Public Interest Commons^™

Foia Fellows As Freedom Fighters: An Independent And Privately Funded Foia Commission Of Rotating Professionals, Jack Wroldsen

Marquette Law Review

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a hallmark of U.S. democracy, designed as an outsider element that foists transparency on a government bureaucracy whose centripetal forces spin inexorably toward self-preservation and secrecy. The United States pioneered the worldwide Freedom of Information (FOI) movement in 1966, but other countries have since surpassed the United States in FOI design and performance. For example, when the author’s colleague sent parallel FOI requests to six Western democratic countries, all but the United States responded substantively within days, weeks, or months; the United States took four and a half years.

This Article analyzes the …

A Legal Analysis Of Wisconsin’S Disturbing History Of Unpunished Lynchings, 1848–1910, Steven M. Biskupic

Marquette Law Review

“Wisconsin is getting a reputation for lynching.” So reported the Manitowoc Pilot in 1881, after an enraged mob stormed a courtroom in Pepin County and, in the midst of legal proceedings, brutally lynched Ed Maxwell, who had been charged with killing two law enforcement officers. Between 1848 and 1910, Wisconsin had dozens of similar lynching attempts, undertaken by hundreds of otherwise law-abiding citizens and witnessed by thousands more. Nineteen resulted in violent death. Yet with only one exception, an outlier involving a battered wife, no one was ever criminally punished for engaging in lynchings in Wisconsin. This record is even …

Does The 25th Amendment Merit Reform?: The Challenge Of Determining Presidential Disability, Karena R. Andreassen

Honors Theses

This research project examines the persistent lack of use of the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution in its original form, despite many calls for the reform of the language or expansion of its application as situations unfold. Adopted in 1967, the amendment was created to address the challenges of presidential succession and incapacity. However, historical events over the last few decades, such as the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan, Reagan’s colon cancer, and the general increase in the age at which presidents assume office, have contributed to scrutiny over the amendments’ provisions. This study will explore why specifically …

Sunshine Laws Cast A Dark Shadow On Democracy, Elizabeth Stephani

Wyoming Law Review

A group of people keenly aware of government corruption and the consequences of concentrated power created the United States Constitution. Flowing from the Founders’ fear of another King, the U.S. Constitution designed public institutions to be accountable to the people through the separation of powers. While the separation of powers remains the bedrock of American democracy, laws like the Wyoming Public Records Act (Wyoming Sunshine Law) allow for harmful overlaps in government powers. This Article begins by assessing federal legal frameworks for open records requests incorporated in the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Next, the Article compares and contrasts Wyoming’s …

The Gym-Pire Strikes Back: Is The Eighth Circuit's Vacatur Of The Ftc's Click-To-Cancel Rule The End Of The Regulatory Workout For The Health And Fitness Industry?, Nicholas J. Christopolis

UF Law Faculty Publications

There is a broader regulatory battle in which subscription-based businesses, particularly in the health and fitness industry, are being reined in by increasingly aggressive consumer protection regimes. This Article examines this conundrum facing regulators and affected businesses in four parts. Part I explores the concept of negative option marketing, the FTC’s theory of harm and justification for promulgating the Rule in the modern subscription economy, and the compliance burdens it would have imposed on the health and fitness industry. Part II explains the pushback from the health and fitness industry that delayed enforcement, created loopholes, and helped fuel the lawsuits …

Crip The Law: Representation As A Key Component Of Liberation Lawyering, Marissa Ditkowsky

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

Do Federal Circuit Courts Of Appeal Provide Adequate Assistance To Self-Represented Litigants? A Review Of The Circuits’ Websites Resources, Jona Goldschmidt

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

The Gym-Pire Strikes Back: Is The Eighth Circuit’S Vacatur Of The Ftc’S Click-To-Cancel Rule The End Of The Regulatory Workout For The Health And Fitness Industry?, Nicholas J. Christopolis

Marquette Sports Law Review

No abstract provided.

Housing As A Human Right Through Legislative Action: Comparing France And Scotland’S Enforceable Rights To Housing, Emily Peterson, Jack E. Turman Jr., Ph.D.

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

Recusal Reform: Treating A Justice's Disqualification As A Legal Issue, Michael J. Broyde, Hayden H. Hall

Faculty Articles

This article addresses the pressing issue of recusal in the U.S. Supreme Court. It critiques the current practice of Supreme Court Justices deciding individually whether to recuse themselves from cases, highlighting the flaws and potential biases inherent in this practice. The authors advocate for a reform where initial recusal decisions are made by individual Justices but then are subject to review by the Supreme Court as a whole.

The article offers several arguments to support this proposal. First, the authors explore the evolution of recusal laws, focusing on the significant amendments to 28 U.S.C. § 455 in 1948 and 1974. …

Genetic Property Rhetoric And The Public Domain, David Fagundes

Faculty Articles

Among the many themes that illuminate Jorge Contreras’s The Genome Defense, this Essay focuses on property. It considers the rhetorical role played by property in convincing both courts and the public that patenting genetic data was legally and ethically objectionable. This Essay begins by locating property—and public property—as a major theme in the dialogue surrounding the Myriad litigation. It then situates this rhetorical move in the context of property-talk generally, highlighting the distinctiveness of leveraging public rather than private ownership as a means of accessing moral intuitions. Finally, this Essay reflects on what the use of public property rhetoric …

Teaching Client Counseling In The Shadow Of Homelessness, Gregory Zlotnick

Faculty Articles

Working with clients at risk of or experiencing, homelessness teaches personal and professional humility like few other experiences in law school or the practice of law. Yet such sensitive work also provides an opportunity for law students to develop both a keener understanding of their own professional identity-with its capacities and limitations and critical counseling skills. This essay draws upon experiences gained in three distinct law school projects that work with clients at risk of or experiencing, homelessness.

After providing a brief overview of each project, the essay will explore methods used for training and supervising students during their counseling …

The Effects Of Chronic Absenteeism On Average Daily Attendance Funding In Humboldt County Elementary Schools, Corabelle A. Esmailian

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Chronic absenteeism is linked to poor academic performance and lower social-emotional skills, both of which can have long-term effects on students and their communities. The California Department of Education uses average daily attendance (ADA) to determine most of the funding that public schools receive. When a student is absent, their school loses a portion of potential funding for that day. This study explores chronic absenteeism’s impact on the funding of Humboldt County’s elementary schools with a sequential exploratory research strategy and critical systems lens. Interviews with elementary administrators were conducted using a phenomenological approach to understand how this affects their …

The Effectiveness Of The Minnesota Buffer Law And Its Impacts On People, Ellen P. Isakson

Journal of Earth and Life Science

In January 2015, the then-governor of Minnesota Mark Dayton announced new legislation that would require 50-foot vegetation buffers along all waterways in Minnesota; this legislation would come to be known as the Minnesota buffer law, exact requirements being “perennial vegetative buffers of up to 50 feet along lakes, rivers, and streams and buffers of 16.5 feet along ditches” (Albert, 2017; MN Board of Water and Soil Resources [MN BWSR] 4 ). A buffer in the context of vegetation and natural resource management is a strip of vegetation around a body of water “designed to intercept stormwater runoff and minimize soil …

Mailing It In: Due Process Requires Technology-Driven Safeguards In Public Benefits, Eric Lukoff

Celebrating WCL Student Authors

Due process in safety net public benefit programs requires agencies to employ modern technology in providing notice that is reasonably likely to reach participants. The Supreme Court has held that due process is dependent on the time, place, and circumstances in which it operates. Scholars have further argued that due process is adaptable to changing facts and circumstances over time. Yet, mailed paper notices remain the standard in providing notice to participants in public benefit programs.

Living in poverty today looks significantly different than it did nearly fifty years ago at the time of Mathews v. Eldridge, where the Court …

The Land Of Opportunity Zones: Where Opportunity Goes To Die, Hilana Said

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

What do a superyacht marina in West Palm Beach, Florida; the city in Minnesota that is home to the Mall of America; and a blighted East Harlem, New York, have in common? They are all opportunity zones. This may be a striking fact, considering the first two areas are affluent while the third is home to many low-income families with an average income for elderly citizens below twenty thousand dollars. The problem with the opportunity zones program, as we currently know it, is that it does not serve the right communities, and when it does, it is not always in …

Lost Innocence, Mateo Valdivieso

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Human trafficking is defined as involving “force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security). It disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, particularly children within the U.S. welfare system. This research aims to analyze the characteristics of this system that produce vulnerabilities in welfare children that heighten their risk of being trafficked. The study focuses on socio-economic, psychological, and environmental vulnerabilities, examining how these factors, combined with increased internet accessibility, exacerbate the risks of trafficking. Using a qualitative approach, the research uses secondary data from peer-reviewed journal articles, government reports, and reputable …

How Does The Modern Supreme Court Treat The Idea Of Retribution In The Context Of Capital Punishment?, Paige Forsberg

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis explores the modern U.S. Supreme Court's treatment of retribution in the context of capital punishment, analyzing how justices have framed and justified the death penalty as a form of justice. Through the examination of key Supreme Court rulings and legal arguments, this study evaluates the evolving role of retribution in the Court’s decisions on death penalty cases, highlighting how judicial reasoning has shifted over time in response to legal, philosophical, and societal developments.

Retribution, long considered one of the primary justifications for capital punishment, is examined through a nuanced lens in this study. While historically viewed as a …

Instruments Implementation Audits And Development Strategies For Taiwan As A Non-Member State Of The Imo, Hui-Huang Tai, Tun-Hao Hsu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has formulated numerous maritime-related conventions. The promotion of mandatory audits is required to ensure that the implementation of maritime management systems in various countries complies with the IMO Instruments Implementation Code (III Code) and that both member states and non-member states implement these conventions. This is not only an obligation but also a responsibility for all countries to promote the development of the maritime industry. This study investigates how Taiwan, one of the non-member state of the IMO, implements the audit process and develops future implementation strategies for various maritime conventions. This issue is of …

“I’M Not Really Sure Of What Exists Here”: Frontline Perspectives On Services For Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence, Jennifer L. Mcarthur, Kayla J. Goruk, Julie Blais, Alexa Dodge, Suzie Dunn

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Technology-facilitated sexual violence (TFSV) is a pervasive issue, yet research on the availability, accessibility, and effectiveness of services for TFSV victimsurvivors remains limited, particularly in Canada. This qualitative study examines the state of service provision for TFSV in Nova Scotia, drawing on insights from 12 interviews with service providers specializing in sexual violence prevention and response. The study explores the availability and nature of services offered to TFSV victim-survivors and the key challenges faced by professionals in providing support. Thematic analysis highlights significant gaps in service provision, including a reliance on generalized approaches, restrictive eligibility criteria that exclude certain victimsurvivors, …