Law Commons^™

Better Digital Contracts With Prosocial Friction-In-Design, Brett Frischmann, Moshe Y. Vardi

Faculty Publications

Contract law is supposed to enable people to reach genuine agreements and cooperate. If this ideal was ever a reality, the rise of mass market contracts and boil­erplate rendered it pure fiction. Modern consumer contracts are incomprehensible to most people. No one reads them anyway.

Digital contracting involves design features that amplify traditional boilerplate harms and create others. For example, digital contracting is too cheap; low marginal costs lead to overexpansion in scale and scope. To make matters worse, the loss of autonomy from repeat engagement with digital contracting systems is pernicious. People become increasingly predictable and programmable as digital …

Localizing Public Order, Brenner M. Fissell

Faculty Publications

Public order offenses—public intoxication, sleeping outside, etc.—seem trivial, but they have enormous consequences for marginalized populations. These are the offenses that justify coercive police interactions, as well as entry into the procedural morass of the criminal legal system. Accordingly, these offenses have received extensive scholarly attention, with decades of research addressing their vagueness and their impact on urban communities of color. But no work has been done to survey how much of this conduct is criminalized and at what jurisdictional level—city or state.

This Article picks up that task, undertaking a comprehensive analysis of the criminal codes of the fifty …

A Speaker-Based Approach To Content Moderation: The Case Of Livestreaming, Maayan Perel

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Livestreams on social media represent a unique form of User-Generated Content. Delivering events and experiences in real time, while turning passive listeners into an involved audience, livestreaming facilitates users’ engagement and participation. Streaming promotes freedom of expression and facilitates diversity and pluralism in news reporting. It further allows users to maintain truth and authenticity in a potentially fabricated realm of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI). Speakers are eager to capitalize on the instantaneous nature of livestreaming; some are using it to document newsworthy events or promote business interests, and others exploiting it by spreading unlawful and malicious content in pursuit of …

Metaphysical Quandary Of Synthetic Media Transparency, Darrell G. Mottley

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping our view of reality. The interaction between human creativity and generative AI presents both opportunities and challenges concerning free speech and innovation. AI’s transformative impact on perceptions of innovation complicates discussions surrounding creativity and societal expectations. A human-centric perspective in the debate over government-mandated transparency for AI-generated creative works reveals a notable conflict. This conflict arises from the need to balance the protection of human creativity with an apparent obligation to provide information about the human or nonhuman origins of creative works. As society increasingly relies on AI technologies to produce art, literature, and other …

Minors Or Miners? Analyzing Compensation Of User-Generated Content Under The Fair Labor Standards Act, J. Clayton Eaton

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Roblox is an online platform where users, many of whom are under the age of eighteen, create games, virtual experiences, and digital assets that generate significant revenue for Roblox Corporation, the owner of Roblox. These young content creators are compensated primarily through platform-specific virtual currency, which can be difficult to convert into real-world money due to the high thresholds for conversion and the unfavorable exchange rates. Even though these systems resemble labor relationships, existing legal frameworks and government actions do little to address the creators’ rights to fair compensation. This regulatory gap has allowed platforms like Roblox to operate under …

Private Equity’S Viable Path To College Athletics Investment: Potential Entity Mechanisms And Antitrust Considerations, Michael Llg

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The recent House settlement with the National Collegiate Athletic Association was another blow to traditional collegiate governance in an age of uncertainty in college athletics. In the wake of the House settlement and other recent decisions, multiple private equity funds have shown interest in investing on a school-by-school basis or buying out dozens of teams to form a new commercialized league in select sports. Many questions remain with the viability of private investment in college athletics. Unlike traditional private equity investment, schools are 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations typically operating within an athletic conference. This creates an additional hurdle to for-profit investing …

The Public Health Cost Of Online Behavioral Targeting, Arthi Annadurai

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Behavioral targeting is an increasingly popular marketing technique that utilizes users’ online activity to personalize advertisements aimed at consumers. However, since personalized advertisements aim to influence individual consumers, behavioral targeting can negatively impact vulnerable users. For instance, it may reinforce harmful behaviors—like showing alcohol advertisements to individuals with alcohol dependency—or worsen mental health struggles, such as prolonging grief by continuing to serve parenting advertisements to those mourning the loss of a child. These practices can perpetuate harmful behaviors, such as relapse or heightened psychological distress, and contribute to long-term health problems, such as addiction or other mental health problems, creating …

Traditional And Computational Canons, Eric H. Martinez

Faculty Scholarship

As part of the rise of modern textualism, dictionaries and linguistic canons have become a ubiquitous part of legal interpretation. One longstanding question is whether judges citing these tools sincerely attempt to follow the meaning of a text, or if their invocation is merely window-dressing for a preferred outcome. The practical significance of this question extends across all major doctrinal areas, and with the Supreme Court’s overturning of Chevron deference, its importance is only to grow, as courts are now instructed to use every tool at their disposal to resolve ambiguity when interpreting a law. This Article is the first …

The Crime Of Being Immoral, Randy D. Gordon

Faculty Scholarship

Despite a general abhorrence of retrospective laws as a matter of legal theory and Constitutional dictate, US. courts continue-in es sence-to create new crimes by injecting fazzy moral considerations into determinations under the federal fraud statutes. They do so by deeming a failure to act with "moral uprightness" sufficient to consti tute criminal fraud. Under such an amorphous standard, the unwitting find themselves in a legal bind, even though their conduct may not in volve any of the traditional elements of common-law fraud. This Article traces the roots of novel fraud theories with tools drawn from legal theory, linguistics, and …

The Gamification Of Banking, Colleen Baker, Christopher K. Odinet

Faculty Scholarship

Gamification is coming to banking. This phenomenon is already gain-ing ground in advertising, healthcare, manufacturing, and, more recently, with the GameStop and AMC meme stock saga in securities trading. The idea behind gamification is to make transactions seem fun, playful, and even casino-like in order to elicit habit-forming, addictive-like effects with consumers. This Article argues that the rise of financial technology (“fintech”) firms and their ever-growing business relationships with incumbent financial institutions has created the necessary conditions for gamification to take hold in the banking sector. In order to explore this observation, we undertake a study of current examples of …

Judicial Enforcement Of Evidence Law, G. Alexander Nunn

Faculty Scholarship

The truth matters. At least it should. In the courtroom, truth can serve as the cornerstone of justice, liberating the innocent, vindicating victims, and holding the guilty to account. Indeed, truth is such a normative imperative that an entire legal discipline now focuses on fostering its discovery at trial—evidence law. By regulating both the reliability of proof and the rationality of cognitive inferences, evidence law seeks to help factfinders discern truth and reach an accurate verdict. And given the importance of that role, one might naturally assume that the strict enforcement of evidence law would be a legal mandate of …

Delaware Supreme Court Rules That Officer Exculpation Amendments Do Not Require Separate Class Vote Of Non-Voting Shares, Robert S. Reder, Ricky Bayon-Barrea

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Chancery Court Rejects Argument That Corwin Is Inapplicable To Postsigning Board Actions Characterized As "Extrinsic" To Merger Process Approved By Stockholders, Robert S. Reder, Jonathan Rose

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Examine Supreme Court Decisions That Have Influenced The Gender Salary Gap, Shinhae Hwang

Journal of the Symposium of University Research and Creative Expression

Project Mentor(s): Rodrigo Murataya, PhD

Despite significant advancements in gender equality policies and legal frameworks, women consistently earn less than men across various industries and job positions (Blau & Khan, 2017). As of 2023, median weekly wages of full-time women are 83.6 percent of the median weekly wages of men, an increase of just three percentage points since 2004 (BLS 2024). This stalled convergence in the gender gap in wages has led to a large and vibrant research literature that seeks to understand why change has been so slow (England 2010). This paper explores the impact of legislative acts such …

Breaking The Chains: Addressing Criminal Records For Sex Trafficking Survivors Through Vacatur Laws, Charlotte Kessinger

Advanced Issues in Criminal Law: Sex Offenses

No abstract provided.

Justice For All…. Except For Male Sexual Assault Victims, Samely Gierbolini Sanchez

Advanced Issues in Criminal Law: Sex Offenses

No abstract provided.

The Enforceability Of Adult Film Employment Contracts And Their Impact On The Predatory Nature Of And Unethical Practices Within The Adult Film Industry, Taylor Allen

Advanced Issues in Criminal Law: Sex Offenses

No abstract provided.

Keabsahan Pemberian Kuasa Pendebetan Dan Pemblokiran Sebagai Jaminan Dalam Suatu Perjanjian Kredit (Studi Putusan Mahkamah Agung Nomor 587k/Pdt.Sus-Bpsk/2021), Reyvia Fitri

Indonesian Notary

This thesis analyzes the validity for granting a power of attorney in a credit agreement and to which court has the authority to adjudicate disputes arising from the validity of such granting of power of attorney. This article was prepared using doctrinal methods with secondary data originating from the Civil Code and other related regulations. Today's urgent need for credit encourages people to enter into credit agreements without fully understanding the contents of the agreement they are entering. In practice, the contents of the credit agreement contain a clause granting authority to debit and block the customer's account to ensure …

Tanggung Jawab Notaris Atas Keabsahan Pelaksanaan Rupslb Dan Akta Hibah Saham Yang Bertentangan Dengan Anggaran Dasar Perseroan Terbatas (Studi Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Padang Nomor 10/Pdt.G.S/2023/Pn Pdg), Aqilah Nurshafira Anwar

Indonesian Notary

This thesis examines the validity of the Extraordinary General Meeting and the creation of the share gift deed that does not comply with the Articles of Association, based on the UUPT and UUJN. This thesis also examines Notary's liability for creating the share gift deed in violation of the law, as Padang District Court Decision No. 10/Pdt.G.S/2023/PN Pdg. This research uses doctrinal methodology with qualitative analysis. The results show that the RUPSLB decision of PT INT, remains valid despite procedural disrepancies in the meeting invitation, as all shareholders attended and approved the decision, as per Article 82(5) UUPT. However, …

Pendaftaran Akta Wasiat Untuk Pelindungan Terhadap Penerima Wasiat Dan Pihak Ketiga (Studi Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Denpasar Nomor 218/Pdt.G/2021/Pn Dps), Arde Nauval Sulistyo

Indonesian Notary

A person can state his will after he dies in an authentic deed, namely a Will Deed. Furthermore, the Will Deed must be registered with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (Kemenkumham). The case of not registering a Will Deed which ultimately gave rise to a dispute can be found in the Denpasar District Court Decision Number 218/Pdt.G/PN Dps. The problem raised in this study is about the legal consequences of a Will Deed that is not registered with the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. In addition, the judge's considerations in his decision to fulfill justice and legal …

Kedudukan Ahli Waris Sebagaimana Surat Keterangan Hak Mewaris Yang Dibuat Pasca Terjadinya Pelanggaran Hak Cipta (Studi Putusan Nomor 35/Pdt.Sus-Hak Cipta/2020/Pn Niaga Jkt.Pst), Mirza Alvina Maharani

Indonesian Notary

This thesis examines the status of copyright as an inheritable asset recognized under Indonesian law, as well as the legal standing of heirs based on a Certificate of Inheritance (Surat Keterangan Hak Mewaris or SKHM) issued after a copyright infringement has occurred, as reflected in Decision No. 35/Pdt.Sus-Hak Cipta/2020/PN Niaga Jkt.Pst. This research employs a doctrinal legal method, supported by expert interviews. In the case under study, it was found that although inheritance under civil law occurs automatically upon the death of the copyright holder, the transfer of copyright requires written evidence and official registration with the Directorate General of …

Measuring What Matters: Designing Metrics For A Justice-Centered Climate Transition, Mathilde Roger-Estrade

COP30

Climate justice is growing concerns in the sphere of climate policy, yet few practical tools exist to measure whether climate action is fair, inclusive and prioritizing the most vulnerable. This paper examines existing global frameworks, such as the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and emerging tools like PRISM and JUSTICE Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs). While these initiatives offer valuable insights, most of them lack actionable and efficient metrics to quantify climate justice implementation. Based on literature and case studies, this study proposes a set of measurable indicators across four defined justice dimensions: Distributive, Procedural, Recognitional and Exposure. …

Codifying Ecocide And Dismantling Corporate Impunity: Legal Pathways To Climate Justice At Cop30, Adham Sameh

COP30

The accelerating climate crisis has transformed legal accountability into a central concern for global climate governance. This paper explores two negotiation-relevant challenges for COP30: (1) the codification of ecocide under international law, and (2) the dismantling of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms that shield transnational corporations from liability for environmental and human rights violations. Drawing from current legal developments, such as the 2021 proposed ecocide definition, and using cases from Brazil, Colombia, and the Netherlands, the paper argues that climate justice cannot be achieved without legal reform that targets systemic impunity. The focus of this paper evaluate the impact of …

Peranan Majelis Pengawas Daerah Kota Depok Dalam Menghadapi Permasalahan Pelanggaran Jabatan Notaris Di Kota Depok, Gabriella Tiku Sarungu

Indonesian Notary

The Regional Supervisory Council (MPD) functions to oversee and provide guidance on the Notary profession. The role of MPD is crucial in minimizing violations related to the Notary profession, particularly in Depok City. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the role of MPD in addressing violations of the Notary profession in Depok City, based on applicable regulations, as well as the implications of handling various types of violation reports submitted by the public on the performance of MPD in Depok City. This study uses a non-doctrinal method with qualitative empirical data, gathered through interviews and supported by secondary data. The …

Akibat Hukum Akta Penegasan Notaris Yang Memuat Perjanjian Pinjam Nama (Nominee) Benda Bergerak (Studi Putusan Nomor 5/Pdt.G/2022/Pn Stb Jo. Putusan 612/Pdt/2022/Pt Mdn), Andasmara Rizky Pranata

Indonesian Notary

In practice, the existence of nominee agreements often raises debates about their validity and legal protection for the parties involved, so nominee agreements should not be used carelessly and notaries play an important role in drafting these agreements. The purpose of this study is to analyze the validity of the deed confirming the agreement to borrow a name made by a Notary and to find out the role and responsibilities of a notary in confirming the agreement to borrow a name (nominee) related to movable property that is detrimental to the parties in the decision of Decision Number 5/Pdt.G/2022/PN Stb …

Analisis Faktor-Faktor Penyebab Sengketa Hukum Rumah Negara, Faiza Khalifa Pancaputri

Indonesian Notary

State House disputes, especially over control of State Houses, occur due to several factors. These factors arise because of various reasons and causes. This article was prepared using doctrinal research methods. A State House is a facility that can be utilized by State Officials or Civil Servants to support housing needs in carrying out state duties. State Houses are divided into Class I, Class II and Class III State Houses, the use of which differs from one to another. The use of State Houses will be adjusted to the provisions of each status/class. Legal disputes regarding State Houses related to …

Kewenangan Dan Tanggung Jawab Notaris Berkaitan Dengan Bukti-Bukti Yang Diserahkan Para Pihak Untuk Pelaksanaan Surat Perjanjian Bersama (Studi Kasus Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Medan Nomor 693/Pdt.G/2021/Pn Mdn), Moudy Khanza

Indonesian Notary

This article analyzes the authority and responsibilities of a notary in matters relating to the evidence submitted by the parties for the implementation of the joint agreement (Case Study of Medan District Court Decision Number 693/Pdt.G/2021/PN Mdn). The problem formulated is firstly regarding the notary’s authority to store files relating to the deed, and secondly, the notary’s responsibilities are related to storing files for the implementation of the collective agreement related to Medan District Court decision Number 693/Pdt.G/2021/PN Mdn, where the agreement contains a joint agreement between party A and party W regarding the issue of reporting land disputes at …

Methodology Of Market Definition: Case Of Digital Multi-Sided Platforms, Anzhelika Gerasymenko, Vasyl Hanovskyi

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

The rapid expansion of the digital economy has significantly contributed to the increasing market power of digital multi-sided platforms, making its precise measurement increasingly challenging. The main reason is the lack of efficiency of SCP-tools in digital markets that push competition authorities to look for alternative ways of competition regulation in such markets (like the DMA approach), while its results are still poor. This paper provides the methodological grounding of a vertical breakdown of a complex product traded by digital multi-sided platforms to bring back the conventional tools of market definition and to adjust them to the specifics of digital …

Whose Burden, Whose Benefit? Revisiting Ethical Trade-Offs In The Who Guidelines On Scaling Up Mass Azithromycin Administration, Maple Goh, A. M. Viens, Safura Abdool Karim, Aaron S. Kesselheim, Kevin Outterson

Faculty Scholarship

Author summary

• New evidence suggests that mass drug administration of azithromycin (MDAA) can significantly reduce childhood mortality in high-burden, low-resource settings, yet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2020 guidelines take a cautious approach due to concerns about antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
• While the WHO guidelines cite ethical principles, they insufficiently address key considerations, such as intergenerational justice, equitable burden sharing, and the structural determinants of health that shape infectious disease vulnerability.
• Global AMR policy often prioritizes conservation over access in ways that disproportionately burden low-income countries, despite high-income countries also bearing significant responsibility for the emergence and spread of AMR.
• A …

Tax And Trusts & Estates Panel, Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (Apalsa), Asian American Bar Association Of New York

2025–2026 Flyers

No abstract provided.