Law Commons^™

Can Judges Help Ease Mass Incarceration?, Jeffrey Bellin

Faculty Publications

A scholar considers how judges have contributed to historically high incarceration rates -- and how they can help reverse the trend.

Free Speech Is Incomplete? Big Tech In A Distant Mirror, Jan Polański

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

In 1961, Alexander Meiklejohn claimed that the First Amendment, the US provision guaranteeing free speech, is an absolute. Echoing this in the context of the rise of fake news, Tim Wu has recently asked whether the First Amendment might have become obsolete. Yet, with the growing power of Big Tech, concerns are also voiced that their impact on free speech may go too far. However, there is tension here: on the one hand, the unprecedented role of Big Tech provides incentives for regulation; on the other, free speech is such a sensitive subject that there are reasons for limiting government …

Public Value And The Compatibility Of State Aid To Public Service Broadcasters – The Hot Potato For The European Commission, Dionysios Pelekis, Małgorzata Kozak

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

This article explores the legal regime governing Public Service Broadcasters (PSBs), and the competences of the EU in regulating and overseeing them, from the perspective of State aid law and their compatibility with the internal market. First, the components of the legal framework are identified and analysed. Additionally, a substantive public value test is proposed and introduced, building on the available literature, decisional practice, and incorporating a legal construction of pluralism, derived from the available case law. Subsequently, the compatibility regime for PSBs is examined. The specific regime applicable to PSBs, and its constituent elements, are analysed, followed by an …

Elements Of The Criminal Mind, Kelsie A. Esposito Ms.

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Studying human behavior and societal dynamics has captivated scholars across time. From ancient philosophers like Plato to contemporary researchers, the quest to comprehend our distinctiveness and the mechanisms that enable harmonious coexistence remains paramount. This thesis examines the enigmatic realm of the “criminal class,” looking at their identity and actions and the cognitive processes underpinning their behavior. Focusing on violent criminal offenders, this thesis seeks to provide greater meaning and understanding of the criminal mind.

A Tale Of Two Sams: Effective Altruism’S Threat To The Security Of Emerging Technology, Mackenzie Young

SMU Science and Technology Law Review

Since the onset of scientific innovation, the character and charisma of the inventors and scientists behind emerging technologies have been a centerpiece of focus. However, in light of the driving forces behind innovation—especially the global need to “get ahead” of competitors—few are willing to inquire into the sincerity of held belief. From the ouster of Sam Altman as CEO of OpenAI to the criminal conviction of cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried, the philosophy of “effective altruism” has taken over the minds, hearts, and pocketbooks of Silicon Valley.

This Comment evaluates the origins of the Effective Altruism movement and argues that its …

Risky Speech Systems: Tort Liability For Ai-Generated Illegal Speech, Margot E. Kaminski

Publications

No abstract provided.

The Minerals Challenge For Renewable Energy, Mark Squillace

Publications

One potential obstacle to a successful energy transition involves the critical minerals used in production of photovoltaic solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and batteries. A substantial portion of these will have to come from new and expanded mining operations around the world. But mining is controversial, in part due to the past failures of operators to protect communities and the environment. This Article considers how nations can responsibly identify, source, and process these minerals, and then deploy them in renewable energy products. Its scope is global, but U.S. laws and policies take center stage with a nod to the …

Consider Buffalo, Pierre Schlag

Publications

No abstract provided.

Second Amendment Immigration Exceptionalism, Pratheepan Gulasekaram

Publications

This Essay critiques the decision to uphold federal gun restrictions on unlawfully present noncitizens on the basis of "immigration exceptionalism." It argues that courts should avoid applying bespoke constitutionalism to criminal laws, including gun laws, simply because the law regulates noncitizens. This Essay shows why such exceptional modes misapprehend long-decided Supreme Court cases and well-established legal doctrine. Further, it warns that an exceptional approach to Second Amendment claims by unlawfully present noncitizens cannot be cabined to either firearms or the unlawfully present. Rather, it portends a wider gulf in constitutional protections for all noncitizens across a variety of fundamental criminal …

Chatgpt, Ai Large Language Models, And Law, Harry Surden

Publications

This Essay explores Artificial Intelligence (AI) Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT/GPT-4, detailing the advances and challenges in applying AI to law. It first explains how these AI technologies work at an understandable level. It then examines the significant evolution of LLMs since 2022 and their improved capabilities in understanding and generating complex documents, such as legal texts. Finally, this Essay discusses the limitations of these technologies, offering a balanced view of their potential role in legal work.

Protecting Water, Sustaining Communities: Transforming Groundwater Management Entities Into Sources Of Power During And After Environmental Crises, Sarah Matsumoto

Publications

No abstract provided.

Contract Customization, Sex, And Islamic Law, Rabea N. Benhalim

Publications

Common law has historically deemed marriage and sex outside the right to contract. Yet, couples increasingly use contracts to provide legal rights to the unmarried in a variety of contexts ranging from same-sex relationships to surrogacy. Islamic law, on the other hand, has always conceived of marriage and sexual relationships as exclusively under the realm of contract law governed by private actors. This Article brings Islamic law into the larger conversation on the use of contracts for sexual and relationship agreements. It further proposes that Islamic law has something to offer Muslims and non-Muslims alike by empowering individuals to use …

Transitioning To Regenerative Agriculture One French Fry At A Time, Alexia Brunet Marks

Publications

Regenerative agriculture—a farming practice that sequesters atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) into the soil—has potential to turn into big business in this climate crisis. If farmers can accurately measure the amount of trapped carbon in their soil, they can sell that stored carbon as a “carbon credit,” a tradeable certificate representing the right to emit one metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) or the equivalent amount of another greenhouse gas. As more than seventy countries race to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in order to meet Paris Agreement1 goals, carbon credits are becoming the “new currency” to meet or exceed …

The Significance Of The Un Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples, S. James Anaya

Publications

No abstract provided.

Introduction To The Symposium On Rabiat Akande, "An Imperial History Of Race-Religion In International Law", S. James Anaya, Adrien K. Wing

Publications

No abstract provided.

Solidifying Students' Right To Gender Expression, Scott Skinner-Thompson

Publications

No abstract provided.

Climate Risk, Insurance Retreat, And State Response, Mark Nevitt, Michael Pappas

Publications

Climate change is fundamentally destabilizing the private insurance industry, with many high-profile insurance companies exiting states in the face of catastrophic, climate-induced risk. This rapid “insurance retreat” represents a major market signal in response to climate-exacerbated risks. Private businesses are making actuarial decisions, assessing that some locations are just too vulnerable to insure. At the same time, this insurance retreat also poses a policy challenge for states as they react to the mounting insurance gaps left by exiting private insurers.

This Article analyzes insurance retreat, its attendant policy challenges, and the lessons that can be drawn from state responses. It …

Dissenting Opinion?, Richard B. Collins

Publications

Johnson v. M'Intosh is important for its extensive description of the racist Doctrine of Discovery. But its holding had no bearing on legal rights of American Indian nations. The opinion's articulation of tribal rights to land ownership and retained sovereignty were correctly stated.

Defining "Healthy" On Food Labels: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back, Alexia Brunet Marks

Publications

Few definitions of the mid-twentieth century have survived into the twenty-first century. It is worth asking, then, why the definition of "health," articulated seventy-five years ago by the World Health Organization, has endured into the present. The 1948 definition reads as follows: "[h]ealth is a state of complete physical, mental[,] and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Aspirational in tone, the definition resonates with the surge among consumers towards healthier foods and overall well-being. However, in addition to wartime and pandemic concerns, today's threats to achieving "health" include climate change and a rise in diet-related …

Privacy Without The State?, Scott Skinner-Thompson

Publications

No abstract provided.

Reflections On The Implied Covenant Of Good Faith And Fair Dealing Under Delaware Law: The Case Of Sandbagging, Mark J. Loewenstein

Publications

No abstract provided.

Zoom As An In-Person Learning Platform, Sloan G. Speck

Publications

During the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented shift to remote learning spurred many legal educators to reassess their pedagogical norms and practices. These reassessments were enabled, in part, by the widespread adoption and acceptance of videoconferencing software, most notably Zoom, that accelerated from March of 2020. Zoom’s catalytic effect on pedagogy belies the fact that no single aspect of Zoom, by itself, is particularly pathbreaking. What is revolutionary, however, is how Zoom bundles diverse functionalities into a coherent package.

By recasting Zoom as a bundle of classroom functionalities--as an in-person learning platform--this Article presents a novel use case for Zoom in …

Race, Disability, And Section 230, Blake Reid

Publications

No abstract provided.

Standing For Elections In State Courts, Miriam Seifter, Adam B. Sopko

Publications

Litigation has become a fixture of electoral contests. Litigants today often challenge every step of an election, from the results themselves to picayune aspects of administration. In response to this deluge, some courts have rejected election lawsuits on standing grounds. Such rulings may be unsurprising in federal court, given the tension between the federal standing doctrine's injury requirements and the generalized nature of many election disputes. But most recent election cases take place in state court, where neither Article III nor the premises animating federal standing doctrine apply. State courts need election justiciability theories of their own.

This Article explores …

Ai Malpractice, Bryan H. Choi

Publications

Should AI modelers be held to a professional standard of care? Recent scholarship has argued that those who build AI systems owe special duties to the public to promote values such as safety, fairness, transparency, and accountability. Yet, there is little agreement as to what the content of those duties should be. Nor is there a framework for how conflicting views should be resolved as a matter of law.

This Article builds on prior work applying professional malpractice law to conventional software development work, and extends it to AI work. The malpractice doctrine establishes an alternate standard of care—the customary …

Venture Capital And Financial Stability, Ann Lipton

Publications

No abstract provided.

Will The Real Shareholder Primacy Please Stand Up?, Ann Lipton

Publications

No abstract provided.

Every Billionaire Is A Policy Failure, Ann Lipton

Publications

No abstract provided.

"The Internet Is Forever": Evaluating Eraser Laws As A Viable Legislative Solution To The Sharenting Epidemic, Madeline Sands Finlayson

Colorado Technology Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

17(30) 2024