Law Commons^™

Mistick Speaks: A Collection Of Tribune Review Columns, 2019-2023, Joseph Sabino Mistick

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Increasing Housing Stability Through State-Funded Community Mediation Delivered By The Massachusetts Housing Mediation Program (Hmp) Fy2023 Evaluation Report, Madhawa Palihapitiya, Karina Zeferino

Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration Publications

The Massachusetts Housing Mediation Program (HMP) is a comprehensive statewide program that provides free housing mediation services as a tool to increase housing stability with the intention of preventing homelessness created by landlord-tenant disputes. It is administered by the Massachusetts Office of Public Collaboration (MOPC) at the University of Massachusetts Boston and deploys the community mediation system infrastructure with 11 Community Mediation Centers (Centers) participating and serving all 14 counties of the Commonwealth to provide free conflict resolution services for tenants and landlords/property managers with housing disputes at any stage, from the earliest point a problem occurs, up to, and …

She Speaks For Millions: The Emergence Of Female Diplomatic Voices In The Russo-Ukrainian War, Amber Brittain-Hale

Education Division Scholarship

This research critically investigates the public diplomacy strategies deployed by a cohort of influential female European leaders on Twitter during the Russo-Ukrainian War of 2022-2023. The study comprises eight leaders - Kallas (Estonia), Marin (Finland), von der Leyen (President of the European Commission), Metsola (President of the European Parliament), Sandu (Moldova), Simonyte (Lithuania), Zourabichvili (Georgia), and Meloni (Italy) - representing millions of constituents. By mirroring the analytical attention given to Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, this study scrutinizes the distinct approaches and dif erences in emotional, cognitive, and structural language use between these influential female figures and President Zelenskyy in their …

Criminal Subsidiaries, Andrew K. Jennings

Faculty Articles

Corporate groups comprise parent companies and one or more subsidiaries, which parents use to manage liabilities, transactions, operations, and regulation. Those subsidiaries can also be used to manage criminal accountability when multiple entities within a corporate group share responsibility for a common offense. A parent, for instance, might reach a settlement with prosecutors that requires its subsidiary to plead guilty to a crime, without conviction of the parent itself—a subsidiary-only conviction (SOC). The parent will thus avoid bearing collateral consequences—such as contracting or industry bars—that would follow its own conviction. For the prosecutor, such settlements can respond to criminal law’s …

Do Americans Support More Housing?, Michael Lewyn

Scholarly Works

An analysis of opinion poll data on housing issues. The article finds that Americans generally believe that their community needs more housing of all types, but are more closely divided about whether such housing should be in their own neighborhoods. The article further finds that members of minority groups, lower-income Americans, and younger Americans are more pro-housing than older, affluent whites.

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Volume 6, Issue 1 (2023) Criminal Justice Agents And Responsibility, Colleen Berryessa, Elizabeth Griffiths, Kaitlen Hubbard, Deena A. Isom, Kateryna Kaplun, Hiuxuan Li, Siyu Liu, Esther Nir, Heather L. Scheuerman, Rachel Schumann, Sandy Xie, Carolyn Yule

International Journal on Responsibility

This special issue of the International Journal on Responsibility (IJR) advances scholarship on the various ways responsibility infuses the roles of criminal justice agents. As the inaugural issue of my tenure as Editor-in-Chief, Volume 6 deepens our understanding of responsibility in the context of the criminal justice system, thereby fulfilling IJR’s aim and scope. Specifically, the articles highlight issues of responsibility within each component of the criminal justice system: police, courts, and corrections.

Exploring Local Elected Officials' Capacity To Govern Effectively, Mario King

Dissertations

A successful local government exemplifies inclusivity, innovation, and deliberate decision-making, all advancing responsible management of taxpayers' resources. In this qualitative investigation, a phenomenological approach is employed to delve into the lived experiences of local elected officials. The aim of this study was to gain insights into the capacity of these local elected officials for success in governance. Subsequently, the insights from these local elected officials' experiences are harnessed to evaluate their influence and impact on municipal performance.

The management of municipal performance encompasses the provision of social services, the maintenance of fiscal operations, and adherence to statutory obligations (Avellaneda, 2008). …

"Takings" And "Givings" In Singapore: Land Law And Policy In The Search For Justice, Rachel Phang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

In the United States and globally, cities are increasingly plagued by deepening housing crisis and widening economic inequality. In the face of these crises, this Article focuses on the potentially powerful role for land law and policy in the search for justice. Specifically, it does so by reference to two unusual yet illuminating choices of theory and application: the case study of Singapore, and the school of thought of Georgism, both of which accord inordinate and paramount importance to land. Singapore’s land law and policy have been characterized by extensive takings and givings of land. In consequence, the State owns …

Draft State Legislation: "Cycle-Based Adoption Of The International Code Council’S Model Building And Energy Conservation Codes", Hailey M. Mattingly

Commonwealth Policy Papers

This draft state legislation crafted with nonprofit partners is created in order to update building codes across the Commonwealth of Kentucky with uniform professional standards also adopted by surrounding states which are provided by the ICC, in order to improve resilience to natural disasters. This bill draft is accompanied with a short brief published in the same volume.

Maximize “West End Opportunity” In America: Alternative Policy Options To Address Perceived Drawbacks Of Tax Increment Financing (Tif) & Opportunity Zones, Justin Avert, Samuel C Kessler

Commonwealth Policy Papers

In March 2021, the Kentucky General Assembly passed House Bill 321 (Acts Chapter 203) authorizing the creation of a tax increment finance (TIF) district within the West End of Louisville. Designed to spur community-wide economic development, it set up a public-private nonprofit partnership. Known as the West End Opportunity Partnership (WEOP), this 21-seat board include community representatives and has sole control over any fund disbursement. Funds can be used towards a broad array of investments including small business loans, financing affordable housing units, home improvements, etc.

Residents within the district have expressed opposition to the TIF, skepticism towards the board …

Public Perceptions And Legal Dimensions Of Juvenile Sexting, Corey Call

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

The sending of sexually explicit messages, or “sexting” has been recognized as a common practice among youths. As sexting may involve the creation and distribution of sexually explicit images and videos, juvenile sexters can be charged with offenses related to child pornography. This study examined public attitudes toward juvenile sexting and demographic influences on these views. Based on a quantitative survey of 1,023 U.S. adults, the majority of respondents (51.8%) disapproved of criminalization in cases of consensual sexting, but 80% supported legal repercussions for nonconsensual sharing. Respondents primarily favored educational interventions (67.4%) and restrictions on technology use (53.4%) over harsh …

Ai And The Issue Of Human-Centricity In Copyright Law, Arul George Scaria

Popular Media

This article urges Indian policymakers and courts to be cautious in extending existing IP protections to work generated by Artificial Intelligence. Reflecting on the concept of human-centricity in copyright law, it draws upon a recent US District Court judgement in Stephen Thaler v. Shira Perlmutter, which deals with the question of whether a work autonomously generated by AI should be copyrightable. It goes on to examine the Indian copyright regime in light of changing attitudes to AI regulation across the world.

Navigating Complexity Of Serving Displaced Communities: A Study Of Yemeni Community-Based Organizations In Egypt, Alya Mohammed Al-Mahdi

Theses and Dissertations

Forced displacement is a global crisis that poses challenges for nations like Egypt. Despite international NGO support, escalating displaced individuals have overwhelmed existing capacities. Refugee Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) have emerged as a natural response from the communities themselves to bridge the gap between the state and NGOs and the refugee community. However, CBOs in Egypt face challenges that impact their operation and continuity. Through qualitative research, this study aims to explore the experience of the Yemeni CBOs. Through interviews with seven people from six CBOs conducted through field visits and online calls, this research uncovers the dynamics of Yemeni CBOs …

Examining Remorse In Attributions Of Focal Concerns During Sentencing: A Study Of Probation Officers, Colleen M. Berryessa

International Journal on Responsibility

This research, using interviews with probation officers in the United States (n = 151) and a constant comparative method for analysis, draws from the focal concerns framework to qualitatively model a process by which probation officers use a defendant’s remorse to attribute focal concerns in order to guide their sentencing recommendations in pre-sentencing reports. The model suggests that officers use expressions of remorse to make attributions about mitigated criminal intention (blameworthiness and notions of responsibility), reduced dangerousness and a high potential for reform (community protection), and organization-level effects for increasing caseload efficiency and using correctional resources (practical effects of …

Twitter Trends During The 82nd Session Of The Nevada Legislature, 2023, Annie Vong, Zachary Billot, Mary Blankenship, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Elections & Governance

This fact sheet examines Twitter trends during the 82nd Session of the Nevada Legislature (2023). Data are comprised of tweets posted on Twitter by users located in Nevada addressing the most discussed topics during the session.

Subject-Matter Coursework Vs. Subject-Matter Exams (A Situational Analysis), Dennis Douglass

The Scholarship Without Borders Journal

Year after year, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing receives a significant number of applicants from those who want to teach in the State of California. Focusing on one of the critical concerns of low student performance and academic achievement begins with identifying potential problems within the education system, such as a lack of quality or best-fit educators in California. Becoming a teacher in the State of California has demonstrated many areas where the credentialing criterion may contain the answers to achieving higher standards and expectations from our youths in California. Incorporating subject-matter exams onto the list of teacher credentialing criteria …

The Torch (Summer 2023), Crtp

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

"We help schools think and talk about issues related to race and skin color, national origin and ancestry, religion, disabilities, gender (including gender identity and expression), and sexual orientation."

• Civil Rights Team Spotlight
• Local Collaborations
• Civil Rights Team Shoutouts
• Thanking our Retiring Advisors
• Thanks for reading!

Seeing Race As We Are: Avoiding, Arguing, Aspiring, Michael A. Cowan

New England Journal of Public Policy

Racial conflict in the United States pushes people to positions of argument or avoidance, more or less intensely and for varying lengths of time, depending on external events like the murder of George Floyd. Neither stance produces the conversations required to seek common ground and compromise around racial issues. Argument alone deepens divisions and avoidance leaves them to metastasize in the social body. In an attempt to go beneath these two positions, this article first explains the role and form of interpretation in all conflict and dispute resolution and how it is shaped. Then it examines the concepts and strategies …

Security Of Tenure In Egypt: Policies And Challenges, Arig Eweida

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores a set of urban laws and policies adopted in the past decade in Egypt regarding their possible effect on security of tenure as an element of the right to housing. The past decade has witnessed a legislative focus on formalizing tenure rights coupled with policies aiming at redevelopment of informal settlements, infrastructure projects and lately a goal of eliminating unplanned areas by 2030. This research attempts to untangle what these laws and policies could mean for a country with 40% of its housing being informal. It builds on a rich literature on titling programs in developing countries …

Aclp - Further Updated Estimates Of State Bead Allocations - As Of June 16, 2023, New York Law School

Reports and Resources

No abstract provided.

Rebuilding Grid Governance, Joel B. Eisen, Heather E. Payne

BYU Law Review

As climate change sharpens the focus on our electricity systems, there is widespread agreement that the institutions that govern our electric grid must change to realize a clean energy future in the timescale necessary. Scholars are actively debating how grid governance needs to change, but in this Article we demonstrate that current proposals are insufficient because they do not contemplate “rebuilding.” This Article defines “rebuilding” as ending entities tasked with grid governance and creating new ones to take their place. We propose what no one else has: an overarching framework for rebuilding any grid governance institutions.

This Article discusses when …

Tribal Statecraft And Freedom Of Expression In Jordan, Taylor Northcutt

Honors Theses

In this research paper, I investigate the connection between the policies regarding freedom of speech and expression promulgated by the government of Jordan in the decade following the Arab Spring and Jordan’s tribal Bedouin heritage, with a focus on how traditional Bedouin values and attitudes regarding the nature and purpose of public spaces influence modern state policies regarding freedom of expression. In the investigation of this subject, I surveyed a diverse catalog of research covering politics and issues of freedom of expression in Jordan in the 2010s as well as the political and social values of tribal Arab culture in …

Limitation For Liberty, Riley Banker

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

This paper examines how the foundational principals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are under attack in our nation today and demonstrates why protecting them through Federalism is so important.

Examining The Effects Of Student Loan Forgiveness And The Christian Perspective, Sarah Rogers

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

On August 24, 2022, President Joe Biden announced his plan for federal student loan forgiveness. The program allows individuals who make less than $125,000 a year and families under $250,000 relieve up to $10,000 of their loan debt. Those who fall under the Pell Grant program are able to relieve up to $20,000 of their debt. The reactions to this “revolutionary” program were mixed. Typically, those who the program would directly affect were very enthusiastic about this idea while those, most notably Republicans, were less than thrilled. While the idea is good in theory, the execution of debt forgiveness will …

Creating A New Sports Division The Importance Of Protecting Women’S Sports While Encouraging Sportsmanlike Competition, Taylor Nilson

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

Creating a new sports division: The importance of protecting women’s sports while encouraging sportsmanlike competition

The foundation of sports is to encourage respectful and fair competition between two or more individuals. For those who choose to participate, they are pursuing the happiness they find in competition, others have found their livelihood in sports, and most find liberty in their carefree activities.

Given the recent rise in the popularity of the transgender community, it is natural for members that want to compete in sports, specifically women’s sports. However, with that there are also those who would abuse this popularity to support …

Fourthspace: The Role Of Active Social Inclusion In The Workforce Entry Of Syrian Refugees In Scandinavia, Anisa Abeytia

Master's Theses

The 2015 displacement of Syrian refugees into Scandinavian countries provoked a refugee integration policy adjustment that focused on workforce and higher education entry. It is a policy approach that requires attention on barriers to workforce entry to ensure effective policy implementation. This article provides insight into the larger, often overlooked barriers of Eurocentrism and historical biases on refugee labor integration and provides policy solutions to reduce their impact. Active social inclusion (ASI) and Fourthspace are introduced as a framework to reduce biases to workforce entry and integration time barriers faced by Syrian refugees. ASI can provide mechanisms to increase access …

What Senior U.S. Leaders Say We Should Know About Cyber, Dr. Joseph H. Schafer

Military Cyber Affairs

On April 6, 2023, the Atlantic Council’s Cyber Statecraft Initiative hosted a panel discussion on the new National Cybersecurity Strategy. The panel featured four senior officials from the Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD), the Department of State (DoS), the Department of Justice (DoJ), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The author attended and asked each official to identify the most important elements that policymakers and strategists must understand about cyber. This article highlights historical and recent struggles to express cyber policy, the responses from these officials, and the author’s ongoing research to improve national security cyber policy.

Centrality And Compliance: Unitary Vs. Federalist Political Systems In The Implementation Of The Kyoto Protocol In Argentina And Uruguay, Aidan Homan

Baker Scholar Projects

When Uruguay and Argentina first gained their respective independence in the early 1800s, they appeared to be following the same path of development As countries that came from the same Spanish colonization, share almost identical agricultural economies, and retain a close relationship, it is logical that they would follow similar trajectories. This assumption proves to be inaccurate in more ways than one, but most prominently within the environmental sphere. One way to analyze this difference in policy implementation lies in compliance with international environmental treaties which contain specific goals and limits for all parties involved. The Kyoto Protocol presents a …

Does Electoral Proximity Influence Commitment To International Human Rights Law?, Nolan Ragland

Baker Scholar Projects

The core international human rights treaties from the United Nations have been signed and ratified by varying groups of states, and much of previous research has been dominated by a desire to explain ratification of international human rights law (IHRL) through the democratic lock-in effect and states’ economic and political ties to one another. In this paper, I seek to understand when states are ratifying IHRL, testing whether the presence of elections influences commitment to three of the nine core international human rights treaties: the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of …