Law Commons^™

Guidelines On Access To Justice And Effective Remedies In The Context Of Toxics, Marcos Orellana

PEEL Faculty Scholarship

Guidelines on access to justice and effective remedies in the context of toxics

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, Marcos Orellana.

Brief Of Law Professors As Amici Curiae In Support Of Plaintiff-Appellees, Ira P. Robbins

Amicus Briefs & Court Filings

INTRODUCTION: The Executive Order at issue in these appeals targets a small and uniquely vulnerable minority of transgender women—those currently housed in federal women’s prisons—by commanding the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to transfer them immediately to men’s facilities. Amici file in support of Plaintiffs-Appellees (hereinafter “Plaintiffs”), to address two procedural arguments made by Defendants-Appellants (“the government”). First, Congress has not eliminated federal court jurisdiction to decide Plaintiffs’ challenge to the transfer provisions of the Executive Order. Second, the government overreads the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA); Plaintiffs’ lawsuit is not improper or premature under that statute’s exhaustion requirement because …

Minority Day Hearing On American Innovation And The Future Of Digital Assets: From Blueprint To A Functional Framework, Hilary J. Allen

Legislative Testimony & Comments

When we hear from the crypto industry that existing regulation is incompatible with their technology, that is a misdirection. It is entirely possible for a blockchain-based technology business to comply with existing investor protection and financial stability regulation. However, for many crypto businesses, it may be true that existing regulation is incompatible with the economics of their business model, especially if their business model depends on doing things that we have learned, over the years, tend to harm people. But we have little to lose as a society from limiting the profitability of this kind of business model; unfortunately, the …

Cox Communications, Inc. V. Sony Music Entertainment, No. 24-171 (U.S. June 30, 2025), Charles Duan

Amicus Briefs & Court Filings

Under the Copyright Act, “[a]nyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner . . . is an infringer of the copyright." 17 U.S.C. §501(a). This Court has also recognized two categories of secondary liability, which means liability for the copyright infringement of another. Those two categories are “contributory” liability and “vicarious” liability. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., 545 U. S. 913, 930. This case concerns contributory liability, which requires that a provider intended its service to be used for infringement. A copyright owner can show the requisite intent in two ways. First, it can show …

Brief Of Legal Ethics Scholars As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioner, Susan D. Carle

Amicus Briefs & Court Filings

Amici curiae are leading legal ethics scholars with expertise regarding the rules, precedents, and other authorities regarding the professional responsibility and legal ethics obligations of lawyers. While this case involves protection of crucial Sixth Amendment rights of criminal defendants, it also implicates the professional responsibility and legal ethics obligations of attorneys representing clients at trial. Amici have a professional interest in ensuring that the Court is fully informed of the important professional responsibility and legal ethics issues in this case. Specifically, amici submit this brief to explain that the trial court's order in this case creates significant and serious problems …

Pace Financing: A Legal Guide To Energy And Water Efficiency Funding, James P. Cargas

PEEL Alumni Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Compliance In China, Matthew S. Erie

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Chinese Multinational Enterprises Contemporary comparative law operates across a landscape riven by protectionism, nationalism, and securitization, all of which complicate comparative law projects. Nowhere is this more evident than in the U.S-China relationship, the most important bilateral relationship in the world. Despite economic “delinking,” the U.S. and Chinese legal systems are interacting more than ever; however, how this interaction works is poorly understood. This Article proposes “adversarial comparativism” to explain this dynamic. It is an approach to comparative law and politics that includes different modalities: competition, aggressiveness, transactionalism, misunderstanding, opportunism, and gaslighting. Many of these are underpinned by emotion. As …

Letter From The Editor, Davis Hayman

Criminal Law Practitioner

Dear Readers,

Thank you for your interest in The Criminal Law Practitioner. This marks my first publication as the Editor-in-Chief for the 2025-2026 academic year. I am thrilled to leave this remarkable team as we continue to solicit, write, and publish issues in criminal law.

 This issue continues this trend by highlighting topics including evolving interpretation of the 8th Amendment and a discussion on Constitutional venue issues related to internet crimes. Our authors provide some intriguing, unique insights that I invite you to dig into. In “The Continuing Unevolving Model of Decency, Kennedy v. Louisiana in Peril”, Professor Patrick S. …

Where Does A Hack Happen? Computer Intrusion Crimes And Constitutional Venue, Harrison Parker Blanchard Grant

Criminal Law Practitioner

The United States Constitution guarantees the right to a criminal trial where the criminal offense was committed. This guarantee—the venue requirement—forces courts to analyze where criminal conduct occurred. Technology makes that locational analysis more complicated. For one computer hacker, that same analysis led to his trial and conviction in Massachusetts, despite the fact that he did not hack into anything in Massachusetts. This Article examines the hacker’s case, exploring the technologies used to execute the hack and linking those technologies to the hacker’s trial in Massachusetts.

The Continuing Unevolving Model Of Decency, Kennedy V. Louisiana In Peril, Patrick S. Metze

Criminal Law Practitioner

Professor Metze reflects on Kennedy v. Louisiana in its part in the development of Eighth Amendment jurisprudence and how the Supreme Court initially used Kennedy to further our understanding of the limits of the Eighth Amendment. The Court recently avoided a meaningful discussion of how our society is maturing and evolving by acknowledging a purposeful effort of some to reflect modern beliefs in opposition to those who would interpret everything through an 18th-century prism. After a case-by-case analysis of how the Court has used Kennedy, it is apparent the conservative majority now on the Court has decided there is no …

National Report Of United States (2024), Christine Speidel

Research Reports & White Papers

The Observatory on the Protection of Taxpayers’ Rights (OPTR) identifies principles, minimum standards and best practices for the effective protection of taxpayers’ rights. It allows for the permanent monitoring of global compliance with such minimum standards and their amendment and development in different regions of the world.

Reigning In Rushed Recruiting, Jamie Abrams

Presentations

This presentation will survey the timeline shifts that have occurred in the large firm hiring market in the Capital Area region, the collateral consequences of these compressed timelines in LRW classrooms, and the role of the LRW community going forward.

Cross-Border Limitations And Exceptions To Copyright: “Powered By Ai”, Marketa Trimble

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

Businesses and institutions that wish to utilize copyright-protected works in multiple countries face a multiplicity of national copyright laws; although national copyright laws have been harmonized in accordance with several international treaties, and harmonized even more in the European Union member states by European Union legislation, countries’ copyright laws continue to vary. The multiplicity of national copyright laws raises costs of transnational operations, including for businesses and institutions that rely on limitations and exceptions to copyright (“L&Es”) in multiple countries. For example, AI companies might want to rely on L&Es to train and deploy their AI in multiple countries, as …

Recreate's Amicus Submission To The Constitutional Court In South Africa, May 2025, Iain Currie, Emma Webber, Daniel Linde, Sibongiseni Qagana

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

The Copyright Amendment Bill in South Africa aims to reform the copyright regime to provide additional rights to creators and users of copyrighted material. The main provisions for creators are a royalty right and increased control over commissioned works. For users, a series of exceptions and limitations are to be introduced.These include fair use for purposes such as education, personal use and research, as well as exceptions for libraries, archives and people with disabilities. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa referred the legislation to the Constitutional Court, primarily over concerns that the new rights for creators and users would constitute an …

Ensuring Housing Stability And Protections For The Nation’S Renters: Avenues For Federal Action, Margaret Hagan, Peter Hepburn, Justin Steil, Brandon Weiss

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

What would it take to ensure housing stability and protections for the nation’s renters? This essay reviews the current literature on landlord–tenant laws, eviction court policies, the provision of legal aid, and the residential security of renter households. It then lays out avenues through which the federal government—particularly the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)—might work to improve renters’ stability. These include targeted efforts to improve engagement with both tenants and landlords, robust implementation of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing provision of the federal Fair Housing Act, especially around source of income discrimination, and facilitation of reforms to state …

Second Report On Immunity Of State Officials From Foreign Criminal Jurisdiction By Claudio Grossman Guiloff, Special Rapporteur, Claudio Grossman

Research Reports & White Papers

In keeping with the approach adopted by the Special Rapporteur in his first report, the purpose of the present report is to make proposals for the modification of the draft articles and commentaries, where necessary, on the basis of the comments made by States. It is also intended to complement the draft articles and commentaries with references to new developments in international law that have taken place since the draft articles were adopted on first reading. The scope of the present report will be limited to the text of draft articles 7 to 18 and the draft annex, as well …

From Doing Business To B-Ready: World Bank’S New Rankings Represent A Rebrand, Not A Revamp, Fernanda G. Nicola, Dhaisy Paredes Guzman

Popular Media

In 2021, the World Bank shut down one of its flagship projects: the Doing Business index, a global ranking system that measured how easy it was to start and run a business in 190 countries. It followed an independent investigation that found World Bank officials had manipulated the rankings to favor powerful countries, including China and Saudi Arabia. The scandal raised serious concerns about the use of global benchmarks to shape development policy. Now, the Bank is trying again. In October 2024, it launched its newest flagship report, Business Ready. The 2025 spring meeting of the World Bank and its …

A Peek Behind The Scenes Of Supreme Court Decision Making Concerning The Federal Ip System, Jonathan Band

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

In the 1970s and 80s, the Supreme Court decided three cases that continue to define the limits of the authority of the states within the federal intellectual property system: Goldstein v. California (1973); Kewanee Oil Co. v. Bicron Oil Co. (1974); and Bonito Boats v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc. (1989). The papers of the Supreme Court Justices that decided these cases show the Court as a human institution wrestling with this complex issue. This issue has assumed new importance as state legislatures have rushed to enact laws on the use of generative artificial intelligence to replicate the voice …

Documentary History Of The Limitations And Exceptions In The Sccr, Luca Schirru, Lokesh Vyas, Haddija Jawara, Lukas Ruthes Gonçalves, Sean Flynn

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

The objective of this study is to systematically map all meetings of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) and the General Assemblies (GA) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to extract, compile, and organize all relevant statements made by Member States regarding the Limitations and Exceptions (L&Es).

The analysis was based on publicly available data from the WIPO website, particularly the official pages dedicated to each SCCR and GA meeting. Our primary focus was on statements recorded in the official "Report" document of each session. When available, we also examined supplementary documents, such as the "Summary …

Killing Kindness: How Law School Honor Codes Miss The Mark On Moral Character, Jordan Stevenson

Legal Writing Competition Winners

Do law schools foster a culture of kindness? This essay argues that law schools’ policies do not adequately address non-academic misconduct, resulting in university policies that fail to promote good moral character. This argument is supported by analyzing a sample of law school student conduct and honor codes, examining anecdotal evidence of law school experiences, and looking at American Bar Association (ABA) regulations. This essay concludes that current honor codes are inconsistent and insufficient and provides suggestions to improve the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, add a Standard for ABA law school regulation, and institute honor codes regarding non-academic misconduct.

Criminal Abortion And Citizen’S Arrest, Ira P. Robbins

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

In the aftermath of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, many states rushed to classify abortion as homicide. In addition to criminalizing abortion, some states have shown a willingness to place enforcement of the new laws in the hands of ordinary citizens through a variety of private enforcement mechanisms. These new abortion statutes exist in tandem with existing citizen’s arrest laws to create the possibility for women, providers, and those who assist them to be subject to this problem-ridden doctrine. This Article analyzes potential scenarios in which these areas clash and pose new risks to exercising what was not long …

Brennan And State Constitutions, Stephen Wermiel

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The former Great Gorge Playboy Resort in New Jersey seems an unlikely place to help form a jurisprudential movement toward reliance on state constitutions to protect civil rights and liberties.

One need only turn back the clock to 1976 to find the story of one of the most significant moments in the rise of state constitutions. Anyone who is steeped in this movement is likely familiar with the lead article in the January 1977 issue of the Harvard Law Review, “State Constitutions and the Protection of Individual Rights.” The author was U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr.

A Loss For Public Participation, Jeffrey Lubbers

Popular Media

Overshadowed in the blitzkrieg of orders and actions of the Trump Administration that are seemingly intended to assert complete presidential control over the executive branch was a recent rule issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on March 3, 2025, signed by new Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Brief Of 11 Narcolepsy Patients, Public Interest Orgnizations, Medical Professionals, And Professors Of Law As Amici Curiae In Support Of Defendants-Appellees, Charles Duan

Amicus Briefs & Court Filings

Amici curiae are patients, organizations, medical professionals, and legal scholars who share a common interest in advancing the law toward better patient health and welfare. New, clinically superior drug products for treating rare diseases and conditions tremendously benefit patients and society, because those products offer choice, competition, and improved patient care. In filing this brief, amici hope to make this Court aware of the broad real-world implications of this case, both for narcolepsy patients and for the public interest generally. Generation Patient is a nonprofit organization that represents young adults with chronic and rare conditions across the United States. Created …

Brief Of 12 Narcolepsy Patients, Public Interest Organizations, Medical Professionals, And Professors Of Law And Medicine As Amici Curiae In Support Of Defendants-Appellees (Amended To Add Further Signatories), Charles Duan

Amicus Briefs & Court Filings

A prior copy of this brief was filed, inadvertently omitting one signatory. This brief has accordingly been amended to correct the error, reflected in the Certificate as to parties and the Appendix.

Brief Of 30 Scholars Of Law, Economics, And Medicine As Amici Curiae In Support Of The Petition, Charles Duan

Amicus Briefs & Court Filings

Amici curiae are scholars of law, economics, and medicine, listed in the Appendix. Their interest is in the proper development of patent law in ways that best promote the interests of innovation access and the public interest.

Brief Of 76 Scholars Of Law, Business, Economics, And Medicine As Amici Curiae, Charles Duan

Amicus Briefs & Court Filings

No abstract provided.

Motion For Leave To File Brief Of 31 Intellectual Property And Media Law Professors As Amici Curiae In Support Of Appellant And Reversal, Christine Farley

Amicus Briefs & Court Filings

Amici Intellectual Property and Media Law Professors respectfully move for leave to file a brief in support of Appellant in this appeal, pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 29(a)(2) and (a)(3) and 11th Circuit Rule 29-1.1 The proposed brief is being tendered herewith. All parties have received notice of the filing of this motion and proposed brief. Counsel for Appellant has consented to the filing of the proposed brief; counsel for Appellee has advised that Appellee opposes the filing.

Analysis Of The Agenda For Sccr 46, Pijip

Joint PIJIP/TLS Research Paper Series

Protection of Broadcasting Organizations

The central question for the Broadcasting Treaty, in line with the 2007 General Assembly Mandate, is whether there is sufficient “agreement on objectives, specific scope and object of protection” to warrant a recommendation for a diplomatic conference. (WO/GA/34/16). The 2006 GA mandated that the Broadcasting Treaty be “confined to the protection of broadcasting and cablecasting organizations in the traditional sense” and “based on a signal-based approach” (WO/GA/33/10, para 107, 2006).

The SCCR 45 Chair’s Summary states:“[w]ith respect to objectives, there is common understanding … that the treaty should be narrowly focused on …

Legislative Reforms To End Lawfare By State And Local Prosecutors, Elizabeth Beske

Legislative Testimony & Comments

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government will hold a hearing on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. ET. The hearing, "Legislative Reforms to End Lawfare by State and Local Prosecutors," will examine the use of lawfare tactics by the Biden-Harris Administration to weaponize the rule of law against political opponents. It will further highlight legislative reforms to end politically motivated state and local prosecutions.