Law Commons^™

The Supreme Court Vs. Federal Prosecutors, Scott Ingram

Et Cetera

For the past forty years, the United States Supreme Court and federal prosecutors have waged an ongoing battle over statutory interpretation. As federal prosecutors have applied broad statutory interpretations to a variety of offenses, the Supreme Court, in a rare show of unanimity, have pushed back by interpreting the statutes narrowly. Throughout this process, the Supreme Court has employed a variety of rationales to support the narrow interpretations. Beginning with federalism concerns, the Court has more recently turned to fears about arbitrary and politically-motivated prosecutions. This article traces the evolution of this battle and concludes with insights about its future …

Public Means Public: A Call For Amendment Of The Copyright Act Of 1976'S Public Display Right To Immunize Private Businesses From Unintentional Infringement, Lucy Greaney

Et Cetera

Private businesses increasingly face copyright liability and burdensome licensing fees under the Public Display Provision of the Copyright Act of 1976, despite engaging in activities that cannot be truly considered public. This Note examines the historical development of the Public Display Provision, analyzes case law involving public accommodations and semi-private entities, and explores the intersection between copyright enforcement and U.S. antitrust principles. It argues that Congress did not intend for private, employee-only business settings to fall within the scope of the Public Display Provision and that the current enforcement regime enables anticompetitive licensing practices by performing rights organizations. To resolve …

Politics, Preemption, And Minimum Labor Standards: The Union-Led Erosion Of The National Labor Relations Act, Alexander T. Macdonald

William & Mary Law Review Online

[Courts] should no longer ask simply whether a law is a “minimum labor standard.” Instead, they should look to context: They should ask whether the law skips or overrides some important part of the NLRA’s process. They should also ask whether the law was enacted for that purpose—whether it was meant to address some perceived gap in federal labor policy. If it was, they should look more closely. They should ask whether the law as applied contradicts Congress’s vision, either by taking away one side’s discretion or giving the other side new advantages. And if it does, they should find …

Recognition Without Authority? Why Vesting Government Recognition In The U.N. Credentials Committee Would Be A Mistake, Jorge Barrera-Rojas

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

When the legitimacy of a government is contested, courts, regional bodies, and states each decide independently who speaks for the state in law. In Recognition Rules, Justin Cole, Alaa Hachem, and Oona Hathaway argue that this fragmentation imposes real costs and propose to cure them by empowering the U.N. Credentials Committee to issue binding determinations of governmental authority across all international law contexts. This Article argues that, beyond Charter obstacles to such a reform, it would be a mistake. The effective-control criterion rewards actors who seize power by force over governments that retain democratic legitimacy; binding credentials decisions would …

Reflections On Judging At The Intersection Of Constitutional Claims And Public Policy, Kimberly J. Mueller

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Dei Under Scrutiny: Doctrinal Shifts, Litigation Risk, And Emerging Threats To Civil Rights Law After Sffa, Richard J. Grad

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy

For decades, private employers, nonprofits, and philanthropic institutions have implemented voluntary diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs to promote opportunity, mitigate bias, enhance organizational performance, and advance social justice. These initiatives were long understood to comply with civil rights law. But following Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), that understanding is steadily under attack.

Although SFFA's holding is confined to college admissions, the case's rhetoric has increasingly been appropriated in a broader campaign to dismantle DEI across sectors. Executive-branch actions, advocacy groups, state attorneys general, and private litigants have invoked SFFA's vision of colorblindness to …

Or Else: Statutes Without Sanctions And The Doctrine Of Meaningful Interpretation, Christian Davis

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

Mankind has been fashioning laws for millennia. And while the form and substance of laws vary widely across times and places, all laws are unified by a fundamental reality that transcends the particular legal and political institutions of the day. To put it simply: laws only work if someone is prepared to enforce them.

As arbiters of the American legal system, state and federal judges are aware that—in order for a law to have the conduct-influencing effect it was designed to have—it must be supported by some version of an “or else” clause, a punishment or penalty sufficient to dissuade …

Copyright Statement, Cleveland State Law Review

Cleveland State Law Review

No abstract provided.

Cover, Cleveland State Law Review

Cleveland State Law Review

No abstract provided.

Hbcus And Disparate Law School Rankings, Michael Conklin

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article measures the difference between perceptions of HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) law schools and their objective performance. This is conducted by comparing the disparities between each law school’s U.S. News & World Report subjective peer ranking and objective overall ranking. This novel methodology provides valuable insight into the role race plays in legal education and the practice of law. This comes at a critical juncture where issues such as the Supreme Court’s banning of race-conscious admissions, new findings regarding law school mismatch, the racially motivated rankings boycott, and the Trump administration’s aggressive targeting of colleges are all …

A Pervasive Principle And A Proposal For Postconviction Procedures: Res Judicata, Pro Se Petitions, And A Defendant's Right To Counsel In Ohio, Lila Robinson

Cleveland State Law Review

“A postconviction petition is very difficult to win.” This is especially true in Ohio. Many postconviction petitions are submitted by incarcerated pro se petitioners who draft and file petitions without the assistance of counsel, leaving the doctrine of res judicata free to overwhelm their claims and inhibit future relief. The American Bar Association advises states to impose a right to counsel in postconviction proceedings, and specifically at the early drafting and filing phase of postconviction litigation, to help remedy this issue. Ohio does not follow this suggestion. As a result, petitioners with valid claims of innocence or manifest injustice are …

The Retreat Of Federal Power And The Rise Of Post-Supremacy Federalism, Victoria Grace Litman

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article introduces the theory of post-supremacy federalism to describe a structural condition in which federal law remains formally binding, but enforcement has durably receded or collapsed. Unlike frameworks grounded in intergovernmental friction or negotiated cooperation, this account begins from federal retreat—the cumulative erosion of enforcement capacity across judicial, administrative, legislative, and executive institutions. Post-supremacy federalism arises when three conditions are met: (1) federal law remains intact; (2) enforcement retreats; and (3) no formal devolution occurs. In this vacuum, states are not merely filling gaps. They are governing by default—under laws that still bind but no longer structure governance in …

Reimagining Justice: Caste, Indigeneity, And Collective Resistance, Cardozo Law Institute In Holocaust And Human Rights (Clihhr), Caroline Laporte, Christina Dhanuja, Ramya Kudekallu

2026 Event Invitations

Please join the Cardozo Law Institute in Holocaust and Human Rights for a public panel in honor of Dalit History Month and the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues exploring the intertwined experiences of caste-oppressed and Indigenous communities. Drawing on diverse global contexts, including South Asia and its diasporas, as well as the Americas, the discussion will highlight challenges these communities face under their respective regimes and entrenched social hierarchies.

The Griffin Principle: Defining And Deterring Election Contest Gamesmanship, Samuel Davis

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy

Through the lens of a protracted battle over a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court in 2024, this Article considers the problem of election contest gamesmanship: the manipulation of the procedures states use to resolve post-election disputes in an effort to subvert the democratic results of an election. This Article illustrates how election contest gamesmanship problematizes basic assumptions of federal voting rights doctrines, exploiting the traditional deference afforded to the operation of state election administration procedures to evade federal judicial scrutiny and advance strictly partisan ends. The result is a unique and pernicious threat to the fair administration of …

Constitutional Litigation After Trump V. Casa, Howard M. Wasserman

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy

Trump v. CASA resolved a decade-old scholarly debate about whether federal courts can grant "universal" injunctions in constitutional cases—injunctions prohibiting the executive from enforcing the challenged law against all persons subject to the law, beyond the plaintiffs to the action. A 6-3 Court said federal courts could issue remedies necessary to accord "complete relief to the plaintiffs," without the power to protect non-parties.

The various opinions in CASA offer competing visions of litigation, adjudication, and judicial decisionmaking. The case plays and will continue to play an essential role in ongoing challenges to Trump Administration policies and regulations and all constitutional …

Journal Staff

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

The Ninth Amendment And Natural Rights/Social Compact Theory: A Defense Of Fundamental Unenumerated Constitutional Rights In The Wake Of Dobbs, Joseph R. Guerra

Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy

In ruling that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment does not protect a right to an abortion, the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization relied on reasoning that casts serious doubt on the continued validity of other unenumerated constitutional rights. According to Dobbs, unenumerated rights cannot be recognized unless they are deeply rooted in this Nation's history and traditions, and have long enjoyed legal protection. In ruling that a right to abortion failed this test, the Court asserted that its decision did not undermine other previously recognized unenumerated rights, such as rights to …

Inside Federal Prosecution, Cardozo Criminal Law Society

2025–2026 Flyers

Come hear Assistant United States Attorneys and Agents from Federal Bureau of Investigation discuss how law enforcement and prosecutors work together in building and trying cases.

Reimagining Justice: Cast, Indigeneity, And Collective Resistance, Cardozo Law Institute In Holocaust And Human Rights (Clihhr)

2025–2026 Flyers

Please join the Cardozo Law Institute in Holocaust and Human Rights for a public panel in honor of Dalit History Month and and the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues exploring the intertwined experiences of caste-oppressed and Indigenous communities.

When Is Style Substance?, Jordi Fernadez Servitje

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

While we are all aware of our ability to judge a book by its cover, our critical eye extends beyond the face of the book and to the font it is printed in as well. Strictly speaking, font refers to the size, weight, and style of a particular letter, while typeface refers to the overall style and design of the script. The term font comes from the days of physical printing; the font was the metal stamp used for each particular letter. Physical fonts have become antiquated by the advent of digital printing, but in common vernacular, font has remained …

The Great Depression And Canada's Major Originalist Decade, Preston Jordan Lim

Faculty Publications

Few periods of Canadian history have been as momentous or terrible as the Great Depression. The Dominion and provincial governments’ inability to combat financial and environmental catastrophe led many Canadians to openly question the appropriateness of their constitutional framework. As legal historians have since documented, many leading jurists of the time believed that a strong central government could, through the institution of national programs, contain the Great Depression; in the eyes of these 1930s jurists, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council—then Canada’s apex court—had sapped the federal government of its powers by misinterpreting the British North America Act, 1867 …

Uscis-Grounded Ai: Preventing Hallucinations In Immigration Legal Services, Hephzibah Igwe

ONU Student Research Colloquium

Artificial intelligence chatbots increasingly provide legal information to consumers, but AI "hallucinations" (confidently stated but incorrect responses) pose serious risks in immigration law. Incorrect information about USCIS forms, fees, processing times, or filing procedures can result in visa denials, deportation proceedings, or permanent bars to entry.

This research presents a novel "source-grounded AI" system that eliminates hallucinations in immigration legal information. Rather than relying solely on large language models (LLMs) trained on general internet data, the system uses USCIS.gov as the primary source of truth for all operational data including current forms, fees, processing times, filing addresses, and policy updates. …

Who Pays For Carbon Recovery?, Carter F. Smith

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Utilization Of Parametric Insurance Bonds As Part Of Nepa Permitting Reform, Paul E. Traynor

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Lights Out: Energy Resilience In The Air Force, Carolyn Mattingly

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Editor's Introduction & Front Pages, Bryce Cormack

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents - Vol. 56, No. 4 2026

Seton Hall Law Review

No abstract provided.

Revolutionizing Corporate Accountability: The La Oroya Case And The Right To A Healthy Environment In The Inter-American System, Teresa Jacques Valenzuela

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

La Oroya v. Perú marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of Business and Human Rights and the Right to a Healthy Environment (R2HE) under the Inter-American legal framework. This paper examines the groundbreaking judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which established new standards for state responsibility in regulating and supervising corporate activities to prevent environmental harm. By integrating principles of environmental law with human rights obligations, the case highlights the transformative potential of judicial action in addressing corporate accountability. While the judgment sets a precedent for advancing corporate responsibility, it exposes enduring challenges, including jurisdictional limitations, corporate …

Censorship And Human Rights Violations: The Suppression Of Freedom Of Expression, Press, And Assembly In Cuba, Nicaragua, And Venezuela, Elisabell Laura Velázquez

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

As the days, months, and years go by, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela continue to violate the fundamental human rights of their citizens. Despite worldwide technological advancements and increased access to the digital world, these regimes continuously monitor and censor their citizens, depriving them of the fundamental rights to freedom of expression, press, and assembly. This article explores how censorship can represent a systemic violation of human rights. This article argues that strengthening cooperation between different international organizations is necessary because censorship in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela is a human rights crisis that impacts civil society. Furthermore, this article explains the …

The Right Of Nature: Lessons From Panama For Mangrove Protection In Miami, Jayson Fry

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

Mangrove ecosystems are indispensable to climate resilience, yet traditional environmental governance has repeatedly failed to prevent their decline. This Note employs a comparative framework to examine Panama and Miami, two rapidly developing coastal regions facing parallel pressures of urbanization and sea-level rise, to demonstrate that mangrove loss persists not because law is absent, but because existing frameworks structurally authorize regulated degradation. Panama’s 2022 Rights of Nature Law, which grants ecosystems legal personhood and enforceable rights, represents a departure from anthropocentric environmental regulation. Its early judicial application in the Cobré Panamá mine case shows how rights-based protections can override extractive economic …