Law Commons^™

Other Transaction Authorities: Evaluating Innovation Policy Impact Of Alternative Contract Vehicles In The Department Of Defense, Dolores Kuchina-Musina

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Since 1958, government agencies have used Other Transactions (OT) to encourage innovation and the development of new technology. OTs' purpose is to help government agencies acquire leading-edge technology from private sector sources in a flexible, goal-oriented manner. This dissertation is a pilot study assessing whether innovation policies, specifically 10 USC 2371b (Pub. L. No. 114-92, 2015) that authorizes DoD prototype OTs, influence the Department of Defense (DoD) alternative contracting activities to promote the development of innovative technologies and products. Using existing literature and interrupted time series analysis, this dissertation examines publicly available contract data to answer the following research question: …

Improving The Mental Health Tale In The Criminal Justice System, Meredith Bernal

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

No abstract provided.

Deterioration Of The Tenth Amendment: Why Federalism’S Hierarchy Must Be Restored, Giana Depaul

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

No abstract provided.

The Torch (Spring 2022), Crtp

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

The Maine Office of the Attorney General administers the Civil Rights Team Project (CRTP). The CRTP’s mission is to increase the safety of elementary, middle school, and high school students by reducing bias-motivated behaviors and harassment in our schools. CRTP accomplishes this by supporting student civil rights teams in Maine schools. The CRTP and student teams are active in engaging school communities in thinking and talking about issues related to:

• Race and skin color
• National origin and ancestry
• Religion
• Disabilities
• Gender (including gender identify and expression)
• Sexual orientation

The Attorney General’s Office created the CRTP in 1996 as a pilot …

Examining Legal Financial Obligations In Washington State, Bryan Lewis

PPPA Paper Prize

After criminal offenders are convicted of a crime, they must return to the court where a judge will determine their sentence. Sentencing often includes jail time, but it always includes monetary penalties, or Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs). There are many reasons these penalties are given, from restitution for the victims of criminal offenses, to providing government revenue and funding the court, to punishment for the offender. However, these fines, and the interest rates that come with them, often leave offenders with an enormous amount of debt. There are a lot of interests at stake when it comes to LFO sentencing …

Restrictions Of Human Rights On The Basis Of Public Welfare, Thomas Makoto Naruse

Japanese Society and Culture

One of the basic principles of Japanese Constitution is respect for human rights. However, the Constitution stipulates “public welfare” in 4 Articles, and recognizes restrictions on human rights. From its text, it appears that human rights restrictions are widely recognized. The debate over public welfare has gone through several stages, and understanding has changed. The aim of this article is to introduce the meaning of “public welfare” in Japanese Constitution, and how it works. After introducing the flow of the theory, this article will examine how it functions as a basis for restrictions on human rights.

The Political Dynamics Of Legislative Reform: Potential Drivers Of The Next Communications Statute, Christopher S. Yoo, Tiffany Keung

All Faculty Scholarship

Although most studies of major communications reform legislation focus on the merits of their substantive provisions, analyzing the political dynamics that led to the enactment of such legislation can yield important insights. An examination of the tradeoffs that led the major industry segments to support the Telecommunications Act of 1996 provides a useful illustration of the political bargain that it embodies. Application of a similar analysis to the current context identifies seven components that could form the basis for the next communications statute: universal service, pole attachments, privacy, intermediary immunity, net neutrality, spectrum policy, and antitrust reform. Determining how these …

Collective Cognitive Capital, Emily R. D. Murphy

William & Mary Law Review

This Article calls for a new project for law and neuroscience. It outlines a structural, not individual, application of brain and behavioral science that is aligned with the general goal of basic science research: improving the lives of citizens with a better understanding of the human experience. It asks brain and behavioral science to move explicitly into public policy territory, and specifically onto ground more traditionally occupied by economists—but in ways the project of “behavioral economics” has not yet ventured. Put simply, policy analysts should focus on brains—“collective cognitive capital”—with the same intensity with which they focus on money, rights, …

Hope Dies Last: The Progressive Potential And Regressive Reality Of The Antibalkanization Approach To Racial Equality, David Simson

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

This Article relies on Critical Race Theory concepts and social science research to make an important and timely contribution to a debate in law and public policy that is both long-standing and of immense current importance: What is the relationship between social cohesion on the one hand, and racial equality progress on the other?

[...]

Over the last four decades, the Supreme Court’s equal protection jurisprudence on governmental race-consciousness has answered with an “antibalkanization approach” which prioritizes social cohesion. Indeed, this approach views social cohesion as a prerequisite for racial equality progress. It considers racial hostility and resentment among White …

From Private Prejudice To Public Policy: How Religious Conservatives Use Liberalism To Control Women's Bodies -- The United States And Israel In Comparative Perspective, Gila Stopler

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

The Article uses the feminist critique of the patriarchal nature of religion and liberalism, the feminist critique of flaws in political liberalism, and a socio-political analysis of the power of religious conservative groups in the United States and Israel to claim that religious conservatives use the patriarchal nature of liberalism, its inherent flaws, and conservative political power to turn private religious prejudice into public policy. Analyzing the constitutional and legal status of religion in the United States and the recent dramatic changes it has undergone, the Article shows that contrary to popular belief, and due to the aforementioned factors, the …

Immigration Federalism In The United States: Constructing A Contemporary Institutional Framework Centered On Local Communities Through A Case Study Approach, Sara Kuehlhorn Friedman

Dissertations and Theses

This research study presents a new model of immigration federalism which integrates existing theories into a framework that emphasizes agency at the local level. Unlike dominant models of federalism that observe the cascading effect of higher-level policy on lower levels of government, this research focuses on empirical evidence at the local level to understand its relation to policy at higher levels. Immigration federalism is receiving substantial interest in scholarly work and in practice, but it lacks a cohesive and comprehensive theory explaining variation at the community level. There is little reason to expect sweeping changes in immigration policy at the …

Getting To Yes: The Makings Of Paid Leave In Massachusetts, Christa Kelleher, Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson, Priyanka Kabir, Lillian Hunter, Cassandra M. Porter, Center For Women In Politics And Public Policy, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Publications from the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy

Considered one of the strongest paid family and medical leave laws in the nation, the paid leave law adopted in Massachusetts in 2018 was notable for the depth and range of robust caregiving supports and protections for workers. But just as notable is how the law came to be. After all, paid leave bills had been filed for years in Massachusetts. Decades in fact. Yet until 2018, there had been limited movement in the legislature to establish a statewide program. What led to the passage of paid leave legislation in Massachusetts with approval from a Republican Governor? What factors influenced …

Moving From Harm Mitigation To Affirmative Discrimination Mitigation: The Untapped Potential Of Artificial Intelligence To Fight School Segregation And Other Forms Of Racial Discrimination, Andrew Gall

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

No abstract provided.

The Torch (Winter 2022-2023), Crtp

Torch: The Civil Rights Team Project Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Cannibalizing The Constitution: On Terrorism, The Second Amendment, And The Threat To Civil Liberties, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

This article explores the links between internet radicalization, access to weapons, and the current threat from terrorists who have been radicalized online. The prevalence of domestic terrorism, domestic hate groups, and online incitement and radicalization have led to considerable focus on the tension between counterterror efforts and the First Amendment. Many scholars recommend rethinking the extent of First Amendment protection, as well as Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment protections, and some judges appear to be listening. Yet the Second Amendment has avoided this consideration, despite the fact that easy access to weapons is a necessary ingredient for the level of …

Facultas Marginem: Assessing Disability Data And Public Aau Universities’ Affirmative Action Plans For Systemic Barriers Facing Faculty With Disabilities, Joseph Carlton Barry

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

This dissertation contributes to education equity scholarship produced by academics seeking to develop understandings of disability, Persons with Disabilities (PWD), and how both are situated amongst faculty in institutions of higher education. As such, this dissertation centers on a study of public US universities belonging to the Association of American Universities (AAU). This study looks for institutional level associations between respective rates by which college and university faculty with disabilities (FWD) are employed, certain aspects of disability policy drawn from each institution’s 2020 Affirmative Action Plans (AAP), and various other instances of empirical disability data (EDD).

While this study contributes …

Disparities In The Sentencing Of African American Men In Wayne County, Michigan, Brian Banks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe ability of judges in the U.S. criminal justice system to administer penalties based on a defendant’s socioeconomic status has resulted in a disproportionate number of African Americans receiving harsher penalties than those of other racial groups and socioeconomic statuses. Currently, there is little evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of harsher sentencing of defendants with lower socioeconomic statuses in preventing crime or lowering recidivism, but more work is needed to clarify what sentencing factors judges use. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the factors that Wayne County, Michigan, judges used during the sentencing process of criminal defendants, along …

Perspectives Of Religious Faith Leaders On Hate Crime Policies, Alphonso Manns

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractPrejudice and discrimination stigmatize members of the lesbian gay bisexual transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community as abnormal, which has been attributed to religious opposition and the exercise of ministerial privileges or religious liberty within the law. Religious organizations may indirectly contribute to the public legal rights of members of the LGBTQ community. But little is known about the perspectives of religious faith leaders (RFLs) and how they influence the development and implementation of pro-equality and hate crime policies. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of RFLs from one community in a midwestern state. The narrative policy …

Reducing Racial Disparity Of Youths Referred To The Juvenile Center, Kimberly Paige

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2018, The Juvenile Center in St. Louis, Missouri acknowledged that they needed to decrease the racial disparity in the numbers and percentages of Black youths who were overrepresented compared to White youths at the front-end intake step of the facility. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain insight as to whether there were alternative actions for police officers after they arrested the youths but before they referred them to the front-end intake step of The Juvenile Center. The main method of collecting data was an ethnographic interview in the form of a questionnaire to gather the community …

An Exploration Of Fairness, Judicial Independence And Employee Protections, Christina M. Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexual harassment is an issue that can plague any organization, especially ones that do not have a formal complaint process or is built on a system based on hierarchy. Most notably, some federal judges abused their power based on a system that did not have any checks and balances in place as preventative measure against harassment. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore female federal judiciary employees’ understanding of employee protection principles extended to staff of the judicial branch, and to assess whether female federal judiciary employees were aware of reporting mechanisms for acts of misconduct. The research …

The Impact Of Canada–U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement On African Asylum Seekers In Canada, John Elijah Mccarthy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAs the world becomes more globalized, migration is emerging as a major policy issue to contemporary governments. Thus, states have adopted immigration policies that extend beyond their jurisdiction, making the review of state actions a challenge. One such policy is the Canada–U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA). This policy has generated a range of social issues. However, no study has been conducted to understand the impact of the STCA on African asylum seekers in Canada. This qualitative study was based on the social construction and policy design theory. The central research question sought to understand the impact of the STCA …

Exploring The Impact Of Student Conduct Models On Student Development At Hbcus, Deona Cureton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The effectiveness of the student conduct approaches of the mixed method model, a mixture of restorative justice and traditional sanctioning, and traditional sanctioning, known as the “model code,” in student learning at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) has been largely unexamined in existing literature. This quantitative study examined whether the model code process or a mixed method model process is more effective and efficient in producing learning and accountability. The present study utilized the 28-item questionnaire from the Student Accountability and Restorative Research (STARR) Project, a multicampus study conducted in 2011 in the United States. In the current study, …

What Are The Barriers Experienced By Self-Represented Litigants In Civil Court?, Darwin Fitzgerald Rice

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Judiciary Act of 1789 permits parties to plead and manage their cases personally or by a defense counsel. The legal provision laid the foundation for self-representation guidelines adopted by the courts. Despite self-representation becoming widely accepted in the legal system, there is limited understanding of the barriers faced by litigants. John Rawls’ theory of Justice written in 1971 guided an in-depth analysis of these experiences. The theory states that with the subject of justice things are just or unjust. With the need to answer the research questions that sought to explore the lived experiences of self-represented litigants, attorneys, and …

Barriers In Quality Healthcare Delivery In The Veterans Healthcare Systems, Kelly A. Walker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The VHA and Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) have been labeled negligent in providing healthcare for U.S. veterans. Strategies to resolve the problems included legislative changes, watchdog responsibilities, and removal of top officials within the VA. The case studies presented underscore reported problems within Veterans Healthcare Systems. The present research was conducted to determine if the negligence was the result of a toxic work environment and whether the problems continue to affect healthcare delivery to U.S. veterans. Beccaria’s Rational Choice Theory served as the theoretical basis of the research. A mixed method, transformative design was used to conduct the study. …

A Culture Of Institutional Racism: Housing Policies During The New Deal, Breyonna J. Bowen

Capstone Showcase

There currently exists a distressed relationship between African Americans and housing due to previously enacted policies. In looking at this issue, I aim to use the theory of institutional racism to explain how past housing policies that enforce and perpetuate discrimination have impacted this current relationship. Through the method of policy analysis, I attempt to pinpoint where past housing policies have failed to provide housing to many African Americans. I find that there are several policies that were enacted during 1930s and 40s, specifically the New Deal Era, that inflicted discriminatory housing policies on African Americans. The findings indicate that …

Examen Du Service D’Accompagnement Du Tribunal De La Sécurité Sociale : Accès À La Justice Administrative Pour Les Communautés Marginalisées, Laverne Jacobs, Sule Tomkinson

Law Publications

Ce rapport présente les constatations, l'analyse et les recommandations d'une étude menée sur le service d’accompagnement du Tribunal fédéral de la sécurité sociale (service d’accompagnement du TSS). Le service d’accompagnement du TSS a été créé en 2019, pour veiller à la bonne information des appelants sans représentation professionnelle ainsi qu’à leur participation sereine aux audiences. L'étude examine l'utilisation du service d’accompagnement pour le Régime de pensions du Canada – Invalidité (RPC – Invalidité) entendue par la Division générale de la sécurité du revenu du Tribunal de la sécurité sociale du Canada.

Cette recherche porte sur l'accès à la justice administrative …

The Westminster Model And The Destabilizing Of Democracy In The Caribbean, Peter L. René

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem with the Westminster model is the model’s lack of governance, oversight and colonial mindset which has led to a crisis that includes severe government corruption, deepening poverty, upticks in crime, debt and decreasing trade opportunities. This makes life harder for the citizens and threatens to destabilize the democracies with no one nation situated to cope with these existential challenges. National independence for the region was designed to maintain the status quo of colonial times while providing the illusion of autonomy and individual sovereignty. The purpose of the study was to analyze the Westminster model enacted in the Caribbean …

How Prayer Before Public Meetings Affects Participation, Rebecca R. Gomez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the past 50 years, there have been numerous lawsuits regarding religion and government. However, there has been little analysis of invocation practices. Other case studies examined invocations of one agency which identified the actions and phrases that led to claims of establishing religion. Therefore, city councils lacked direction to avoid invocation litigation and ensure public participation. Most city councils within Orange County, California, began their public meetings with an invocation. The remaining cities did not have a prayer, and one city had a moment of solemn expression. This qualitative study explored the impact of legislative prayer on meeting participants …

Education Policy Reform In Ghana And The Role Of Avatime Traditional Leaders, Hubert Kwami Akrong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractWith declining academic standards in Ghana, public attention has been focused on education policies. In 1992, the amended constitution excluded traditional village leaders from being involved in formulating education policies in Ghana. The exclusion of grassroots leaders from education policy reform resulted in low expectations and poor student outcomes in the towns and villages of Ghana’s Avatime Traditional Area. This case study was an investigation into how traditional chiefs in the Avatime Traditional Area participate in democratic governance to improve education in the region. Joshee and Goldberg’s social justice theory in policy making was used to ground the study. Data …

Examining The Social Security Tribunal’S Navigator Service: Access To Administrative Justice For Marginalized Communities, Laverne Jacobs, Sule Tomkinson

Law Publications

An accessible MS Word version of this document is available for download at the bottom of this screen under "Additional files."

This report provides the findings, analysis and recommendations of a research study conducted on the federal Social Security Tribunal’s Navigator Service (SST Navigator Service). The SST Navigator Service was established in 2019 for tribunal users without a professional representative. The study examines the use of the Navigator Service for Canada Pension Plan–Disability (CPP–Disability) appeals heard by the Income Security - General Division of the Social Security Tribunal.

This research study focuses on access to administrative justice on the …