Digital Commons Network^™

Digital Domination: How Technology Threatens Privacy Rights, Kirsten Zonkowski

NSU Undergraduate Law Journal

This paper examines how rapid technological advancements have outpaced existing legal protections for privacy rights in both the U.S as well as world-wide. By analyzing landmark Supreme Court cases and federal legislation, it highlights the vulnerabilities individuals face from digital surveillance, data mining, and third-party data collection. The paper argues that current legal frameworks are fragmented and outdated, calling for comprehensive reforms. Recommended solutions include adopting federal privacy legislation modeled after the GDPR, passing a constitutional amendment to safeguard digital privacy, and implementing mandatory transparency and accountability measures for technology companies. These reforms are essential to preserving individual freedoms in …

The Improvement Regime: Public Trusts, Real Estates, And India’S Urban Futurities, Anwesha Ghosh

Articles

Over the last two decades, since scholarly writing on India witnessed an “urban turn,” numerous historians have analyzed the role of the improvement trust in the redevelopment of Indian cities in the twentieth century, most specifically those of Bombay, Calcutta, and Delhi. This paper revisits and reassesses some of their key arguments to suggest that rather than studying the “failures” of the individual trusts to foster sanitary built environments, we should pay attention to the contingent workings of the city trusts that were constitutively designed for such failures. Using a comparative analysis of the Bombay and Calcutta improvement trusts, this …

Ecocentric Environmental Justice: Why We Should Go There And How We Can Get There, Jillian R. Houle

Pace Environmental Law Review

Environmental justice is necessary. It forces us to grapple with the fact that environmental burdens and benefits have been disproportionately divvied up across arbitrary race- and income-based lines, asks “what are you going to do about it?”, and offers solutions and answers to the problems it identifies. Everyone benefits from environmental justice. At the same time, environmental protection is necessary. Not only does environmental protection, by definition, protect the biotic and abiotic components of the natural world, but it further serves to protect humans, who unequivocally rely on the natural environment to sustain their collective life. Everything – living and …

Avoiding Dupe Process, Kevin Frazier

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) combined with increased documentation of human overreliance on AI recommendations demands a reexamination of content moderation processes. Social media platforms—reacting to internal values, social pressure, regulatory mandates, or some combination of all three—have carried over procedural due process norms to content decisions. One common procedural protection is a “human-in-the-loop” (HITL) requirement. These requirements insist that a human provide some oversight role prior to an automated decision becoming final.

A review of the core values of due process—namely, accuracy, fairness, legitimacy—and the nature of hybrid decisional frameworks—those that involve AI and human inputs—show that HITL requirements …

The Emerging Danger Of Ai-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Material And An Unprepared Criminal Code, Jessica L. Terkovich

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The development and dissemination of child sexual abuse material (“CSAM”) using artificial intelligence (“AI”) is becoming easier and easier with technological advancements. This Article argues that traditional child pornography statutes should be extended to encompass fully AI-generated images. The Article outlines the history of the nation’s current federal CSAM laws and details the results of a nationwide survey of statutes which determined that few states have effective laws on the books regarding AI-generated CSAM. This Article also offers recommendations for constructing effective laws against AI-generated CSAM and concludes that harm comes from the very existence of CSAM, no matter how …

Under The Limelight Of Fame: Life, Success, And Revenge Porn—A Public Figure’S Right To Privacy Versus Speech On Matters Of Public Concern, Jose Garcia

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The twenty-first century continues to evolve technologically and socially. However, the main constant in society is the public’s devotion to celebrity culture. Celebrity culture constantly has the public’s attention, from Travis Kelce’s and Taylor Swift’s relationship, to the controversies surrounding President Donald Trump. As a result, being a public figure in a technologically advanced society comes with a limited right to privacy. Public figures over the years have become victims of nonconsensual pornography with limited options for recovery and accountability. California Civil Code Section 1708.85 is a prime example of a statute that poses a challenge to a public figure …

Fundamental Dimensions Of Law And Legal Education: Developing A Model Of A Modern Legal System And Its Application To The Transnational Dimensions Of Law, Mark L. Jones

Mercer Law Review

The present article is the fourth in a series of articles addressing the fundamental dimensions of law and lawyering and urging the reliberalization of U.S. legal education. It is largely an exercise in analytical jurisprudence. Parts I and II seek to provide an account of a modern legal system and legal evolution that combines and integrates my own fundamental dimensions of law taxonomy with the accounts of a legal system given by the legal philosopher H.L.A. Hart and the comparatist John Henry Merryman. The model of a modern legal system these Parts develop should be part of the cognitive equipment …

Exploring The Underutilization Of Ai In Courtroom Decision-Making Processes, Dominique Lashaun Hilliard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The underutilization of AI in Texas state courtrooms challenges judicial efficiency, fairness, and transparency. Despite AI’s potential to enhance evidence management and decision-making, its adoption remains limited. Legal professionals and information technology (IT) managers stress the need for strategies to address these barriers and promote equitable justice. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study, which was grounded in the technology acceptance model, diffusion of innovation theory, and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, was to explore strategies IT managers use to implement AI in criminal justice information systems. Semi-structured interviews and organizational documents provided data for thematic analysis, …

The Earth's Voice: The Social, Spiritual, And Secular Justifications For The Earth's Freedom Of Expression, Ashley Tzeting Pun Eveson

Theses and Dissertations

The Earth's legal right to freedom of speech remains largely unexplored within the broader legal movement for the rights of nature, which emerged in the 1970s. While environmental law increasingly recognizes nature's rights to exist and thrive, as illustrated by legal rights granted to various natural entities--like the Whanganui River or manoomin rice--the Earth's ability to communicate remains underdeveloped. This study employs legal research analysis to examine the philosophical reasoning behind how social, spiritual, and secular frameworks justify the Earth's right to freedom of speech and expression. It explores legal guardianship, scientific data, Indigenous knowledge, and spiritual stewardship as valid …

Quixotes, Quacks, And Laughing Philosophers: Humor And Intellectual Authority In The Long Eighteenth Century, Macklin Fanning

English Theses and Dissertations

Quixotes, Quacks, and Laughing Philosophers: Humor and Intellectual Authority in the Long Eighteenth Century recovers the fascinating and forgotten story of John Elliot (1747–1787), a novelist, physician, mad scientist, pioneering optical theorist, criminal lunatic, and Gothic antihero whose life and work illuminate a strange new history of science, medicine, law, and literature in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Best Friend, False Friend: The “Favour” Rule In Comparative Labour Law, Luca Ratti

Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal

Employment relationships can be governed by multiple legal frameworks, including statutory labour codes, collective bargaining agreements (at both enterprise and sectoral levels), and individual employment contracts. How are conflicts between these sources of law resolved? In many jurisdictions, the “favour rule” addresses such conflicts by prioritising the source that offers the greatest benefit to the employee. This rule aims to prevent employers from leveraging their superior bargaining power in individual contracts to undercut more favourable terms established through collective bargaining. However, comparative analysis reveals that the scope of the favour rule is narrowing in some jurisdictions, where it is increasingly …

Closing The Gap In Pre-Law Preparation: Founding A Pre-Law Club At Ole Miss, Nicolantonio Prentosito

Honors Theses

Attending public school from kindergarten through 12^th grade in a struggling Ohio school district, I experienced the inequities in the public education system from a young age, particularly with tests like the SAT that can have a major impact on our futures. After becoming a National Merit Finalist, I wanted to help even the playing field for students from poor districts like mine by founding a non-profit, Scholar Power, to offer free PSAT, SAT, and ACT education and preparation.

Starting college, I recognized similar inequities with the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) and the pre-law process in general. As …

Breaking Down The Walls: Changes To Single-Family Residential Zoning To Improve Housing Affordability And Inclusivity, Jackson Barton, J.D.

Lincoln Memorial University Law Review Archive

Single-family residential zoning has long been a method to keep unwanted individuals and families out of wealthier, more affluent neighborhoods. What area an individual or family lives in can dictate many aspects of their lives, including their job opportunities, access to health care, and their kids’ education options. By implementing changes to single-family zoning and allowing higher population density in suburbs and small towns, cities and states can create neighborhoods that are welcoming to a wide range of the socioeconomic spectrum.This comment discusses the changes that many states, municipalities, and cities have made to their long-standing zoning schemes in the …

A Court Under Scrutiny: How Ethical Failures Endanger The Legitimacy Of The Supreme Court, Presley A. Overbey, J.D.

Lincoln Memorial University Law Review Archive

This Note explores the deepening legitimacy crisis facing the United States Supreme Court, arguing that ethical failures among its justices have eroded public confidence in the institution and threaten the foundational principles of American democracy. Beginning with an analysis of Institutional legitimacy and its relationship to public acceptance, this Note articulates why legitimacy, not merely power or authority, is essential to the judiciary’s function. Tracing the historical development of the Court and its evolving public perception, this Note Examines recent ethical controversies involving Supreme Court justices that have contributed to its growing unpopularity. It critiques the Court’s existing ethical framework, …

Judicial Interpretations Of Emancipation: Comparative Analysis Of Antebellum Court Decisions In The Slaveholding States, Evan Matthew Gelobter, J.D.

Lincoln Memorial University Law Review Archive

This article examines judicial interpretations of emancipation laws in the antebellum South, focusing on Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. It investigates how courts enforced and occasionally challenged legislative restrictions on manumission, revealing the judiciary’s dual role in both preserving and, in rare cases, moderating the institution of slavery. Through a comparative analysis of landmark cases, the study highlights the tension between statutory mandates and judicial discretion, illustrating how legal frameworks reinforced racial hierarchies while occasionally permitting emancipation under narrowly defined circumstances, such as relocation to free states or foreign territories. The article demonstrates that courts consistently prioritized …

Fourth And Fifth Circuits Split Over Geofencing In Fourth Amendment Interpretation, Mollye O'Rourke, J.D.

Lincoln Memorial University Law Review Archive

In 2024 the Fourth and Fifth Circuits split over the issue of location history retrieved via geofencing. The Fourth Circuit held in United States v. Chatrie, that enabling one’s cell phone location history is consent for the government to retroactively view location history without a warrant. However, the Fifth Circuit held in United States v. Smith, that when the government uses location history data, it conducts a general search, which they said is unconstitutional even with a warrant. This note analyzes the split and proposes a modification of the third party doctrine that would maintain the equilibrium of powers between …

From Great Migration To Gentrification: Heirs Property In The Urban Context, Codi Royall

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The current legal framework, including common law doctrine, individual state statutes, and the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA), fails to meet the needs of heirs property owners in urban communities. This oversight allows real estate speculators to exploit the law, accelerating gentrification, urban blight, displacement of heirs, and the erosion of generational wealth. While Thomas Mitchell’s scholarship has illuminated the challenges of heirs property, its focus on rural contexts neglects the distinct issues faced by urban heirs.

This Note addresses this gap by examining heirs property through an urban lens, emphasizing the unique historical and legal contexts of …

The Road To Hell Is Paved With Good Intentions: Patents, Pharmaceuticals, And Price Gouging, Madelyn Bird

Northern Illinois Law Review Supplement

Pharmaceutical companies are subject to monopolies of their own making in the pharmaceutical market. Legislators have tried to limit these monopolies by passing legislation in the hopes that it will lower prices. Unfortunately, these attempts to lower the costs of prescriptions have caused more issues to arise over time. When employing complex aspects of intellectual property law, such as evergreening and product hopping, there is no control exerted over pharmaceutical companies.

These monopolies in pharmaceutical markets exist because by the time generic products can enter the market, they have already become outdated. When the generics become outdated, they lose their …

Illinois’S Latent Disease Transformation: No More Harsh Rulings, Joseph R. Egan

Northern Illinois Law Review Supplement

Recent amendments to Illinois statutes related to latent diseases have been the topic of current litigation. Traditionally, Illinois has placed a time limit on filing latent disease suits; however, after several self-described “harsh rulings,” the legislature amended this time-barring statute. Additionally, unlike before, plaintiffs are now allowed to go directly after employers. Employers have raised several issues concerning the constitutionality of the amendments to these statutes.

This Comment argues that the recent amendments by the Illinois legislature are constitutional because they do not violate ‘special legislation’ and are not applied retroactively. Trial judges and the Illinois Attorney General have all …

I Demand The Right To Destroy My Church! The Relationship Between The Religious Land Use And Institutionalized Persons Act And The Religious Right To Demolish Historic Churches, Mikayla D. Kelz

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Prohibitions and restrictions on land use by Historic Preservation Committees via landmark laws are common and hinder an owner’s right to control the land. Religious institutions possess an important piece of federal legislation to combat landmark laws, known as the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). Even with this advantage in their pocket, churches continue to face local opposition on the ability to renovate and demolish their churches due to the overly regulatory nature of landmark laws. Federal courts vary on the criteria in determining whether a landmark designation can withstand the right to religious exercise via land …

Hi Barbie! A Cultural Phenomenon Illustrates How Courts Have Lost The True Meaning Of The Independent Creation Defense, Shelby Harrison

Northern Illinois University Law Review

From movies to advertisements to department stores, Barbie is everywhere. Barbie has been around for decades and is now a cultural phenomenon. It is almost impossible to not be familiar with the iconic fashion doll. With a creation so popular and so powerful, how do other individuals or businesses create their own doll without being influenced by Barbie? This Note discusses the independent creation defense within copyright infringement. The focus of this Note is whether a defendant would even be able to assert the independent creation defense when their opponent’s creation is so widely known, like Barbie. This Note emphasizes …

Originalism’S Precedent Problem, James Bernstein

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This paper explores the tension between originalism and stare decisis in judicial decision-making. Originalism, which seeks to interpret the Constitution as understood at the time of its ratification, has gained bipartisan acceptance among judges. However, this interpretive approach faces challenges regarding precedent: How should originalist judges handle past decisions that deviate from the original public meaning of the Constitution? The paper examines this issue, particularly in light of originalists’ varied stances on the role of precedent.

Some originalists, like Antonin Scalia and Amy Coney Barrett, acknowledge the need for stare decisis to maintain legal stability, albeit with allowances for overturning …

I Have Some Reservations: Examining Whether Federal Rules Of Evidence 413 And 414 Serve Legitimate Purposes Of Punishment For Native American Defendants, Cameryn Gonnella

Advanced Issues in Criminal Law: Sex Offenses

This essay will analyze the legitimacy of Federal Rules 413 and 414 as applied to Native American defendants through the lens of the purposes of punishment: rehabilitation, deterrence, retribution, incapacitation, and restitution.

Dykebreaking: The Homophobic Rape Of Lesbian Woman And The Next Frontier Of Hate Crime Laws, Mallory L. Harrington

Advanced Issues in Criminal Law: Sex Offenses

This article will explain the motivations behind homophobic rape by examining it as both a sex offense and a hate crime, before arguing that its unique status at the intersection of both categories of offenses places its victims in a particularly vulnerable position and situates those who offend in this way in a more serious category of offender than other sex offenders.

K-12 Administrators' And Teachers' Perceptions Of Legal Requirements For Providing Inclusive Education, Rebecca Kay Berger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At a large school system in the northwestern United States, students who received specially designed instruction services at the middle school study site were not always included with nondisabled peers in general education classes to the extent possible. The theoretical framework guiding this study was Vygotsky’s social constructivist paradigm, which says shared experiences shape people. Using a mixed methods, nonexperimental research design, data were collected using a concurrent, embedded strategy using a pre- and posttreatment online survey with 17 teacher-participants for the pretreatment survey and 11 participants for the posttreatment survey. The treatment in this study was a district-approved professional …

It’S Time For A Change: A Proposal To Abolish Solitary Confinement From Canadian Prisons, Amy Rico

Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections

Despite Canada’s reputation for being a leader in human rights, its treatment of prisoners requires a closer examination. In particular, prisoner and human rights advocates have widely criticized the use of solitary confinement in Canadian federal and provincial prisons as a form of torture. Solitary confinement imposes excruciating and demeaning conditions on prisoners, jeopardizing their mental and physical welfare. Following court decisions deeming solitary confinement unconstitutional, the federal government replaced the formal use of solitary confinement with structured intervention units. However, these units continue to be a reformulated version of the original practice, sustaining the torturous conditions subjected to inmates. …

Documentary History Of The Limitations And Exceptions In The Sccr, Luca Schirru, Lokesh Vyas, Haddija Jawara, Lukas Ruthes Gonçalves, Sean Flynn

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

The objective of this study is to systematically map all meetings of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) and the General Assemblies (GA) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to extract, compile, and organize all relevant statements made by Member States regarding the Limitations and Exceptions (L&Es).

The analysis was based on publicly available data from the WIPO website, particularly the official pages dedicated to each SCCR and GA meeting. Our primary focus was on statements recorded in the official "Report" document of each session. When available, we also examined supplementary documents, such as the "Summary …

Jurgen Habermas's Views On Legal Validity And Discourse Ethics: A Literature Review, Rika Febriani, Supartiningsih Supartiningsih, Sindung Tjahyadi

Jurnal Civics: Media Kajian Kewarganegaraan

In modern states, law is often reduced to merely a tool of power. Many contemporary practices treat law as nothing more than a procedural requirement, disregarding its substantive values and the social conditions of society. This article discusses the validity of law within a political community from Habermas's perspective. According to him, the law must be discursive and stem from rational subjects capable of effective communication. The fundamental questions addressed are: how can law ideally be derived from norms within a political society? And how can law subsequently foster a democratic society? This article employs historical-factual methods, with primary sources …

Mishaps And Misdiagnosis: The Growing Need For Regulation Over The Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis Industry, Anna M. Lucchese

SPARK Symposium Presentations

This note explores negligence involved in a unique type of In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) procedure that incorporates genetic testing to assess whether an embryos has a harmful genetic abnormality before implantation. This procedure is known as Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGD). The Note explains the current regulatory schemes for PGD in the United States—or lack thereof—compared to other countries and guidelines from international professional societies. It further outlines options for what regulatory authorities in the United States would be best suited to oversee PGD use. The Note ultimately argues that fertility clinics should be required to adopt mandatory quality certifications to enhance …

Toward Gender Parity In The South Carolina Appellate Judiciary, Anna M. Bishop

Senior Theses

In April 2023, former Chief Justice Kay Hearn retired from the Supreme Court of South Carolina, leaving the state without a woman justice on its highest court until June 2024. During this time, South Carolina was the only state in the nation to lack a female presence on its court of last resort. This lack of women was detrimental, as women judges provide crucial insight and experience to the courts on which they serve.

Through a literature review, I examine the importance of women on the bench and how different state judicial selection mechanisms affect the gendered makeup of state …