Law Commons^™

Why Dobbs Is No Roadmap For Deciding State Constitutional Abortion Issues, Daniel A. Small

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

In deciding that Fourteenth Amendment “liberty” does not protect a woman’s decision to end her pregnancy, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization sought to distinguish the precedent that Roe and Casey relied on to recognize an abortion right. The Dobbs majority claimed that this precedent did not support a right to abortion because, in its view, destroying a fetus is more immoral than the conduct at issue in those earlier cases. However, moral concerns about fetal destruction shed no light on the nature or characteristics of a woman’s liberty interest in an abortion decision. These concerns, therefore, cannot show whether …

What Is “The Nation’S History And Tradition?”: Using History To Redefine “Liberty” And Applying A New Deeply Rooted Test To Transgender Rights, Kaori Kawaguchi

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

INTRODUCTION: “In a Constitution for a free people, there can be no doubt that the meaning of ‘liberty’ must be broad indeed.” In Roe v. Wade, the Court considered a woman’s liberty right to decide whether to continue a pregnancy or have an abortion and recognized the constitutional validity of a liberty right to abortion as part of the right to privacy. In Roe, the Court concluded, “[o]nly personal rights that can be deemed ‘fundamental’ or ‘implicit in the concept of ordered liberty’ are included in the guarantee of a right of personal privacy.” Liberty should be “left to …

Extending Appellate Immigration Jurisdiction: Providing Additional Pathways Of Review For Discretionary Determinations Regarding Extraordinary Circumstances For Victims Of Spousal Abuse, Ayashah Anwar

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

INTRODUCTION: Lucila Magana-Magana lived a life marked by tragedy. At the age of fifteen, Lucila was sexually assaulted and became pregnant. As a young pregnant woman with no ability to leave, Lucila was forced to live with her assailant and had more children with him until his death. After several years on her own, she entered another relationship with her work supervisor, Rafael Camacho, but that relationship soon turned abusive. Camacho became addicted to drugs and alcohol, and eventually Lucila was forced to escape the relationship. Out of fear, Lucila fled Mexico to the United States. Once again, Lucila found …

Nonviolent Felony Offenders And The Second Amendment: Reexamining Categorical Disarmament Laws In Light Of Bruen And Rahimi, Nikolay Belardi

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

INTRODUCTION: The Second Amendment ensures that “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” In a country with more civilian-owned firearms than people—and more gun dealers than McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, and Wendy’s locations combined—it is no surprise that Americans pride themselves on their right to bear arms. However, a majority of the American population favors stricter gun laws and regulations, a position that seems sensible given that mass shootings are an all-too-familiar occurrence in the United States. The enshrinement of the right to bear arms in the Constitution limits the laws and regulations …

Politics As Usual: Racial Pay Inequity And The Illusion Of Inclusion In The Rise And Fall Of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, And Accessibility Executive Orders, Francois C. Melville

West Chester University Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Final Projects

This research examines pressing moral policy questions of our time: who determines when the United States of America has fulfilled its broken promise of equality for all, and what constitutes an appropriate measure of reparative justice. It interrogates why the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Executive Orders (EOs) implemented across presidential administrations, intended to advance social equity, were grounded in conflict and symbolic gestures rather than scientifically evidenced issues such as wage inequality directly linked to upward career mobility. Race conscious policy generates cultural clashes centered on the perception that gains made by Black and Brown Americans come at the …

Table Of Contents - Cardozo Law Review, Volume 47, Issue 2

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Theory Of Major Questions, Nicholas Almendares

Cardozo Law Review

The major questions doctrine has been fiercely criticized as an example of the Supreme Court’s “imperial” turn where it concentrates ever more power in its own hands. The doctrine is sweeping, vague, and lacks a clear justification. Not only does the Court get to decide when the doctrine applies and when the heightened standard is satisfied, but it has also not offered good reasons behind this rule. A well-defined theory would give the doctrine structure, clarity, and consistency. While majority opinions have been conspicuously quiet on the theory behind the major questions doctrine, concurrences, namely by Justice Gorsuch, have argued …

Donor Impact Report 2025-2026, University Of San Diego School Of Law

Donor Impact Report

No abstract provided.

Narcos Of The Caribbean: Addressing Transshipment Drug Trafficking Through Caribbean Ports, Manuel Muñoz-Repiso

FIU Law Review

Drug trafficking from source countries in South and Central America to other parts of the world is of growing concern as drug use increases globally. Driven by the region’s geographic proximity to source countries in South and Central America and weak antitrafficking infrastructure, drug traffickers have increasingly used routes through Caribbean ports to access target consumer nations. The use of Caribbean ports for transshipment trafficking has led to record homicide levels, corruption, and democratic backsliding. In response, Caribbean nations, other Western democracies, and international organizations have created numerous cooperative organizations and programs to reduce the number of drugs trafficked through …

In Its Right Mind - Governance Of Social Superintelligence, David Filippi, Bill Tomlinson, Andrew W. Torrance

FIU Law Review

This Comment argues that a broad presumption of public access to court  documents is essential to preserving the legitimacy and constitutional values  of the American legal system. Although the principle of public access is  rooted in common law and constitutional tradition, individual states differ in  how they approach transparency in the context of court documents. These  jurisdictional inconsistencies continue to gain significance, as the digital age  has completely transformed the way people consume information. The  increasing digitization of court records has heightened the need for consistent  and constitutionally grounded standards that preserve transparency while  adequately protecting legitimate privacy interests. Florida’s …

Clean Energy And Enclosure, Ann M. Eisenberg

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Unwell Water: Legal Silence, Private Wells, And Public Health In The Rural Americas, Shavonnie R. Carthens

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Renegotiating The Energy Transition, Hannah J. Wiseman, Jennifer Baka, Kaitlyn Spangler

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

"The Reality Is, It All Came Back To Catch Us": Urban Population Increase And Water Conservation In The Arid West, Madison Dobson

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Affirmatively Misled: The Commutation Instruction That Distorted Louisiana’S Death Penalty, G. Ben Cohen

Akron Law Faculty Publications

In 1997, Louisiana voters amended the state constitution to mandate that capital juries be instructed on the governor’s power to commute life and death sentences. This amendment, urged by the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, followed a Louisiana Supreme Court ruling that found an earlier clemency instruction violated the state constitution.     The instruction was fundamentally false. Louisiana governors, it turns out, lacked the unilateral authority to commute sentences; such actions require a favorable vote from the Parole Board. This reality became starkly clear in 2023, when the clemency petitions of fifty-six condemned prisoners—many sentenced by juries affirmatively given this instruction—were terminated …

State Responsibility For Violations Of International Humanitarian Law And Human Rights Law By Private Security Companies In Africa: The Case Of The Wagner Group And Africa Corps, Shannon Joy Bosch, Matthew Kimble

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The outsourcing of traditionally military functions in Africa to private military companies (PMCs) such as the Wagner Group and the Africa Corps has been accompanied by violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. According to the International Law Commission's Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, state responsibility for these violations can be imputed to the states that employ PMCs to function as their agents, to exercise government authority or to act in the vacuum left by official authorities. States that do not intervene to prevent these abuses fail their obligations of due diligence through …

The Silent Language Of Trauma: Defendant Behavior, Juror Bias, And Expert Testimony, Jensen Goldman

Scripps Senior Theses

Trauma can profoundly influence behavioral presentation, yet jurors often rely on demeanor as a diagnostic cue for guilt, credibility, and remorse. Such reliance poses risks within a legal system that seldom equips jurors to interpret trauma related behaviors accurately. The proposed study will examine how two trauma-linked affective presentations– overemotionality and flat affect– shape juror perceptions of credibility and guilt, and whether expert psychological testimony about trauma-related affect can mitigate these biases. Online survey participants will read one of five trial vignettes with varying defendant conditions (flat affect vs. overemotional) and varying expert testimony conditions (present or not present) and …

Values Primacy & Total Governance Through Activism, Carliss N. Chatman, Sergio Alberto Gramitto Ricci

Hofstra Law Faculty Scholarship

In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, public companies swiftly pledged sweeping equity commitments—only to abandon them under political and market pressure. These reversals were not aberrations. They were opportunistic, performative, and reactionary marketing responses. They expose a governance regime in which stakeholder interests are structurally reversible because they remain doctrinally optional, lacking the institutional interlock needed to create binding accountability across stakeholder roles.

This Article explores how stakeholder power is already embedded in corporate governance through interlocking initiatives grounded in shared values. Stake-holder activism—boycotts, proxy votes, viral campaigns—is not merely expressive; it is an overlooked form of governance. Drawing …

Foreword, Rhodes Evans

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, University Of Colorado Law Review

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Breakthrough Climate Constitutionalism?, Sam Bookman

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Chaco Roads: Connecting Cultural Heritage And Environmental Justice, Vanessa Ann Racehorse

University of Colorado Law Review

No abstract provided.

Exploring The Principles And Values Of Co-Operative Economics And Sustainability To Inform Positive Solutions With Communities Impacted By Incarceration, Mary A. Sutton

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The United States incarcerates more people than any other country. Each month, tens of thousands of people across the country are released from prison or jail. Most return to communities that are economically, socially, and environmentally disenfranchised. The cycling of targeted populations in and out of the carceral system has imposed devastating consequences and inequities on poor Black and Brown communities, consequences that will reverberate for generations. The literature indicates a need for a critical sustainability assessment tool to examine incarceration policies and measure their real impacts on individuals, families, and communities. There is a need for sustainable solutions to …

American Loopholes: What Are They, And How Do We Close Them?, Tanner L. Martin

Wyoming Law Review

This Comment examines the existence and impact of alleged loopholes within American gun control laws and explores how these gaps may affect Constitutional rights, legal enforcement, and public safety. In addition to identifying trends in American gun ownership, including patterns of purchasing, possession, and regulatory compliance, this Comment analyzes the current legal standards that determine who is disqualified from owning or possessing a firearm under federal law. These categories include individuals with certain criminal convictions, domestic violence restrictions, or mental health adjudications, and how those legal standards are applied in practice.

Beyond the legal framework, this Comment also considers the …

The Flawed Criminalization Of Corner-Crossing In Wyoming, Ryan A. Semerad

Wyoming Law Review

No abstract provided.

Black Labor Matters, Michael Z. Green

American University Law Review

Black and organized workers increasingly find themselves threatened by two key outside forces: one seeking to stop anti-racism efforts via diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices and the other curtailing employees’ union organizing. This Article argues that a response must be grounded in uniquely local strategies by two specific worker coalitions. One coalition—the New Black Workers Movement (NBWM)—arose from Black Lives Matter civil rights protests in 2020 that captivated the workplace and heightened awareness about anti-Blackness and concerns of systemic racism. The other coalition—the New Labor Workers Movement (NLWM)—developed in 2020 as a workplace response to a global pandemic that …

Protecting Pregnancy: From The Pregnancy Discrimination Act To The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, L. Camille Hébert

American University Law Review

Women have long faced challenges in balancing their employment with childbearing, facing loss of employment opportunities because of their potential for pregnancy and loss of actual employment when they became pregnant. Over the past six decades, Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court have taken actions with the potential to provide equal employment opportunity for women affected by pregnancy, but those efforts have largely failed because of the actions of lower federal courts in interpreting legislation and the Court’s decisions in ways to reduce protection for pregnancy. The most recent congressional action to protect pregnancy, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, was …

Citators In The Ai Age: Preserving The Human Component Through Court-Created Citators, Cody B. James

Faculty Law Review Articles

Citators have long worked behind the scenes, shaping case law and influencing how judges and lawyers view precedent. Yet their creation has been the sole realm of private publishers. As artificial intelligence (AI) is further integrated into citators’ creation, the human role is at risk of being automated. This article examines citators’ influence over substantive law, the human-in-the-loop justifications for preserving human involvement in citators’ creation, and the argument for courts to produce their own citators. By reclaiming this function, the courts can help enhance their legitimacy and preserve the human role in creating structures of legal information in the …

A Two-Pronged Approach To Addressing Unmet Legal Needs On The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Elaine Yellow Horse, Jillian Yellow Horse

South Dakota Law Review

This Article, which marries theory and praxis, provides a focused literature review and concrete solutions for immediate implementation. It begins by exploring the existing scholarship pertaining to unmet legal needs and (in)access to justice in Indian country. It considers the overlapping yet distinct roles of licensed attorneys and lay advocates, prosecutors, and judges and how tribes have endeavored to draw the lines around these roles. After reviewing this background, the Article pivots and contributes a more nuanced perspective that concentrates on the legal system on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in particular. Rather than endorsing a single apparent answer to …

Access To Justice In Indian Country: Empowering Pro Se Criminal Defendants Through Holistic Defense And Resource Creation, Ilse Turner, Johanna Farmer

South Dakota Law Review

The question of the right to counsel for indigent criminal defendants has consumed various courts and academic journals for decades. Part of this question has revolved around the rights of indigent defendants being prosecuted in tribal courts. There has been scholarly attention devoted to the study of the rights of indigent defendants in tribal courts and the impacts of case law and congressional acts on these rights. This Article seeks to expand the scholarly works around indigent defendants in tribal courts and provide tangible solutions tribes can begin to execute without an act of Congress. This Article will discuss the …