Digital Commons Network^™

Private Rights Of Action For Election Litigation In The Federal Courts, Derek T. Muller

Journal Articles

Election litigation is surging. But just as litigants pursue more election claims in federal courts than ever before, federal courts are growing more skeptical about their authority to hear them. This Essay, a contribution to the 2025 Arnold Lecture at the University of Arkansas Little Rock, William H. Bowen School of Law, examines the narrowing landscape of private rights of action in election law with a particular focus on claims brought ahead of the 2024 election. It traces the Supreme Court's shift toward formalism, the heavy emphasis on remedies found in federal statutes, and the diminishing avenues for private enforcement …

The Prohibition Of Force Is The First Principle Of International Humanitarian Law, Mary Ellen O'Connell

Journal Articles

This article tracks the decline of respect for the prohibition of force, IHL, and human rights law. At the same time, it will clarify the inter-relationship of the three bodies of international law relevant to armed conflict. The article also considers why presidents first began to “abandon peace.” The evidence indicates that a major reason involves the influence of realist political theory. Realism asserts that national security is attained by amassing and demonstrating superior military capability. A president who follows the theory will defy the law against the use of force. Following realism is also at odds with the empirical …

The Object Of Interpretation, Francisco J. Urbina

Journal Articles

This Article provides an account of the object of legal interpretation. It examines various potential objects: text, lawmaking choice, practice, and order. The Article argues for a pluralist conception of the object of interpretation, according to which all of these alternatives are possible objects. In making this argument, the Article puts forth an account of the nature of the object of interpretation. The object of legal interpretation is, in essence, what is treated as a source of law, a fact that is recognized as generating law. As such, which alternative is exactly the object of interpretation in a given context …

Arkansas Corn And Grain Sorghum Performance Tests 2025, J. F. Carlin, J. P. Kelley, T. N. Spurlock, T. D. Swanson, R. D. Bond, J. C. Mccoy, C. J. Bulloch

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Report Statement This Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES) publication summarizes variety trial research conducted by the Arkansas Crop Variety Improvement Program. Variety trial information presented here furthers the AAES mission of conducting research that benefits the citizens of Arkansas by expanding agricultural profitability and strengthening local and state economies. This information is not a recommendation or an endorsement of any product by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture or AAES. Recommendations interpreted from this information are made and presented by the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.

Corn and grain sorghum performance tests are conducted each year in Arkansas by …

Feasibility Study On The Development Of Indiana’S Connected And Automated Vehicle Roadmap And Strategic Plan, Can Cui, Juanwu Lu, Yupeng Zhou, Abin Mathew, Jue Zhou, Ziran Wang, Yaobin Chen

JTRP Technical Reports

This study provides INDOT with critical insights into major OEMs’ connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) development plans and related research and demonstration activities in several surrounding states, guiding infrastructure investment and policy decisions. The report delivers three outputs that guide the CAV technologies implementation in Indiana. First, it synthesizes the best regional practices and industry direction to distinguish what is feasible now from what requires further development. Second, it establishes a technical baseline that links priority applications to sensing and communications architectures with explicit attention to interoperability, security, and maintainability. Third, it defines an implementation framework that connects capital and …

Guidelines For Use And Design Of Deep Foundations For Three-Sided Structures, Yao Wang, Rodrigo Salgado, Monica Prezzi

JTRP Technical Reports

Buried three-sided structures are widely used for roadway crossings and underpasses. Whereas spread footings are common, deep foundations are required when weak soils, scour risk, or site constraints exist. This study aimed to improve understanding of load-transfer mechanisms and develop guidance for the design of deep foundations supporting buried three-sided structures.

A nationwide survey of 34 state DOT engineers and 12 three-dimensional finite element analyses were conducted. Results show that greater stem wall height and thicker earth cover lead to a more uniform live-load distribution between piles. The most critical condition occurs when the design truck is placed near the …

Rampcast Phase Ii: Connected Vehicles Traffic Management Application On Indiana Highways, Abin Mathew, Agnideven Palanisamy Sundar, Juntong Peng, Jue Zhou, Yaobin Chen, Feng Li

JTRP Technical Reports

This project advances connected vehicle applications by developing and testing an enhanced RampCast system, a comprehensive traffic management system using C-V2X technology for Indiana highways. The system features a dual-mode architecture integrating both short-range (PC5) and long-range cellular (Uu) C-V2X communication pathways, utilizing commercial-grade Cohda MK6 hardware and adhering to SAE J2735 standards to ensure interoperability. A key innovation is the integration of an AI-based prioritization framework, which leverages a large language model to enhance the contextual relevance of traffic messages. This AI system introduces two intelligent agents: one to dynamically estimate the appropriate display distance for an event based …

Integration Of Bim For Bridge Modeling, Jiansong Zhang, Hang Li, Temitope Akanbi, Hosam Hegazy, Fan Yang, Meta Soy, Yunfeng Chen, Hazar Nicholas Dib

JTRP Technical Reports

Existing INDOT bridge projects mainly use PDF plans for the official deliverables and records to be communicated, transferred, and stored among different stakeholders. With the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) BIM standard (ISO 16739) adopted by AASHTO as the national standard for modeling bridge projects, there comes a great opportunity to upgrade the documentation of INDOT bridge projects to 3D BIM in compliance with this national standard, while at the same time addressing the need to manage and retrieve project information in a more convenient and efficient way. In addition, INDOT needs to achieve the goal of meeting new Specifications for …

Identify Bridge Design Guidelines For Wildlife Crossings, Jon Padfield, Kyle Squillace

JTRP Technical Reports

Annual vehicle miles driven in the United States doubled, from 1.6 trillion to 3.2 trillion in the 40 years between 1983 and 2023. Unfortunately, one side effect of the increase in vehicle miles driven has been the prevalence of Animal-Vehicle Collisions (AVCs).

As early as 1975, efforts began in some Western states to create safe animal passages such as the wildlife overpass over I-15 in Beaver, Utah. Wildlife passages increased in popularity from the 1970s through the 1990s, but they were mainly being designed and constructed in the Western United States.

Today, there is increasing and broader interest in safe …

Influence Of Nanomaterials-Based Admixtures And Polymeric Microspheres On Entrained Air Void System And Freeze-Thaw (F/T) Resistance Of Concrete, Alberto Castillo, Jan Olek, Mirian Velay-Lizancos,

JTRP Technical Reports

This study investigated the feasibility of using colloidal nanosilica (nS) as microstructure modifier and polymeric microspheres (MS) as alternative air-entrainment systems for Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) bridge deck concrete. These admixtures have gained interest due to their potential to modify the air-void system, enhance freeze–thaw (F/T) resistance, reduce permeability, and improve early-age performance. However, their field applicability depends on understanding their sensitivity to mixture composition, type of batching process, consolidation practices, and water-to-cement (w/c) ratio. The objectives of this research were to: (1) conduct field trials incorporating nS and MS and evaluate both fresh and hardened properties, (2) compare …

Receiver, Vehicle, And Roadway Systems For A Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer Roadway Testbed, Oscar Andrés Moncada, Isaac Abram, Nicholas Frooninckx, Vatan Mehar, Chiara Cervini, O'Brien Ben, Bruno Cesar Krause Moras, Steve Pekarek, John E. Haddock, Dionysios Aliprantis, Aaron Brovont, Konstantina Gkritza, Rob Swanson

JTRP Technical Reports

A dynamic wireless power transfer (DWPT) system using a novel three-phase transmitter/receiver design was embedded 2.4 in beneath the surface of an existing rigid pavement on US 52/US 231 in West Lafayette, Indiana, with 85 coils installed and paired with a retrofitted Class-8 Cummins electrified truck. The system successfully delivered 50–190 kW at speeds up to 65 mph with efficiencies approaching 85%, and all coils met electromagnetic balance targets; similar results were validated on a 3-coil testbed at Utah State University, with magnetic flux densities well below human exposure limits. Testing also demonstrated strong misalignment tolerance and reliable high-power delivery …

Holding The Line On Academic Freedom In Law School Clinics, Ty Alper, Praveen Kosuri, Beth Lyon, Alicia E. Plerhoples, Laura Riley, Robin Walker Sterling

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Since the emergence of modern clinical legal education, law school clinics have periodically faced political interference in their selection of clients and cases, interference that threatens clinics’ essential dual missions of training practice-ready lawyers and providing legal services to marginalized clients who would otherwise lack representation. While such pressure is not new, contemporary threats differ in scale and institutional form. Today, funding, oversight, and enforcement mechanisms are weaponized in an attempt to discipline universities, heightening institutional anxiety and prompting some universities to contemplate preemptive constraints on clinic autonomy in the name of risk management and reputational protection. This shift to …

A Trusteeship Theory Of Pro Bono: Versions And Perversions, David Luban

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This chapter develops a trusteeship justification of pro bono, arguing that lawyers, as trustees of a public legal system created through democratic self-authorship, have a moral obligation to help address the persistent justice gap affecting persons of limited means. It evaluates multiple forms of pro bono — including voluntary, mandatory, low bono, and state-compelled service — evaluating how well each aligns with the trusteeship model. The chapter contrasts the trusteeship theory with, and criticizes, two alternative justifications for pro bono: presumed lawyer consent rooted in professional tradition and a quid pro quo based on state-authorized privileges. It concludes by distinguishing …

Investigating The Impact Of Winter Exposure To Natural Environments On Perceived Health And Well-Being Using Geographic Ecological Momentary Assessment: A Case Study At Arrowhead Provincial Park, Faith M. Laing

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study examined how winter exposure to specific natural environments influenced perceived health and well-being outcomes using Geographic Ecological Momentary Assessment (GEMA) in Arrowhead Provincial Park. Studies performed in the wintertime are limited, as is our understanding of how specific park features and/or activities impact health and well-being. To address this, GEMA was used with a video component to capture participants’ real-time experience and emotional responses in specific park locations defined by polygon boundaries. Two surveys were administered through participants mobile devices, one being an in-situ engagement survey triggered by entering a bounded location, which included a video and …

Exploring Leadership In A Changing Church, Tanya Varner

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The present phenomenological study investigated the experience of leaders and leadership among active Lutheran clergy serving congregations in the Eastern Synod of the ELCIC in a time of change. Eleven rostered leaders of the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) were interviewed individually using a semi-structured interviews addressing leadership and changes in the church to facilitate the conversation. Participants also completed a participant questionnaire in advance of the semi-structured interview to make sure the sample was diverse in gender, years of ordination and geographical context of ministry. Participants were able to articulate what values and requirements …

The Politics Of Survival: South-South Migration, Urban Informality, Governance, And The Food Security Nexus In Nairobi, Kenya, Zack Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation contributes to the scholarship on South-South migration by integrating food security into the analysis of urban governance and migrant livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa. While migration and development have been widely examined, their connection to food systems remains underexplored, particularly in urban settings where informality, displacement, and transnational mobility converge. The research addresses this gap by investigating how Somali migrants and refugees in Nairobi’s Eastleigh navigate food insecurity within overlapping systems of governance, inequality, and transnational exchange. It explores three dimensions: the structural and socio-economic determinants of migrant household food insecurity, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as a …

Cognitive Load Classification Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, Pratham Shah

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis investigates the classification of cognitive load using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) signals recorded during an N-back working memory task. The study introduces a novel short-channel correction layer designed to suppress superficial physiological noise adaptively, addressing limitations of traditional General Linear Model (GLM) based regression. A single participant dataset comprising 69 validated sessions was analyzed using both conventional machine learning and deep learning approaches. Traditional classifiers: Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Support Vector Machines (SVM), Random Forests, and Gradient Boosting were first evaluated using statistical features (mean, variance, peak, and slope). Among these, Gradient Boosting achieved the highest accuracy (55.6%), …

The Forgotten Carers: A Study Of The Lived Experiences Of Chinese Canadians Caring For A Family Member With Borderline Personality Disorder (Bpd/Fbpd), Judy Y.F. Wu

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

There is a fair amount of literature on Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD); however, it still lags behind research on other major mental illnesses such as depression and schizophrenia (Furnham et al., 2015). Similarly, while there has been ample research on caring from various perspectives; little has been explored regarding caring for individuals with BPD. Research on Chinese Canadian families caring for patients with BPD is even more scarce. This study explored the lived experiences of Chinese Canadians caring for family members diagnosed with BPD (FBPD) in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Ontario, Canada. BPD is characterised by “interpersonal hypersensitivity, affective …

Investigating The Immunostimulatory Potential Of Dsrna-Silk Nanoparticle Complexes In Melanoma, Samuel J. Peters

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The rate of resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment in metastatic melanoma is quite high, with an overall rate of 70%. Melanoma achieves these high rates of resistance by suppressing the immune response in the tumour microenvironment (TME), making them immunologically “cold”. The type 1 interferon response could be leveraged to initiate immune responses in melanoma, making their “cold” TMEs “warm” again. Double-stranded ribonucleic acids (dsRNAs) are potent activators of an innate immune response; however, they are susceptible to degradation by nucleases present in the body and need a carrier. Silk nanoparticles (SNPs) are an ideal drug-delivery platform as they …

Exploring Religious-Spiritual Struggles Among Muslim Immigrants In The Canadian Context, Ayse Erenay

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Migration to a new culture and adaptation to a different lifestyle may cause emotional and psychological stress. In some cases, immigrants may experience religious and/or spiritual (R/S) struggles due to challenges to their beliefs and practices in the country they have immigrated to. Based on Pargament (2007, 2013)’s R/S struggle framework, these struggles may include questions about the ultimate meaning of life, one’s relationship with God, or doubt about one’s belonging within a religious or spiritual community. Muslim immigrants face unique struggles since Islamic teachings require Muslims to visibly practice their faith and reflect on God’s presence as a central …

Approximation Algorithms For Center-Based K-Clustering, Ankita Sarkar

Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations

Center-based metric k-clustering is a rich class of well-studied optimization problems. These include the classical k-center, k-median, and k-means problems. In all these problems, a client set C and a set F of candidate facilities live in a metric space. We are required to pick or "open" k facilities S ⊆ F to minimize some objective function, potentially subject to further constraints on S. Such problems are NP-hard, which has encouraged a long line of research in approximation algorithms for them.

In this thesis, I present research on center-based k-clustering in scenarios where either …

Titletown Madness: Title Insurance Through The Lens Of Tribal Jurisdiction And The Lasting Legacy Of Allotment, Nicholas Stamates

Marquette Law Review

American Property Law and Federal Indian Law have a conjoined history going back to Johnson v. MʻIntosh, 21 U.S. (8 Wheat.) 543 (1823), where the Supreme Court ruled that private citizens could not purchase aboriginal title from Indians. Decades later, the Dawes General Allotment Act of 1887 resulted in non-Indian fee simple landowners purchasing what the Federal Government deemed “surplus” federal land in the un-allotted former Indian land, which is still part of the Reservation’s legal jurisdiction. An unintended consequence of this process, which resulted in a checkerboard pattern of land title in Indian Reservations across the country, has recently …

The Boundaries Of Law And Politics: Disputes Over Wisconsin's Maps For Political Districts Have A Long History, But The Last Few Years Have Brought Especially Intense Court Battles, John D. Johnson

Marquette Law Review

Wisconsin’s 2020 redistricting cycle was long, bitterly contested, and subject to dramatic reversals of fortune. Yet perhaps the most unusual feature of the whole process was how it ended in 2024: with a legislative redistricting plan passed by Republican legislators and signed by a Democratic Governor. Redistricting of the Wisconsin Legislature by divided political branches had occurred only three times prior in state history—in 1852, 1856, and 1971.

Redistricting may once have seemed a matter primarily of interest to political insiders. But the boundaries of legislative districts have great impact on politics and power, as the events of the last …

Black Suburbanization: Potent Hope Or Illusory Promise?, Mary Jo Wiggins

Marquette Law Review

Suburbs are popular. People like living in them, and scholars like studying them. For the first time, more Americans live in the suburbs than in central cities. Perhaps more noteworthy is that more Black Americans live in the suburbs than ever before. Given these realities, it is not surprising that the suburbs have become a laboratory for analyzing a host of political, legal, and economic questions.

In previous scholarship, I examined the complex phenomenon of Black suburbanization through the lens of two communities: South DeKalb, Georgia and Prince George’s County, Maryland. These communities were part of what I called the …

Justified: Reasonable Beliefs, True Beliefs, And Self-Defense, Michael D. Cicchini

Marquette Law Review

A defendant is charged with criminal battery and asserts self-defense at trial. The defense calls witnesses who would testify that, about ten minutes before the fight, the alleged victim said he was going to “find” the defendant and “end him.” But the trial judge excludes the testimony because the threat, while heard by several witnesses, was not communicated to the defendant. Therefore, the judge says, the threat cannot be relevant in determining whether the defendant “reasonably believed” he was in imminent danger at that time.

This Article explores the theoretical foundation for this common ruling and demonstrates why it is …

Toward A Framework For A Law Of Electronic Intangibles Liability, James M. Beck, Alexander M. Deguire

Marquette Law Review

Products liability law was built for a world of gears, levers, and physical failure. It now confronts a marketplace dominated by software, data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence—objects that do not break, shatter, or wear out, but nevertheless cause real and sometimes catastrophic harm. Courts and commentators increasingly respond to this tension by asking whether these digital systems are “product-like” enough to be squeezed into existing strict liability frameworks. This Article argues that this is the wrong question.

The Article traces the historical foundations of strict products liability; explains why courts have traditionally excluded intangibles from its reach; and examines recent …

Access Denied: The Injustice Of Plra Exhaustion, Rachel Kincaid

Marquette Law Review

Law students learn to “think like a lawyer” by studying appellate decisions that contain extensive reasoning and result from vigorous advocacy by lawyers on both sides. These well-reasoned decisions allow students to learn how to distill legal rules from judicial opinions: to focus on the rationale behind a court’s decision so that they might be able to predict how the court would deal with a different factual scenario. But this focus on extensively reasoned and argued appellate court opinions obscures the access-to-justice crisis plaguing our legal systems; most people cannot even afford to pay a lawyer to represent them, let …

A Matter Of Life And Death: Give Me All Of Your Money And I'Ll Give You Healthcare, Shilanka I. Lewis

Marquette Law Review

The Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP) is a federal mandate requiring states to recover costs of long-term care and related services provided to Medicaid beneficiaries from their estates after death. This Article explores the core arguments supporting and opposing MERP, offering a balanced analysis of its ethical, legal, and economic dimensions. Proponents argue that estate recovery ensures fiscal responsibility by recouping taxpayer dollars and preventing wealth transfer from those who received public assistance to their heirs. Proponents contend that MERP upholds the principle that Medicaid is a need-based program and a payor of last resort. Conversely, critics argue that MERP …

Reining In State Judicial Conduct Commissions, Rebecca Frank Dallet

Marquette Law Review

There is a new threat to judicial independence: state judicial conduct commissions. These bodies are charged with holding judges accountable for violations of state ethics rules. But what was intended to be a shield for the public against judicial misconduct has instead been turned into a sword used against judges. As the judiciary has become more politicized, commissions are being overhauled to include more partisan political appointments. Unfounded complaints against judges are easy to file and to make public, despite confidentiality rules. And investigations of complaints may take many months, leaving judges in limbo as to what they can or …

Sports And Corporate Innovation, Bing Qin

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Driven by the digital economy and intensifying global competition, corporate innovation has become a core driver of sustainable growth. Topmanagement members are key strategic decision-makers, and their individual characteristics critically influence the formulation and implementation of innovation strategies. While existing studies have examined the impact of topmanagement’s cognitive and psychological traits on innovation performance, significant gaps remain in understanding how their routine behavioral preferences—particularly running, a globally prevalent exercise—affect innovation performance through psychological mechanisms. The systematic relationship between running preferences, top management’s psychological traits, and organizational innovation outcomes remains underexplored.

Against this backdrop, the study investigates the mechanismthroughwhich top management’s …