Law Commons^™

Huma Rights In Texas: Analyzing Operation Lone Star Through A Human Rights Framework, Olivia S. Callan

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

In 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star (OLS) under the guise of border security. For over three years, OLS has threatened the lives of migrants and U.S. citizens alike. While advocates have primarily challenged OLS under U.S. state and federal law, this Note examines arguments based on the U.S.'s international treaty obligations, particularly emphasizing the importance of enforcing international mechanisms of accountability. This Note analyzes OLS under three international law treaties the U.S. has ratified: the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the …

Facing Up To Internet Giants, Shai Dothan

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

Mancur Olson claimed that concentrated interests win against diffuse interests even in advanced democracies. Multinational companies, for example, work well in unison to suit their interests. The rest of the public is not motivated or informed enough to resist them. In contrast, other scholars argued that diffuse interests may be able to fight back, but only when certain conditions prevail. One of the conditions for the success of diffuse interests is the intervention of national and international courts. Courts are able to fix problems affecting diffuse interests. Courts can also indirectly empower diffuse interests by initiating deliberation to inform the …

The Right To Resistance And The Western Sahara: A Twail Analysis Of The International Legal Order And Its Constraints On Decolonization, Christina Wrapp

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

"The Western Sahara is often called the "Last Colony in the World," in reference to its anachronistic status as a territory deemed to have self-determination by the United Nations and ICJ, but still under the rule of another country. Scholarship on the Western Sahara tends to concentrate on the protracted stalemate in their war of independence against Morocco, highlighting the roles of several individual actors, such as France, the United States, the United Nations, and the Polisario, and how these actors create a particular structure to the conflict. This Note focuses on the role of the International Legal Order, as …

International Human Rights In Asian Constitutions, Ngoc Son Bui

Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law

International law is integrated into national constitutions across the world. Particularly, the convergence of national constitutions with international human rights (IHR) law has been a global trend. Asia has been underexplored in the global scholarship on constitutional convergence. This Article seeks to make both theoretical and empirical contributions by exploring three models of convergence with IHR law in seven Asian constitutions: convergence impelled by international inducement in post-war and post-conflict states (Japan and Cambodia), convergence propelled by the domestic precommitment of new democracies (South Korea and Indonesia), and convergence compelled by the international socialization of the socialist states (China, Laos, …

"Still Broken": Alaska Rule Of Professional Conduct 8.4(F) And (G)'S Insufficient Response To Workplace Harassment By Lawyers, Sam Turner

Alaska Law Review

A report by Women Lawyers On Guard, entitled "Still Broken," reported the results of a 2019 survey about sexual harassment and misconduct in the legal profession. It concluded that issues relating to sexual harassment and misconduct in the legal profession had not improved in the past thirty years. This Article looks at the Alaska Rules of Professional Conduct's rule regarding harassment and discrimination by lawyers and argues that the rule does not sufficiently address workplace harassment by lawyers.

Alaska Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4(f), enacted in 2021, prohibits harassment or invidious discrimination by a lawyer "in the lawyer's dealings with …

Alaska's Recognition Of Tribes: Alaska House Bill 123 And Tribal Trust Lands, Gloria R. Jacobsen

Alaska Law Review

For decades, the United States Department of the Interior's land acquisition regulations included an "Alaska Exception" that barred acquisition of land into trust in Alaska apart from those acquisitions made for the Metlakatla Indian Community. Although the "Alaska Exception" was initially removed from the regulations in 2014, the fight continues over land-into-trust acquisitions within Alaska. Throughout these debates, the state of Alaska has consistently opposed land-into-trust acquisitions. This Practitioner Guide provides an overview of the recent history of land-into-trust acquisitions in Alaska and analyzes the juxtaposition of the intent behind Alaska's "State Recognition of Tribes" in House Bill 123 and …

Kohlhaas V. State: Encouraging Democratic Reform Through Constitutional Flexibility, Allyson Barkley, Connor Sakati

Alaska Law Review

In the spirit of democracy reform, Alaska recently adopted a jungle primary and ranked choice voting electoral system for all state-wide elections. In Kohlhaas v. State, the Alaska Supreme Court upheld this reform against numerous state and federal constitutional challenges. While doing so, the court avoided rigid constitutional interpretations that would have frozen the electoral system in its current first-past-the-post state. Moreover, the court refused to credit the plaintiff's speculation about the hypothetical malign effects of ranked-choice voting, placing the burden to produce hard evidence of their critiques on RCV's opponents. Alaska can serve as a model for other …

Facial Recognition Ai: Alaska Is An Ideal Forum For Introducing Regulation, Sarah Edwards

Alaska Law Review

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly commonplace, we are all exposed to shockingly dystopian forms of surveillance. This Note details the unique danger of facial recognition technologies powered by artificial intelligence. First, this Note examines the rise of facial recognition technologies in both the public and the private sector. It illustrates this phenomenon by highlighting a few key players in both the development and implementation of facial recognition. Second, it proceeds by examining the current privacy landscape in Alaska. Alaska's unique focus on privacy rights makes the State a promising forum for regulation. Finally, it provides possible statutory and judicial solutions …

Blight Made Right: Defects In State Condemnation Laws And A Roadmap For Reform In Alaska And Beyond, Sam Spiegelman

Alaska Law Review

Susette Kelo's old house in New London, Connecticut is long gone, as is the entire Fort Trumbull neighborhood that once surrounded it. In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a case—Kelo v. City of New London—that cost her and her neighbors their homes and sparked a wave of state-level reforms to mitigate its potential damage to private property. In Kelo, the Court held that "economic development" as a "public purpose" was also a legitimate "public use" under the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause, which provides "nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." As Justice …

State Public Morality Regulation And The Dormant Commerce Clause, Douglas Kysar

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Note From The Editor

Alaska Law Review

No abstract provided.

Journal Staff

Alaska Law Review

No abstract provided.

Navigating The Next 50 Years: The Endangered Species Act, Climate Change, And The Pursuit Of Abundance, Andrea A. Treece

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

The Purposes Of The Act, Stuart L. Pimm

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

Menhaden: Indicators Of A Hopeful Future, Sutton Lynch

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

Between A Rock And A Hardened Place: Prioritizing Climate Resiliency For Vulnerable Biodiversity, Jaclyn Lopez

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

Journal Staff

Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum

No abstract provided.

Decoding Cryptocurrency Taxes: The Challenges For Estate Planners, Max Angel

Duke Law & Technology Review

In this article, Angel explores the unique challenges of estate planning with cryptocurrency, which include accurately valuing those assets, preserving their value, and addressing the complex tax implications of transferring cryptocurrency to heirs.

Informationalism Beyond Managerialism, Salomé Viljoen

Law and Contemporary Problems

No abstract provided.

The Letter And Its Spirit: Interpretive Dynamism And Mediating Change In Biblical And Constitutional Law, Caleb V. Strawn

Law and Contemporary Problems

No abstract provided.

Beyond Patents: Incentive Strategies For Ocean Plastic Remediation Technologies, Jacob Stotser

Duke Law & Technology Review

With a garbage truck’s worth of plastic being dumped in the ocean each minute, there is a dire need for effective technological solutions aimed at mitigating the marine plastic pollution problem. However, the reliance of the U.S. patent system on market demand to incentivize this type of innovation has proven insufficient in light of the peculiarities of “green” technologies. To remedy this, this article proposes a multi-faceted incentivization approach that looks beyond the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to stimulate the development of remediation technologies through comprehensive regulatory interventions, the establishment of prize funds and other alternative incentive mechanisms, and …

Discharging Equity: Harrington V. Purdue Pharma L.P. And The Validity Of Nonconsensual Third-Party Releases, Andrew Klauber

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar

In September 2019, Purdue Pharma L.P. petitioned for bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York. Purdue, which the Sackler family had owned and operated for decades, developed and aggressively marketed addictive opioid products, contributing to the modern opioid epidemic. The tsunami of litigation arising from the opioid epidemic gave rise to claims against Purdue and the Sackler family estimated to total more than $40 trillion, causing Purdue to petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In Purdue’s plan of reorganization, it employed a nonconsensual third-party release to discharge claims against the Sackler family. Nonconsensual third-party releases controversially enjoin parties to a …

Administrative Reliance, Haiyun Damon-Feng

Duke Law Journal

Presidential regime change and the federal policy shifts that accompany it raise significant questions concerning continuity, stability, and governance in the administrative state. Presidential policymaking through the administrative state may generate serious reliance interests recognized under administrative law (what this Article calls “administrative reliance”), which agencies must consider prior to enacting policy change. Administrative reliance has developed into a robust form of judicial review over agency action. Administrative reliance has been invoked in highly politicized contexts, such as immigration law, to challenge a sitting administration’s termination of a prior administration’s policies. Despite its powerful and consequential effects, the doctrine of …

Democratizing Administrative Law, Joshua D. Blank, Leigh Osofsky

Duke Law Journal

When agencies make statements about the law, people listen. This insight yields a fundamental tension. According to one set of views, such agency statements, and their ability to influence public behavior, are critical not only for a well-functioning bureaucracy but also for our entire system of government. According to another set of views, this agency power, if left unchecked, could border on tyranny.

Administrative law responds to this tension through an extensive, purportedly comprehensive, framework that attempts to police agency statements. The framework places different types of agency statements into different legal categories. On the one hand, legislative rules make …

Regulatory Body Shops, Bridget C.E. Dooling, Rachel Augustine Potter

Duke Law Journal

Agencies do not always write their own rules. Contractors assist agencies in nearly all tasks relating to rulemaking, including reviewing public comments, conducting specialized research, and writing regulatory text. Despite perceptions that contractors’ roles are entirely ministerial, the reality is that contractors fulfill many more functions in the rulemaking process than is commonly understood, including everything right “up to pushing the big red policymaking button,” as one agency employee put it. The use of contractors in rulemaking fits within a broader pattern of increased government reliance on service contractors. Scholars have documented a bevy of governance concerns relating to ethics, …

Journal Staff

Duke Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Barcoding Bodies: Rfid Technology And The Perils Of E-Carceration, Jackson Samples

Duke Law & Technology Review

Electronic surveillance now plays a central role in the criminal legal system. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people are tracked by ankle monitors and smartphone technology. And frighteningly, commentators and policymakers have now proposed implanting radio frequency identification (“RFID”) chips into people’s bodies for surveillance purposes. This Note examines the unique risks of these proposals—particularly with respect to people on probation and parole—and argues that RFID implants would constitute a systematic violation of individual privacy and bodily integrity. As a result, they would also violate the Fourth Amendment.

Virtual Gaming, Actual Damage: Video Game Design That Intentionally And Successfully Addicts Users Constitutes Civil Battery, Allison Caffarone

Duke Law & Technology Review

In recent years, there has been increased academic interest in both the neurological effects of compulsive gaming and the potential tort liability of game developers who scientifically engineer games in order to addict users. Scholars from various disciplines are currently debating the scope and potential solutions to the problems associated with Gaming Disorder, now a globally recognized illness. This article contributes to this discussion by offering a multidisciplinary analysis of the scope of video game addiction, its neurological bases, and its relation to the legal rights and responsibilities of victims and game developers. In addition, this article explores the practical …

The Epistemic Preconditions Of Markets And Their Historicity, Lisa Herzog

Law and Contemporary Problems

No abstract provided.

Bargaining With Giants And Immortals: Bargaining Power As The Core Of Theorizing Inequality, Marietta Auer

Law and Contemporary Problems

No abstract provided.