Digital Commons Network^™

Let’S Try This Again, Separate Educational Facilities Are Inherently Unequal: Why Minnesota Should Issue A Desegregation Order And Define Adequacy In Cruz-Guzman V. State, Christie Geter

Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality

No abstract provided.

Leveraging Data To Reduce Gun Violence: The Cincinnati Experience, Matthew G. Hammer, Tamara D. Herold

Criminal Justice Faculty Research

The year 2020 has amplified demands for more equitable policing, more efficient government, and greater transparency. As police leaders around the world attempt to maintain order and safety during a period of large-scale civil unrest, they must also address criticisms that existing law enforcement practices include biased interventions and reinforce systemic racism. Many law enforcement agencies are also responding to increasing numbers of serious crimes that disproportionately affect society’s most vulnerable communities, while simultaneously facing calls to “defund the police” fueled by accusations that challenge the legitimacy of their policing tactics. The strategies used by agencies to manage protests and …

Crime Place Networks In Las Vegas: A New Violence Reduction Strategy, Tamara D. Herold

Criminal Justice Faculty Research

In 2017, the Las Vegas, Nevada, Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) adopted a series of interventions designed to reduce gang and gun violence across Las Vegas. In partnership with the International Association of Chiefs of Police/University of Cincinnati (IACP/UC) Center for Police Research and Policy and with evaluation funding provided by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, the LVMPD implemented three violence reduction strategies: (1) focused deterrence (offender notification session); (2) hot spot patrols; and (3) place network investigations (PNI), also known as place-based investigations of violent offender territories (PIVOT), which is the focus here.

What Epidemic? Rural, Suburban, And Urban Community Members' Perceptions Of Opioid Use In The Current Epidemic, Carly A. Besler

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The opioid epidemic in the United States does not discriminate. With previous research showing the rise of the opioid epidemic and how it is impacting all communities, there is a lack of research addressing perceptions towards the opioid epidemic on a national level and in local communities. Thus, my proposed thesis asks, what are the perceptions rural, suburban, and urban community members have towards opioid use within their community? More specifically, does institutional anomie on the national level, and social disorganization on the community level, influence perceptions of opioid use. Administered through a survey, via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk, I will …

Exploring The Cultural And Structural Barriers Justice-Involved Individuals Of Color Encounter In Urban Community Colleges, Eddie J. Phillips, Jr.

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation examines the cultural and structural barriers justice-involved individuals of color encountered at an urban community college and the construct of stigma as a mechanism for creating cultural and structural barriers. Additionally, this study explores justice-involved individuals’ sense of belonging and self-efficacy as community college students. Findings revealed that all justice-involved individuals participating in the study encountered barriers. Despite the cultural and structural barriers participants encountered, many expressed a positive sense of belonging, self-efficacy, and “gifts” based on their newly discovered purpose as college students. Cultural and structural barriers, as well as a new sense of pride and purpose, …

High-Impact Practices Support Second-Year Students' Academic Success, Engagement And Persistence, Melissa M. Cavazos-Eichelberger

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the perceptions of ten second-year students who participated in the Success Program at Midwestern four-year university. As part of the Success Program, these participants also participated in several high impact practices (HIPs) throughout their first year. Participants in this study shared their perceptions on the benefits of HIPs, how HIPs improved their academic success and engagement, making them want to persist, and any barriers they experienced, prohibiting their participation in HIPs. Findings indicated students perceived HIPs (a) enhanced academic success, (b) increased community engagement, (c) improved the likelihood of their persistence, and (d) that targeted HIPs should …

The Hunt With John Walsh: True Crime Storytelling, Amanda R. Keeler

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

In her analysis of The Hunt with John Walsh, Amanda Keeler explores the public service function of true crime television programs that feature unsolved or unresolved cases. Trough an investigation of visual style and narrative elements, Keeler examines the multiple intentions of television programs that seek to entertain audiences and simultaneously help solve crimes.

Counter Narratives Of Black Female Educators In Exurban Schools, Monisha Douglas Moore

All ETDs from UAB

This study explored how three Black female educators characterized their personal narratives regarding their teaching experiences. Guided by a social justice framework, this study attempted to show how Black women’s identities have been co-created, how their perceptions of success have been formulated, and how perceptions of academic success have helped them frame their pedagogy for diverse students. Because limited research has examined how Black female educators in exurban areas situated their perceptions and pedagogy to facilitate the needs of diverse students, this study added to the limited knowledge. Purposeful sampling was conducted at the site and participant level. The research …

Public Participation As Peacebuilding: A New Model For Environmental Justice Communities, Kathryn E. Fagan

All ETDs from UAB

Environmental justice seeks to address the unequal burden of environmental problems experienced by minority and low-income communities and to ensure their meaningful participation in decision-making processes. While there is increasing attention being paid to the unequal distribution, there is a lack of work that focuses explicitly on public participation in an environmental justice context. Environmental problems, in general, are complex and involve a variety of stakeholders, and environmental justice problems are further complicated by the interconnections of structural racism, historical trauma, and damaged relationships. Many of these complexities can be seen in the ongoing efforts at the 35th Avenue Superfund …

Penn State’S School Of Public Affairs Security-Related Academic Programs Amid The Novel Coronavirus Catastrophe, Alexander Siedschlag

Publications

Due to its large OL student population, Penn State’s School of Public Affairs had (unintended) applicable crisis contingency protocols in place prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. With the support of our college’s Center for Teaching Excellence, many traditional F2F residential courses had already been set up on our learning management system (LMS), Canvas. As a result, many of our school’s traditional students and faculty had a handle on using Canvas and remote learning technology. The center enhanced and focused its services to faculty as COVID-19 evolved (Center for Teaching Excellence, 2020). As the COVID-19 crisis hit Penn State during the …

Litigating Imperfect Solutions: State Constitutional Claims In Federal Court, Michael T. Morley

Constitutional Commentary, Vols 1–36 (1984–2022)

No abstract provided.

Have Problem-Solving Courts Changed The Practice Of Law?, Cynthia Alkon

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

No abstract provided.

Twists In The Use Of Warren Court Fourth Amendment Rhetoric, Susan F. Mandiberg

University of the Pacific Law Review

No abstract provided.

Decriminalizing The Mentally Ill In America: An Examination Of The Overrepresentation Of Mentally Ill Citizens Behind Bars And A Proposal To Combat This Injustice, Geraghty Alch

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

The Effects Of Gun-Free Zones And Mass Shootings, Melissa Gonzalez Rock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There has been an increase in the number of mass school shootings even though there are policies in place such as the Gun-Free School Zone Act (GFSZA) to stop such crimes from occurring. Although there is a divide between supporters of these policies and those who want them revamped or removed, all want the same result: to end mass school shootings. The debate between those who wish to leave policies such as the GFSZA in place and those who seek to replace them with new policies that allow guns on campus for various personnel has strong advocates on both sides. …

Profile Evidence, Fairness, And The Risks Of Mistaken Convictions, Collin O'Neil, Marcello Di Bello

Publications and Research

Many oppose the use of profile evidence against defendants at trial, even when the statistical correlations are reliable and the jury is free from prejudice. The literature has struggled to justify this opposition. We argue that admitting profile evidence is objectionable because it violates what we call “equal protection”—that is, a right of innocent defendants not to be exposed to higher ex ante risks of mistaken conviction compared to other innocent defendants facing similar charges. We also show why admitting other forms of evidence, such as eyewitness, trace, and motive evidence, does not violate equal protection.

Participatory Action Research In Schools: Unpacking The Lived Inequities Of High Stakes Testing, Tiffany A. Dejaynes, Tabatha Cortes, Israt Hoque

Publications and Research

Purpose – This paper aims to examine a school-based Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) project on educational inequity and high stakes testing.

Design/methodology/approach – A former high school teacher (currently a university professor) and two former students (currently research assistants and university students) take up a youth studies framework to collaboratively resee multimodal artifacts from a tenth-grade course in qualitative research.

Findings – Findings illustrate the power of finding allies in peers and educators; the transformative power of deep participation; and the longitudinal nature of social change and action. Thus, this research demonstrates that when students are positioned as researchers, …

University Assessment Services, National Survey Of Student Engagement: College Of Arts And Sciences, Math And Natural Sciences, First-Year; 2020, Illinois State University

Student Success

National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) College of Arts and Sciences, Math and Natural Sciences, Report. Administered by University Assessment Services, Illinois State University, to First-Year students. 2020.

The Army's G-Rap Fiasco: How The Lives And Careers Of Hundreds Of Innocent Soldiers Were Destroyed, Jeffrey F. Addicott

Faculty Articles

The purpose of this article is three-fold. First, this article seeks to explore the legal and policy ramifications of the CID's multi-year criminal investigation, which targeted vast numbers of innocent Army National Guard and Army Reserve personnel for alleged criminality as contract employees in the G-RAP or AR-RAP.

Second, this article aims to highlight the CID's longstanding practice referred to as "titling"-of refusing to delete from their system of records those individuals that are subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing by their commands. This highly dubious administrative practice was particularly devastating to the hundreds of innocent and fully exonerated participants in …

Exodus From The Land Of Confusion: Why Hughes V. United States Supports The Overruling Of The Unworkable Marks Doctrine And A Change In Court Practice, Ben Davisson

Saint Louis University Law Journal

The Marks doctrine was established by the Supreme Court as an earnest attempt to divine binding precedent from fractured decisions that failed to gain support from a majority of the Justices. While well-intentioned, the doctrine has proved to be, at best, difficult, and more often nearly impossible to correctly apply with any degree of certainty. Recently, in Hughes v. United States, the Court had the opportunity to further flesh out the doctrine and provide struggling courts and practitioners guidance when working with the rule’s abstruse mandates. Instead, the Court declined this opportunity. This comment will discuss the development of …

Creating A Standardized Approach For Satellite-Based Remote Sensing Analysis For Detecting International Humanitarian Law Violations, Allie Wu

Research Days Posters 2020

Technological advancements have given way to satellite-arrays capable of producing high-resolution imagery from outer space. Accordingly, there has been much controversy surrounding the use of satellite imagery in forensics in detecting international humanitarian law violations because of the absence of a standardized analysis strategy. As a result of this, international courts remain hesitant to utilize such imagery analysis for evidence to corroborate decisions. This work aims to explore an approach for conducting satellite-array imagery analysis to detect humanitarian law violations that may be standardized for future forensic use. The investigation focuses primarily on case studies of various conflict-torn regions, including …

Behind Bars In Binghamton: Exploring The Incarceration Rate Of Broome County, Jackson Hengsterman

Research Days Posters 2020

Broome County has the highest incarceration rate in New York State, with 39 people incarcerated per every 10,000 residents. This number has grown 680% since 1980 when the incarceration rate of Broome County was only 5 per 10,000. The purpose of this study is to uncover what social, political, or economic factors lead to Broome County having the highest incarceration rate in the state. To answer this question, I spoke first-hand with many important players in the criminal justice system - including activists, scholars, and prosecutors. I also underwent participant observations at community meetings, court arraignments, protests against incarceration, as …

Attitudes Towards Sexual Assault: The Influence Of Athletic Background And Media Portrayal On Perceptions Of Rape, Bridget Jules

Research Days Posters 2020

Societal attitudes towards athletes may influence media depictions of sexual assault perpetrators and individuals' responses to these portrayals, which can thereby shape reactions and outcomes affecting perpetrators and victims. This study presented participants (N=616) with actual news articles depicting sexual assaults committed by athlete and non-athlete perpetrators. Articles were reliably coded for various characteristics. Analyses indicated that athlete perpetrators were characterized more positively than non-athletes. Analyses indicated that characteristics of the participant were more relevant to shaping attitudes than article-level factors, with attributes including sports fanaticism and beliefs about rape predicted how blame was apportioned to victims versus perpetrators.

Faith In Trump, Moral Foundations, And Social Distancing Defiance During The Coronavirus Pandemic, Amanda Graham, Justin T. Pickett, Cheryl Lero Jonson, Murat Haner, Melissa M. Sloan

Criminology Faculty Publications

Purpose: Over the past several months, the coronavirus has infected more than six million Americans and killed nearly 200,000. Governors have issued stay-at-home orders, and prosecutors have filed criminal charges against individuals for defying those orders. And yet many Americans have still refused to keep their distance from their fellow citizens, even if they had symptoms of infection. The authors explore the underlying causes for those who intend to defy these norms.

Methods: Using national-level data from a March 2020 survey of 989 Americans, the authors explore intentions to defy social distancing norms by testing an interactionist theory of foundation-based …

Legal Complexities Of The Sex Trafficking Of Minors, Christie Mccormick

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Among human rights abuses in modern society, the trafficking of women and children for labor, prostitution, and other forms of sexual exploitation is one of the greatest. While a large amount of time and financial support has gone into efforts to suppress trafficking and shelter its victims, there has not been enough done to tackle this problem. Before reaching the age of 18, it is predicted that 80% of adolescents in the United States will have traded money for sex. Many adolescent girls who have been trafficked in the commercial sex industries are subject to serious criminal penalties for prostitution-related …

Upskirting, Bitcoin, And Crime, Oh My: Judicial Resistance To Applying Old Laws To New Crimes – What Is A Legislature To Do?, Michael Whiteman

Indiana Law Journal

As technology continues to advance at a break-neck speed, legislatures often find themselves scrambling to write laws to keep up with these advances. Prosecutors are frequently faced with the prospect of charging a defendant with a crime based on an existing law that does not quite fit the circumstances of the defendant’s actions. Judges, cognizant of the fact that legislatures, and not the judiciary, have the primary responsibility for creating crimes, have pushed back. Judges routinely refuse to convict a defendant if the statute does not fairly criminalize the defendant’s actions. To determine if a defendant’s actions fit within a …

Justice At The Border: Should Courts Provide Relief For Constitutional Violations At The Border?, Elizabeth Cook

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

In two recent cases, children were shot by Border Patrol agents across the United States and Mexico border. In one case, the Ninth Circuit found the Border Patrol agent was not entitled to qualified immunity and should pay damages to the teen’s family. However, the Fifth Circuit refused to allow damages in the other case because of concerns over national security. The circuit split raises questions over separation of powers and how far the power of the courts should go when deciding damages in cases involving transnational issues. This Article discusses officials’ qualified immunity and its limits when constitutional violations …

When Home Is A Living Hell: Vulnerable Women And Sexual Harassment In Housing, Sarah Pricer

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Low-income women experience a nightmarish victimization when they are sexually harassed by landlords in their homes, homes many are desperate to keep. The staggering lack of data on this issue means laws and courts have been slow to address this phenomenon. Although courts have relied primarily on a Title VII employment-based sexual harassment framework to address this issue, it does not go far enough in protecting women in their homes. The home and the workplace are inherently different and thus require a different legal approach to redress the issue.

This comment examines sexual harassment in housing and why Texas women …

Title Ix & The Civil Rights Approach To Sexual Harassment In Education, Nancy Chi Cantalupo

Law Faculty Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Garza V. Idaho: Prioritizing Client Autonomy In Criminal Appeals Regardless Of An Appeal Waiver, Jackie Mcdonnell

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

In Garza v. Idaho, the Supreme Court resolved a split in authority about whether courts should presume counsel prejudiced a criminal defendant’s case when counsel failed to file a notice of appeal, holding the presumption of prejudice applies regardless of a defendant’s appeal waiver. By correctly extending Roe v. Flores-Ortega’s rule which requires courts to presume prejudice, the Court expanded the presumption’s application for ineffective assistance of counsel claims under the Sixth Amendment.

Overall, Garza protected a defendant’s right to appeal despite an appeal waiver, as counsel must now act on the defendant’s appeal request. If counsel fails to file …