Judges Commons^™

A New Exclusionary Rule To Protect Bodily Integrity And Discourage Pretext Stops, Josephine Ross

Seattle University Law Review

The author proposes a novel state-level exclusionary rule to reduce racial profiling and protect bodily autonomy during police encounters. The current Fourth Amendment jurisprudence fails to deter pretextual stops and frisks because the exclusionary rule often turns on officer fault and "good faith," allowing racially motivated practices to go unchecked. As federal rollbacks on diversity and data collection hinder efforts to track racial bias, the author argues for a statutory evidentiary rule that automatically excludes drug evidence found during (1) traffic stops, (2) pat-downs for weapons, and (3) consent searches, regardless of an officer’s intent or the legality of the …

Navahine V. HawaiʻI Dept. Of Transportation: The Keiki Will Lead Us, Catherine Smith

Seattle University Law Review

The author analyzes the landmark case Navahine v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, which culminated in the world’s first constitutional climate settlement. Catherine Smith, serving as an expert for the youth plaintiffs, situates the case within Hawaiʻi’s legal tradition of prioritizing children’s rights and intergenerational equity. She explores the evolution of children’s constitutional protections, contrasting Hawaiʻi’s progressive jurisprudence with the dominant adult-centric legal framework on the mainland. She critiques four recurring analytical missteps in U.S. courts that marginalize children’s interests and highlights Hawaiʻi’s public trust doctrine and cultural values, such as the Aloha Spirit, as models for addressing climate-related harms. …

Constitutional Futurism As Pedagogy, Jeremiah Chin

Seattle University Law Review

Constitutional Law has transformed from a course on history to a discussion of current events. Cases like Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo reveal that the study of constitutional law is not a static, or even linear, discussion of constitutional text and history. Law is a shifting, changing enterprise that reflects social constructions of power, authority, and identity. How do we teach, learn, and understand constitutional law that is so laden with history, riddled with theories of consistency and adherence to precedent, but ultimately subject …

Guest Editorial: Making Gender Equality Visible In Judicial Selections At The European Court Of Justice, Laure Clément-Wilz, Fernanda G. Nicola

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

We begin this issue with a Guest Editorial by Laure Clement-Wilz and Fernanda Nicola, who invite reflection on the criteria for judicial selection at the European Court of Justice. They propose integrating gender parity as a soft criterion in the judicial selection process, thereby contributing to broader discussions on diversity in judicial appointments

Law School News: Middle Schoolers Explore The Rule Of Law At Second Annual Mandell-Boisclair Justice Camp 07-17-2025, Jordan J. Phelan

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Measuring How Much Judges Matter For Case Outcomes, Ryan W. Copus, Ryan Hübert

Faculty Works

A large empirical literature examines how judges’ traits affect how cases get resolved. This literature has led many to conclude that judges matter for case outcomes. But how much do they matter? Existing empirical findings understate the true extent of judicial influence over case outcomes since standard estimation techniques hide some disagreement among judges. We devise a machine learning method to reveal additional sources of disagreement. Applying this method to the Ninth Circuit, we estimate that at least 38% of cases could be decided differently based solely on the panel they were assigned to.

The Indian Fourth Branch: Developing A New Institutional Morality, Abhinav Ravi

National Law School Journal

Contemporary discourse on democratic decline in India has often emphasised the need for stronger fourth branch institutions to safeguard constitutional democracy. However, fourth branch institutions are marked by a fundamental tension. They are deeply embedded in the very political contexts that they are designed to resist. The operational independence of fourth branch institutions is not merely a function of their design (that is, their structural independence), but also of the political climate, institutional leaders, and informal organisational factors.

Similar design features can produce divergent outcomes across time and contexts, with institutions displaying distinct phases of assertiveness and accommodation. While institutional …

Breaking Barriers Exploring Guardianship & Public Administration Challenges Facing Egyptian Widows, Caroline Maher

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the influence of guardianship policies and the administrative infrastructure on the well-being of widows' families in Egypt. Widows in Egypt encounter significant challenges in exercising their guardianship rights due to patriarchal norms, bureaucratic hurdles, inefficient systems, and limited access to information. These obstacles can negatively impact their children's well-being, as well as economic and social stability. Despite social media activism, calls for administrative reforms, and legislative debates, no changes have occurred. This study aims to conduct in-depth exploratory qualitative research to analyze the challenges and limitations of current guardianship policies and administrative systems affecting widows’ families in …

Taxprof Blog Op-Ed: More On The University Of Florida, The Adjunct Professor, And The Issues At Hand, Joshua E. Kastenberg

Faculty Scholarship

In assessing the conduct of the University of Florida’s law school leaders, Preston Damsky, Judge John Badalamenti, and the New York Times, I’ll concede that it is darn near impossible for any of us to be objective. But I’d like to contribute to this conversation in a way that at least attempts a degree of objectivity. This comment focuses on the judge turned adjunct professor, but to do so, there is a matter of context.

Egyptian Public Economic Policies Between The Supreme Constitutional Court And The State, Dina Sherif Abdelrahman

Theses and Dissertations

To fully understand the present, it is useful to trace the past. The relationship between the rule of law and economic development has been a significant topic in the literature. In the 1960s, it was believed that economic development required regulated markets in which the state played an active role. However, when it became evident that the state's involvement in the economy yielded few of the promised benefits, economic neoliberalism emerged. This involved the state withdrawing from the economy and allowing the market to take the lead. Still, the state must govern the institutional conditions necessary for the markets. These …

Law School News: John Dorsey L'10 Selected For U.S. Bankruptcy Court In Rhode Island 6-7-2025, Helga Melgar

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Law School News: Up For A Challenge 6-6-2025, Suzi Morales

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

The Objective Observer: The Washington State Supreme Court's Remedial Aspirations And Experience On The Ground, David B. Owens

Washington Law Review

The Washington State Supreme Court has adopted an “objective observer rule” for addressing whether race impacted jury selection and extended this rule to evaluating all aspects of Washington courts, including jury trials. The objective observer rule allows courts to evaluate whether decisions in those courtrooms could be viewed as the result of racial bias, even where there is no evidence of specific racial animus and in the absence of racial slurs. The rule, which covers a form of disparate impact, has now existed for over half a decade. This Article outlines the Washington State Supreme Court’s development of the objective …

Legitimacy Throughlines In The Structural Design Of International & "Internationalized" Criminal Tribunals, Michael J. Kelly

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

Today, the rather surprising and sudden surfeit of prosecutions for international crimes by states utilizing universal jurisdiction as we open the second decade of the 21^st Century may represent a preference for domestic over international criminal prosecution altogether. Yet, the legitimacy quotient remains a key part of the discussion. For example, as discussed in section V below, with respect to the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine, opinion is divided as to whether prosecution for this crime should proceed from a newly created international tribunal or from an “internationalized” court within the Ukrainian judicial system.[1] Ukraine backs the …

Cover, Table Of Contents & Masthead, Kateri J. Son

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

Legal Summaries Of Administrative Law Cases, Kimberly M. Papadantonakis

Journal of the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary

No abstract provided.

The Pressure Points Of Professional Identity For Judges In The Modern Era, Charles G. Geyh

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The duties core to the professional identity of a judge are encapsulated in an ethical directive at the literal forefront of the Model Code of Judicial Conduct, some variation of which all state and federal judiciaries have adopted. Rule 1.2 provides that “[a] judge shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary[.]” This directive implicates three challenges, or pressure points, relevant to a judge’s identity: 1) insofar as judges begin their legal careers as practicing lawyers, when they ascend the bench their professional identities must transition from …

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Should Be Updated To Recognize Remote Courtroom Appearances, Hon. William G. Montgomery, Hon. Gerald A. Williams

Texas A&M Law Review

Allowing military members to continue pending civil litigation so that they can focus their attention on warfighting is sound public policy. Most agree we should protect those “who dropped their affairs to answer their country’s call,” and various federal laws have codified that protection for over a century. But what if the civil matter is com- paratively minor or could otherwise be easily resolved? While the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”) provides essential protections against harassing civil litigation, it should still pro- vide for the ability of deployed personnel to remotely resolve matters. Virtually every military member can easily be …

New York City Misses The Exit To Traffic Safety, Joseph Caffrey

Capstones

New York City Misses the Exit to Traffic Safety investigates New York City’s mounting traffic violence crisis through the lens of a devastating crash that killed a Brooklyn mother and her two daughters. It examines the city’s inconsistent enforcement of reckless driving and the failure of the Dangerous Vehicle Abatement Program (DVAP), which aimed to reform recidivist speeders. The piece investigates the imperfections of Vision Zero, public backlash to automated enforcement, and the broader failure to prevent recidivist speeding. It also explores policy alternatives like Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), highlighting legislative efforts to revive accountability and save lives, while advocating …

Trailblazing Woman Sailor Cole Brauer To Deliver Roger Williams University Commencement Address 4-9-2025, Jill Pais, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.