Law Commons^™

Enhancing Public Access To Agency Law, Bernard Bell, Cary Coglianese, Michael Herz, Margaret Kwoka, Orly Lobel

Articles

A just, democratic society governed by the rule of law requires that the law be available, not hidden. This principle extends to legal materials produced by administrative agencies, all of which should be made widely accessible to the public. Federal agencies in the United States do disclose online many legal documents—sometimes voluntarily, sometimes in compliance with statutory requirements. But the scope and consistency of these disclosures leaves considerable room for improvement. After conducting a year-long study for the Administrative Conference of the United States, we identified seventeen possible statutory amendments that would improve proactive online disclosure of agency legal materials. …

The Promise And Perils Of Tech Whistleblowing, Hannah Bloch-Wehba

Faculty Scholarship

Whistleblowers and leakers wield significant influence in technology law and policy. On topics ranging from cybersecurity to free speech, tech whistleblowers spur congressional hearings, motivate the introduction of legislation, and animate critical press coverage of tech firms. But while scholars and policymakers have long called for transparency and accountability in the tech sector, they have overlooked the significance of individual disclosures by industry insiders—workers, employees, and volunteers—who leak information that firms would prefer to keep private.

This Article offers an account of the rise and influence of tech whistleblowing. Radical information asymmetries pervade tech law and policy. Firms exercise near-complete …

An Unconstitutional Band-Aid: The Practice Of Sitting By Designation In The Federal Judiciary, Michaela Conley

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Penyampaian Informasi Mengenai Pemilik Manfaat Dari Korporasi Sebagai Upaya Pencegahan Tindak Pidana Pencucian Uang Dan Pendanaan Terorisme, Trisha Dayanara

"Dharmasisya” Jurnal Program Magister Hukum FHUI

Indonesia’s government makes some efforts to be FATF’s member in order to be more accepted in international business. Therefore, Indonesia should comply to The FATF Recommendations, international standards on combating money laundering, and the financing of terrorism and proliferation. One of the government’s focus is on Recommendation 24 and 25 about Transparency and Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons and Legal Arrangements. The implementation of Recommendation 24 and 25 can be seen at some Indonesia’s regulations. This article’s aim is to explain the regulations about transparency of beneficial ownership of corporation, using normative legal research by literature review. The conclusion of …

Transparansi Pengelolaan Bumd Di Provinsi Banten Dalam Rangka Optimalisasi Kontribusi Pada Perekonomian Daerah, Subhan Ashary Rezky Sanaky

"Dharmasisya” Jurnal Program Magister Hukum FHUI

In an optimal and good economy area, BUMD management is very important. One of the good management of BUMD is through the principle of transparency. This principle is very important. Management using the Transparency Principle in the management of this BUMD must be carried out, so that the BUMD can achieve the objectives of establishing the BUMD, which is to support the economy of a region and also contribute to the regional economy. The importance of managing BUMD in a transparent manner through the principle of transparency is also the best way that can be done by BUMD to be …

Penyampaian Informasi Mengenai Pemilik Manfaat Dari Korporasi Sebagai Upaya Pencegahan Tindak Pidana Pencucian Uang Dan Pendanaan Terorisme, Trisha Dayanara

"Dharmasisya” Jurnal Program Magister Hukum FHUI

Indonesia’s government makes some efforts to be FATF’s member in order to be more accepted in international business. Therefore, Indonesia should comply to The FATF Recommendations, international standards on combating money laundering, and the financing of terrorism and proliferation. One of the government’s focus is on Recommendation 24 and 25 about Transparency and Beneficial Ownership of Legal Persons and Legal Arrangements. The implementation of Recommendation 24 and 25 can be seen at some Indonesia’s regulations. This article’s aim is to explain the regulations about transparency of beneficial ownership of corporation, using normative legal research by literature review. The conclusion of …

Changemakers: Master Of Studies In Law: 'Law Isn't A Foreign Language Anymore', Roger Williams University School O Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Transparency And The First, Mark Fenster

FIU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Don't Change The Subject: How State Election Laws Can Nullify Ballot Questions, Cole Gordner

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Procedural election laws regulate the conduct of state elections and provide for greater transparency and fairness in statewide ballots. These laws ensure that the public votes separately on incongruous bills and protects the electorate from uncertainties contained in omnibus packages. As demonstrated by a slew of recent court cases, however, interest groups that are opposed to the objective of a ballot question are utilizing these election laws with greater frequency either to prevent a state electorate from voting on an initiative or to overturn a ballot question that was already decided in the initiative’s favor. This practice is subverting the …

Rwu Law News: The Newsletter Of Roger Williams University School Of Law 12-2020, Barry Bridges, Michael M. Bowden, Nicole Dyszlewski, Louisa Fredey

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Law School News: 'Law Isn't A Foreign Language Anymore' 11/24/2020, Michael M. Bowden

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

We Badly Need Congress To Act. We Don’T Need Congress To Act In Person., Deborah Pearlstein

Online Publications

Even as governors across the country impose increasingly restrictive – and eminently necessary – measures to promote teleworking and other forms of social distancing to stem the coronavirus tide, and as lawmakers themselves face the news that they have tested positive for the virus or otherwise must self-isolate, too many members of Congress have remained puzzlingly reluctant to make social distancing possible in their own institution. There was even news on Sunday that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) had been spotted at the Senate gym the same morning he found out he’d tested positive for the virus. As Democratic Representatives Eric …

Constitutionally Unaccountable: Privatized Immigration Detention, Danielle C. Jefferis

Indiana Law Journal

For-profit, civil immigration detention is one of this nation’s fastest growing industries. About two-thirds of the more than 50,000 people in the civil custody of federal immigration authorities find themselves at one point or another in a private, corporate-run prison that contracts with the federal government. Conditions of confinement in many of these facilities are dismal. Detainees have suffered from untreated medical conditions and endured months, in some cases years, of detention in environments that are unsafe and, at times, violent. Some have died. Yet, the spaces are largely unregulated. This Article exposes and examines the absence of a constitutional …

O’Neill, Oh O’Neill, Wherefore Art Thou O’Neill: Defining And Cementing The Requirements For Asserting Deliberative Process Privilege, Andrew Scott

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

The government may invoke the deliberative process privilege to protect the communications of government officials involving policy-driven decision-making. The privilege protects communications made before policy makers act upon the policy decision to allow government officials to speak candidly when deciding a course of action without fear of their words being used against them.

This privilege is not absolute and courts recognize the legitimate countervailing interest the public has in transparency. The Supreme Court in United States v. Reynolds held that someone with control over the protected information should personally consider the privilege before asserting it but did not provide definitive …

Feed: State Transparency Amidst Informational Surplus, Mark Fenster

Mark Fenster

Visibly (Un)Just: The Optics Of Grand Jury Secrecy And Police Violence, Nicole Smith Futrell

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Police violence has become more visible to the public through racial justice activism and social justice advocates’ use of technology. Yet, the heightened visibility of policing has had limited impact on transparency and accountability in the legal process, particularly when a grand jury is empaneled to determine whether to issue an indictment in a case of police violence. When a grand jury decides not to indict, the requirement of grand jury secrecy prevents public disclosure of the testimony, witnesses, and evidence presented to the grand jury. Grand jury secrecy leaves those who have seen and experienced the act of police …

Introduction: Troubling Transparency, David E. Pozen, Michael Schudson

Faculty Scholarship

Transparency is a value in the ascendance. Across the globe, the past several decades have witnessed a spectacular explosion of legislative reforms and judicial decisions calling for greater disclosure about the workings of public institutions. Freedom of information laws have proliferated, claims of a constitutional or supra-constitutional "right to know" have become commonplace, and an international transparency lobby has emerged as a civil society powerhouse. Open government is seen today in many quarters as a foundation of, if not synonymous with, good government.

At the same time, a growing number of scholars, advocates, and regulators have begun to raise hard …

Freedom Of Information Beyond The Freedom Of Information Act, David Pozen

Faculty Scholarship

The U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows any person to request any agency record for any reason. This model has been copied worldwide and celebrated as a structural necessity in a real democracy. Yet in practice, this Article argues, FOIA embodies a distinctively “reactionary” form of transparency. FOIA is reactionary in a straightforward, procedural sense in that disclosure responds to ad hoc demands for information. Partly because of this very feature, FOIA can also be seen as reactionary in a more substantive, political sense insofar as it saps regulatory capacity; distributes government goods in an inegalitarian fashion; and contributes …

Privacy Petitions And Institutional Legitimacy, Lauren Henry Scholz

Scholarly Publications

This Article argues that a petitions process for privacy concerns arising from new technologies would substantially aid in gauging privacy social norms and legitimating regulation of new technologies. An accessible, transparent petitions process would empower individuals who have privacy concerns by making their proposals for change more visible. Moreover, data accumulated from such a petitions process would provide the requisite information to enable institutions to incorporate social norms into privacy policy development. Hearing and responding to privacy petitions would build trust with the public regarding the role of government and large companies in shaping the modern privacy technical infrastructure. This …

Reauthorizing The Fisa Amendments Act: A Blueprint For Enhancing Privacy Protections And Preserving Foreign Intelligence Capabilities, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

In The Shadows Of Sunlight: The Effects Of Transparency On State Political Campaigns, Abby K. Wood, Douglas M. Spencer

Publications

In recent years, the courts have invalidated a variety of campaign finance laws while simultaneously upholding disclosure requirements. Courts view disclosure as a less-restrictive means to root out corruption while critics claim that disclosure chills speech and deters political participation. Using individual-level contribution data from state elections between 2000 and 2008, we find that the speech-chilling effects of disclosure are negligible. On average, less than one donor per candidate is likely to stop contributing when the public visibility of campaign contributions increases. Moreover, we do not observe heterogeneous effects for small donors or ideological outliers despite an assumption in First …

In The Shadows Of Sunlight: The Effects Of Transparency On State Political Campaigns, Abby K. Wood, Douglas M. Spencer

Douglas M. Spencer

In recent years, the courts have deregulated many areas of campaign finance while simultaneously upholding campaign finance disclosure requirements. Opponents of disclosure claim that it chills speech and deters political participation. We leverage state contribution data and find that the speech-chilling effects of disclosure are negligible. On average, donors to state-level campaigns are no less likely to contribute in subsequent elections in states that increase the public visibility of campaign contributions, relative to donors in states that do not change their disclosure laws or practices over the same time period – estimates are indistinguishable from zero and confidence intervals are …

Warrant Canaries Beyond The First Amendment: A Comment, Jonathon Penney

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Warrant canaries have emerged as an intriguing tool for Internet companies to provide some measure of transparency for users while also complying with national security laws. Though there is at least a reasonable argument for the legality of warrant canaries in the U.S. based primarily on First Amendment "compelled speech" doctrine, the same cannot be said for the use of warrant canaries in other "Five Eyes” intelligence agency countries — United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia — where the legality of warrant canaries has yet to be examined in either cases or scholarship. This comment, which provides an overview …

Observers As Participants: Letting The Public Monitor The Criminal Justice Bureaucracy, Stephanos Bibas

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Implausibility Of Secrecy, Mark Fenster

Mark Fenster

Government secrecy frequently fails. Despite the executive branch’s obsessive hoarding of certain kinds of documents and its constitutional authority to do so, recent high-profile events—among them the WikiLeaks episode, the Obama administration’s celebrated leak prosecutions, and the widespread disclosure by high-level officials of flattering confidential information to sympathetic reporters—undercut the image of a state that can classify and control its information. The effort to control government information requires human, bureaucratic, technological, and textual mechanisms that regularly founder or collapse in an administrative state, sometimes immediately and sometimes after an interval. Leaks, mistakes, open sources—each of these constitutes a path out …

Disclosure's Effects: Wikileaks And Transparency, Mark Fenster

Mark Fenster

Open Secret: Why The Supreme Court Has Nothing To Fear From The Internet, Keith J. Bybee

Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics, and the Media at Syracuse University

The United States Supreme Court has an uneasy relationship with openness: it complies with some calls for transparency, drags its feet in response to others, and sometimes simply refuses to go along. I argue that the Court’s position is understandable given that the internet age of fluid information and openness has often been heralded in terms that are antithetical to the Court’s operations. Even so, I also argue the Court actually has little to fear from greater transparency. The understanding of the Court with the greatest delegitimizing potential is the understanding that the justices render decisions on the basis of …

Transparencia Y Leyes Secretas En Chile, Pablo Contreras

Pablo Contreras

El autor analiza el problema de constitucionalidad de las leyes secretas en Chile, en razón de las modificaciones introducidas a la Constitución en el 2005. Primero, describe brevemente el fundamento sobre la publicidad de la ley en el Estado Democrático. Luego, se analiza el nuevo principio constitucional de publicidad establecido en el artículo 8 de la Constitución. Adicionalmente, se examina la constitucionalidad de las leyes secretas desde dos puntos de vista: confrontando la compatibilidad con el principio general de transparencia –como base de la institucionalidad– y analizando la afectación en el contenido esencial del derecho fundamental de acceso a la …

Derecho De Acceso A La Información En Chile: Nueva Regulación E Implicancias Para El Sector De La Defensa Nacional, Pablo Contreras, Gonzalo García

Pablo Contreras

Los autores analizan el derecho de acceso a la información desde la teoría general de los derechos fundamentales. En esta línea, sostienen que no se trata de un derecho “implícito”, como ha fallado la jurisdicción constitucional chilena, sino que de una norma iusfundamental adscripta al texto de la Constitución. A partir de ello, desprenden las consecuencias y efectos que deben seguirse para toda norma iusfundamental. Luego de esto, analizan críticamente la nueva regulación en materia de transparencia, aplicando los conceptos generales al sector de la Defensa Nacional.

Deep Secrecy, David E. Pozen

Faculty Scholarship

This Article offers a new way of thinking and talking about government secrecy. In the vast literature on the topic, little attention has been paid to the structure of government secrets, as distinct from their substance or function. Yet these secrets differ systematically depending on how many people know of their existence, what sorts of people know, how much they know, and how soon they know. When a small group of similarly situated officials conceals from outsiders the fact that it is concealing something, the result is a deep secret. When members of the general public understand they are being …