Digital Commons Network^™

Complexities Of Appellate Law: Experiences And Perspectives Of Utah Indigent Appellate Attorneys, Whitney Howey, Stephanie Kathan, Jeremiah W. Jaggers, Chris Cambron

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Indigent appellate attorneys experience high stress due to their unique roles and responsibilities. Very little scientific research examines the lives and experiences of attorneys in the workplace. Characterizing and describing the variety of complexities and challenges Utah appellate attorneys face within their work provides information towards filling the profession’s gaps, stressors, and occupational needs. A sample of five Utah appellate attorneys were interviewed to better understand their perspectives and experiences in the workplace. We used thematic analysis to identify themes related to Utah appellate attorney experiences and perspectives. We identified four major themes from the data, including Personal approach, Working …

Puppycide By Gavel: How The Judiciary Uses The Police Killing Of Dogs To Reinforce Justifications For Police Violence, Jeremy J. Smith

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Police discharge their firearms more often at dogs than humans, and as a profession, kill thousands of dogs every year. The number of dogs killed by police during these encounters has government officials declaring that an “epidemic” is occurring within policing itself, with some commentators referring to this trend as “puppycide” or “canicide.” The purpose of this article is to examine how the judiciary rationalizes canicide, or the police killing of dogs, and the role canicide plays in the justification of police violence. To do this, the article provides a sociolegal and ethnographic content analysis of federal court cases and …

October 7 And International Police Cooperation:The Silence Of Interpol, Mathieu Deflem

Faculty Publications

Aim: The aim of this study is to explore the background and interpretation of Interpol’s silence following the terrorist attacks committed by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023. The author examines the international policing implications of the events, with special attention to why the world’s largest police organization failed to issue any substantive response.

Methodology: The research is based on a sociological analysis combining a historical and institutional overview of Interpol’s counterterrorism activities with the examination of the organization’s communications and institutional decisions. It relies on qualitative sources and an interpretive, case study-based approach using public documents, records, and …

Sex Offender Prison Treatment Programs: Outdated Science Masquerading As A Legitimate Penological Objective, Shelby Jones

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Foreword, Alison M. Whelan

Georgia State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

How To Start (Or Stop) A War On Crime: A Conceptual Cookbook, Brandon E. Beck

Georgia State University Law Review

Beginning in the early 1990s, the Executive Branch began an era of enforcement of federal firearms crime that was different in kind and degree from the prior seventy-five years. The federal crime policies of the 1990s and 2000s led to a significant increase both in the total number of federal firearms prosecutions and in how often mandatoryminimum statutes were charged. But later, in the 2010s and 2020s, there were times when the number of firearms prosecutions stabilized, and the number of mandatory-minimum sentences decreased. This Article seeks to use federal firearms prosecutions, in this era of enforcement, as a lens …

The Preliminary-Hearing Swindle: A Crime Against Procedure, Michael D. Cicchini

Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review

It is incredibly easy for a prosecutor to file a complaint, thus setting the criminal litigation machinery in motion. But in felony cases, defendants are entitled to a preliminary hearing which serves as a check on prosecutorial power. The “prelim” is an adversarial hearing at which the prosecutor must present evidence and call witnesses who are subject to cross-examination. The prelim’s purpose is to test whether there is probable cause to believe the defendant committed a felony, thus preventing “hasty, malicious, improvident and oppressive prosecutions.”

Nearly all states allow prosecutors to use hearsay, with limitations, at the prelim. Given that, …

Urban-Rural Divide In Inequality’S Impact On Substance Abuse, Jonathan E. Flores

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This thesis focuses on investigating the relationship between income inequality, measured through the Gini coefficient, and drug addiction, proxied through substance-related mortality. Specifically, this thesis focuses on how these dynamics vary across rural and urban counties in the United States, using population size as a proxy. County-level data from 2016 to 2020 were collected through both the CDC and the Census Bureau and subsequently analyzed using Stata, with crude death rates from drug and alcohol causes serving as a function of the Gini coefficient, labor force participation, racial composition, and other socioeconomic indicators. Through a quadratic version of the model, …

The Current 'Ban-Demic': School Book Bans In The U.S., Barbara Perez, Jane Caputi

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This essay examines the alarming rise of U.S book. Our stance is grounded in our experiences as educators and academics in Florida, the state with the highest number of book bans and legislation that has significantly impacted education. Book bans infringe on freedom of expression, right to access information, = students’ right to education, and real harm to targeted communities (i.e., LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities), as the bans contribute to the ongoing marginalization and stigmatization of these communities. Diverse representation is key in literature and education. Banning popular culture texts from the classroom stifles critical thinking, social dialogue, and, ultimately, …

Criminalization Of Homelessness: The Impact Of A Market-Oriented Approach, Gabriella M. Chioffi

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

Since the fourteenth century, countries have sought to criminalize unhoused individuals by labeling them as "vagrants." Currently, the United States and other countries continue to criminalize acts of sleeping rough, begging, loitering and other vagrancy-type activities that disproportionately target unhoused persons. Despite going through a period of decriminalization in the 1960s and 1970s, these punitive measures were largely reinstated by the 1990s. In the most extreme case, vagrancy criminalization was entrenched in a state's constitution. This Note contends that the reversion to punitive measures is triggered by a country's transition to a market-oriented approach that privatizes housing development and de-emphasizes …

Structural Racism And Mass Shooting Events In Mountain West Cities, 2015-2019, Mohit Pande, Nicole Diaz Del Valle, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Criminal Justice

This fact sheet presents data on the link between social and demographic metrics of principal cities in four Mountain West metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs): Phoenix, AZ; Tucson, AZ; Denver, CO; and Las Vegas, NV. This fact sheet also reports the number of people affected by mass shooting events (MSEs) as originally reported in “Association Between Markers of Structural Racism and Mass Shooting Events in Major US Cities,” published by The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Surgery. The original article derives data from 865 MSEs across 51 MSAs in the United States.

A Ritual Of Institutions: The State Industrial School In Golden, Colorado And The Shaping Of American Youth, Cyndal Groskopf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the Colorado State Industrial School as a ritualistic institution that influenced boys aged 7 to 19 through Americanization practices between 1881 and 1930. By employing primary documentation, drone imagery, and LiDAR technology, the study examines how cultural and physical activities, along with personal statements, described and maintained the ritualized nature among these incarcerated youth. The findings reveal how institutional routines and activities reinforced narratives of American identity, particularly in relation to themes of personal identity, conformity, and agency. These rituals played a crucial role in institutionalizing cultural ideals and shaping the identities of marginalized youth. The research …

Examining The Impact Of Legalized Sports Gambling On Ncaa Athletes' Welfare And Game Integrity, Reem Al Jaradi

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines the effects of legalized sports gambling on NCAA player welfare and the integrity of competition through a mixed-method analysis of NCAA reports, academic literature, and media sources. Data disclose that although the overall prevalence of gambling among student-athletes has decreased, these individuals are demonstrating more detrimental behaviors, including solitary gaming and incurring substantial losses in a single day. The emphasis on internet abuse associated with betting results has escalated, especially during prominent tournaments. The NCAA's instructional programs and data-monitoring agreements are compromised by ethical issues surrounding data monetization and varying state gambling rules. The research contends that …

Exploring The Effects Of Africana Studies On Black Undergraduate Students: A Qualitative Case Study, Lanaya M. Butler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Particularly in the context of American K-12 schools, education has been manipulated to control—rather than liberate—students through the erasure and distortion of Black history, experiences, perspectives, and capabilities. Additionally, American schools prioritize memorization and obedience while failing to equip students with critical thinking skills. As a result, students are trained to become workers rather than innovators, worldbuilders, and change-makers. For nearly a century, Black educational critics have stated that these systems were designed to subjugate Black community members through dehumanization and enslavement of the mind. These critiques are foundational to the aims of Afrocentric education which posits the life experiences …

Gender-Based Crimes And The Colombian Special Jurisdiction For Peace, Caroline Davidson

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

The Special Jurisdiction for Peace ("JEP"), created as part of Colombia's historic 2016 Peace Agreement, has been hailed as a novel, restorative justice-oriented mechanism for addressing gross human rights violations at the domestic level. Commentators point to the JEP as a potential model for other jurisdictions looking to address mass atrocities. The success or failure of this model hinges on the JEP's ability to effectively address an issue of great concern to the International Criminal Court as well as to Colombian civil society: gender-based crimes. This Article is the first to examine comprehensively the JEP's progress on this vital issue, …

Variation Of Oregon Law Enforcement Agency Clearance Rates And Their Influencing Factors, Kendra Macsaveny

University Honors Theses

Clearance rates are one of the few ways to measure the efficiency and performance of a law enforcement agency. So, if an agency has a low clearance rate, then this reflects poorly on an agency's capabilities when it comes to solving crimes and making arrests. This study's purpose is to (1) present the clearance rates for a sample of police agencies in Oregon; (2) determine how the agencies vary from each other; (3) determine if the clearance rates for individual agencies remain stable over time; and (4) determine what agency factors might be influencing the clearance rate. Although agency factors …

A Multilevel Analysis Of Arrest For Sexual Assault In The United States: The Effect Of Incident, Police Department, And Community Factors, Erin Elizabeth Hoffman

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Police officers play an important role for sexual assault survivors seeking help from the criminal legal system in the United States. One of their main responsibilities is to investigate the crime to determine if there is enough evidence to arrest a suspect. Previous literature has documented police arrest decisions in sexual assault cases are influenced by legal and extralegal factors—factors that are legally relevant (e.g., presence of DNA evidence) and irrelevant (e.g., victim race) in a case. These factors span multiple levels of analysis, namely the incident (e.g., whether a weapon was used) and police department (e.g., % of woman …

The Impact And Perceptions Of Return-To-Office Mandates, Brooke E. Nyberg

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

In the aftermath of stay-at-home mandates that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic, many organizations have reinstated mandates requiring that employees return to the office either full-time or a few days per week. Although research has been conducted on the benefits and consequences of remote work throughout the pandemic, research is lacking on the perceptions of the return-to-office mandates and how these mandates impact employees. This study aimed to comprehensively understand what employees think and feel about a return-to-office mandate as well as identify group differences and impacts of the method in which the RTO mandate was communicated. To do so, …

A Mixed Methods Survey To Highlight Retrospective Drug Spending, Dillon Peter Thorpe

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The financial impact of substance use is poorly understood. What research has been conducted has focused on societal and medical costs, rarely on the personal finances of substance users. Less research has been conducted on the finances of people currently in recovery and abstinence. To fill in this gap, 284 current Oxford House residents completed a survey that inquired about demographics, spending habits, and reasons for staying in Oxford House. Following analysis, it was found that previous drug/alcohol spending is a highly variable metric, with a range of $0-$30,000 per month. In addition, the sample was homogenous in terms of …

We Are Still Here: Intersectional Collaborations In Research, Practice, And Resistance Among Mfp Scholars, Antonia R.G. Alvarez, Sameena Azhar, Tyrone M. Parchment, Judith Perrigo, Anne S. J. Farina, Tania Paredes, Jonathan P. Edwards, Susan Klumpner

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

As Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) scholars, we formed meaningful connections as academics, students, and friends. Throughout this reflective article, we explore the profound impact of our intersectional and critical race-informed scholarship on our professional practice and pedagogy while highlighting the ways that collaborating on this work enriched our journeys as scholars of color. These collaborations have expanded our perspectives and fostered new ways of thinking about the unique health and mental health experiences of ethnoracial communities. Through these partnerships, we have advanced diverse scientific literature and addressed critical gaps within the existing canon of …

Perceptions Of Exclusionary Discipline In Inclusive Classroom: A Phenomenological Study Of Middle School Co-Teachers’ Experience With Special Education Students Of Color, Tino Tomasi

Doctor of Education Program Dissertations

Exclusionary discipline practices in public middle schools disproportionately impact students of color in special education, disrupting their academic progress and social development. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore how public middle school co-teachers in inclusive classrooms perceive the use of exclusionary discipline for special education students of color. The study explored the lived experiences of eight public middle school co-teachers through three research questions: (1) How do public middle school co-teachers in inclusive classrooms perceive the use of exclusionary discipline for special education students of color? (2) How do public middle school co-teachers in inclusive classrooms …

Unchecked Contempt: The Necessity Of Maximum Sanctions For Criminal Contempt In New Mexico, Cam Rosenberg

New Mexico Law Review

Few areas of law are so completely entrusted to judge’s discretion, and therefore engender the risk of judicial abuse, as the contempt power. Despite this risk, New Mexico has significantly expanded the criminal contempt power over the last three years. Yet the results of this expansion—which typically play out in trial courts with little publicity and rare appellate review—have not been studied in any detail. This Comment examines how New Mexico trial courts used criminal contempt from January 1, 2023, to October 20, 2024, in light of the broad discretion granted to these courts. In this timeframe, a select few …

Evaluating The Impact Of Information Literacy Workshops On Student Success, Amanda Shannon, Aaron Skira, Ying Chen, Matt Shreffler

Roesch Library Faculty Publications

Objective – This study was designed to identify the impact of standalone information literacy tutorials on student success indicators. The study was conducted in two different phases to compare findings across different modalities and to identify whether online, asynchronous delivery of substantively similar content affected outcomes.

Methods – Using institutional records from a mid-sized, Midwestern public university, and attendance and completion data from student participation in asynchronous library workshops, the authors used propensity score matching to construct a control group that mirrored library workshop participants based on like characteristics. Statistical analyses were then conducted comparing the GPA, semester completion, and …

Beyond Criminalization: A Call For Educational Restorative Justice In Response To Maryland’S 2024 Juvenile Crime Bill, Melissa B. Spirn

Maryland Law Review Online

No abstract provided.

The De Mau Mau Conspiracy: The Specter Of Black Vietnam Veterans In The Exercise Of Police Power, 1968-1976, Ina Cox

Dissertations

A forgotten and bizarre event encapsulates the violent decay that characterized the pivotal years the United States endured in the wake of the Vietnam War. Black veterans—guerrilla combat-trained, politically awakened by war, and disillusioned with the entrenched racial order at home—emerged as totems in a fearful, cynical political culture wracked by violence. Men overrepresented in the projection of American power abroad now stood as symbols of its fragility within, potential vessels of retribution for centuries of domestic and global oppression. This anxiety, merging with widespread protests and political upheaval, intensified the belief that American cities stood on the brink of …

Bias In Media Portrayals Of Filicide Cases Involving African American Women, Channing Lelar Collins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was conducted to examine racial disparities in media portrayals of filicide cases involving African American and Caucasian women, exploring how systemic biases and societal narratives influenced public perception, policy, and the child welfare and legal systems. Using a qualitative content analysis of 42 cases involving African American women and 20 involving Caucasian women, framing techniques, language, and imagery were analyzed. The research addressed three questions were (a) What narratives and framing were used?, (b) How did these differ across racial lines?, and (c) What are the broader societal and systemic implications? Results showed that media coverage of African …

Attorney General New Jersey V. Dow Chemical Company

2025 Decisions

USDC for the District of New Jersey

Measuring The Magnitude And Traits Of Local Consumer Demand For Sex Trafficking, Michael D. Shively

SMU Human Trafficking Data Conference

Transaction Intercept (TI) leverages artificial intelligence to engage individuals responding to online ads for the commercial sexual exploitation of minors. The interactions between TI bots and those clicking on decoy ads generate data, including the number of distinct individuals that respond to ads over any timeframe, the number of active sex buyers identified, the features of the ads and digital personas that buyers have responded to, and the outcome of the interactions. During development, TI has already been deployed in dozens of U.S jurisdictions and collected data allows for cross-site comparisons. The technology was created for law enforcement agencies, and …

Plan Mano Dura: A Punctuated Political Act? Addressing Gang Violence In El Salvador, Carlos A. Arias

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

On July 23, 2003, Salvadoran President Francisco Flores introduced a punitive and militaristic gang-prevention measure, Plan Mano Dura (Plan Iron Fist), in an attempt to solve the gang phenomenon plaguing El Salvador. Although it turned out to be an abject policy failure, its future effects and significance would far outweigh its intended impact, essentially dictating how El Salvador would combat gang violence for the next 20 years and beyond. As such, it is essential to better understand how such an ineffective policy could arise as a policy approach. This paper examines whether Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET) can account for the …

Exploring The Lived Experiences Of Rural Women Of Color Seeking Police Intervention During An Intimate Partner Violence Crisis, Michelle Angelica Perez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Exploring the lived experiences of rural women of color in the United States who seek police intervention during an intimate partner violence crisis is a necessity. In rural regions, many African American and Caribbean Blacks in rural communities endure physical assaults perpetrated by their partners throughout their lives. IPV among women of color, especially the obstacles that they face in requesting police intervention. The findings of this research study provide valuable insights that can support the establishment of intervention centers for rural women of color by involving key stakeholders, such as police departments in these regions. This study used semi-structured …