Law Commons^™

Free Speech And Its Limits: An Exploration Of Tolerance In The Digital Age, Jamie Forte

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Humans have made remarkable strides in protecting and preserving free speech despite an overwhelming historical legacy of censorship and suppression of dissent. Given that history makes clear how easy it is to slide into authoritarianism and sacrifice our rights in the name of security, and given that we find ourselves frequently facing the temptation to do so, this is not an unreasonable position. If the United States is one of the few bastions of free speech in an otherwise unfree world, then we must defend this freedom vehemently, or so the argument goes. While this position is not an unreasonable …

“A Sea Of White Faces”: How Courtroom Portraits Undermine Justice In Virginia, Lauren Miller

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The presence of Confederate symbols and other reminders of white institutional power in courtrooms introduces a risk that impermissible factors such as implicit bias, conscious prejudice, and sympathy for white supremacy will harm litigants’ rights. I compiled data for 210 of 328 courts (64%) in the Commonwealth and found that there are more than 617 portraits on display in Virginia courtrooms. At least 357 portraits depict white men, six depict Black men, fifteen depict white women, and twenty-eight depict people who served in the Confederacy, either in the government or the Confederate States Army (CSA). At least fourteen different courts …

Welcoming The Game Changer Of Human Society: A Defense Of The Moral Permissibility And Obligations Of Human Genetic Engineering, Yongkang Li

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In 2018, a Chinese scientist, Jiankun He, announced the birth of two HIV-resistant babies through his experiment of human genetic engineering. This incidence has soon shocked the entire scientific community and invoked public outrage towards He’s corrupt moral integrity.

However, this event should also act as a harbinger to the human society that the technique of human genetic engineering is rapidly approaching maturity. In that case, how should we respond?

This thesis focuses on the moral issues surrounding human genetic engineering and advertises an accepting moral attitude to this booming technology. This thesis will first discuss the types of human …

Engendering Trans Inclusion In Interscholastic And Intercollegiate Athletics: A Critical Analysis Of Sex And Gender In Sports, Title Ix Protections Post-Bostock, And Intersectional Methods Of Antidiscrimination Law, Jack Mackey

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Following the legalization of gay marriage by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges and the failure of so-called “bathroom bills” to gain widespread traction across the country, conservative advocacy groups have turned to the arena of locker rooms and school-sponsored sports to pursue legislative and legal action against the inclusion of transgender people in spaces according to their gender identities. This thesis takes up legal challenges presented in Hecox v. Little and Soule v. Connecticut in order to (re)articulate the means by which we understand the language of sex and gender in sports, the protections afforded to trans …

Autocratic Influence In Democratic Transitions: How The Timing Of Constitutional Reform Impacts Democratic Consolidation, Benjamin Hotchner

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Perhaps no document better symbolizes a nation-state than a written constitution. In particular, during the unstable period of transition between autocracy and democracy, the investment of political and cultural capital in creating an entirely new constitution reflects an expectation on the part of participants that constitutions can exercise independent and legitimate authority on citizens and government within its jurisdiction. Thus, as constitutions either prologue a period of democratic renewal (e.g South Africa, 1994) or constrain later democratic institutions (e.g. Chile, 1989), they offer important contributions to democratic theory (Mallios). This mixed-methodology study will attempt to explain how these processes used …

Interrogating Injustice: Carceral Feminism, Brock Turner, And The Dilemmas Of Seeking Accountability For Sexual Violence In Our Prison Nation, Willa Quinn Moffatt

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis uses the 2016 sexual assault case The People vs. Brock Turner to argue that there is no clear path for justice for sexual violence in the current criminal justice system while incarceration remains the primary form of punishment. I draw on court documents and the victim Chanel Miller's 2019 memoir Know My Name to inform my analysis.

I briefly review, as a necessary backdrop, how rape has historically been ignored in the criminal legal system as a serious crime and large-scale social problem and how this history is tied to anti-Black racism in the United States. I am …

“All Is Quiet In Arlington”: The Desegregation Of Arlington County Public Schools And How We Remember It, Ella Benbow

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Brown v. Board of Education overturned the long-enforced “separate but equal” doctrine forcing school systems to decide exactly how much they would comply with the holding that segregated public schools were no longer constitutional. Several states, Virginia among them, relied on pupil placement boards to deny the transfer of many Black students to primarily white schools. Some localities’ violent resistance to any desegregation is still reflected in the prevalent de facto school segregation 66 years after Brown. My thesis examines the reaction of Arlington County, a small, liberal area just outside Washington, D.C. that boasts about being the first integrated …

The Corporate Person: How U.S Courts Transformed A Legal Phantom Into A Powerful Citizen, Zachariah J. Demeola

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Eavesdropping On History: Olmstead V U.S And The Emergence Of Privacy Jurisprudence During Prohibition, Anna Leslie Krouse

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Honor, Gender And The Law: Defense Strategies During The Spanish Inquisition, 1526-1532, Katy Iverson

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Keep On Keeping On: The Naacp And The Implementation Of Brown V. Board Of Education In Virginia, Brian James Daugherity

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court handed down one of its most important decisions in the twentieth century. Brown v. Board of Education ordered twenty-one U.S. states, including Virginia, to end racial segregation in their public schools.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a nationally-known African American civil rights organization, had led the legal campaign to bring about the Brown decision. After its victory, the organization focused on how to bring about the implementation of the decision in the South in order to effectuate school desegregation. In the later 1950s, the NAACP filed …

Racial Interactions: A Demographic Perspective On Juror Biases In Deliberations, Jennifer K. Elek

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Tenured Teacher Dismissal For Incompetence And The Law: A Study Of State Legislation And Judicial Decisions, 1983--2003, Marguerita Kalekas Desander

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

John Marshall And Native Rights: The Law Of Nations And Scottish Enlightenment Influence, Gordon S. Barker

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Bootlegging And The Borderlands: Canadians, Americans, And The Prohibition -Era Northwest, Stephen T. Moore

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Between 1920 and 1933, no issue in Canadian-American relations proved more contentious or more intractable than prohibition. While American enforcement authorities and diplomats repeatedly sought the assistance of the Dominion government to stop the flow of liquor across the border, not until 1933 did Canada acquiesce to American requests. In the meantime, Canadian brewers, distillers, rumrunners, and bootleggers were more than happy to assuage the parched throats of their American neighbors.;By examining the geographic, historical, political, economic, social, and cultural fabric of the bilateral relationship in the Pacific Northwest borderlands, this study takes a regional approach to explain the intractability …

To Urge Common Sense On The Americans: United States' Relations With France, Great Britain, And The Federal Republic Of Germany In The Context Of The Vietnam War, 1961-1968, Eugenie M. Blang

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

America's Vietnam War had profound ramifications beyond its immediate effect on Southeast Asia and the United States. This dissertation utilizes the debate over Vietnam between the United States and its major European allies, Britain, France, and West Germany, as an analytical framework to examine inter-allied relations. The "Vietnam problem" strained the traps-Atlantic alliance and revealed the respective self-interest of the four member nations. The British, French, and West Germans had serious misgivings about the American strategy in Vietnam, based on a differing view of the nature of the conflict and a pessimistic assessment of American chances for success in South …

A Content Analysis Of State Legislative Responses To Educator Assault, Jamie Heider Arkin

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Educators increasingly find themselves having to rely on laws for protection from threats or attacks, and educator assault laws reflect the diverse and unique needs of the individual states. This study sought to determine if the state legislatures in each of the 50 states have created legislation punishing educator assault and to compare, contrast, and analyze any existing statutes by using content analysis methodology. Currently, 37 states possess educator assault legislation. Specific features within each law were examined: its protected recipient, the prohibited action, identification of the aggressor, any limiting or qualifying statements, and the stated penalties. Several trends emerged; …

Principals' Knowledge Of Legal Issues Related To Search And Seizure Issues In Virginia, Nicholas Everett Kalafatis

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Today, public school administrators have the responsibility to provide a safe and secure educational environment for all who enter the school building. Amid continued drug use by students and a proliferation of weapons at school, principals at all levels face the unenviable task of maintaining an environment conducive to learning. In order to do so, principals often must balance the need to preserve individual student rights against the need to make schools safe.;The present study was conducted to determine if public school principals in Virginia meet minimum competency levels with respect to their knowledge of search and seizure law, and …

Subtle Sentry: State Public Records Laws And The Availability Of Government Information, Grace I. Lessner

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Principals' Knowledge Of Legal Issues Related To The Delivery Of Health Services In Virginia, Lucia Villa Sebastian

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

Schools have derived their legal powers to regulate student health services through an evolutionary process. Statutory law generally provides the authority for school boards to hire medical personnel to provide health services. In addition, the legal power to provide health services has evolved from the police powers of the states, through the fourteenth amendment guarantee to property rights, and in response to societal needs and expectations.;The present study was conducted to investigate the current status of health services in public schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and to determine the level of knowledge of legal issues related to the delivery …

An Electronic Storage And Access System For Special Education Legislation, Courtney Siler Frantz

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

In the field of education, instructional leaders must know the regulations governing the assessment, curriculum, and instruction of all students. An area of special concern is the regulations governing programs for students with disabilities. Although the average population of students with disabilities may represent less than 10% of the total student body, the school administrator is responsible for maintaining access to the most current regulations, for accurately interpreting, and effectively implementing federal and state mandates to ensure that the due process rights of the students with disabilities are upheld. Yet the laws and regulations governing special education programs are continually …

Patentability Of Computer Inventions, Robert C. F. Perez

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Racial Attitude Priming And Effectiveness Of A "Black Rage" Defense, Melissa Speck Garth

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Differences In Judging Styles Of Law-Students And The Effect On Sentencing, Beverly Annette Hamby

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Study Of Environmental Policy: The United States And Japan, Shari Ann Mortimer

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Determinants Of Criminal Court Sentencing, Jennifer Rae Lovko

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

From Critics To Casualties: The National Farmers Union And United States Foreign Policy, 1945-1953, Bruce Edward Field

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This study chronicles the change in the foreign policy views of the National Farmers Union brought about by U.S. involvement in the Korean War. Abandoning its poignant criticisms of President Truman's earlier Cold War initiatives, the nation's foremost liberal agrarian organization embraced not only American actions in Korea but on a larger scale administration attempts to further what Henry Luce termed the "American Century." This policy reversal created a rift between the national organization and various state and regional branches. The Iowa and Northeastern divisions in particular objected to the shift as a surrender of principle and as a capitulation …

Section 504(E) And Higher Education: An Historical Case Study Of Federal Policy Development, Robert John Howman

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

This research project investigates the processes by which federal policy pertaining to the the American higher education system evolves through an historical case study analysis of the development and implementation of section 504(E) of Public Law 93-112. Also examined is the statute's impact on postsecondary education in prohibiting discrimination on the basis of handicap.;Section 504(E) was developed and shaped by the actions of the federal courts, Congress, and various federal agencies. Policy development was also stimulated by interest group politics, public opinion, the influence of political elites, and the calendar of national politics. Although the actual impact of this statute …

The Requirements Of Patentability As Applied To The Chemical Arts, Joy L. Bryant

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Comprehension Of Miranda Rights By 14-18 Year Old African-American And Caucasian Males With And Without Learning Disabilities, Barbara Anne Zaremba

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

According to a nationwide study completed by the National Center for State Courts in 1980, apprehended juveniles are usually notified of their Miranda rights at various times from the point of contact with the police through and including the adjudicatory hearing. If the juvenile desires to relinquish those rights, he/she is required to sign a document attesting to his/her understanding of and wish to waive those rights. This descretionery privilege places the juvenile on the same Constitutional footing as an adult.;The purpose of this study was to examine the comprehension of Miranda rights by a sample population of juveniles within …