Law Commons^™

Hbo’S "The Wire" And Its Portrayal Of Baltimore Politics, Schools, And The Judicial System In Season 4: Was It Accurate Then And Does It Stand The Test Of Time?, Josephine Klingeman

Honors Theses

This thesis is a content analysis of HBO’s fourth season of The Wire. After conducting an in-depth analysis of the content in the thirteen episodes of season four, I then assessed the level of accuracy in the show’s portrayal of two major topics discussed throughout the season: Witness protection and police informant harassment. I did so by conducting several interviews with professionals who have several decades of experience working in the criminal justice system. I compared their personal experience with witness protection programs, witness harassment, and police informant harassment with the content presented in The Wire on these topics. …

Election Administration: The Effect Of Race On Election Technology Implementation And Advancement In The United States, Danielle Blaustein

Honors Theses

A necessary condition for democracy is the ability for citizens to be heard. The way by which this is done is through electing officials that represent a diverse set of beliefs and values. The mechanism by doing this is through elections. At a quick glance, elections appear to play a minor role in democracy. But in fact, the foundations of elections are essential to our understanding of American democracy. It is assumed that the implementation of an electoral system is sufficient for American democracy. Diving deeper into the complexities of election systems provides evidence for benchmarks that prevent elections from …

"Prevention Through Deterrence" Against Citizens: The Venezuela-Colombia Border During The Covid-19 Pandemic And Human Rights Implications, Andreina Negretti Benito

Honors Theses

This thesis analyses the human rights implications of the measures taken by the Venezuelan government at the Venezuelan-Colombian border during the COVID-19 pandemic. I will argue that the goal of these measures is preventing or impeding the return of citizens through "deterrence techniques" that have been historically used by other countries. This case's importance relies on the fact that, unlike other cases, the Venezuelan government uses these "techniques" against its own nationals, rather than against unwanted immigrants. The first chapter will provide an overview of the theoretical framework concerning migration, arguments regarding open borders, and human rights protections. This will …

How To Improve Multilateral Environmental Agreements: A Case Study In Balanced Institutional Design Mechanisms In The Climate Change And Ozone Regime, Emma Lee

Honors Theses

With climate change being one of the largest existential threat’s civilizations has ever faced and global cooperation the only conceivable solution, why have the existing MEAs of the climate change regime failed? Moreover, why have MEAs in other environmental regimes, such as the ozone regime, been so much more successful than MEAs in the climate change regime? To investigate this question, I use a theoretical framework of international law and focus on the specific way the institutional design of agreements can yield greater success. I define success in a two-pronged manner which focuses on participation and compliance.

This paper takes …

Public Financing Of Elections In The States, Nicholas Meixsell

Honors Theses

In the US, there is a history of the courts striking down campaign finance reform measures as unconstitutional. As such, there are few avenues remaining for someone who is interested in 'clean government' reforms. One such avenue is publicly financed elections, where the state actually provides funding for campaigns. These systems can be quite varied in the restrictions and contingencies they attach to the money, and for examples one has to look no further than the states There are many states that have some form of public financing for elections, and by looking at the different states' systems we are …

“Realizing Democracy”: A Study Of The Regional And National Social, Political, And Economic Factors Driving Suffrage Development In The Age Of The Common Man, 1820-1850, Matthew Prosper

Honors Theses

The Age of the Common Man was a period of American political history lasting from 1820 to 1850 characterized by the implementation of universal white manhood suffrage by every state through removing property and tax qualifications from state constitutional suffrage laws, as well as the “common man” entering the center of much political discourse. These conventions were demanded by the political, social, economic, and in some cases physical climates and conditions of each state. To look at these factors, this thesis divides the nation into three regions, two of which are examined: the Northeast, the Northwest, and the South (the …

Deference To Deference: Examining The Relationship Between The Courts And The Political Branches Through Judicial Deference And The Chevron Doctrine, Christopher Yao

Honors Theses

Judicial review of agency rulemaking sits atop a nexus between all three branches of American government, the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. Chevron v. NRDC (1984), a landmark case in administrative law, and its resulting doctrine of strong judicial deference to agencies in their interpretations of statute, are paradoxical in their creation. Although Chevron was decided at the height of Reagan-era deregulation, it greatly enhanced the power of administrative agencies, allowing them to reinterpret the meaning of their statutory directives as needed to justify changes to regulations with less scrutiny from the courts. It is only in recent years …

American Patent Law: Liberal And Republican Theories Of Governance, Benjamin A. Fay

Honors Theses

This paper explores the history of American patent law in relation to classical liberalism and classical republicanism. In a basic sense liberalism emphasizes the importance of individuals, while republicanism underscores individual sacrifice for the good of the community. A patent creates a temporary monopoly privilege for an individual to encourage disclosure of his invention to the public. On the one hand, patent law exists to protect an individual's claim to his invention. On the other hand, patent law exists to facilitate the transfer of ideas into the common knowledge pool. In this way, a patent balances an individual's property right …

When Personal Becomes Profitable: Data Collection And The Complex Link Between Corporate And Government Surveillance And The Risk To Civil Liberties, Justin Gump

Honors Theses

Personal data represents a commodity of increasing interest to both the United States government and large corporations. While their reasons differ, the two powerful entities have worked together to radically expand the domestic surveillance activities in the U.S. As the government surreptitiously expanded its domestic surveillance under the guise of its “war on terror,” it quickly realized that the advanced technology and access to personal data held by many large corporations presented a valuable source of surveillance information. These companies, in turn, similarly saw an opportunity for revenue in both the sale of the data and large governmental contracts to …

The Challenges Of Isis And The Modern Nation-State, Matthew Burton

Honors Theses

This essay examines the challenges that the so-called Islamic State, or ISIS, pose to the contemporary state system. The rise of ISIS in the territories of Iraq and Syria raises two fundamental questions, one conceptual the other directly political: First, ISIS’s claim to be a state and world powers’ resistance to this claim raises the question of what constitutes a state in today’s international system. Second, as a unique form of political organization that has become successful in the Middle East in a relatively short time, ISIS raises a number of practical political questions such as, what it takes to …

New Refugees - Old Rules: An Analysis Of Jordanian Refugee Policies And Their Effects On Humanitarian Relief, Sarah Kader

Honors Theses

Over 1.4 million Syrians have fled to Jordan since 2011 as a result of the brutal, ongoing conflict in Syria. Just as the Palestinians fled Israel these last 67 years, the newly arrived Syrian refugees are an ignored actor in a cruel game between the Jordanian state, the United Nations Agencies, the United States and interested non-state actors. The resulting human rights violations, including denial of rights to work, healthcare, education, and movement, are not accidental but are sanctioned by the Jordanian state. This thesis analyzes Jordan’s history with the Palestinian refugees; the motivations and implementation of policies excluding Palestinians …

In Reckless Pursuit: Barry Goldwater A Team Of Amateurs And The Rise Of Conservatism, Nicholas D'Angelo

Honors Theses

Before 1964, Barry Goldwater had never lost an election. In fact, despite being the underdog in both of his U.S. Senate elections in Arizona, in 1952 and 1958, he defied the odds and won. His keen ability for organization, fundraising and strategy was so widely respected that his Republican colleagues appointed the freshman senator to chair their campaign committee in 1955, with conservatives and liberals alike requesting his aid during contentious elections. Goldwater himself adamantly believed that in politics, “organization is the whole secret.” For all of these reasons, 1964 seems to be an outlier in the senator’s expansive career. …

The Fourth Amendment After The Usa Patriot Act: Cross-State Comparison On The Effect Of Ideology And Partisanship In State Legislation Of Anti-Patriot Act Resolutions And Wiretapping/Eavesdropping Laws, Zoe Atlas

Honors Theses

The USA Patriot Act, passed in September 2001, changed the standards of Fourth Amendment rights and protections. The USA Patriot Act gave more authority to the government and diminished the rights and privileges given to individual citizens. An eruption of Fourth Amendment legislation and cases arose in the states following the passage of the act and it created a problem for policy and implementation. The legislation presented, for the USA Patriot Act and wiretapping/eavesdropping laws, demonstrated the differences in opinions on these issues on the individual state level. These drastic differences in policy between states created a question of why …

The Impact Of Public Approval Of Congress On Midterm Congressional Election Outcomes, Jordan L. Goldman

Honors Theses

Over the past half-century, the United States Congress has become less revered by the American people. The Constitution names Congress as the first branch of government. The framers instituted Congress in Article One of the Constitution to symbolize the importance of the rule of law of the people. Its members were to be chosen members of the public, rather than royalty or nobility, to give the branch a sense of democratic legitimacy. However, during the past fifty years, public opinion of the first branch of government has waned. The reasons for this diminished respect are complex and numerous. In general …

Eminent Domain In The Wake Of The Kelo Decision, Matthew J. Rogers

Honors Theses

The controversial Supreme Court decision, Kelo v. The City of New London, allowed a local government to utilize eminent domain to transfer land from one private entity to another in order to enhance economic development. In response, state governments rushed to pass legislation in order to curtail the use of eminent domain. State governments, however, struggled to pass meaningful eminent domain legislation, since many powerful forces, such as major corporations, stood in their way. Opponents of eminent domain claim that the politically weakest in our society, namely the poor and racial minorities, are saddled with the resulting hardship emanating from …

Lyndon Johnson: A Psychological Character Study, Stephanie L. Vacchio

Honors Theses

This thesis centers on Lyndon Johnson and his character traits and how they are translated into his leadership abilities. The ways in which he handled issues as president, his personal relationships with others, and his own personality traits all define who Johnson was as a man. These aspects combined can be viewed as “character”, or the result of the environment someone has been exposed to for a prolonged period of time. In the case of Johnson, it is his childhood that has played the largest role in shaping his character and in turn his personality. My thesis explores the psychological …

Change: An Analysis Of Vote Choice In The 2008 Presidential Election, Maryssa A. Mataras

Honors Theses

This thesis investigates the factors that helped Americans come to a vote choice in the 2008 presidential election. After an in-depth analysis and presentation on the existing literature, I then present key moments in both McCain and Obama’s campaigns looking at the context, campaigns, and candidates. I then break down the turnout and vote choice of each major social group and demographic in the United States, juxtaposing it with the group’s historical voting trends and turnout. In 2008 there was a large nationwide Democratic shift. Chapter four seeks to defend whether it was the context of the election or the …