Law Commons^™

Getting Real About Privacy: Eccentric Expectations In The Post-9/11 World, Jeffrey A. Breinholt

ExpressO

What if science developed technology that would eliminate violent crime on American streets entirely, without jeopardizing civil liberties or personal privacy? This article describes such a scenario, and uses it to take a critical look at some of legal commentary claiming that Americans are bound to lose their rights and privacy if they fail to object to modern tools of domestic security. It concludes that those who have criticize modern scientific applications to the security challenge are overlooking well-established legal doctrines, based on eccentric fears of technology and the nation's law enforcers.

Home As A Legal Concept, Benjamin Barros

ExpressO

This article, which is the first comprehensive discussion of the American legal concept of home, makes two major contributions. First, the article systematically examines how homes are treated more favorably than other types of property in a wide range of legal contexts, including criminal law and procedure, torts, privacy, landlord-tenant, debtor-creditor, family law, and income taxation. Second, the article considers the normative issue of whether this favorable treatment is justified. The article draws from material on the psychological concept of home and the cultural history of home throughout this analysis, providing insight into the interests at stake in various legal …

‘Code’ And The Slow Erosion Of Privacy, Ronald Leenes, Bert-Jaap Koops

ExpressO

The notion of software code replacing legal code as a mechanism to control human behavior – ‘code as law’ – is often illustrated with examples in intellectual property and freedom of speech. This article examines the neglected issue of the impact of ‘code as law’ on privacy. To what extent is privacy-related ‘code’ being used, either to undermine or to enhance privacy? On the basis of cases in the domains of law enforcement, national security, E-government, and commerce, it is concluded that technology rarely incorporates specific privacy-related norms. At the same time, however, technology very often does have clear effects …

Reviving A Natural Right: The Freedom Of Autonomy Amendment, Michael Anthony Lawrence

ExpressO

America in the early twenty-first century is a place where oppressive state constitutional amendments discriminate against millions of gay Americans; where compassionate end-of-life choice is illegal in 49 states and where the one state where it is legal is being sued by the U.S. government; where hundreds of thousands are arrested yearly and tens of thousands are in prison for private possession or use of marijuana; where a woman’s right to maintain control over her own reproductive decisions hangs by a thread; and where religious freedom is under relentless attack.

Whatever became of the ideal that represented the very foundation …

Reviving A Natural Right: The Freedom Of Autonomy Amendment, Michael Anthony Lawrence

ExpressO

Reviving a Natural Right: The Freedom of Autonomy Amendment

Michael Anthony Lawrence

Something is wrong in twenty-first century America when it comes to recognizing certain “self-evident truths” of freedom identified in its founding document nearly 23 decades ago. In particular, the United States today fails to uphold the core principle of the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal: that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights: that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” This description was more than just an accidental well-turned phrase – as demonstrated by the historical record, …

Material Vulnerabilities: Data Privacy, Corporate Information Security And Securities Regulation, Andrea M. Matwyshyn

ExpressO

This article undertakes a normative and empirical legal inquiry into the manner information security vulnerabilities are being addressed through law and in the marketplace. Specifically, this article questions the current legislative paradigm for information security regulation by presenting a critique grounded in information security and cryptography theory. Consequently, this article advocates shifting our regulatory approach to a process-based security paradigm that focuses on improving security of our system as a whole. Finally, this article argues that in order to accomplish this shift with least disruption to current legal and economic processes, expanding an existing set of well-functioning legal structures is …