Law Commons^™

Social Murder, Marissa Jackson Sow

Washington and Lee Law Review

In recent years, variations on Engels’s concept of social murder have been adopted into British legal and sociological lexicons to conceptualize the state’s reckless sacrifices of its most vulnerable populations—people deemed socially undesirable, legally undeserving, and economically redundant. The state allows these populations to die a multitude of deaths by failing to protect them; notably, victims of social murder are relegated to society’s underclasses, if not completely excluded from the body politic, before they are physically eliminated. Social murder is neither genocide nor ethnic cleansing; instead, social murder captures the elimination of groups of people via atrocious events for which …

1981, Carliss Chatman

Washington and Lee Law Review

42 U.S.C. § 1981 should have solved a pervasive problem in American capitalism—when white economic interests do not converge with the contract rights of Black people, they are excluded from the market in a way that causes systemic harm. This Article proposes that the failure to enforce 1981 in the past may render it more harmful than beneficial in the present climate of retrenchment. The realities of racism combine with the lack of economic interest convergence to make combatting contract inequality on a contract-by-contract basis legally precarious, nearly impossible to properly evaluate, and difficult to economically incentivize. This is in …

Sanctioning Lawyer-Criminals, Jon J. Lee

Washington and Lee Law Review

Until now there has been relatively little consideration given to disciplinary agencies’ sanctioning of lawyers who commit or are convicted of crimes, so called “lawyer-criminals.” This is likely because most assume that these offenders make up a tiny percentage of disciplinary cases. It also may explain why jurisdictions continue to employ disparate approaches regarding what types of criminal conduct warrant professional intervention, the appropriate sanctions to impose on lawyer-criminals, and whether lawyers convicted of certain offenses should be automatically excluded from practice.

This Article makes three primary contributions to the discourse on reforming professional lawyer regulation to protect the public …

Arbitrary Consent To Arbitration, Charity J. Fort

Washington and Lee Law Review

In the one-hundred-year period since the enactment of the Federal Arbitration Act of 1925 (the Act), arbitration in the U.S. has become a battlefield embroiled in a multitude of contract law doctrines and competing arbitration jurisprudence concerning what rights can be contracted away. This battlefield has become particularly grisly with regards to the increased use of arbitration clauses in contracts with adhesive qualities between business entities and consumers. This Article seeks to confront and lay the foundations for resolving a concern raised by many arbitration scholars: scholars who argue that the use of arbitration clauses in contracts of adhesion is …

Masthead

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Drug War Repair Guarantees, Amber Baylor

Washington and Lee Law Review

Drug legalization, especially cannabis legalization, is a critical step forward in states’ willingness to address systemic disparities, privacy intrusions, violence, and other harms of the drug war. Yet, reforms center on legalization and repair through a narrow lens, focused on changes to the penal code. The public has found that narrow forms of legalization cannot serve their purported reparative purpose. Narrowly drawn legalization is illusory. Drug war harms and punishment for legalized substance use continue. Legalization reforms are vulnerable to political trends, resulting in rollback and retrenchment of drug war operations.

Legalization cannot deliver on its reparative terms without guarantees. …

Religious Minorities And Secular Rights, Joshua C. Mcdaniel

Washington and Lee Law Review

When religious claimants sue to protect their ability to practice their faith, they often invoke legal guarantees that specifically protect religious exercise. Yet historically—and still today—they also rely on secular guarantees like freedom of speech or equal protection. And their victories on these grounds set precedents not just for believers but for everyone. As a result, many rights we now take for granted stem from religious minorities pressing for the ability to preach, proselytize, and publish their religious views. No account of free speech law would be complete, for instance, without considering the pathbreaking decisions won by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Although …

Comment On “Voices From Beyond The Grave: Protecting The Audio Of Murder Victims Through (Intellectual) Property Law” By Alexandra M. Hudson, Christopher B. Seaman

Washington and Lee Law Review

Alex’s Note correctly identifies the tension between two important, competing values when it comes to how the law should deal with the sound recordings of murder victims captured in a public record, such as a 911 call or body camera footage. The first value is government transparency, including disclosure of public records through federal and state Freedom of Information Acts (FOIAs). As the Supreme Court has explained, “[t]he basic purpose of FOIA is to ensure an informed citizenry, vital to the functioning of a democratic society, needed to check against corruption, and to hold the governors accountable to the governed.” …

Education As A Right, Homelessness As A Crisis: The Displaced Futures Of American Homeless Youth, Tina Pham

Washington and Lee Law Review

Homelessness in the United States has been a humanitarian crisis affecting youth as one of its most vulnerable populations. Education is one of the few opportunities to break through this cycle of poverty. Recognizing the gap in education for homeless students and other students, Congress enacted the McKinney-Vento Act, which guarantees homeless youth educational rights to access public education. Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson, however, the rise of criminalizing policies, such as encampment sweeps and anticamping ordinances, threatens the success of the Act. These policies not only destabilize families, but they also leave homeless youth …

Mapping Disabled Justice: Empirical Research Towards A People-Centered Approach, Qudsiya Naqui

Book Chapters

This paper reviews access to justice for people with disabilities, focusing on what we know—and still need to know—about how justice systems can better serve and include disabled populations. Based on existing research, we know that disabled people, constituting roughly 16% of the global population, face significant legal, informational, communication, physical, and economic barriers at all stages of the justice process, and are disproportionately represented in both civil and criminal legal systems. We also know that these barriers impede disabled people’s access to the law, access to legal processes, and access to just outcomes, undermining their ability to engage in …

Argument For Statewide Vaccine Mandates—An Ethical And Legal Analysis, Liv Hymowitz

Colorado Law Student Scholars

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Individual: Exploring Structural Explanations Of Homelessness Through Thematic Analysis Of Extant Research, Madison R. Mcclain

Senior Theses

This thesis examines how homelessness is defined, explained, and addressed within contemporary U.S. research using Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Intersectionality as guiding frameworks. Through a qualitative, deductive thematic analysis of 16 peer-reviewed articles, this study identifies six key themes related to structural causation, policy governance, measurement practices, racial inequality, dominant narratives, and intersecting systems of disadvantage. Findings reveal that while structural explanations of homelessness are widely acknowledged, they are inconsistently defined and often insufficiently theorized. Institutional systems primarily function to manage rather than resolve homelessness, while measurement practices and definitions actively shape who is recognized and prioritized. Additionally, structural …

Students' Rights In School, Gator Team Child Clinic

Gator Team Child Juvenile Law Clinic

An informational flyer that gives an overview of important students' rights cases in your pocket. The three cases in the flyer that are summarized are, New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985), Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) and In Re Gault (1967).

Law Over Water: Piracy And The Yemen Civil War, Case Western Reserve University School Of Law

Yemen Accountability Project (YAP)

"The Yemen Accountability Project (YAP) is proud to announce the publication of its seventh white paper, Piracy and the Yemen Civil War. Piracy is a crime of such gravity that it has been recognized as jus cogens—a peremptory norm of customary international law subject to universal jurisdiction, with states holding both the right and the obligation to prosecute pirates wherever they are found. Despite this universal prohibition, YAP has documented instances of piracy and associated violations of international humanitarian and human rights law committed by parties to the Yemen Civil War, including hostage taking, torture, arbitrary detention, and the potential …

The New Normal: Ai Hallucinations In Legal Practice, Cody B. James

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

This Article examines the technological causes of hallucinations, distinguishing between misgrounded errors and fully fabricated content, and explains why even sophisticated legal‑specific AI tools cannot eliminate the problem. Drawing on recent sanction decisions and professional responsibility rules, the Article demonstrates that reliance on hallucinated authority routinely results in monetary sanctions, disciplinary referrals, and adverse litigation consequences, regardless of intent or awareness. The Article further argues that hallucinations are not a temporary flaw but an inherent feature of generative AI systems. It concludes by outlining concrete research and verification practices lawyers must adopt to detect hallucinations and by reaffirming that ethical …

Precedent-Based Antitrust Law, Anca Daniela Chirita

William & Mary Business Law Review

This contribution revisits the authentic origins of antitrust law and the U.K.’s legacy of EU precedent rulings, spanning an eclectic and holistic analysis of the wider contemporary objectives of antitrust law, the versatile doctrine of vertical restraints of trade applied in the context of the online resale price maintenance, and the abuse theory of monopoly power applied in the context of excessive pricing and, more recently, of data-driven digital market competition. This contribution offers an original legal interpretation of precedent-based antitrust law: First, sustaining as principal narrative streams of evolutionary development, the rise of authentic precedent, which has had a …

Playing The Hermès Game: Quota Bags, Antitrust Law, And The Limits Of Consumer Protection In Luxury Markets, Madeleine Chou

William & Mary Business Law Review

Luxury fashion retail has become a behemoth of an industry. Through acquisitions and strong brand recognition, some brands have developed significant market power in the luxury retail space. Chief among these brands is Hermès, a luxury leather retail boutique known for its highly sought after quota bags, like the Birkin and the Kelly. Quota bags are handbags that can generally only be bought by customers who have developed a substantial purchase history and relationship with the brand. Through this sales model, Hermès has created what plaintiffs have alleged to be an antitrust tying scheme, in which the purchase of one …

Uncertainty In Business Judgment: How A Divide Between Delaware's Judiciary And Legislature Has Changed Corporate Law, Andrea Safran

William & Mary Business Law Review

In response to controversial Chancery Court decisions, the Delaware Legislature rushed to amend the Delaware Code in order to reinforce the business judgment rule. As the foremost business court in the nation, every Chancery Court decision is thoroughly scrutinized by the corporate world, so when the court goes against normal business practices, corporations grow wary in their trust of the State. Thus ensues a scramble by the State to pass legislation that will protect corporate interests. With these recent decisions, however, the Chancery Court may have lost its footing, and Delaware could soon see a mass corporate exodus with the …

Table Of Contents

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

A Tribute To Professor Brian C. Murchison, Mary Z. Natkin, Adedayo (Dayo) Abah, Richard K. Welch, C. Elizabeth Belmont, Melanie D. Wilson, Brant J. Hellwig, Barry Sullivan, Patrick Darby, John M. Perryman, Kelly L. Faglioni, Nathan Heastie, Brandon Hasbrouck

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Virtual Reality Training Assists With Police De-Escalation, Brad Kneller

Center for Cybersecurity

Title: Virtual Reality Training Assists with Police De-escalationAuthor: Brad Kneller, Department of Criminal Justice, Kean UniversityAbstract:Objective/Overview: Everyday police officers encounter high-stakes situations that require split-second decisions, where outcomes can be life or death. In many cases, de-escalation techniques could replace or reduce the need for force, potentially leading to safer resolutions for both officers and civilians. To support officers in developing these skills, universities, police departments, and community agencies are exploring innovative training methods, such as the use of virtual reality (VR). VR enables officers and trainees to engage in realistic, immersive scenarios that traditional classroom or role-play settings cannot …

Bridging Theory And Practice: A Criminal Justice Course Collection, Penny Geyer

Open Educational Resources

Dr. Penny Geyer compiled a full reading list, course calendar, set of weekly discussion questions, in-class experiential exercises, a death penalty case-study module, and a final paper assignment into a single, organized course packet that can be easily accessed, revised and remixed by other instructors teaching theory-to-practice criminal justice courses.

Tel-Ai-Matic Privacy, Anya E.R. Prince

Connecticut Insurance Law Journal

Vehicles collect a staggering amount of data from drivers and passengers for various reasons. Automobiles increasingly include sensors and technology to improve safety and driver convenience. But auto insurers also find this trove of consumer data useful for pricing through telematics. An ever-growing number of data points can be fed into artificial intelligence (AI) systems to identify correlations with driving risk. Yet the data can also reveal sensitive information related to health and protected traits. Lawmakers, regulators, and plaintiffs are increasingly scrutinizing the privacy practices of automakers and data brokers. Growing scrutiny of automakers' practices necessarily draws attention to the …

Governing Algorithmic Insurance: Reconciling The Eu Ai Act With Insurance-Specific Regulation, Pierpaolo Marano, Shu Li

Connecticut Insurance Law Journal

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the insurance industry, driving automation in underwriting, claims handling, and risk assessment. These technological developments offer enhanced efficiency and innovation, but they also raise complex legal questions regarding transparency, fairness, bias, and accountability. Within the European Union, existing regulatory frameworks—chiefly Solvency II and the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD)—provide prudential and conduct-of-business safeguards but were not designed with algorithmic systems in mind. In response to emerging challenges, the EU adopted the Artificial Intelligence Act in 2024, establishing a horizontal, risk-based legal framework applicable across all sectors, including insurance. This article provides an EU-focused legal analysis of …

Insurability And Liability For Ai-Caused Harms, Mark A. Geistfeld

Connecticut Insurance Law Journal

The opacity of AI decision-making has led many tort scholars to conclude that ordinarily it will be infeasible to prove negligence or defect-based forms of products liability for AI-caused harms. According to mainstream tort theory, this evidentiary hurdle justifies strict enterprise liability for commercial AI distributors. Fully internalizing injury costs within these business enterprises adequately incentivizes them to adopt reasonably safe practices while relying on their liability insurance policies to efficiently and fairly compensate accident victims.

Mainstream theory, however, decisively biases the analysis in favor of strict enterprise liability by not accounting for how the expansion of liability would substantially …

Insurance And The Law Of Artificial Intelligence, Kenneth S. Abraham, Catherine M. Sharkey

Connecticut Insurance Law Journal

This Essay predicts that concerns about the insurability and insurance of AI liability will prove to be either exaggerated or unwarranted as the future unfolds. AI liability is already covered by a number of existing forms of “silent” liability insurance. We also predict the growth of “affirmative” AI insurance that expressly covers specified AI losses. There are already tiny bits of such insurance. That is how cyber insurance began, and it is now a thriving, $16.6 billion business in the U.S. alone. We believe that affirmative AI insurance will develop in a similar fashion, and that courts should anticipate such …

Body Cameras Use By Federal Agents, Kevin Holst

Center for Cybersecurity

In today’s political climate and increasingly tense view of law enforcement, obtaining a true and accurate account of police–civilian encounters has become more critical than ever. The widespread use of body-worn cameras serves as an essential tool in preventing false, misleading, or selectively edited narratives by providing objective and comprehensive documentation of interactions between law enforcement agents such as ICE and the public. Over the past decade, body cameras have proven beneficial for local police agencies by protecting officers from unfounded accusations, supporting investigations, and increasing overall transparency. As public scrutiny continues to rise, federal agents now face similar challenges, …

Usc Lawyer, Spring 2026, University Of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School Of Law

Law School Alumni Magazines

No abstract provided.

“He Should Be Primaried, And I Will Lead The Charge Against Him”: An Autopsy On The Decline Of Grassroots Organizing And Rhetoric In A Monetized Democracy, Chiara H. Baez

Research and Creativity Symposium

Protest movements in the US have been steadily declining, unable to keep up with changing rhetoric and societal expectations regarding First Amendment free speech. Seemingly overnight, protests have lost the ability to directly input the people’s voice into policymaking. Grassroots protest movements are being priced out of the political participation that was once accessible to them by Political Action Committees (PACs), and politicians are favoring pollsters’ skewed data over the public opinion expressed in organized protest. This has created a systemic barrier, halting the voice of the American people. Grassroots protest movements have not disappeared from the American political landscape; …

Constructive Falsity, Legal Truth, And The Public Interest In Not Reporting On Expunged Records, Itay Ravid

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.