Law Commons^™

Comments On Reg-119882-25, Application Of The Personal Responsibility And Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act Of 1996 To The Refunded Portion Of Certain Federal Refundable Tax Credits, 91 Fed. Reg. 53,812 (Aug. 20, 2026); Irs Docket No. Irs- 2026-1057, Islame Hosny, Addison H. Brown, Andrew E. Hoppe, Nafisa Jeb, Parker W. Kinney, Shane M. Rice, Audrey Hager, Anna Russell, Cornell Law School Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic

Cornell Law School J.D. Student Research Papers

On October 5, 2026, the Cornell Law School Low-Income Taxpayer Clinic submitted this comment letter on proposed Treasury and IRS regulations (REG-119882-25, 91 Fed. Reg. 53,812). The regulations would apply the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) to the refunded portions of the adoption tax credit, child tax credit, American opportunity tax credit, and earned income tax credit. The letter argues that Treasury has not adequately reconciled PRWORA's "qualified alien" test with the Code's residency and Social Security number rules. It also argues that Treasury has not justified treating the adoption credit as a federal public …

Who Controls The Block? How States Can Regulate Tokenized Residential Real Estate, David J. Reiss, Joseph Bizub, Justin Peralta

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

In July 2025, the City of Detroit filed a major nuisance abatement action against RealT, a fintech that had sold blockchain-based fractional interests in more than four hundred Detroit rental properties to some 22,000 investors around the world. Within a year, a court had ordered the company’s rents into escrow, the company had conceded to its investors that its “model no longer works,” and it had announced the liquidation of its portfolio -- leaving tenants without basic services and token holders facing steep losses.

This article uses the rise and collapse of RealT, together with case studies of the other …

Sex On Trial, Nathalie Greenfield, Sandra L. Babcock

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

On January 21, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized in Andrew v. White that the State’s introduction of sexualizing evidence in a woman’s capital trial may violate due process. In Brenda Andrew’s case, prosecutors presented evidence about her sexual relationships, clothing, and style of underwear as proof that she was guilty of capital murder. Our research, supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, reveals for the first time that the prosecution’s tactics in Brenda Andrew’s case were far from unique. Based on a systematic review of the trial transcripts of every woman currently on death row in the …

Advice For Incorporating Ai Tools Into Your Legal Practice, Celia Bigoness, Robert A. Mackenzie, David J. Reiss

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

We have been speaking with many lawyers and law students about using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools in their legal practice. We are struck by the fact that many of them have not been experimenting much, if at all, with the tools that are available to them - although many acknowledge that their clients are increasingly integrating generative AI into their businesses. We have been integrating a lot of these tools into our own professional lives, and here are some tips to help lawyers and law students get comfortable with AI tools that can help them, in big ways and …

The U.S. Intervention In South Africa V. Israel At The Icj Gets A Failing Grade, Menachem Z. Rosensaft

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

No abstract provided.

Can Mayor Mamdani Freeze The Rent? It’S Complicated, Nestor Davidson, David J. Reiss

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

In Can Mayor Mamdani Freeze the Rent? It’s Complicated, former New York City Rent Guidelines Board (RGB) chairs Nestor Davidson and David Reiss examine the legal and policy realities behind Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign promise to freeze rents for the city’s approximately one million rent-stabilized apartments. The authors explain that, although the mayor appoints members of the RGB, state law grants the board—not the mayor—the authority to set annual rent adjustments using statutory criteria and economic data. They argue that the RGB must independently evaluate evidence concerning tenant affordability, landlord operating costs, and the overall health of the city’s …

When Tokenized Real-World Assets Collide With Real World, Biying Cheng, David J. Reiss

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The city of Detroit filed a public nuisance lawsuit in July of last year in the Michigan Circuit Court for the Third Judicial Circuit against Real Token, its co-founders and 165 affiliated entities, alleging building code and safety violations across over 400 Detroit residential properties.[1] RealT is a blockchain real estate platform that sells fractional interests in individual U.S. rental properties through the issuance of crypto security tokens.

On July 22, the judge issued a temporary restraining order — later converted into a preliminary injunction on Nov. 4 — barring RealT from collecting rent, pursuing evictions without a certificate of …

Transforming Indigent Appellate Advocacy, Rachel T. Goldberg, Estelle M. Mckee

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Indigent appellate advocacy has long been confined to a narrow, technocratic model—one that prioritizes legal expertise over client autonomy and treats appellate cases solely as isolated legal battles rather than opportunities for systemic change. Unlike their trial-level counterparts, appellate attorneys representing indigent clients have received little scholarly attention, leaving critical questions about client participation, ethical representation, and social justice largely unexplored.

This Article challenges the status quo, arguing that appellate attorneys should rethink their role in ways that empower clients and confront the broader injustices shaping their cases. We introduce two alternative frameworks—client-centered appellate representation and participatory appellate representation—that draw …

Law Schools Should Teach How To Integrate Ai Tools Into Practice, Robert A. Mackenzie, David J. Reiss

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Now that artificial intelligence tools for lawyers are widely available, we decided to integrate them for a semester in our Entrepreneurship Clinic. We have some important takeaways for legal education in general and the transactional practice of law in particular.

First, employers and educators need to account for law students who already are using AI tools in their legal work and guide new lawyers about how to use such tools appropriately.

Second, different AI products lead to wildly different results. Just demonstrating this to law students is very valuable, as it dispels the notion that AI responses can replace their …

Collective Bargaining In The Usa : Union Success Within And Outside Of The Flawed Legal Framework, Angela B. Cornell

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

The labour movement in the US experienced a powerful upswing under President Biden, but even with a labour-friendly administration thousands of new bargaining units labour without collective bargaining agreements years a#er being organised. The many limitations and weaknesses of the collective-bargaining framework under the private-sector statute, the NLRA, contribute to this very unfortunate outcome including enterprise rather than sectoral bargaining, a lack of meaningful remedies for serious bargaining violations, very little interest arbitration when the parties cannot reach agreement and the extremely limited right to strike. Millions of American workers are deprived of the right to bargain collectively because of …

Israel's Blockade Of Gaza Was Legal; Withholding Humanitarian Aid, Not So Much, Menachem Z. Rosensaft

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

Last month, the International Court of Justice rebuked Israel in an advisory opinion for blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza during the course of the Israel-Hamas war there and emphasized that starvation of civilian populations as a method of warfare is prohibited under prevailing international humanitarian law. Predictably, Israel’s UN ambassador dismissed the advisory opinion as “shameful.”

Now that the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is in the rearview mirror, it is important to assess the legal and moral aspects and ramifications of Israel’s two-year blockade of Gaza. Specifically, the question that needs to be asked, but that does not have a …

The 1935 Nazi Nuremberg Laws In Historical And Legal Context, Menachem Z. Rosensaft

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

The core ideology of Hitler Germany — of the Third Reich — was the hardcore, unremittent antisemitism that in short order permeated German society and the German legal system before creating the necessary conditions for the genocide of all Jews under Nazi control.

Two preliminary observations. First, should we view the 1935 Nuremberg laws and other German anti-Jewish laws and measures of the 1930s as the first stages of a process designed culminate in the annihilation of Jews, or were they drafted and enacted by individuals who, at that point in time, were not envisioning a “Final Solution of the …

Volume 8, Issue 2 Title Page

SAIPAR Case Review

No abstract provided.

Volume 8, Issue 2 Table Of Contents

SAIPAR Case Review

No abstract provided.

Editorial Board

SAIPAR Case Review

No abstract provided.

Rights Vs Rules: A Commentary On Nathan Mubanga (Suing As The Father And Next Friend Of A Minor Cm) And Anor V Attorney General (2023/Hp/0403) Zmhc3 (19 February 2025), Chanda Mwape

SAIPAR Case Review

The High Court of Zambia upheld a school's refusal to admit a Rastafari child with dreadlocks. The author argues that the Court erred by failing to consider regional jurisprudence, international human rights trends, and the historical context of discrimination against natural African hair. The piece contends that requiring Rastafari children to cut their dreadlocks to access public education effectively denies them their rights to education, freedom of religion, and protection from discrimination.

Brenda Mpashi V Attorney General And Anor (2024/Ccz/005) [2025] Zmcc 4 (20 February 2025): The Constitutionality Of Ouster Clauses In A Democratic And Constitutional Dispensation, Mwami Kabwabwa, Madrine Mukabili

SAIPAR Case Review

Transformative constitutionalism requires Courts to adjudicate in a manner that advances substantive justice, protects rights, and ensures that all exercises of public power are justified in constitutional terms. In Brenda Mpashi, the Constitutional Court adopted a formalistic interpretive approach that prioritised administrative finality over constitutional accountability. By accepting Regulation 10A as an effective ouster clause, the Court insulated presidential action from judicial scrutiny and weakened the culture of justification, which is a fundamental principle in a constitutional democracy.

A more transformative approach would have scrutinised the constitutionality of the ouster clause, assessed its compatibility with Article 18(9) and the principle …

Digital Currency In Legal Limbo, From Uncertainty To Precedent In Tanzania: Yellow Card (T) Ltd Vs. Nyamwero Michael Nyamwero (Hc: Commercial Case No. 12171 Of 2024), Jackson Simango Magoge

SAIPAR Case Review

The abstract below was generated using artificial intelligence. It has not been endorsed by the author.

This article analyzes Yellow Card (T) Ltd v. Nyamwero Michael Nyamwero (HC Commercial Case No. 12171 of 2024), a landmark Tanzanian case addressing the legal status of cryptocurrency transactions in a jurisdiction lacking a formal regulatory framework. The dispute arose from the alleged misappropriation of funds by a former company director and his subsequent breach of a settlement agreement requiring repayment. The court held in favor of the plaintiff, concluding that although cryptocurrency activities remain unregulated in Tanzania, they are not inherently illegal. Accordingly, …

Editorial Note, O'Brien Kaaba, Emmanuel Nyambe

SAIPAR Case Review

No abstract provided.

Agentizing Privacy Preferences Without Privatizing Data Protection Policy, Frank Pasquale, Vanna Carter

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This essay explores how consumers might exercise newly restored agency in a digital environment increasingly shaped by generative AI. Rather than expecting consumers to read privacy-related terms of service, policymakers should encourage the emergence of Automated Consumer Agents (“ACAs”) capable of interpreting privacy provisions and acting on behalf of users according to their stated preferences. These systems could automatically reject objectionable forms of data extraction, translating consumer values into actionable decisions in online transactions.

Despite this promise, the rise of ACAs would also present new problems. Without supportive policy and legal frameworks, agentization of privacy preferences could itself reproduce or …

What 2 Profs Noticed As Transactional Law Students Used Ai, Celia Bigoness, David Reiss

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

We teach entrepreneurship law clinics in which our students do transactional work on a wide range of matters, including business formation, contracts, intellectual property protection and regulatory compliance.

This past semester, we had access to generative artificial intelligence tools from Lexis, Westlaw and Bloomberg Law, as well as those that are more broadly available to the general public, including ChatGPT and Perplexity.

While we have not done a rigorous study of these tools, we have some early observations about how AI is changing how transactional lawyers do their jobs, particularly new transactional lawyers. Our own experience has been mostly positive, …

Open And Timely Public Access To Final, Citable U.S. Case Law: A Progress Report, Peter W. Martin

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

By the early 1990s, numerous advantages of disseminating legal information electronically instead of in print had become widely recognized. These included the potential for faster and wider access and increased competition. To maximize those gains, the American Association of Law Libraries and American Bar Association recommended that the nation’s court systems adopt public (non-proprietary) systems of case citation that could function readily regardless of medium. A few had already headed down that path. In the years since, others have followed.

This article traces the progress of that movement and describes a less conspicuous alternative more recently implemented in a number …

Constitutionalizing Traveling Feminisms In Kenya, Nkatha Kabira

Cornell International Law Journal

This Article uses selected provisions of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 to argue that although elaborate legal and institutional frameworks for promoting women’s empowerment have been adopted in Kenya’s legal framework, implementation of these provisions remains a challenge. Why is the law in the books so different from the law in action? This is the question this Article seeks to address. By mapping out how feminist ideas travel through collective action, colonial encounters, local, regional and world conferences, legislation, and other means, the Article demonstrates that the reason why implementation remains a challenge is that these ideas are often in …

Memorandum Regarding Ireland’S Proposal To Revise The Meaning Of Genocide Under International Law, Menachem Z. Rosensaft

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

Ireland’s new and far-reaching proposal regarding the suggested construction of the crime of Genocide contained in its Declaration of Intervention (Intervention) in the case brought by South Africa against the State of Israel (and echoed in its identical intervention at the same time in The Gambia v. Myanmar) in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention) runs counter to almost 80 years of established law and principle regarding genocide.

In announcing its intention to intervene in the case against Israel, Ireland’s government in a statement …

In Lieu Of The Nlra, Gali Racabi

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) deteriorates from constitutional attacks and political sabotage. As labor law buckles, its preemption regime, a keystone of U.S. labor governance, has become unsustainable. This Article argues that labor law must flip its federal default by empowering and expanding state-level labor institutions and expanding gaps in NLRA preemption doctrine. Eighteen states already maintain NLRA-like statutory frameworks, and fourteen more recognize workers’ rights to unionize and act collectively as a state public policy. These under-examined laws hint at an alternative labor governance model in lieu of the NLRA.

Building on emerging preemption challenges, weaknesses in federal …

Skirmishing Toward A General Theory Of Evidence And Proof, Kevin M. Clermont

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

Traditional probability fundamentally assumes bivalence and additivity: there is only truth and falsity, whose odds add to one. The consequence is many problems and paradoxes for factfinding, all attributable to the assumptions’ exclusive focus on random uncertainty. By contrast, multivalent belief theory abjures those two assumptions, thereby allowing consideration of epistemic uncertainty. This theory divides the factfinder’s state of mind into three, not two, gradated concepts: belief, uncommitted belief representing epistemic unknowns, and disbelief. This theory utilises a more general but perfectly valid logic that accounts for all relevant kinds of uncertainty and so explains the law’s wise practices. In …

Caste Discrimination In Ny - Starting A Conversation, Pranathi Charasala, Gali Racabi

Cornell Law Faculty Working Papers

Despite rapid socioeconomic ascent of Indian Americans in the U.S., caste hierarchies continue to structure inequality within the Indian diaspora. This working paper examines caste discrimination in contemporary New York, situating it within broader civil rights frameworks and legal precedents. Drawing from headline cases, emerging local laws, and collective bargaining agreements, the paper shows how caste operates as a social category—legally unrecognized yet experientially real. It explores both the possibilities and pitfalls of folding caste into existing categories like race, color, national origin, and religion, while grappling with arguments that frame caste protections as anti-Hindu bias. The paper concludes with …

Volume 8, Issue 1 Title Page

SAIPAR Case Review

No abstract provided.

Editorial Board

SAIPAR Case Review

No abstract provided.

Conservation Advocates Zambia Limited V The Attorney General (2023/Ccz/0018) [2024] Zmcc 6, Emmanuel N. Nyambe

SAIPAR Case Review

The author explores Conservation Advocates Zambia Limited v The Attorney General, contrasting the majority’s application of the constitutional avoidance doctrine with a forceful dissent. The majority declined to hear an environmental petition, classifying the grievances as statutory rather than constitutional. The author aligns with the dissent, arguing that such reasoning sidesteps the judiciary’s constitutional mandate to protect and promote environmental rights. The case presents a fundamental choice for the Court: whether to treat the Constitution as a source of aspirational guidance or as a directly enforceable instrument of environmental accountability and public participation.