Law and Society Commons^™

Disease And Data In Society: How The Pandemic Expanded Data Collection And Surveillance Systems, Alan Butler, Enid Zhou

American University Law Review

The COVID-19 pandemic1 is a global tragedy of historic proportions, and its impacts on our families, communities, and social structures will be felt for many years to come. From the significant to the mundane, COVID-19 has changed many aspects of daily life. One of the less obvious but more long-lasting changes may well be the expansion of data collection and surveillance systems adopted both in response to, and as a result of, the pandemic.

Tracing The Invisible: Information Fiduciaries And The Pandemic, Anne L. Washington, Lauren Rhue

American University Law Review

Predictive data technology designed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic was not as successful as promised. Data-centric solutions to providing testing and tracing did little to limit the virus’s spread in part because they served only the most visible parts of society. This Article argues for more robust solutions to protect individuals’ privacy—whether those individuals are currently visible or invisible to pandemic technology—if pandemic technology is to provide the universal coverage necessary for a public health emergency, such as the COVID- 19 pandemic. First, we contend that current pandemic data technology operates under rigid technical and social assumptions that thwart participation …

Proffitt V. Florida: Distorting Death, Corinna Lain

Law Faculty Publications

This essay, Chapter 7 in Painting Constitutional Law, examines Xavier Cortada’s depiction of Proffitt v. Florida, the 1976 decision that approved Florida’s guided discretion statute after Furman v. Georgia had invalidated the death penalty in 1972. Cortada’s depiction is a fantastical piece, a piece that captures the horror of death by electrocution set against two columns of ominous looking Roman numerals. The Roman numerals represent the mechanical imposition of death — the formulaic approach to death penalty decision-making that tells sentencers to simply add up the columns of aggravating and mitigating circumstances and see where the balance lies. Cortada resists …

Patents As Signal Of Quality In Crowdfunding, Christopher A. Cotropia

Law Faculty Publications

Patents and crowdfunding both attempt to foster early stage innovations. In theory, patents signal quality and value to attract investment and buyers and ultimately facilitate commercialization. Crowdfunding allows multiple individuals to make small contributions to finance start-up ventures. This Article reports on two related studies investigating the interaction between these two innovation tools by determining the impact of a crowdfunding campaign’s patent status on the campaign’s success and delivery. The first study examines 9,184 Kickstarter campaigns in patent-eligible categories to determine whether patented or patent-pending labeled projects are more likely to reach their funding goal and in turn achieve actual, …

Changemakers: Coming Full Circle, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Law Library Blog (January 2021): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Department Of Homeland Security V. Regents Of The University Of California: The Supreme Court’S Disinterest In Reliance Interests, Rachael E. Savage

Maryland Law Review Online

No abstract provided.

Historically Black Colleges & Universities: A Model For American Education, Jennifer M. Smith

Journal Publications

Hungry for freedom and knowledge, enslaved Blacks engaged in a massive general strike against slavery by transferring their labor from the Confederate planter to the Northern invader, and this decided the Civil War. In 1865, the North conquered the South, and slavery officially ended. Having been starved of the opportunity to learn to read or write, the recently emancipated Blacks were eager to learn. Within a year after slavery ended, however, Florida and other Southern states enacted laws to ensure the continuation of the vestiges of slavery in the United States. The legacy of slavery and racism evolved into an …

Introduction To The Symposium: The Stakes For Critical Legal Theory, Elizabeth S. Anker, Justin Deystone

Publications

No abstract provided.

Foreword, Cindy Chau

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Don't Change The Subject: How State Election Laws Can Nullify Ballot Questions, Cole Gordner

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Procedural election laws regulate the conduct of state elections and provide for greater transparency and fairness in statewide ballots. These laws ensure that the public votes separately on incongruous bills and protects the electorate from uncertainties contained in omnibus packages. As demonstrated by a slew of recent court cases, however, interest groups that are opposed to the objective of a ballot question are utilizing these election laws with greater frequency either to prevent a state electorate from voting on an initiative or to overturn a ballot question that was already decided in the initiative’s favor. This practice is subverting the …

Regulating Facial Recognition Technology In An Effort To Avoid A Minority Report Like Surveillance State, Halie B. Peacher

Marquette Intellectual Property & Innovation Law Review

In Steven Spielberg's science fiction film Minority Report, the film focuses on how technology is used in the future, as well as how society uses and understands that technology. Specifically, Minority Report focuses on eye-scanners that allow the police and corporations to track down and identify people on a daily basis. This movie identifies that there is a clear line that must be drawn between an individual's right to privacy and the law enforcement agency's ability to ensure safety. Like the technology in Minority Report, the use of facial recognition technology has led to much debate, mainly focused on privacy …

Patents As Public Nuisances, Keyana Payne

Marquette Intellectual Property & Innovation Law Review

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Driver's License Suspension For Unpaid Fines And Fees: The Movement For Reform, Joni Hirsch, Priya Sarathy Jones

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Nearly eleven million people in the United States have a suspended driver’s license for unpaid fines and fees. Laws that suspend, revoke, or prevent renewal of driver’s licenses and/or restrict driving privileges (i.e., registration holds and non-renewals) for nonpayment of traffic- and court-related debt criminalize poverty and disproportionately impact those with a lower economic status. These unproductive and harmful debt-based restrictions not only fail to increase collections of fines and fees, but also divert important public resources for law enforcement and courts away from public safety. The primary way in which these restrictions manifest themselves is through driver’s license suspensions, …

Prohibiting The Punishment Of Poverty: The Abolition Of Wealth-Based Criminal Disenfranchisement, Amy Ciardiello

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The majority of U.S. states disenfranchise formerly incarcerated individuals because of their poverty by conditioning re-enfranchisement on the full payment of legal financial obligations. This Note discusses the practice of wealth-based criminal disenfranchisement where the inability to pay legal financial obligations, including fines, fees, restitution, interest payments, court debts, and other economic penalties, prohibits low-income, formerly incarcerated individuals from voting. This Note argues this issue has not been adequately addressed due to unsuccessful legislative reforms and failed legal challenges. An examination of state policies, federal and state legislative reforms, and litigation shows that a more drastic state legislative solution is …

Publish, Share, Re-Tweet, And Repeat, Michal Lavi

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

New technologies allow users to communicate ideas to a broad audience easily and quickly, affecting the way ideas are interpreted and their credibility. Each and every social network user can simply click “share” or “retweet” and automatically republish an existing post and expose a new message to a wide audience. The dissemination of ideas can raise public awareness about important issues and bring about social, political, and economic change.

Yet, digital sharing also provides vast opportunities to spread false rumors, defamation, and Fake News stories at the thoughtless click of a button. The spreading of falsehoods can severely harm the …

Transparency And The First, Mark Fenster

FIU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Is Free Speech An Academic Value? Is Academic Freedom A Constitutional Value?, Daniel Gordon

FIU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Uncle Sam’S Dilemma: Whether Prioritizing Confederate Memorials Over National Sentiment Is A Monumental Mistake, Hayley A. Valla

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reforming Sexual Health Education In Minnesota Schools: An Evidence-Based Approach, Antonia Kurtz

Mitchell Hamline Law Journal of Public Policy and Practice

No abstract provided.

Robust Unionism As A Compelling Interest: Evaluating The Exacting Policies Of Janus, Seth Santini

University of San Francisco Law Review

No abstract provided.

Do The Police Protect And Serve All People In The United States?: A Survey Of The Problems Within Modern Policing And Solutions To Ensure The Police Protect And Serve Us All, Bianca Velez

University of San Francisco Law Review

No abstract provided.

Ending The War Against Sex Work: Why It's Time To Decriminalize Prostitution, Linda S. Anderson

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

It’S Not Me; It’S You: Big Law Has Been Failing Its Black Associates, Justin J. Hill

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

Bad Apples Or A Rotten Tree: Ameliorating The Double Pandemic Of Covid-19 And Racial Economic Inequality, Nathalie Martin

Faculty Scholarship

Black Lives Matter signs pepper our rural, middle class neighborhood. The lawn signs raise a fundamental question: if Black Lives Matter, what will it take to reverse the longstanding trend that has left many dead and so many others, perhaps all others, suffering? What will it take to create some semblance of equality and equity across racial lines in America?

Part I of this essay discusses race and Covid 19. It reviews and updates statistics on Covid deaths and race, and discusses some of the reasons for the racial disparities in Covid deaths. Part II briefly reviews the stratification of …

Racial Triangulation, Interest-Convergence, And The Double-Consciousness Of Asian Americans, Vinay Harpalani

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay integrates Professor Claire Jean Kim’s racial triangulation framework, Professor Derrick Bell’s interest-convergence theory, and W.E.B. Du Bois’s notion of double-consciousness, all to examine the racial positioning of Asian Americans and the dilemmas we face as a result. To do so, this Essay considers the history of Asian immigration to the United States, the model minority and perpetual foreigner stereotypes, Asian Americans’ positioning in the affirmative action debate, COVID-19-related hate and bias incidents, and Andrew Yang’s 2020 Democratic presidential candidacy. The Essay examines how racial stereotypes of Asian Americans have emerged through historical cycles of valorization and ostracism, as …

Workplace Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Programs: Inclusive Environments And Diversity Promotion Programs, Zachary Mccoy

University of San Francisco Law Review

No abstract provided.

Economic Success In The United States, Jason Render Jr.

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In this research project, I examine the factors that impact the economic success of an individual within the United States. In particular, I investigate the impact of inherent privilege and the impact which socioeconomic upbringing has on the economic success of an individual within American society. This investigation into economic success and the impact of inherent privilege will examine both poor and affluent U.S. citizen populations to find common factors present within both groups. The research will then examine how these factors impact an individual’s overall economic success as a result of the barriers which are inherent based on an …

Restorative Approaches To Intimate Partner Violence And Sexual Harm, Donna Coker (Ed.)

Articles

No abstract provided.

Equality, Animus, And Expressive And Religious Freedom Under The American Constitution: Masterpiece Cakeshop And Beyond, Daniel O. Conkle

Books & Book Chapters by Maurer Faculty

Professor Conkle's contribution to this volume, pre-print attached, is the chapter "Equality, Animus, and Expressive and Religious Freedom Under the American Constitution: Masterpiece Cakeshop and Beyond."

CHAPTER ABSTRACT: Does the First Amendment protect religious wedding vendors from anti-discrimination laws that require them to provide goods or services for same-sex weddings? The fundamental question is whether equality or religious freedom should prevail in this setting, but the complexities of American free speech and free exercise law—exacerbated by the Supreme Court’s decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop—have obscured the debate with dubious distinctions and highly contentious rationales and arguments. In this Essay, I present …