Law Commons^™

Birch On Fetal Sentience, Claudia Passos-Ferreira

Animal Sentience

Birch proposes that human fetuses be recognized as sentience candidates from 12 weeks, on the grounds that midbrain-centered theories fall within the zone of reasonable disagreement among theories of consciousness. I raise a methodological and a policy problem for his view. Methodologically, whether the midbrain-centered view belongs within the zone is disputed, so there is no consensus about the consensus.  Furthermore, the evidence Birch discusses for 12 weeks does not actually estimate the onset of sentience; the proposed threshold tracks anatomical rather than functional onset. On policy, the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling shows that fetal sentience is difficult to …

“[Y]Et Another Victory For Deal Certainty”: Chancery Court Orders Specific Performance Of “Hell-Or-High-Water” Covenant To Remedy Reluctant Acquiror’S Obstruction Of Cfius Approval Process, Robert S. Reder, Ricky Bayon-Barrera

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Chancery Court Refuses To Dismiss Claim That Activision Directors Failed To Satisfy Revlon Standard Of Conduct In Sale To Microsoft, Robert S. Reder, Jae Ho Yoon

Vanderbilt Law Review En Banc

No abstract provided.

Cognitive Resilience At The Edge: Hyperdimensional Computing Versus Deep Learning For Hardware-Degraded Rf Classification, Adrian B. Cisneros, Jeong Yang

Military Cyber Affairs

Autonomous Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) operating in contested electromagnetic environments must classify Radio Frequency (RF) signals on edge silicon that degrades over the mission lifetime due to thermal stress, radiation, and manufacturing variation. Deep neural networks dominate RF classification on pristine hardware, but their weights are precise and interdependent, causing catastrophic accuracy collapse as the underlying chip ages. We investigate whether Hyperdimensional Computing (HDC), a brain-inspired paradigm that distributes information across thousands of dimensions, can provide a reliability floor where Deep Learning fails. Using the RadioML 2016.10A dataset filtered to five digital modulations relevant to drone command-and-control links, we trained …

Mitigating Common Vulnerabilities And Exposures In Cobol-Based Critical Systems Using The Strangler-Fig Pattern, Lauren E. Caruso, Vincent J. Compeau, Assefaw H. Gebremedhin

Military Cyber Affairs

COBOL-based legacy systems continue to underpin critical infrastructure in banking and government sectors despite their age and associated cybersecurity risks. Originally developed through a Department of Defense–sponsored initiative to standardize business computing, COBOL remains widely used in mission-critical environments. However, these systems face increasing vulnerabilities due to outdated security architectures, workforce shortages, and rising maintenance costs. This paper examines cybersecurity and operational challenges associated with COBOL systems and evaluates the Strangler Fig pattern as a modernization strategy that enables incremental replacement while maintaining continuity. The findings highlight implications for financial institutions and public-sector organizations dependent on legacy infrastructure.

From Framework To Toolchain: Implementing Zero Trust Architecture In Cloud-Native Environments For Dow Compliance, Shelby C. Snyder

Military Cyber Affairs

Federal agencies face a fiscal year 2027 target for enterprise-wide Zero Trust deployment, but NIST SP 800-207A defines logical components without identifying the Kubernetes technologies that implement them. This paper proposes a three-tier mapping of the Policy Engine, Policy Administrator, and Policy Enforcement Point to service mesh, microsegmentation, and perimeter tooling, stating the criteria by which each component is classified. It then applies a defined rubric to six Zero Trust vendors across component alignment, Kubernetes capability, federal authorization posture, and evidence quality, finding that no single vendor covers all three tiers. The mapping is a testable architectural proposition; a Stage …

Hybrid Deep (Cnn-Bilstm) Intrusion Detection For Defense And Mission-Critical Networks, Corey A Cheng, Jermaine Anim-Addo, Asma Jakir Hussain, Zion O Smith-Fox, Sanjay Goel, Yuksel Celik

Military Cyber Affairs

This article examines how hybrid deep learning can strengthen intrusion detection for military and defense networks. Using the CSE-CIC-IDS2018 dataset, the study evaluates a CNN-BiLSTM model designed to detect benign traffic and multiple attack categories, including DDoS, DoS, botnet, brute-force, web attack, and infiltration activity. The model achieved strong multi-class detection performance, with 0.9893 accuracy and 0.9979 ROC-AUC. The findings suggest that AI-supported intrusion detection can improve cyber defense operations, analyst triage, and protection of mission-critical networks.

Foreward, Todd Arnold

Military Cyber Affairs

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Director: Mastery In Practice, Joseph Schafer

Military Cyber Affairs

No abstract provided.

Mmu: 09/21/26-09/27/26, Student Bar Association

Monday Morning Update

This Week @ NDLS

Mass Times

Commons Daily Menu

Saint of the Week

General Announcements

Ndls Communicator: Week Of 09.21.26, Notre Dame Law School

NDLS Communicator

The Latest News

• Indiana Court of Appeals Affirms New Trial for Notre Dame Exoneration Justice Clinic Client Jason Hubbell
• Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Clinic, Bellwether International, and Lantos Foundation publish report reviewing campaign that contributed to release of prisoner of conscience

Student News

• 3L Dan Mohr
• J.S.D. candidate Pavithra Rajendran

Faculty Briefs

• Derek Muller
• Nicole Stelle Garnett and John A. Meiser
• Jeffrey Pojanowski
• Roger Alford
• Mary Ellen O'Connell
• Rick Garnett
• Andrew Torrance
• Dennis Wieboldt

Events

• Law & Economics Workshop: Stephan Wernicke, Humboldt University of Berlin Delaware in the European Union? EU Inc. – A New European Corporate Legal …

Veterans' Benefits Exceptionalism After Axon: Johnson V. U.S. Congress And The Future Of Structural Constitutional Review In Va., Robert Molina

ConLawNOW

This Essay addresses the pending case before the U.S. Supreme Court, Johnson v. U.S. Congress, and argues that the Court should resolve the tension between regular federal jurisdiction and specialized administrative court jurisdiction for veterans’ benefits claims. Veterans’ benefits exceptionalism, it asserts, should not overcome the usual federal court process. Ordinary benefits-entitlement claims, and some statutory-validity claims, may properly remain in the specialized pipeline established by the Veterans’ Judicial Review Act. But structural constitutional challenges to the Veterans Administration adjudicatory apparatus should receive immediate district court review when they satisfy the three-factor test the Court applies to determine whether …

The Norm Against Nakedly Partisan Justifications And The Callais Exception, Jason Marisam

ConLawNOW

Public law has long maintained a norm against nakedly partisan justifications: while officials may sometimes pursue partisan ends in office, they must justify their actions in court with reasons that do not roughly equal “this benefits my political party” or “this hurts the opposition.” This norm has operated across doctrinal fields, including public employment, administrative law, and election law. In the 2025-26 term, in Louisiana v. Callais, the U.S. Supreme Court abandoned the norm entirely in the redistricting context, treating a state’s pursuit of partisan advantage as a legitimate interest that can defeat a claim under the Voting Rights …

Cardozo Law News Brief: September 18, 2026, Benjamin N. Cardozo School Of Law

Cardozo Law News Briefs

Highlights from the September 18, 2026 Cardozo Law News Brief include:

• Professor Michael Pollack was quoted in CNN about data center regulation and the possibility of companies seeking state or federal legislation to address regulatory restrictions.
• Professor Saurabh Vishnubhakat spoke to Law.com about an unprecedented approach to Schedule A intellectual property infringement litigation.
• Adjunct Professor Gary Galperin spoke to CNN about the holdout juror in the Lindsay Clancy mistrial and the role of criminal responsibility in the justice system.

Faculty news includes:

• Professor Rebecca Ingber’s essay “The War on International Law in the United States: Rebuilding a Constituency for the …

Beyond Transformational Leadership: The Moderating Role Of Leader Hexaco Personality Traits In Fostering Psychological Safety In Law Enforcement, Daniel Q. Lentz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Law enforcement agencies struggle to recruit and retain officers due to lack of public support, criticism, and declining well-being, which raises stress levels. While operational stress affects officers, organizational stress is more damaging. Transformational leadership can help create a psychologically safe work environment, but research on this link is limited and mixed. This study examined how each HEXACO personality trait (Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness) moderates this relationship, drawing on social exchange and attribution theories. Conducted in U.S. law enforcement agencies, a survey assessed officers' perceptions of their leader’s transformational style, HEXACO traits, and psychological safety. Moderation and mediation …

Differentiated Instruction For Gifted Students In A North Carolina Title I School System: A Case Study, Kristal Land

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this case study was to explore the differentiation of instructional methods used for cluster-grouped gifted students in third through eighth-grade regular education classes at TCSS, a Title I school in North Carolina. For the research, differentiation for cluster-grouped gifted students was defined as students who have been identified as gifted and are grouped together, typically in clusters of three to more than 10 students in a regular education setting. In this environment, teachers differentiate instruction to meet the advanced learning needs of their students. The theory guiding this study is Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. Multiple intelligences …

Faculty Development Courses On Ai: Introducing The Faculty Ai Capability Selection Framework, Dan R. Bradbury, Barbara Jo White, H. Kevin Fulk, Raymond Large

Southwestern Business Administration Journal

University faculty members are faced with how to best address pressing needs for building artificial intelligence (AI) skills.  Some of these needs are student-focused, as employers seek graduates with useful AI skills.  Faculty members, understanding how generative AI can impact the work they do, also face pressures to enhance their own skills and comfort using AI tools.  In this article, we consider AI capabilities that are impacting organizations’ expectations for new college graduates as well as AI capabilities changing the shape of faculty members’ work.  We propose the Faculty AI Capability Selection Framework as a means to guide the development …

Jochen Schmon, Absolute Ethical Life. Michael Lazarus On The Normativity Of Marx’S Critique Of Capitalism (An Interview By Jochen Schmon), Jochen Schmon, Michael Lazarus

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Response To Reviewers — Emancipations Symposium On Profit And Power, Ronen Palan

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

The Enterprise Society In Motion: Reflections On Palan's Profit And Power, Corentin Cohen

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Of What Is Such Arbitrage One Instance: On Palan's Profit And Power, Craig Murphy

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Ronen Palan's World View: Bringing The State Back In, Steve Schifferes

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Mncs In Space: On The Fundamental Extraterritoriality Of Mncs. Review Of Ronen Palan’S Profit And Power, Herman Mark Schwartz

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

The Age Of Intangible Assets: Thoughts On Palan’S Profit And Power, James K. Galbraith

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

After The Fall: Reflections On My Critics, Ian Shapiro

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Hope In The Shadow Of Impasse: Analytic Logic Vs The Rhetoric Of Optimism In Ian Shapiro’S After The Fall, Albena Azmanova

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Ian Shapiro's After The Fall Is Harsh, But Not Harsh Enough, James K. Galbraith

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

A Decline That Began At The Start Of The Journey, Not At The End: Thoughts On Ian Shapiro’S After The Fall, Nadia Urbinati

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Changing The Wind’S Direction: Reflections On Ian Shapiro’S After The Fall, Stefan Eich

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.

Roses For Keynes And Dead Flowers For Reagan In Shapiro’S After The Fall, Ian Hurd

Emancipations: A Journal of Critical Social Analysis

No abstract provided.