President/Executive Department Commons^™

Isolation Of Mitochondrial Dna From Single, Short Hairs Without Roots Using Pressure Cycling Technology, Kathryn A. Harper, Kelly A. Meiklejohn, Richard T. Merritt, Jessica Walker, Constance L. Fisher, James M. Robertson

United States Department of Justice: Publications

Hairs are commonly submitted as evidence to forensic laboratories, but standard nuclear DNA analysis is not always possible. Mitochondria (mt) provide another source of genetic material; however, manual isolation is laborious. In a proof-of-concept study, we assessed pressure cycling technology (PCT; an automated approach that subjects samples to varying cycles of high and low pressure) for extracting mtDNA from single, short hairs without roots. Using three microscopically similar donors, we determined the ideal PCT conditions and compared those yields to those obtained using the traditional manual micro-tissue grinder method. Higher yields were recovered from grinder extracts, but yields from PCT …

A Review And Conceptual Model Of Factors Correlated With Postmortem Root Band Formation, Joseph Donfack, Hilda S. Castillo

United States Department of Justice: Publications

It is generally accepted within the forensic trace evidence community that a postmortem root band (PMRB) can appear in the root of hairs attached to remains during decomposition. Presently, the specific sequences of events and/or exact molecular signals that lead to the formation of a PMRB are not well understood. The published literature addressing the abiotic and biotic factors that correlate with the formation of PMRBs is reviewed and a conceptual model for the formation of PMRBs is proposed.

Science‐Based Interviewing: Information Elicitation, Susan E. Brandon, Simon Wells, Colton Seale

United States Department of Justice: Publications

This article describes an ethical and effective science‐based model of interviewing. An initial planning phase assists the investigative team in separating facts from inferences, decreases the likelihood of errors based on cognitive biases, and prompts careful preparation of the environment. The interview begins with an explanation of why the subject is being questioned. The interviewer then metaphorically hands the interview over to the subject, making him the talker and the interviewer the listener. The interviewer engages in active listening, soliciting as much information from the subject as possible by deploying tactics that enhance memory based on science, including elements of …

Criminal Thinking, Psychiatric Symptoms, And Recovery Attitudes Among Community Mental Health Patients, Nicole R. Bartholomew, Robert D. Morgan, Sean M. Mitchell, Stephanie A. Van Horn

United States Department of Justice: Publications

Research suggests it is important to consider criminogenic needs among individuals with severe mental illness. This study aimed to determine the severity of criminal thinking in community-based clinical samples, understand the association between criminal thinking and psychiatric and criminal justice outcomes, and compare these associations between consumers enrolled in Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) and Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) programs. Participants (N = 234) were male and female consumers enrolled in ACT and FACT programs in five states. Results revealed no significant differences in criminal thinking when comparing participants by program type or history of criminal justice involvement. There …

Integration Of Paper Spray Ionization High‐Field Asymmetric Waveform Ion Mobility Spectrometry For Forensic Applications, Chia-Wei Tsai, Christopher A. Tipple, Richard A. Yost

United States Department of Justice: Publications

Rationale: Paper spray ionization (PSI) is an attractive ambient ionization source for mass spectrometry (MS) since it allows the combination of surface sampling and ionization. The minimal sample preparation inherent in this approach greatly reduces the time needed for analysis. However, the ions generated from interfering compounds in the sample and the paper substrate may interfere with the analyte ions. Therefore, the integration of PSI with high‐field asymmetric ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) is of significant interest since it should reduce the background ions entering the mass analyzer without complicating the analysis or increasing analysis time. Here we demonstrate the integration …

Development And Validation Of A Solid Phase Extraction Sample Cleanup Procedure For The Recovery Of Trace Levels Of Nitro-Organic Explosives In Soil, Jennifer L. Thomas, Christopher C. Donnelly, Erin W. Lloyd, Robert F. Mothershead Ii, Mark L. Miller

United States Department of Justice: Publications

An improved cleanup method has been developed for the recovery of trace levels of 12 nitro-organic explosives in soil, which is important not only for the forensic community, but also has environmental implications. A wide variety of explosives or explosive-related compounds were evaluated, including nitramines, nitrate esters, nitroaromatics, and a nitroalkane. Fortified soil samples were extracted with acetone, processed via solid phase extraction (SPE), and then analyzed by gas chromatography with electron capture detection. The following three SPE sorbents in cartridge format were compared: Empore^TM SDB-XC, Oasis HLB, and Bond Elut NEXUS cartridges. The NEXUS cartridges provided the best …

Potential Effects Of Ionizing Radiation On The Evidentiary Value Of Dna, Latent Fingerprints, Hair, And Fibers: A Comprehensive Review And New Results, Keith L. Monson, Sherine Ali, Michael D. Brandhagen, Martine C. Duff, Constance L. Fisher, Karen K. Lowe, Carna E. Meyer, Maria A. Roberts, Kyle R. Tom, Aaron L. Washington Ii

United States Department of Justice: Publications

An extensive literature review and new post-irradiation experimental results are presented of genotyping blood stains and hair, and physical examinations of latent fingerprints, hairs, and fibers. Results indicate that successful development of nuclear short tandem repeat (STR) and mitochondrial DNA sequence profiles from human blood and hair evidence is possible—up to a point—following exposure to gamma, neutron, beta, and alpha radiation at several levels that would most likely be present at this type of crime scene (i.e., a “dirty bomb,” etc.). Commencing at gamma radiation levels between 90 and 900 kGy, DNA analysis using conventional DNA techniques was unsuccessful. In …

A Protocol For Obtaining Dna Barcodes From Plant And Insect Fragments Isolated From Forensic-Type Soils, Kelly A. Meiklejohn, Megan L. Jackson, Libby A. Stern, James M. Robertson

United States Department of Justice: Publications

Soil is often collected from a suspect’s tire, vehicle, or shoes during a criminal investigation and subsequently submitted to a forensic laboratory for analysis. Plant and insect material recovered in such samples is rarely analyzed, as morphological identification is difficult. In this study, DNA barcoding was used for taxonomic identifications by targeting the gene regions known to permit discrimination in plants [maturase K (matK) and ribulose 1,5-biphosphate carboxylase (rbcL)] and insects [cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI)]. A DNA barcode protocol suitable for processing forensic-type biological fragments was developed and its utility broadly tested with …

Use Of The Lus In Sequence Allele Designations To Facilitate Probabilistic Genotyping Of Ngs-Based Str Typing Results, Rebecca S. Just, Jodi A. Irwin

United States Department of Justice: Publications

Some of the expected advantages of next generation sequencing (NGS) for short tandem repeat (STR) typing include enhanced mixture detection and genotype resolution via sequence variation among non-homologous alleles of the same length. However, at the same time that NGS methods for forensic DNA typing have advanced in recent years, many caseworking laboratories have implemented or are transitioning to probabilistic genotyping to assist the interpretation of complex autosomal STR typing results. Current probabilistic software programs are designed for length-based data, and were not intended to accommodate sequence strings as the product input. Yet to leverage the benefits of NGS for …

The Rise Of Trump And The Death Of Civility, Keith Bybee

Institute for the Study of the Judiciary, Politics, and the Media at Syracuse University

According to supporters and opponents alike, Donald Trump has been an unconventional candidate and president. In this article, I evaluate the relationship between Trump’s unconventional behavior and the requirements of civility. I provide a definition of civility, and I explain why it makes sense to relate Trump’s actions to civil norms. I then discuss how civility is enacted, I examine criticisms of civility’s triviality, and I explore the ways in which civility may repress dissent and maintain hierarchy. Although I consider the degree to which Trump’s actions are strategic, I ultimately argue that Trump’s incivilities should be understood as an …

The "Irish Born" One American Citizenship Amendment, Kevin C. Walsh

Scholarly Articles

Our Constitution has a deferred maintenance problem because we have fallen out of the habit of tending to its upkeep ourselves. The silver lining is a double benefit from any constitutional maintenance projects that we undertake now. These projects are good not only for what they do to our Constitution, but also for making us exercise self-government muscles that have atrophied from civic sloth.

Fortunately, the time has never been better to repeal one of our Constitution’s most pointlessly exclusionary provisions. The President of the United States is married to a naturalized citizen. And nobody can legitimately question the patriotism …

Dismantling Monuments, Richard Henry Seamon

Articles

The Antiquities Act of 1906 authorizes the President to "declare" certain objects "to be national monuments," and to "reserve parcels of land" to protect those national monuments. The Act does not expressly authorize the President to reduce or rescind a monument established by a prior President under the Act, and recent actions by President Donald Trump raise the question whether the Act impliedly authorizes such reductions or rescissions. The majority of legal scholars who have studied this question have said no, the Act does not grant such implied authority. This Article takes the contrary position. The President's authority under the …

Presidential Control Over International Law, Curtis A. Bradley, Jack L. Goldsmith

Faculty Scholarship

Presidents have come to dominate the making, interpretation, and termination of international law for the United States. Often without specific congressional concurrence, and sometimes even when it is likely that Congress would disagree, the President has developed the authority to:

(a) make a vast array of international obligations for the United States, through both written agreements and the development of customary international law;

(b) make increasingly consequential political commitments for the United States on practically any topic;

(c) interpret these obligations and commitments; and

(d) terminate or withdraw from these obligations and commitments.

While others have examined pieces of this …

Political Norms, Constitutional Conventions, And President Donald Trump, Neil S. Siegel

Faculty Scholarship

This symposium Essay argues that what is most troubling about the conduct of President Trump during and since the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign is not any potential violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal law. There likely have been some such violations, and there may be more. But what is most troubling about President Trump is his disregard of political norms that had previously constrained presidential candidates and Presidents, and his flouting of nonlegal but obligatory “constitutional conventions” that had previously guided and disciplined occupants of the White House. These norms and conventions, although not “in” the Constitution, play a …

Trade, Redistribution, And The Imperial Presidency, Timothy Meyer

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Is The President A Traitor? A Legal Analysis, Noah Kupferberg

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Political Norms, Constitutional Conventions, And President Donald Trump, Neil S. Siegel

Indiana Law Journal

I will argue that what is most troubling about the conduct of President Trump during and since the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign is not any potential violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal law. There likely have been some such violations, and there may be more. But what is most troubling about President Trump is his disregard of political norms that had previously constrained presidential candidates and Presidents, and his flouting of nonlegal but obligatory “constitutional conventions” that had previously guided and disciplined occupants of the White House. These norms and conventions, although not “in” the Constitution, play a pivotal …

Using Emergency Powers To Provide Financial Assistance To Coal And Nuclear Plants, James M. Van Nostrand

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Trump, The Court, And Constitutional Law, Erwin Chemerinsky

Indiana Law Journal

In this Essay, I want to offer initial thoughts on what the Trump presidency is likely to mean for constitutional law. First, I want to focus on the lost opportunity: what might have happened had Hillary Clinton replaced Scalia and filled other vacancies on the Court. Second, I want to focus on the reality of what we are likely to see as a result of Neil Gorsuch replacing Antonin Scalia and of other possible vacancies being filled by President Trump. Finally, I want to discuss how progressives should react to this and to the foreseeable future of constitutional law. These, …

Trump As Constitutional Failure, Jamal Greene

Indiana Law Journal

As Part I explains, the American constitutional system assumes a certain sort of democratic culture. That assumption is encapsulated in Chief Justice John Marshall’s dictum, in M’Culloch v. Maryland, that the Constitution is “intended to endure for ages to come, and, consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs.” The U.S. Constitution indeed lacks “the prolixity of a legal code,” but subsequent history confirms that its relative sparseness is not, as Marshall maintained, because it is “a constitution we are expounding.” The U.S. Constitution is among the world’s least prolix and most difficult to amend. These attributes …

Congressional Authorization Of The Campaign Against Isil, Tyler Salway

Indiana Law Journal

I. THE BIRTH OF ISIL

II. CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORIZATION

A. EXPRESS AUTHORIZATION

1. METHODS OF INCLUSION

2. ISIL’S INCLUSION UNDER THE 9/11 AUMF

B. IMPLICIT AUTHORIZATION

III. ISIL AND THE TRUMP PRESIDENCY

CONCLUSION

The Foreign Emoluments Clause, Erik M. Jensen

Faculty Publications

Because of the foreign business dealings of President Donald Trump and his family, interpreting the Foreign Emoluments Clause has become a nearly fulltime job for political pundits, with stories about the clause appearing in every conceivable media outlet. The clause provides that “no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the United States] shall, without the Consent of Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” If the president is benefitting economically from business dealings with foreign governments (or organizations that might be treated as agencies …

Pilot Testing The Daily Activities List For Inmates (Dali): Item Evaluation And Content Validity, Philip R. Magaletta, Rokas Perskaudas, Christina J. Connors, Marc W. Patry, Jarrod Reisweber

United States Department of Justice: Publications

Scheduling enjoyable daily activities is a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy intervention used in the treatment of depression and substance abuse disorders that are prevalent disorders among inmates. To effectively use this intervention with inmates, an activities list with items ecologically sensitive to the correctional setting needs to be created. The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate items; thus, establishing a content valid Daily Activities List for Inmates (DALI). Fifteen corrections professionals representing a wide range of disciplines and managerial backgrounds served as subject matter experts (SMEs). Each SME evaluated 403 daily activity items that were aggregated from 4 …

Think Of An Elephant? Tweeting As "Framing" Executive Power, Fernando R. Laguarda

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Delegation Enforcement By State Attorneys General, Jonathan Shaub

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

State attorneys general have taken on an increasingly active role in challenging the actions of the federal government, and, in particular, the actions of the President. During the Obama Administration, state attorneys general began suing the federal government at an increasing rate, and these actions resulted in some of the most consequential judicial decisions of the time period—as both a matter of judicial precedent and a matter of policy impact. State-initiated action against the Obama Administration resulted in a new doctrine preventing state coercion, the implications of which are only starting to be recognized. It also resulted in court-ordered cessation …

Twitter And The #So-Calledjudge, Elizabeth G. Thornburg

SMU Law Review

Two-hundred-eighty characters may be insufficient to deliver a treatise on the judiciary, but it is more than enough to deliver criticism of the third branch of government. Today, these tweeted critiques sometimes come not from the general public but from the President himself. Attacks such as these come at a challenging time for court systems. We live in a highly politicized, polarized society. This polarization is reflected in attitudes toward the courts, particularly the federal courts. Unfortunately, public doubts about the court system come at a time when public understanding of the structure of government, and especially the court system, …

Sessions’ New Asylum Posture & Lgbtq Refugees, Arthur S. Leonard

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

Which Came First, The President Or The Lie?, David Schoenbrod

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

A Law Professor’S Modest Response To Trumpism: Supervising Student Directed Research Papers On Impeachment, Gregory S. Crespi

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This short essay discusses my motivation for and the reading materials and procedures I use when offering about a half-dozen law students each semester a Directed Research option to research and write papers on the topic of Presidential impeachment. I recommend that those faculty members who may have only a modest Constitutional Law background, but who feel as I do that greater understanding and more sustained discussion of the merits and drawbacks of removal of President Trump from office through impeachment is called for, and who wish to facilitate such understanding and discussion without compromising their professional and ethical obligations …

Bold Executive Action And False Equivalence, Stephen H. Legomsky

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.