Digital Commons Network^™

A Holistic Treatment Team For Autism: The Professional Education Benefits Of A Medical-Legal Partnership For Autism Involving Students From Graduate Programs In Law, Applied Behavior Analysis, And Occupational Therapy, Melina Healey, Kayla Finuf, Karrie Lindeman, Rena B. Purohit, Linda Rini

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

This article will outline the distinct special education and related service needs of children with autism and describe a new model for a medical-legal partnership tailored to address those needs and educate the professionals who work with children with autism. We will share results supporting the use of this model from a series of Interprofessional Education (“IPE”) case studies and consultations the authors conducted through interdisciplinary coursework shared among several graduate schools within Touro University. Part I explains the legal and client-centered framework within which the medical-legal partnership operates. Part II identifies the advantages of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and …

The Role And Impact Of Forensic Evidence In The Prosecution Of Homicide Cases In The U.S., Afrah Dakhilallah A. Altubait

Theses and Dissertations

The role of forensic evidence in the criminal justice process is an important topic that is significant from both theoretical and practical perspectives. The present study is dedicated to a critical analysis of the role of this evidence in the U.S. criminal justice process with a focus on its significance in homicide cases. Specifically, this dissertation examines the implications of using DNA and fingerprint evidence for convictions in U.S. homicide cases by analyzing the role of DNA and fingerprint evidence in the prosecution of “hot” and “cold” homicide cases, discussing the main ways in which forensic evidence assists with prosecuting …

The Effectiveness Of The Hague Convention In Addressing International Child Abduction, Areej A. Dakelallah Althubiti

Theses and Dissertations

Parental child abduction is a growing concern fueled by immigration, cross-cultural marriages, evolving family dynamics, and gaps in the implementation and enforcement of developed international frameworks. This study examines the effectiveness of and challenges to the enforcement of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (HCCA), which was developed to address this problem. Specifically, the goal of this research is to assess the effect the HCCA has had on parental kidnapping, analyze its effectiveness in resolving international custody disputes, and identify the legal and practical obstacles that inhibit implementation. While the prevalence of parental kidnapping continues …

The Hidden Verdict: Measuring Implicit Bias In Juror Decision-Making, Gina Dudley

Psychology | Senior Theses

This experiment examines the influence of implicit bias awareness on juror decision-making in cases involving Hispanic defendants. Explicitly, it tests three hypotheses: (1) bias-educated jurors will demonstrate lower conviction rates for Hispanic defendants, (2) these jurors will report higher confidence in their verdicts, and (3) they will show greater awareness of how their previous experiences influence their decision-making. This experiment uses a mock jury paradigm to investigate whether bias awareness interventions affect verdict decisions and juror confidence levels in cases with Hispanic defendants. Ninety participants were randomly assigned to receive or not receive implicit bias education before reviewing a case …

Artificial Intelligence In Texas: Navigating The Risks, Benefits, And Uncharged Boundaries Of An Emerging Technology, Jordanna Tobias

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

No abstract provided.

Supreme Court's Impact On Educational Equity, Olivia May

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research will review each case to discover how the Court's opinion on equal opportunities in educational spaces has changed. The main question this research will assess is how the Supreme Court will remain a change agent for educational equity over time. There has been a relevant discussion about the Supreme Court Justices remaining unbiased in their decisions. With the Court's current makeup being the most conservative-leaning Justices, it is important to dissect if ideology really comes into play in their decisions. Analyzing this through educational equity cases is important due to the factors mentioned above about the importance of …

You Had One Job: The Supreme Court's New Chance To Fix The Constitutional Law Of Sentencing Factfinding, Benjamin J. Priester

Faculty Articles

Four decades after the enactment of the federal Sentencing Reform Act, one might expect a settled consensus to have emerged addressing the constitutional constraints on implementing norms such as predictability, consistency, and uniformity in the imposition of criminal punishment in the United States. In reality, the United States Supreme Court has failed to provide stability or clarity in the doctrinal principles implicated in millions of criminal cases nationwide. Spanning a quarter century, the Apprendi v. New Jersey line of cases has featured narrow or fragmented majorities, significant concurring opinions, and multiple instances of individual justices either overtly admitting to changing …

Bridging The Information Gap Between Criminal Law And Psychological Science, John B. Meixner Jr.

Scholarly Works

Some of the most pressing issues in American criminal law—the dominance of plea bargaining, vast executive discretion, and systemic racial disparities—turn on fundamentally empirical questions. Yet, while legal academics largely analyze these issues through doctrinal or theoretical lenses, psychologists and criminologists frequently study the exact same phenomena using empirical methods. Surprisingly, these fields operate almost entirely independently. The legal academy consistently overlooks substantial psychological research that could inform normative arguments, while psychologists often design studies without crucial context from criminal legal scholarship. This chapter outlines the contours of this critical information gap and proposes solutions to bridge it.

The Sword, The Purse, And The Pen: The Constitutional Conundrum Of Impoundment, William N. Chance

CMC Senior Theses

This Thesis explores the constitutional conundrum of executive impoundment, the practice by which the President of the United States withholds or delays the expenditure of funds appropriated by Congress. Although impoundment has deep historical roots dating back to the Constitution’s Framers, its modern use raises profound questions regarding our separation of powers. This Thesis establishes a functional framework that distinguishes between “routine” impoundments, which promote administrative efficiency, and “policy” impoundments, which may undermine congressional intent. Furthermore, after tracing the development of impoundment from the early Republic through the Nixon Administration and the passage of the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, …

Ten Tips For Legal Empiricists, Jordana Goodman, Christa J. Laser, Mark A. Lemley, Lisa Larrimore Ouellette, Melissa F. Wasserman, Saurabh Vishnubhakat, Janet Freilich, Jessica Silbey, David L. Schwartz, Neel U. Sukhatme

Faculty Scholarship

This essay offers practical tips from leading legal empirical researchers to assist new scholars who are entering the field. Topics include developing meaningful research questions, designing robust survey methodologies, balancing qualitative and quantitative approaches, ensuring data transparency, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and navigating ethical considerations in empirical work. Drawing from their own unique challenges and successes, scholars Michael D. Frakes, Janet Freilich, Mark A. Lemley, Lisa Larrimore Ouellette, David L. Schwartz, Jessica Silbey, Neel U. Sukhatme, Saurabh Vishnubhakat, Melissa F. Wasserman, Jordana Goodman, and Christa Laser illuminate what they wished they would have known going into empirical research and the pitfalls …

Affording Oral Tradition Evidence Due Weight Before The International Court Of Justice, Terrence Neal

Lewis & Clark Law Review

Oral traditions are irreplaceable sources of historical information, particularly with regard to Indigenous Peoples’ histories and cultures. However, when states have submitted oral traditions as evidence of historical practices, events, and circumstances in cases before the International Court of Justice (“Court”), the Court has been reluctant to afford them significant weight. This Article, which is the first detailed study on the Court’s treatment of oral traditions, examines whether the Court is failing to provide them due or appropriate weight. Based on historical, archaeological, and anthropological research, it establishes that oral traditions can be as reliable as written documents for reconstructing …

Admitting Science: Problems With Current Admissibility Standards, William O'Donohue, Sneha Gupta

Lewis & Clark Law Review

Attorneys use expert testimony to advance legal positions in courtrooms. Because expert testimony can have tremendous influence over judges and juries, it is admitted only if it meets specific admissibility standards, i.e., Frye and Daubert. These standards provide different admissibility criteria, have been adopted by distinct sets of jurisdictions, and, we argue, are of questionable validity. These standards are attempts to ensure that only knowledge is admissible and are, then, essentially an epistemic matter. Science serves as a proxy for knowledge because science is the epistemic process that has been successful at generating knowledge. However, both epistemology and the philosophy …

Cause Of Death? -- It's Probably Not What's Reported On The Death Certificate, Lauren R. Roth

Lewis & Clark Law Review

In the age of big data, this country has a data problem—inaccurate and incomplete information in death certificates. The problem has long been hidden by the numbers reported—as have the people whose deaths go uncounted, but the COVID-19 pandemic unveiled the scope of the issue. Since the beginning of the pandemic, “excess deaths” (i.e., any deaths above the number predicted by existing mortality models) have increased significantly. Most of these excess deaths are likely attributable to COVID-19 because the decedent was never tested for COVID-19 or it was one of multiple factors contributing to their death. Other deaths are uncounted …

Rights As Remedies: Using Latin American Legal Channels To Halt U.S. Border Externalization, Natalie Lerner

Lewis & Clark Law Review

The first Trump Administration saw intense border crackdowns and a ramping up of restrictions on asylum. While some of these policies shifted under President Biden, many were recreated under new names. The second Trump Administration has functionally closed the border and deported asylum seekers to third countries such as Costa Rica and Panama, leaning heavily on Latin American countries to accept expelled migrants. As U.S. courts fail to preserve asylum law domestically, international law, as integrated into the constitutions of Latin American countries, can provide a valuable litigation tool to block those countries from participating in the U.S. border externalization …

Survival Of The Social Interest: Redefining The Bruen Standard To Protect Women From Violence Through United States V. Rahimi, Katelyn M. Sundstrom

Lewis & Clark Law Review

This Note explores the intersection of gun rights and gender-based violence within the U.S. legal system. It delves into the pervasive issue of domestic violence and explores the 2022 Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which rejected the use of “interest balancing” in evaluating gun regulations in favor of a purely historical and traditional approach. This shift placed significant legal scrutiny on existing firearm restrictions, including 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), which prohibits individuals subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms.

The analysis centers on the 2023 case United States v. Rahimi, …

Disrupting Public Defense: A Transitions Theory Approach, Matt Bender

Lewis & Clark Law Review

Public defense problems are well known, but a solution has been elusive. This Article analyzes public defense’s adaptive features using the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) for the first time. The MLP is a theoretical framework that is often employed to study institutional and societal barriers to innovative ideas, like climate change responses and clean energy transitions. This Article describes the MLP’s theoretical model and uses it to examine why public defense reform consistently fails.

This Article then goes beyond the MLP framework to explore how transition management tools can be used to design and nurture new approaches to public defense. I …

Bridging Law And Machine Learning: A Cybersecure Model For Classifying Digital Real Estate Contracts In The Metaverse, Faris Kamil Mihna, Hazim Akram Sallal, Lobna Abdalhusen Al-Seedi, Hasan Ali Al- Tameemi, Mustafa Abdulfattah Habeeb, Yahya Layth Khaleel, Dheyaa A. Mohammed

Mesopotamian Journal of Big Data

The metaverse indicates an ever-evolving digital ecosystem where virtual real estate has now become an asset class. These properties, subject to smart contracts on the blockchain and represent as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), gives rise to new legal and cyber issues due to the decentralized and dematerialized nature of these digital assets .This paper proposes a machine learning approach to classify the digital real estate contracts into Ownership and Lease contracts. The study utilizes a dataset of one thousand digital real estate contracts collected from platforms such as Decentraland and The Sandbox. The dataset also included attributes such as plot size, …

The Legitimacy Of Israel: A Sociological Perspective, Luis Fleischman

FIU Law Review

The article focuses on the foundations of Israel’s legitimacy. It explores the issue of Israel’s legitimacy from the viewpoint of the sociology of law and the sociology of politics. It aims to provide perspective and nuance to some highly problematic and inherently anti-Zionist arguments raised by the Palestinian narrative and academic paradigms, such as "settler colonialism" and reductionist manichean theories of conflict.

The Mythic Seeds Of Human Rights, Joshua Mackenzie Luna

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

In this thesis, I propose a causal relationship between ancient societies’ mythic corpuses and their law codes. I begin by presenting the histories and historiographies of ancient Israel and Mesopotamia to highlight important themes in their development. Then, I place their creation and flood myths side-by-side for comparison, yielding key differences in the way each group conceptualizes human form, value, and purpose. Once these key differences have been established, I compare each group’s set of slave laws to demonstrate how each law code remains philosophically consistent with its respective set of myths and diametrically opposed to the set from the …

The Search For Unenumerated Fundamental Rights, Alina Sluzhyvenkova

Student Theses and Dissertations

There are certain rights that are explicitly enumerated in the Constitution, e.g., right to bear arms, right to free speech, right to a speedy and public trial. There are also rights that aren’t specifically written out but are nevertheless enjoyed by people nationwide. Rights that aren’t explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, but which are fundamental to are called the unenumerated rights. Unenumerated rights are just as important and can be derived from natural law, enumerated rights, the Ninth Amendment, precedents, judicial opinions, and substantive due process.

Substantive due process is a principle guaranteed by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, which …

Copyright And Research In Latin America: Law, Courts, And Perceptions, Mariana G. Valente, Alice P. Lana, André P. Houang

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

Research on the intersection of copyright law, research activities, and innovation in Latin America reveals significant deficiencies in the legal framework and public discourse surrounding copyright limitations and exceptions (L&Es) for research purposes. The problem is more visible with modern data assembling and analyzing techniques, such as through artificial intelligence (AI) systems. This study highlights the scarcity of explicit provisions for research-related exceptions in the region by examining copyright legislation, case law, and stakeholder perspectives in six Latin American countries. Despite indications that judicial interpretation is expanding the scope of L&Es, particularly in Brazil, awareness of legal nuances remains low …

From Policymaking To Legislation, The Need For A Secular Turn In Bioethics Discourse To Uphold, As A Function Of The Greater Good, Policy For Legislation Of Medically Aided Dying In The United States Of America, Scott Dyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A person’s right to self-determination is a central aspect of living in a democratic nation. Similarly, decisions regarding medical care are generally left up to the patient to determine what treatment is or is not appropriate. The same should apply to end-of-life care as well, especially when a patient desires to hasten his or her death via medically aided dying. However, due to the illegality of medically assisted dying in most of the United States, the right to a self-determined death is not possible for the majority of American citizens. One of the main reasons for this is due to …

The Catholic Church In The Philippine Public Sphere, Ranilo B. Hermida

Kritika Kultura

Whether religion has a place in the public sphere is a complex issue. Many thinkers believed that the rationalization process of modernity would result in secularization and banish religion into the private sphere. Religion has not only survived; it has even taken an active role in the political affairs of the state. This has been the case in countries like the Philippines where the publicity and activism of the Catholic hierarchy in the political public sphere of the country have been sustained and to some extent dominant. Said publicity and activism are carried out in the name of religion and …

Examining State Statutory Selection Methods, Term Limits, And Required Qualifications For Appellate Judges As A Model For Reform, Angelo Brown, Wesley Mccann, Ruibin Lu, Brenda I. Rowe, Craig Hemmens

Journal of Criminal Justice and Law

Several reform proposals have been pushed forward for the federal judiciary- namely the United States Supreme Court- in recent years, including term limits, changes in judicial selection, and qualification criteria. Such changes could ostensibly apply to all federal appellate judges as well. The purpose of this study is to determine if states can provide a roadmap for Supreme Court reform discussions. This study utilizes a state-level legal content analysis of all statutes pertaining to judicial selection and qualification criteria for appellate-level judges. Specifically, selection mechanisms, age limits, term limits, and qualifications for selection are examined. Whether state statutory schemes can …

Beyond The Greenwash: Identifying Genuine Corporate Sustainability, Victoria Agbakwuru

Lincoln Memorial University Law Review Archive

As sustainability becomes a critical factor in corporate strategy and consumer decision-making, the rise of greenwashing—where companies exaggerate or falsify environmental claims—poses a significant challenge. This article delves into the legal landscape of greenwashing in the United States and the European Union. It considers regulations specifically tailored to combating greenwashing and encouraging sustainability in those regions. Genuine sustainability practices that companies can engage in are identified and recommended. These include embracing ESG reporting, truth in advertising, transparency, certification and compliance, consistency, and accountability.

An Examination Of The Impact Of A Dishonorable Discharge Upon Second Amendment Rights., Heidi Timmerman

Lincoln Memorial University Law Review Archive

I participated in multiple court-martials and administrative discharges during my time of active-duty military service, primarily representing the servicemember’s command. Twenty years later, a federal criminal law course in law school drew my attention to specific consequences of military discharges. This article explores U.S. discharge policies, practices, consequences of discharge types, and the possible recourse paths. This examination started with research on discharge impacts on one’s Second Amendment right to bear arms; however, an array of discharge impacts emerged.While the U.S. Code provides discharge guidelines, each branch of the U.S. military is given a wide berth in application of the …

From Beating Students Down To Building Students Up: Eradicating The School-To-Prison Pipeline, Aubrian Sanders

Lincoln Memorial University Law Review Archive

This note examines the school-to-prison pipeline, its impact on minority children, and strategies for its elimination. The school-to-prison pipeline systematically removes minority children from the classroom. This process facilitates their entry into the justice system through school punishments, the use of school resource officers, and the harsh conditions of the juvenile justice system which has devastating effects on the minority youths in America. To correct this problem, action must be taken at every step along the pipeline to completely alter the behavior that destines the minority youth of America to incarceration. These key steps include reforming school discipline, removing school …

Begin With Lemon, Fill To The Bri With Bremerton, Stir In Trinity Lutheran, Add A Pinch Of Espinoza, And Combine Carson: A Recipe For Educational Disaster, Brittany Lezu

Lincoln Memorial University Law Review Archive

The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment has steadily been eroded over the past ten years by the Supreme Court, but it all began with the infamous Lemon test in 1971. In _Lemon v. Kurtzman_, the Court established the Lemon test to create a “clearer” standard to determine if a government policy or action directly or indirectly advanced or accommodated religion in compliance with the Establishment Clause. Over time, the Lemon test has slowly be whittled away, leaving the opportunity for revision in _Kennedy v. Bremerton_. The Court in Bremerton interpreted the clause “by reference to historical practices and understandings.” …

4th Annual International Conference Proceedings: Rethinking Economics In The Contemporary World, Centre For Business And Economic Research (Cber), School Of Economics And Social Sciences (Sess)

Conference Proceedings

The School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS), through the Department of Economics and the Center for Business and Economics Research (CBER), opens the call for papers for its fourth international conference: Rethinking Economics in the Contemporary World.

The development of technology, the immediate effects of climate change, complex geopolitical situations, substantial migration, rapid urbanization, increasing income inequality, the emergence of digital economies, and global health crises have all amplified uncertainties and accelerated changes in the economic landscape, underscoring the imperative for better insights and new perspectives in economics profession. This year's conference recognizes the new paradigms and shifts in …

Limitation For Liberty: A Commentary On Federalism And The Tenth Amendment, Riley Banker

Senior Honors Theses

The concept of Federalism is essential to the very survival of the United States. However, recent decisions by the Supreme Court have illustrated attempts by the federal government to expand its authority and undermine the balance of power created by Federalism. This thesis will explore the concept of Federalism to demonstrate how it can best be protected. First, this thesis will address the origins of Federalism. Second, it will show how the principles of Federalism are manifested within the founding documents of the United States. Finally, this thesis will analyze current events including Supreme Court cases to demonstrate a concerning …