Science and Technology Law Commons^™

Attorneys And Ai: How Lawyers Use Artificial Intelligence And Analyze Its Impacts, Matthew I. Hall, Christian Turner, Eddie A. Gomez Schieber, Nathaniel Kite, Ari Schlesinger

Scholarly Works

AI systems are testing lawyers' professional ethics obligations of competence, confidentiality, and candor. In the legal profession, the widespread availability of AI systems presents opportunities, like improving the review of documents during the discovery stage of a lawsuit, and challenges, illustrated by the handful of high-profile incidents where lawyers submitted legal briefs in court citing and describing fictitious cases based on AI-generated output. We conducted interviews with 44 legal professionals in the U.S. to understand how attorneys are making sense of AI technology and the impacts these technologies are having on their profession, legal ethics, and legal institutions. We describe …

Living Property, Joseph William Singer

Seattle University Law Review

The Supreme Court has increasingly defined property rights that are per se exempt from regulation in the absence of compensation, most recently in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid (2021) and Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023). The Court claims that it can identify property rights that are categorically protected from regulation by reference to history, tradition, and precedent. Yet this approach is oddly ahistorical; it is inconsistent with the fact that property law changed dramatically over U.S. history, as well as varying tremendously among the states. It is also inconsistent with the historical context of the Founding era. At that time, …

Table Of Contents

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Redefining Section 230 Immunity, Lucas Dini

Seattle University Law Review

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has provided broad immunity to online platforms for third-party content which was the foundation for the internet's growth. However, the rise in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to produce algorithms to curate content to users of online services has blurred the line between being a passive host of third party content and active editorial control. This Note examines the legal, policy, and constitutional implications of applying Section 230 immunity to platforms that use AI to curate and promote third-party content. This analysis argues that algorithmic promotion of third-party content constitutes a platform's …

Overcrowding The System: Rethinking Juvenile Justice In Washington State, Mckenna White

Seattle University Law Review

The recent crisis at Green Hill School highlights the detrimental consequences of severe overcrowding in Washington State’s Juvenile Rehabilitation system—a problem exacerbated by the implementation of the JR to 25 legislation. This Note argues that the juvenile rehabilitation system, which is currently struggling to manage a wide age range of offenders, necessitates a fundamental rethinking of juvenile justice practices. By examining neurological research indicating continued brain development into the mid-twenties, along with the high prevalence of trauma among justice-involved youth, this Note proposes the creation of a dedicated third system of care within the Department of Children, Youth, and Families …

“A Plain Denial”: Reclaiming Equal Protection In American Juvenile Law, Addie C. Rolnick, David S. Tanenhaus, Justin Iverson, Danielle L. Silvestri

Seattle University Law Review

Juvenile courts are based on the premise that children are different from adults and should therefore be treated differently. Children may be treated more informally by courts, punished for different purposes, and brought before the court for different behaviors. Since In re Gault, the Supreme Court has been clear that there are limits to how different juvenile courts can be. Juveniles are entitled to many of the same procedural protections as adult criminal defendants, although the Court has preserved some procedural differences where it has determined that their benefit is outweighed by the need to preserve the informality, flexibility, …

Neurodiversity In The Courtroom: Expanding Jury Service Accessibility Beyond Physical Disability, Samantha L. Mabe

Seattle University Law Review

The Americans with Disabilities Act has required equal access to jury service for decades; however, efforts to accommodate jurors with disabilities have been slow to develop beyond some minor accommodations for physical disabilities. While neurodivergent people frequently struggle to navigate a world catered toward neurotypical people, jury service remains inaccessible for many neurodivergent people who need accommodations to attend trial and engage in jury deliberations. If courts and advocates do not consider how to develop accommodations to secure the service of neurodivergent jurors, they will miss out on the unique skillsets that neurodivergent people can bring to resolving disputes.

Disabled …

Mandating Fluoride: A Constitutional Exercise Of Police Power, Anita Jahangiri

Seattle University Law Review

This Note addresses the ongoing debate over fluoridation: the regulation of fluoride levels in public water systems. Extensive research indicates fluoridation, when regulated at the recommended concentration, is both safe and highly effective in preventing dental caries. Better known as cavities, dental caries is a preventable yet widespread health issue that disproportionately affects low-income populations. Reducing dental health disparities among economic classes is a pressing public health issue. Fluoridation is not merely a policy option, but a critical, proven tool to address such disparities and uphold the collective welfare of Washingtonians. This Note focuses on fluoridation as a public health …

Addressing The Root Of Housing Insecurity: Washington Should Divest From “Crime-Free” Housing Programs, Sarah Cerdena

Seattle University Law Review

Crime-Free Rental Housing Properties (CFRHPs) have proven to be an ineffective and inequitable approach to public safety. Often, tenants in these properties are evicted—at times, extrajudicially—as a result of conduct that does not rise to violations of their lease provisions, much less criminal behavior. By placing extraordinary power in the hands of local law enforcement to carry out these ordinances, CFRHPs predictably pose significant harm to Black and Latinx communities, survivors of domestic violence, disabled tenants, and low-income tenants generally. Recently, the Washington State Supreme Court grappled with the tensions arising between CFRHPs and the enforcement of Washington landlord-tenant law. …

Volume 49 Masthead

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 49 Masthead

Esg Investing Breaches Erisa Fiduciary Duties? A Closer Look At Spence V. American Airlines, Inc., Eric Chin-Ru Chang

Seattle University Law Review

In Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas found that American Airlines breached its fiduciary duties due to BlackRock’s ESG investing practices. Contrary to some reports suggesting that the ruling prohibits ESG investing under ERISA, a closer look at the ruling shows that the court only targeted American Airlines’ failure to manage conflicts of interest appropriately, rather than the legality of ESG investing itself. In light of the intensifying ESG backlash in the United States, this Article cautions against further restrictive measures on ESG investing. Such measures would exacerbate the widening …

The Roots Of Credit Inequality, Andrea Freeman

Seattle University Law Review

Debt oppression began before the United States became a country. Settlers enslaved Africans and Indigenous people, treating them as property that they could buy and sell for their economic and personal benefit. When enslavement became illegal, new economic systems and laws that included sharecropping, Black Codes, and Jim Crow kept Black people in servitude. Laws that prohibited enslaved people from owning property or selling goods to white people evolved into restrictions on Black people’s occupations and market participation, both formal and informal. When Black entrepreneurs overcame these obstacles and built wealth within Black business enclaves, white people enforced their racist …

Rightsizing Regulations To Foster Innovation And A Healthy Business Environment: Insights From Elite Executives, Brian Charles Mulligan, Nelson Granados

Engaged Management ReView

This study examines insights from business executives on how TRAILS—that is, taxes, regulations, assessments, interventions, litigation, and subsidies—influence entrepreneurial behavior and firm performance. Using an applied constructivist grounded theory design, we conducted 17 in-depth interviews to identify how top business executives view the effects of regulations on business performance. We adopt the premise that the right level and set of regulations lead to a healthier business environment. We find that right-sized TRAILS catalyze entrepreneurial dynamism, whereas wrong-sized TRAILS impose hidden opportunity costs, stifle innovation, and erode institutional trust. Crucially, the study reveals the vital role of the government as …

An Out-Of-The-Block Solution For Modern Ip Law: How Pairing Generative Ai With Blockchain Could Resolve Copyright Conflicts, Emma Wozniak

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Crypto In The Courtroom: A Legislative Framework For Managing Crypto Assets In Bankruptcy, Katelyn E. Barker

University of Miami Law Review

The rapid rise and subsequent collapse of the cryptocurrency market exposed a critical shortcoming of bankruptcy law: the absence of clear guidelines for the treatment of crypto assets. The Bankruptcy Code—which predates the invention of crypto—fails to account for the unique complexities of crypto assets. Although several crypto bills have been introduced, they fall short of adequately confronting the complex and evolving challenges of crypto bankruptcies. The lack of guidance has forced courts to make consequential decisions with no clear direction, leading to inconsistent outcomes in areas such as crypto asset ownership, valuation, and customer protections.

This Note examines bankruptcy …

Professor Cindy Williams Joins Global Future Councils At The World Economic Forum In Dubai, Maurer School Of Law - Indiana University

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

Indiana University Maurer School of Law Professor Cindy Williams is representing the school this week at the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Councils (GFC) Annual Meeting in Dubai.

As a member of the GFC on Climate Change and Nature Loss, Professor Williams is contributing to discussions that frame environmental challenges as key financial risks and opportunities for companies. Her work focuses on how innovative finance can be harnessed to restore nature and build economic resilience worldwide.

Ai In Law Libraries: Discussing Ethical Considerations And A Way Forward, Joshua Levine

Library Staff Articles

This review examines the AALL 2025 program “AI in Law Libraries: Discussing Ethical Considerations and a Way Forward,” focusing on the ethical challenges artificial intelligence presents for law librarians and legal professionals. The author highlights discussions on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, responsible and transparent use of AI, risks such as hallucinations and bias, and broader concerns including environmental impact and the future of human labor. The review emphasizes that the program raised important questions rather than definitive solutions, underscoring the need for ongoing, profession-wide dialogue as AI continues to evolve.

Breaking The Echo Chamber: Market Failures In The Social Media Information Market And The Need For Reform, Aleco M. Hamrick

Indiana Law Journal

Traditionally, the information market is centrally controlled. Once information consumption transitioned from the physical world to the digital world, the barrier of entry to the information dissemination market was reduced from printing presses and distribution networks to a smartphone and an internet connection. Ostensibly anyone can distribute any idea at any time. This strains the traditional information governance model that has dominated the information market for centuries; where epistemic authorities once controlled both the streams of information and the kinds of information that entered them, now social media companies exert limited control over information streams and no control over what …

Venturing Into Health, Rachel E. Sachs

Fordham Law Review

In recent years, the landscape of venture capital (VC) investment in healthcare technologies has been altered by the introduction of new types of VC firms: those that have emerged from hospital systems and health insurers. However, the legal literature has not yet analyzed these new VC firms, the role they may play in healthcare innovation, and how innovation law and policy ought to consider their involvement. Hospital system and health insurer VC firms operate very differently than traditional VC firms, even those that have historically developed healthcare specializations. Instead of simply investing capital into start-up firms, hospital system and health …

Governance In The Absence Of Government, Tracy Hresko Pearl

Faculty Articles

Artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing at an unprecedented pace, with generative systems exerting growing influence over social, economic, and political life. While Al offers opportunities for innovation and efficiency, it also poses risks ranging from misinformation and job displacement to existential threats if highly autonomous systems evade human control. Across industry, government, and civil society, there is broad consensus that Al requires oversight.

Yet traditional U.S. regulatory approaches face six significant barriers: (1) technology outpacing legislation, (2) limited Al expertise among policymakers, (3) regulatory capture, (4) political gridlock, (5) outdated governance structures, and (6) the inherent complexity of Al. Combined …

Law Grapples With Its Achilles’ Heel? Uncertainties, Digital Experiments, And The Ai Frontier, Heng Wang

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

The governance of digitalization— which encompasses developments such as artificial intelligence (AI) and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) — confronts serious challenges. At the core of the challenges are uncertainties, which form the central obstacle to effective governance. These uncertainties range from cyber risks to shifting societal responses. Law, as an institutionalized framework of governance, faces mounting pressure and wrestles with a fundamental vulnerability: traditional legal frameworks struggle to address uncertainties in digitalization.

To tackle the pervasive challenges of uncertainties, this article addresses two connected questions: What uncertainties does law face in governing digitalization shaped by emerging technologies? How can …

Agentizing Privacy Preferences Without Privatizing Data Protection Policy, Frank Pasquale, Vanna Carter

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

This essay explores how consumers might exercise newly restored agency in a digital environment increasingly shaped by generative AI. Rather than expecting consumers to read privacy-related terms of service, policymakers should encourage the emergence of Automated Consumer Agents (“ACAs”) capable of interpreting privacy provisions and acting on behalf of users according to their stated preferences. These systems could automatically reject objectionable forms of data extraction, translating consumer values into actionable decisions in online transactions.

Despite this promise, the rise of ACAs would also present new problems. Without supportive policy and legal frameworks, agentization of privacy preferences could itself reproduce or …

Twenty-Fourth Annual International Advocate For Peace Award, Honoring Dr. Zafra Lerman, Zafra Lerman, Andrea K. Schneider, Felix Wu, Armando Gonzalez

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

On March 6, 2025, the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution presented the twenty-fourth annual International Advocate for Peace Award to Dr. Zafra M. Lerman. The following is a transcript of the event.

Dispute Resolution Tailored For Digital Assets, Michele Kallo

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

As digital asset markets continue to expand, the need for efficient and reliable dispute resolution mechanisms has grown increasingly pressing. In May 2022, alone, over 200 individual and class action lawsuits related to digital assets were filed, with cases only deepening in nuance. Traditional litigation, with its high costs, slow timelines, and jurisdictional complexities, often falls short in resolving such disputes. In reaction to these limitations, decentralized arbitration platforms have emerged as spaces for dispute resolution. While innovative, these platforms’ susceptibility to issues such as market volatility, barriers to juror diversity, and impartiality limitations raise questions about their effectiveness as …

Bridging The Fair Share Gap For Antibacterial Innovation: An Observational Analysis Of Antibacterial Revenues In The G7 And Eu27, Maple Goh, Matt Mcenany, Rachel Freeman, Max Newton, Aaron S. Kesselheim, Kevin Outterson

Faculty Scholarship

Background

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses an important global health challenge, including insufficient investment in research and development. This study quantifies the required “fair share” contributions from the G7+EU27 countries for an effective set of pull incentives for antibacterial research and development.

Methods

Fair share targets within the G7+EU27 were calculated from GDP data and revenue targets from the literature, adjusted for inflation. Cefiderocol and ceftazidime-avibactam were selected as representative of key antibacterials. Revenues and volumes from IQVIA MIDAS data on these drugs were used to assess alignment with fair share targets. The study period was January 2015–December 2024.

Findings

The …

Emotionally Unstable: Addressing Emotional Distress As A Concrete Injury In Data Breach Cases Post-Transunion, Anna P. Cox

Fordham Law Review

Data breaches and data breach litigation are exponentially on the rise. Plaintiffs whose information is stolen in a data breach often claim emotional distress for fear of future harm the data breach may cause. However, plaintiffs who bring suit in federal court must show that they have suffered an injury in fact for purposes of Article III standing before a federal court will exercise jurisdiction. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez requires that plaintiffs who seek money damages under a theory of risk of future harm show that they have suffered a present concrete injury to …

Is Your Data Good, Bad, Or Neutral?: Redefining Concreteness For Data Breach Harms, Jeeyoon Lim

Fordham Law Review

In recent years, the Supreme Court has tightened federal court standing requirements for intangible harms, including statutory harms. In TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, the Court held that a mere statutory violation, absent a common-law analogue, is not sufficiently concrete to grant standing. The Court did not provide clear guidance as to how stringent the common-law analogue analysis must be, other than that it does not require an “exact duplicate.” Because of the ever-evolving nature of digital data, data breach victims attempting to enforce their statutory right to privacy in federal court have struggled to rely on tradition and history …

Are Your Secrets Safe?: Imposing A Fiduciary Duty On Healthcare Ai Developers Dealing With Sensitive Health Information, Lauren Quinn

Fordham Law Review

In 1996, Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) to establish standards for transmitting health information. For decades, the HIPAA Privacy Rule has operated as the primary regulation protecting health information in the United States. However, in the decades since HIPAA was enacted, new technologies have demonstrated the shortcomings of the Privacy Rule. In particular, the development of healthcare artificial intelligence (AI) has created new privacy concerns and exacerbated existing ones. This Note examines the current healthcare privacy framework in the United States and considers how healthcare AI complicates it. This Note also explores how AI developers …

The Gamification Of Banking, Colleen Baker, Christopher K. Odinet

Faculty Scholarship

Gamification is coming to banking. This phenomenon is already gain-ing ground in advertising, healthcare, manufacturing, and, more recently, with the GameStop and AMC meme stock saga in securities trading. The idea behind gamification is to make transactions seem fun, playful, and even casino-like in order to elicit habit-forming, addictive-like effects with consumers. This Article argues that the rise of financial technology (“fintech”) firms and their ever-growing business relationships with incumbent financial institutions has created the necessary conditions for gamification to take hold in the banking sector. In order to explore this observation, we undertake a study of current examples of …

The Sec Proposed Cybersecurity Infrastructure Rules And New Disclosure Requirements, Neal F. Newman, Lawrence J. Trautman, Brian Elzweig

Faculty Scholarship

In addition to regulation of securities market issuers, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) is also responsible for regulation of those entities that provide the networks, either electronic or physical, that enable the functioning of our securities markets. On February 9, 2022, the Commission published a Release for Cybersecurity Risk Management for Investment Advisers, Registered Investment Companies, and Business Development Companies containing proposals that, if adopted, would establish a new cybersecurity incident reporting and disclosure regime and require registered investment advisers (“advisers”) and investment companies (“funds”) to implement policies and procedures designed to address cyber risks. The comment period for …