Law Commons^™

The Spirit Of Jubilee, Christopher D. Hampson

BYU Law Review

The Jubilee texts of the Hebrew Bible call for debts to be forgiven and enslaved persons freed every seven years and for farmland to be restored to families every fifty years. Tightly woven into the legal, narrative, and prophetic vision of the text, the Jubilee tradition offers an inspiring and dramatic vision of socioeconomic justice for multiple religious traditions. Yet the American legal tradition, which purports to draw on its religious heritage for inspiration and moral authority, has not fully drawn on the Jubilee tradition for a contemporary vision of equality and justice. This Essay seeks to rekindle that conversation. …

Christian Lawyers In The Public Interest And Outside The Political Right, Jennifer Lee Koh

BYU Law Review

This Article provides an empirically based portrait of a population that is typically hidden from the public eye and has received scant attention in legal scholarship: Christian lawyers who engage in public interest work that falls outside the political right. Throughout the legal profession, lawyers who treat their Christian faith as a component of their professional identity and who actively endorse a politically conservative worldview are visible and active. With such lawyers’ increased prominence, growing political polarization, and reports of shifting levels of religiosity in the United States, the prospect of Christianity being perceived as synonymous with political conservatism seems …

Ai, Medicine, And Social Determinants Of Health Data, Ryan Doyloo, Nicholson Price

Articles

This article examines how medical AI systems are incorporating SDoH data and the governance challenges that follow. The authors show that while SDoH integration can enhance clinical workflows and predictive accuracy — potentially improving outcomes for underserved populations — it also introduces acute risks of proxy discrimination, where facially neutral variables replicate protected characteristics. Surveying U.S., EU, and international frameworks, the authors argue that existing regimes lack clear ex ante guidance to distinguish beneficial from harmful uses of SDoH data. In response, they advance post-market monitoring as a pragmatic and scalable pathway: generating real-world, SDoH-stratified evidence that can support enforcement, …

Line Warming: Improperly Influencing Voters Or Mitigating The Effects Of Voter Suppression?, Elizabeth Ellen Gordon

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

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 …

Vol. 46, No. 3, Summer 2026: Table Of Contents, Northern Illinois University Law Review

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Table of Contents and Masthead for Volume 46, Issue 3 of the Northern Illinois Law Review

The Post-Process Apostasy: Canaries, Calculators And Cathedrals, Thomas O. Main

University of the Pacific Law Review

No abstract provided.

Resistance Is Not Futile: Lawyers Who Left Government Service In Furtherance Of Professional Duties, Mary-Beth Moylan

University of the Pacific Law Review

No abstract provided.

Originalism And Saving The Constitution, Michael Vitiello

University of the Pacific Law Review

No abstract provided.

Controlling The Narrative:Copyright’S Derivative Rights Doctrine & Semiotic Disobedience In The Age Of Ai, John Tehranian

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Article argues that copyright’s derivative rights doctrine—long treated as a technical mechanism of market control—has operated as a powerful but underexamined tool of epistemic governance. As the doctrine’s scope has expanded, it has increasingly privileged dominant narratives while recasting resistive ones as acts of infringement. Drawing on historical and contemporary case studies—from the largely forgotten copyright disputes over the English translations of Mein Kampf and Bambi on the eve of World War II to the infamous stand-off between Wall Street’s Charging Bull and Fearless Girl statues—the Article demonstrates how derivative rights have been deployed to suppress what Sonya Katyal …

The Court Of Small Things, The Curse Of Legal Superstition: The Precipitous Decline Of Small Claims Court, Why It Matters, And What Can Be Done About It, Telia Mary U. Williams

Nevada Law Journal

This Article addresses the precipitous decline of small claims courts in the United States and argues that their erosion is more than administrative; it is a democratic and constitutional crisis. Small claims courts were once the laboratories of everyday justice, where ordinary citizens could access law without lawyers, ritual, or mystery. The seemingly minor disputes of the small claims court illuminate the democratic soul of American law. Yet, over recent decades, filings have declined dramatically, and the locus of power has shifted from the poor to repeat-player institutional actors. This is in part due to what I call, “legal superstition,” …

Ai Suppression: E-Discovery Software And Brady, Jason Hartline, Liren Shan, Alec Sun, Rebecca Wexler

Faculty Scholarship

Prosecutors regularly rely on AI e-discovery software, known as technology assisted review (TAR) tools, to sort and prioritize digital evidence. These tools implicate constitutional concerns: they can either risk suppressing or help to surface exculpatory and impeachment evidence that prosecutors must disclose under the Brady due process rule. Yet doctrine, agency guidance, and scholarship offer virtually no direction on their use.

This Article examines how TAR affects Brady compliance. Using computer science simulations on synthetic data sets, we show that TAR can either hide or help to expose Brady evidence, depending on how it is configured and the configurations of …

Michael Kunze, Rudolf Von Jhering. Das Unsichtbare Recht. Eine Biographie, Mathias W. Reimann

Reviews

Das Buch ist das Lebenswerk eines hochqualifizierten Amateurs. Auf dem Gebiet der Rechtsgeschichte ist Kunze ein Amateur im ursprünglichen Sinne des Wortes: jemand, der aus reiner Liebe zur Sache forscht und schreibt, nicht weil es sein Beruf ist. Von Beruf ist Kunze Librettist ‒ und als Autor der Texte vieler bekannter Schlager und mehrerer berühmter Musicals in seinem Metier, man kann es nicht anders sagen, ein Weltstar. Wenngleich Kunze also Rechtsgeschichte als eine Art Hobby betreibt, so arbeitet er doch auch hier in hochqualifizierter Weise. Das hat schon seine weithin bekannte, 1982 in München erschienene strafrechtsgeschichtliche Studie „Die Straße ins …

Introduction To The Northern Illinois University Law Review 2026 Symposium, Ashley Larsen

Northern Illinois University Law Review

In the fifty years since the advent of Agricultural Law as a field, there has been a cascade of changes and new laws that impact the everyday farmer. In 2025 alone, the National Agricultural Law Center noted ten hot button issues impacting laws and policies surrounding agriculture. Issues mentioned span from changes in pesticide regulations to alleged anticompetitive conduct in the beef sector. Recent discussions in Agricultural Law heavily concern the development of technology, including the ever more complex software in farm equipment,  and the growth of artificial intelligence. As technology continues to advance, these conversations will only grow more …

Aligning Quality Assurance For Agricultural Carbon Credits With Farm Bill Conservation, Andrew Hockenberry, A. Bryan Endres, Jonathan Coppess

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The growing number of corporate net-zero pledges and promises to reduce emissions, spurred by pressure from consumers, shareholders, and employees, is leading to the emergence of voluntary carbon markets—carbon markets independent of government mandated emission reductions or regulatory structure. Because agricultural soil can provide a carbon sink, depending on management practices and soil type, many agricultural producers and landowners are poised to generate carbon credits and supplement farm income by selling those credits to corporations seeking to offset emissions. However, carbon crediting programs qualify credits through assurances that the credits are additional to a business-as-usual scenario, remain permanent, and avoid …

U.S. Regulation And Litigation Regarding Gmos: A Cautionary Tale Of A Piecemeal Framework, Michael R. Reese, George V. Granade

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Bioengineered crops using genetically modified organisms (GMOs or GM) are big business in the United States. In little more than two decades, GM agriculture constitutes more than 90% of crops such as corn, soy, and canola. The acceptance of GMO foods by consumers, however, has not been as robust—leading to demand for labeling regulations so consumers can identify whether their foods contain GMOs. U.S. law governing GMOs, particularly food labeling, lacks a comprehensive regulatory scheme and is instead highly fragmented. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has debated how to label such foods for over a decade, issuing no rules …

Nothing Runs Like A Deere, Except When Deere Doesn’T Run: Why Illinois Should Enact Right-To-Repair Legislation For Its Farmers, John Aird

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Since 1971, John Deere has been using the popular slogan “Nothing Runs Like a Deere,” symbolizing the strength and self-reliance long associated with American farming. Yet as modern agricultural equipment has become more computerized and complex, manufacturers such as John Deere have restricted farmers’ ability to independently repair the equipment they own, through the use of unattainable software, licensing agreements, digital locks, and warranty limitations. The modern right-to-repair movement challenges this shift. At its core, the movement asserts that ownership should include the ability to repair the product that a consumer owns. This article argues that Illinois should enact a …

‘Insistent’ Objectors: The (Ab)Use Of Procedural Defenses Before The International Court Of Justice, Damian A. Gonzalez-Salzberg, Eoin Campbell

Michigan Journal of International Law

Procedural defenses refer to tactical devices that object to either a court’s jurisdiction or to the admissibility of an application, aimed at stopping a court from deciding on the merits of a case or, at least, at limiting the scope of its decision. From its creation in June 1945 and up to the end of 2024, the International Court of Justice (“ICJ”) has adjudicated 101 cases, with almost 80% of them featuring procedural defenses raised by states. These defenses have not only been plentiful, but have been extremely effective, leading to the ICJ’s refusal to decide on the merits of …

Understanding Victim Experiences Within The Criminal Justice System, Carmen Hardin, Caron Lott

Journal of Criminal Justice and Law

This study explores crime victims’ perceptions of participation in criminal justice proceedings. In all, eight (8) interviews and 314 surveys of crime victims were conducted in Arkansas.  Among crime victims, 92% reported the crime to the police, 76% felt the case’s outcome served justice, 78% would be okay attending court again, 45% felt very safe in court, and 38% strongly agreed that their needs and wishes were considered in court.   Three main themes emerged from the interviews: 1) impact of crime victimization on individual needs, 2) perceived access to mental and physical well-being support, and 3) perceptions of crime victims …

A Blind Eye To Justice: Blind Pleas In The American Courtroom, Meghan Koza, Makayla Nolen, Stuti Kokkalera

Journal of Criminal Justice and Law

Over 90% of criminal court cases are decided through plea negotiations, rather than through a jury or bench trial. Within the broader context of plea negotiations is the use of a “blind” or “open” plea, where defendants consent to the court’s decision without a chance to participate in the bargaining process. In entering blind pleas, defendants must waive constitutional trial rights with the hope that they will be given a more lenient sentence but are largely left in the dark during the process. This study aims to provide a national overview of the utilization of blind pleas in the United …

Immobilizing Migrants, César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández

Michigan Law Review

A review of The Migrant’s Jail: An American History of Mass Incarceration. By Brianna Nofil.

International Advice, Mature Democracies And The Venice Commission, Maartje De Visser

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The aim of this article is to explore the role and practice of constitutional advice-giving as it relates to mature democracies. More precisely, this article considers how the Venice Commission – the official advisory body for constitutional matters of the Council of Europe – exercises its mandate vis-à-vis such democracies through the delivery of country-specific Opinions, based on a close reading of all such Opinions rendered between 2002 and 2024. It examines the substantive focus of those Opinions, the way they engage with constitutional experiences elsewhere, as well as the tone of the assessment and the approach taken in formulating …

Brief Of Evidence – Bill C-16 Protecting Victims Act, Emma Cunliffe

All Faculty Publications

This brief focuses specifically on the proposal in Bill C-16 to create a new criminal offence of coercive control and the absence of any correlate defence for offences committed by a person who is subject to coercion. Reviewing evidence from research in other jurisdictions that have adopted such an offence (Scotland, England and Wales, and the Australian jurisidictions of NSW and Queensland), as well as Canadian research, there is abundant evidence to suggest that more criminal law, including new offences, will not necessarily increase women’s safety; and in fact, can be predicted to expose women to greater risk of harm …

Jazz V. Law: An Overview Of Copyright Law For Jazz Musicians, Trevor Thompson

University Honors Theses

The United States copyright system has become increasingly complicated and has developed a bias toward written, notated mediums over performance mediums. This bias can be traced from the Statute of Anne through the modern system under the Copyright Act of 1976, and it directly affects jazz musicians' ability to comply with copyright laws and properly receive royalties for their work. This study traces the evolution of copyright law from 1710 to the present, noting important cases such as White-Smith Music Pub. Co. v. Apollo Co., McIntyre v. Double-A Music Corporation, and Tempo Music, Inc. v. Famous Music Corp. …

Lessons Learned: Helping Researchers Help The Intelligence Community, Sydney Rose Rothstein, Kristen Patel, Arthur Paul Pedersen

Public Administration - All Scholarship

The present paper argues that decades of debate have not established whether Analysis of Competing Hypotheses (ACH) works in intelligence analysis. Reviewing more than fifty English-language studies and commentaries from 2025 – 2026, it identifies only eight empirical, direct tests of ACH relevant to intelligence work, none of which demonstrates success or failure at improving analytic decision-making. It traces a conceptual error in these otherwise methodologically sound experiments to Richards J. Heuer Jr.’s 1999 Psychology of Intelligence Analysis: researchers conflated Heuer’s account of satisficing with confirmation bias and evaluated individual accuracy, belief change, or hypothesis ranking rather than whether …

Calvip Cohort 4 Local Evaluation Report: Peace And Justice Law Center’S Legal Services To Support Gang Desistance, Nyla Baxter-Williamson Ma, Kirsten Chaplin Ma, Tori Luna Ma, Topher Mcdougal Phd

Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

This Local Evaluation Report assesses the implementation and outcomes of the Peace and Justice Law Center’s Legal Services to Support Gang Desistance (LSSGD) project, funded by the California Board of State and Community Correction’s California Violence Intervention and Prevention Program (CalVIP) Grant, Cohort 4. Through LSSGD, PJLC sought to provide direct legal services to current or formerly gang-involved individuals, as well as those treated by law enforcement as gang-involved, to reduce legal obstacles to desistance, expand access to lawful employment, promote family stability, and improve trust in legal institutions. The Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice (Kroc IPJ) …

The History Of The Constitution Is Our Future., Maggie Blackhawk

Michigan Law Review

The Constitution of the United States establishes a government; it also stands as the fundamental law of a people. It shapes daily life, distributes power, and sets a direction for the future. And yet when we ask about the reach and meaning of the Constitution, we are increasingly told to look backward. The answers to our future are said to lie in the past.

Closing Time?, Aziz Z. Huq

Michigan Law Review

A review of No Democracy Lasts Forever: How the Constitution Threatens the United States. By Erwin Chemerinsky.

The Bluebook: An Insider’S Perspective, M. Burke Craighead

Michigan Law Review

A review of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation. Edited by Columbia Law Review Association, Harvard Law Review Association, University of Pennsylvania Law Review and The Yale Law Journal.

Jurisdictional Waters, Jamison E. Colburn

Michigan Law Review

A review of Waters of the United States: POTUS, SCOTUS, WOTUS, and the Politics of a National Resource. By Royal C. Gardner.