Legal Studies Commons^™

The Effect Upon State Crime Rates Of The Legalization Of Recreational Marijuana In California, Robert Boxerman

Theses

This work examines criminal effects of the legalization of recreational marijuana in the state of California in 2016. While multiple states have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes, there is little empirical evidence to determine the criminal effect, if any, of introducing marijuana products into the legal market. The research analyzes crime rates pre and post legalization. Crime rates from the years 1990-2018 are taken from the California Attorney General Office “Crime in California” annual report, and consist of FBI Part I offenses: murder and non-negligent homicide, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, motor vehicle theft, larceny-theft, and arson. Misdemeanor drug arrests, …

Gwaabaw: Applying Anishinaabe Harvesting Protocols To Energy Governance, Sakihitowin Awasis

Geography & Environment Publications

Oil and gas extraction has transformed Anishinaabe society in ways that undermine the consensual, holistic, and egalitarian basis of natural law. To many Indigenous people, framing fossil fuels and other energy sources as “natural resources” does not accurately define energy projects or capture related risks. Some Anishinaabe pipeline opponents have suggested that traditional harvesting protocols–culturally embedded moral precepts that govern the gathering of food and medicinal plants–also be applied to activities that produce energy. This paper explores how this could be done, focusing on tar sands extraction and the Line 3 expansion plan. I begin by discussing Anishinaabe harvesting protocols, …

Analyses Of Prosecutorial Power And Discretion In Mississippi: Evaluating Proposals To Address Misconduct And Abuse, Lucy Pruitt

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to create a policy proposal in order to address incidences of prosecutorial misconduct and abuse of discretion in the Mississippi criminal justice system. To do so, the author has summarized and analyzed seven criminal cases in which defendants have become victims of prosecutorial misconduct in order to shed light on the lack of prosecutorial accountability in the state’s criminal justice system. In an attempt to solve the problem, the author has developed a novel grading rubric in order to objectively and systematically analyze and evaluate previously proposed policy recommendations by legal experts and justice organizations. The successes …

Hong Kong, Alvaro Harrison Hucker '22, Blake Barth '22, Philip Yi '22

Student Leadership Exchange (SLX)

The relationship between China and Hong Kong has been very tense for years ever since Britain allowed Hong Kong to become for 50 years in 1997, before the region would have to officially return to China. Knowing that their 50 years of having a self-governing body will end in 2047, Hong Kong citizens are constantly afraid of their rights. Now to add to the tension, China attempted to pass the Extradition Bill, which would have any citizen of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau who has committed a crime, be tried in China instead of where they live. This created an uproar …

Race Differences In Youths’ Attitudes Towards Arming Teachers: Investigating The Role Of Procedural Justice, Faraneh Shamserad

Theses

Over the course of the last two decades, anxiety over school shootings has continued to influence school safety reform. Due to prominent news coverage and growing fear over school shootings, school securitization in American public schools has expanded to include the arming of schoolteachers. While supporters advocate for the need to arm schoolteachers, little is known about the level of support the policy receives from the very people it is intended to protect - students. Although research examining students’ perceptions of school security is scant, existing research suggests that target-hardening measures may be counterproductive and that there are racial differences …

You Don’T Need A Weatherman To Know Which Way The Wind Blows: The Prison Break Of Timothy Leary, Phoebe N. Holman

Young Historians Conference

This paper examines the revolutionary merit of the Weather Underground Organization’s prison break of LSD guru Timothy Leary. Was Leary truly an activist willing to risk everything to introduce the public to the healing powers of psychedelics? Or was he an unprofessional mad scientist using his students to further his own agenda? It also provides an explanation of how the WUO and other anti-war organizations like it brought the United States to the brink of a massive societal shift—and then disappeared.

Women In Law: Exploring Expectations For Women In A Man's Profession, Taylor Carroll, Jacqueline M. Zalewski Dr.

Anthropology & Sociology Student Work

Over the winter break I read the following about gender inequality in the workforce: (a) Gender Trials by Jennifer L. Pierce, (b) Women in Engineering: Gender Power and Workplace Culture by Judith S. McIlwee and J. Gregg Robinson, in preparation for an independent research project on Women in Law. I am planning to do interviews with several female attorneys that I have contacted via the West Chester University Alumni Association. These attorneys will be surveyed about their experiences with pursuing law as undergraduates, Law School students, and as licensed attorney. Working with Dr. Zalewski, I will then compile the data …

Volume 12, Haleigh James, Hannah Meyls, Hope Irvin, Megan E. Hlavaty, Samara L. Gall, Austin J. Funk, Karyn Keane, Sarah Ghali, Antonio Harvey, Andrew Jones, Rachel Hazelwood, Madison Schmitz, Marija Venta, Haley Tebo, Jeremiah Gilmer, Bridget Dunn, Benjamin Sullivan, Mckenzie Johnson

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction, Dr. Roger A. Byrne, Dean

From the Editor, Dr. Larissa "Kat" Tracy

From the Designers, Rachel English, Rachel Hanson

Immortality in the Mortal World: Otherworldly Intervention in "Lanval" and "The Wife of Bath's Tale" by Haleigh James

Analysis of Phenolic Compounds in Moroccan Olive Oils by HPLC by Hannah Meyls

Art by Hope Irvin

The Effects of Cell Phone Use on Gameplay Enjoyment and Frustration by Megan E. Hlavaty, Samara L. Gall, and Austin J. Funk

Care, No Matter What: Planned Parenthood's Use of Organizational Rhetoric to Expand its Reputation by Karyn Keane

Analysis of Petroleum Products for …

The Relationship Between Age And Gender And Its Effect On Intergenerational Patterns Of Incarceration, Sominishia Wright

Virginias Collegiate Honors Council Conference

Mass incarceration has been a dominant concern within the criminal justice system since the 1970s. Criminologists and other researchers have looked at the effects crime has on the steadily increasing incarceration rate but to little avail. Intergenerational patterns of incarceration further oppress minority and low-income communities. Although researchers have been able to identify some forms of causation, much more research needs to be done to understand why certain people, according to race, age, gender, and socioeconomic status, are more likely to be incarcerated, arrested, and convicted than others. Current research identifies deviant parents and paternal incarceration as factors that increase …

Predicting Academic Dishonesty Using Personality, Impulsiveness, Morality, And Somatic Faking, Lauren Barbee

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Violations of academic honor are relative to many of the same factors that lead to dishonesty by individuals subject to the criminal justice system. Malingering is defined as the feigning of psychological or physical ailment for gain, which is a technique regularly used to exploit both academic institutions and the U.S. court system. While malingering in legal environments is generally to receive less harsh sentencing, access to drugs, or other benefits, the aim of faking illness in students is to avoid consequences for missing required classes or examinations. The purpose of this research is to identify the relationship between “faking-bad” …

Public-School Systems Are Criminalizing Our Young People: Giving Voice To The Marganilized, Carrie Stoltzfus

Graduate Theses & Dissertations

A phenomenological qualitative study using Critical Race Theory and counter-storytelling was completed to investigate what K-12 public schools should be doing to keep young people out of the school-to-prison pipeline (STPP). This study took place in a large city in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Interviews were completed with former students of the researcher who were previously incarcerated, educational professionals, and justice system professionals. Additionally, observations of the court systems and document reviews were completed in order to triangulate findings. Themes emerged around factors that lead to incarceration and the preferred practices to support young people to avoid …

Lgbtq Training For Aquatic Employees: Impact On Attitudes And Professional Competencies, Austin R. Anderson, Eric Knee, William D. Ramos

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

This study examined the impact of a LGBTQ diversity training on the attitudes and professional competencies of aquatic employees within a campus recreational sports setting. While diversity training is often discussed as a key component of inclusive aquatic programming, little empirical research examining the outcomes associated with such trainings exists. As such, members of the research team developed, implemented, and evaluated a four-month long training program consisting of one in-person training session and monthly inclusion handouts discussing issues related to the inclusion of LGBTQ participants. A comparative quantitative research design was used to measure employee’s attitudes towards the LGBTQ population …

Mental Health And In-Prison Experiences: Examining Socioeconomic And Sex Differences In The Effect Of Mental Illness On Institutional Misconduct And Disciplinary Segregation, Rachel E. Severson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mental health problems have become a common occurrence in American correctional settings. This occurrence is not equally distributed in terms of gender; incarcerated women have higher rates of mental illness incarcerated men (Bronson & Berzofsky, 2017; James & Glaze, 2006). This phenomenon is problematic as research suggests that American correctional institutions are ill equipped to treat and manage inmates with mental health problems (Arrigo & Bullock, 2008; Bennion, 2015; Clark, 2018). This is also true in women’s prisons as they are often tasked to deal with strict budgetary restrictions and have fewer resources compared to men’s prisons (Holsinger, 2014; Stephan, …

Officer Perceptions Of Fleet And Take-Home Police Cruisers: Evidence From Ma, Mary Defrancesco

Criminology Student Work

The purpose of this research is to determine police officers perceived benefits of take-home police cruisers. The primary question to be answered by this research is: do officers see take-home cruisers as a benefit to the department and what are those benefits? Departments typically make large decisions like switching to take home cruisers based on department budgets, what makes the most sense for their individual department, and how it would affect their officers. It is hypothesized that the police officers would perceive the use of take-home cruisers to be more effective compared to a fleet of cruisers. Results show that …

Non-Traditional Church Involvement As A Life-Course Turning Point: Qualitative Interviews With Religious Offenders, William Hunter Holt

Dissertations

This research project conducted and then analyzed qualitative interviews from former and current addicts and criminal offenders who are voluntarily participating in the Christian faith at the same non-traditional, Protestant church. An abridged case study of this church is also provided for background and context. Life-course theory and grounded theory are utilized.

Both the offenders and this church were chosen in an attempt to better understand how the offenders’ involvement at this house of worship, along with their faith in general, have impacted them. Obtaining the perspectives of the offender is essential for three reasons. First, qualitative research conducted in …

Ua12/2/2 Talisman: Zeitgeist, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

2020 Talisman yearbook:

• Mohr, Olivia. Zeitgeist
• Disrupted – Photo Essay, COVID-19
• Brandt, Jess. Cut Short – Edward Games, Grace Jones, Jarred Corona, Joshua Crask
• Zambrano, Max. Point of No Return? – Stuart Foster, Climate Change
• Francis, Kristina. Weapons Women Carry
• Steele, Emma. Now & Again – Talisman
• Gordon, Zora. Not Just Numbers – Sam Aldrich, Social Media
• Christensen, Nicole. The K-Pop Phenomenon – Music
• Hornsby, Morgan. Everything Starts with Mama – Warren County Regional Jail
• McCormick, Dillon. Evolving Sport – Esports, Video Games
• Sheffield, Catherine. Perfect Match – Travis Hudson, Volleyball
• Dozer, Claire. Follow the Signs – Deafness, American Sign …

Supported Families Grow Healthy Children: Branching Out Services To Support Children, Families, And Communities Impacted By Punitive Practices In The Criminal Justice System, Patrick Clark, Janet Meegan, Troy Potter, Holly Schmitt, Jesse Valentin

Master of Social Work Student Policy Advocacy Briefs

The well-being of Minnesota’s children and families is negatively impacted by punitive practices. Investing in programs that divert parents from the criminal justice system ensures parental accountability while contributing to healthy children, families, and communities.

Public’S Perception Of Law Enforcement In Schools, Amarielis Morales

Criminology Student Work

Law Enforcement is inserted into schools all over the United States to ensure the school’s safety. Law Enforcement and community relationships are most important in developing trust between law enforcement and schools, including staff, students, and families. Once trust is established, law enforcement in schools is utilized by providing their services to better the school’s community. This research aims to get an insight into how people currently feel about law enforcement and what people would want from law enforcement in schools. Which raises the question, what does the public think about law enforcement in schools? The sample includes people above …

Case Studies Of Three Wrongful Convictions, Kelsie Blood

Criminology Student Work

Although the criminal justice system is one of the most important systems in our society, it has its flaws. One role of the criminal justice system is to incarcerate people who have committed crimes in violation of criminal law. Unfortunately for thousands of individuals, the criminal justice system incarcerates people who are not guilty of those crimes. Wrongful convictions are a failure of our criminal justice system. There are different factors that contribute to a person being wrongfully convicted. These factors include eyewitness misidentification, inadequate or ineffective legal representation, DNA-or lack thereof, and official misconduct, or a combination of these. …

The Revolving Door Of Recidivism, Laura E. Bull

Classical Conversations

With the rise in the use of prisons, recidivism also grew. Recidivism, in the broadest sense, is the act of a past offender coming back into contact with the justice system. Prisons have been used as far back as the fourth century, but over time their purpose has changed. Today in the United States, the main purpose of prisons is rehabilitation. The most recent law, the First Steps Act, reflects the desire to reduce the trend of recidivism. Many programs have been used as a method of reducing recidivism. Recidivism is a cycle of pain, creating jaded prisoners and placing …

The Media’S Response To Vaping: Catch-Up For A Failed Response?, Christian Maynard

Honors Theses

Media coverage on vaping has become more negative and more prolific due to the recent ‘vaping epidemic’ that has incurred over 2,000 hospitalization. Research on vaping has been limited. The purpose of this study is to investigate the correlations between vape use increase and media publication increase and the specific focus of the articles. Using secondary data from Monitoring the Future: A Continuing Study of the Lifestyles and Values of Youth conducted in 2016, 2017, and 2018 and data generated through qualitative coding of The New York Times articles on vaping between 2016 and 2018, we find that media publications …

Environmental Justice In Little Village: A Case For Reforming Chicago’S Zoning Law, Charles Isaacs

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

Chicago’s Little Village community bears the heavy burden of environmental injustice and racism. The residents are mostly immigrants and people of color who live with low levels of income, limited access to healthcare, and disproportionate levels of dangerous air pollution. Before its retirement, Little Village’s Crawford coal-burning power plant was the lead source of air pollution, contributing to 41 deaths, 550 emergency room visits, and 2,800 asthma attacks per year. After the plant’s retirement, community members wanted a say on the future use of the lot, only to be closed out when a corporation, Hilco Redevelopment Partners, bought the lot …

Much Obliged? Moral Psychology And The Social Obligation Of Property: An Essay In Honor Of Gregory Alexander, Nestor M. Davidson

Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

Few scholars have argued as eloquently as Gregory Alexander for the normative force of social obligation in American property law and for a broader understanding of property as inherently relational. The idea that mutual regard for the ability of each person to have meaningful life choices means that ownership entails duties to others has always seemed to me-perhaps not surprisingly given my own moral intuitive priors-deeply compelling. But it is clear that other moral intuitions lead people to value just as deeply and just as intuitively property's ability to establish individual sanctuary within strong, clear boundaries. I don't have the …

It's Not Personal: Social Obligations In The Office Of Ownership, Larissa Katz

Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

In November 2016, the City of Vancouver passed its "Vacancy Tax By-law." The law requires homeowners to submit a property status declaration each year to the City, revealing the uses they are making of their property. An owner whose property is not rented or in use for at least 6 months a year is subject to a vacancy tax. The stated purpose of the law is to address the affordable housing crisis in Vancouver, a city where the official rental vacancy rate is less than 1%. By penalizing absentee owners, the law is intended to increase supply and to deter …

Liberalism And The Commons, Hanoch Dagan

Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy

It is a real privilege for me to participate in the celebration of Greg Alexander's enormous contribution to the scholarship and jurisprudence on property, which has enhanced our understanding of property in numerous ways. Alexander utilized almost every tool in a legal theorist's kit-notably: history, comparative law, and philosophical investigation-to study property and developed an innovative and nuanced theory of property. Property, for Alexander, has a core role in fostering human flourishing. A proper conception of property, he claims, must acknowledge that obligations and not just rights, and communities and not only individuals, take center stage.

An Analysis Of Police Pursuits In Ct During 2019, Erica Boccuzzi

CJ Masters Theses

Police pursuits can occur at any time, any location and can have numerous outcomes. There is past research on this topic which has been compared to this current study. The purpose of this research project is to analyze pre-existing data alongside the data collected by the researcher. The goal of this project serves to study every aspect of a police pursuit as provided through a mandatory pursuit form. In specific, the research was collected from different departments within the state of Connecticut during the 2019 calendar year. The pursuit form includes crucial information which can provide insight regarding pursuits in …

Investigating The Perceived Effectiveness Of Domestic Violence Programs In Massachusetts, Katharina Ohmen

Criminology Student Work

Domestic violence affects many individuals on a daily basis. Rates of domestic violence have increased and affect one in three women, and one in five men in Massachusetts (Jane Doe Inc., 2019) and accounts for 15 percent of all violent crime committed in the United States (National Domestic Violence Hotline, n.d.). The current research examines the perceived effectiveness of the services provided by domestic violence programs designed to assist survivors in Essex County, Massachusetts. The current research investigated how well Massachusetts programs can be accessed and utilized by survivors. Qualitative data, in the form of face-to-face interviews with program directors …

The Applicability Of Occupational Therapy To Correctional Programming, Jordan Lanning

Honors Projects

Correctional facilities are a controversial topic in the United States. Whether it is prison reform policy or overcrowding issues that are being debated in a political setting or at the dinner table, it is a hot topic of conversation. The discussion goes around and around to no avail, and seemingly no one is satisfied. A detailed look at current issues facing corrections, what has been done, and then, potentially what could be done may provide some clarity for a situation that is seemingly spinning out of control. Furthermore, occupational therapy and its application to correctional programming is explored as a …

How Factors Of State Supreme Court Retention Affect Votes To Overturn Precedent: How Do Different Factors Of State Supreme Court Composition Effect The Likelihood That Salient Cases Will Result In An Overturning Of Precedent?, Autumn N. Fosteson

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Since the establishment of individual states supreme courts, there has been debate on the best way to retain individual judges to their court. With five different forms of retention, each comes with their own set of outside forces that determine how a judge behaves while on the court. Some of these outside forces like a judge’s length of service on the court can also affect the decision to overturn a standing precedent, especially when the case captures great amounts of media attention. Salient cases are often more likely to result in an overturned precedent than other cases but outside factors …

Are Police Actions Towards African Americans Different From Other Races?, Colby King

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Research implies that African Americans and other minorities experience racial disparities in their encounters with police. Their white counterparts tend to not experience any racially driven disparity. Oftentimes this research does not use different characteristics while testing for racial disparity, leaving much more to be explored when researching police encounters among minorities. I will be using data from the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics to test some of these characteristics. This study will test demographics regarding the citizens race and gender, as well as the nature of their police encounters. Using these demographics, we can find …