Education, criminal justice and juvenile justice, there is a dearth of research on how restorative justice practices have been applied at community colleges. The purpose of this qualitative multisite case study was to explore how community colleges are using restorative justice practices in order to build better relationships and improve campus culture. This study was conducted using Perkins and Zimmerman’s (1995) Empowerment Theory, which asserts that engaging in empowering processes will result in …

การตรวจสอบคำสั่งไม่ฟ้องของพนักงานอัยการ กรณีพนักงานอัยการเป็นพนักงานสอบสวน : ศึกษากรณีตามพระราชบัญญัติป้องกันและปราบปรามการทรมานและการกระทำให้บุคคลสูญหาย พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๕, ชญาภา ภัทรธนศักดิ์

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

วิทยานิพนธ์ฉบับนี้มุ่งศึกษาปัญหาทางกฎหมายที่เกิดขึ้นจากการที่พนักงานอัยการทำหน้าที่เป็นพนักงานสอบสวนในคดีความผิดตามพระราชบัญญัติป้องกันและปราบปรามการทรมานและการกระทำให้บุคคลสูญหาย พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๕ กล่าวคือ แม้กฎหมายดังกล่าวจะกำหนดให้พนักงานอัยการเป็นพนักงานสอบสวน แต่พนักงานอัยการผู้ทำหน้าที่สอบสวนกลับไม่ได้เป็นผู้พิจารณาสั่งคดีเอง ซึ่งไม่สอดคล้องกับหลักการที่ให้การสอบสวนและการสั่งคดีเป็นกระบวนการเดียวกัน อีกทั้งพระราชบัญญัตินี้ยังไม่มีหลักเกณฑ์ทางกฎหมายที่ชัดเจนเกี่ยวกับการตรวจสอบคำสั่งไม่ฟ้องของพนักงานอัยการในกรณีดังกล่าว การตรวจสอบคำสั่งไม่ฟ้องจึงต้องดำเนินไปตามประมวลกฎหมายวิธีพิจารณาความอาญา มาตรา ๑๔๕ และ ๑๔๕/๑ และตามมาตรา ๓๔ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติการสอบสวนคดีพิเศษ พ.ศ. ๒๕๔๗ อย่างไรก็ตาม กลไกการตรวจสอบตามกฎหมายทั้งสามมาตราดังกล่าวยังไม่เหมาะสมหรือสอดคล้องกับเจตนารมณ์ของพระราชบัญญัติป้องกันและปราบปรามการทรมานฯ ซึ่งมุ่งคุ้มครองบุคคลจากการทรมานและการกระทำให้บุคคลสูญหาย อันเป็นความผิดที่กระทบกระเทือนต่อสิทธิมนุษยชนอย่างร้ายแรง และที่มักมีผู้ถูกกล่าวหาเป็นเจ้าหน้าที่ของรัฐ เนื่องจากบุคคลที่ทำหน้าที่ตรวจสอบอาจอยู่ในฐานะเป็นผู้บังคับบัญชาของเจ้าหน้าที่รัฐผู้ถูกกล่าวหา อันอาจก่อให้เกิดปัญหาด้านความน่าเชื่อถือและความโปร่งใสของกระบวนการยุติธรรมในคดีดังกล่าว วิทยานิพนธ์นี้จึงเสนอแนะให้กำหนดให้พนักงานอัยการซึ่งเป็นพนักงานสอบสวนสามารถใช้อำนาจสั่งคดีได้โดยตรง และให้มีการแก้ไขพระราชบัญญัติป้องกันและปราบปรามการทรมานฯ โดยเพิ่มระบบการตรวจสอบคำสั่งไม่ฟ้องของพนักงานอัยการที่โปร่งใสและชัดเจนยิ่งขึ้น โดยเสนอให้ศาลอุทธรณ์มีบทบาทตรวจสอบคำสั่งไม่ฟ้องภายหลังจากที่คำสั่งนั้นผ่านการพิจารณาของอัยการสูงสุดแล้ว ทั้งนี้ เพื่อส่งเสริมหลักการตรวจสอบถ่วงดุลอำนาจภายในกระบวนการยุติธรรม และคุ้มครองสิทธิมนุษยชนอย่างแท้จริงในสังคมไทย

A Little Bird Told Me: The Lived Experiences Of Officers Who Participated In Deep Undercover Programs, Oakley Fungaroli

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

This study used interpretative phenomenological analysis to gather and analyze semi-structured interviews of seven participants who took part in deep undercover programs between the 1970s and 1990s. In the early 1980s, under pressure from civil rights advocates, law enforcement implemented policies restricting the use of undercover police officers in non-violent intelligence investigations. The new guidelines resulted in robust selection and training requirements for deep undercover assignments which became focused on those who advocated criminal acts in furtherance of social or political objectives. The lived experiences revealed that while intelligence guidelines intended to protect civil rights applied to all personnel, training …