State and Local Government Law Commons^™

Tax Collectors For Fair Admissions: Advancing State-Level Tax Incentives To Curb Legacy Admissions, Patrick J. Labella

William & Mary Law Review

Part I of this Note will contextualize the practice of legacy admissions, describe its inherent unfairness and deleterious effects, and explain why—notwithstanding those concerns—some universities still employ the practice in their admissions processes. With that background, Part II of this Note will explain why fiscal incentives are the most appropriate mechanism to disincentivize legacy admissions practices. Part III will then evaluate the flawed federal fiscal proposals to curb legacy admissions, and Part IV will argue that state-level solutions should be preferred to federal ones to respect the values of federalism and promote the most narrowly-crafted, individualized, and state-specific solutions.

This …

Tedder'S Not Dead: What Process Is Due To Suspended Elected Officials In Florida?, Richard J. Mullaney

William & Mary Law Review

This Note argues that a proper interpretation of Florida law recognizes property interests in elected office as an integral factor to be considered when assessing what process is due to suspended elected officials. Part I provides an overview of the theoretical underpinnings and modern evolution of procedural due process and property interests, particularly as they relate to public employment and elected office. Part II contrasts historical case law in Florida where property rights were recognized with a curious line of emerging case law that finds no such rights. Part III investigates and refutes the flawed reasoning behind recent opinions that …

Environmental Geography And Law: Toward A Synthesis, Michaela Anang-Hadjicostandi, Sophia Borgias, Karrigan Börk, Ann M. Eisenberg, Guadalupe M. Franco, Cinnamon Carlarne Hirokawa, Keith H. Hirokawa, Jonathan London, Melinda Morgan, Jessica Owley, Shannon Roesler, Sonya Ziaja

Articles

This Article introduces the new interdisciplinary field of Environmental Geography and Law, which has deep roots in ecology, social science, and law. Environmental and natural resources laws are situated in specific times and places where the climate, ecosystems, history and political economy influence both the land and the law. These places drive and constrain the way law develops. In turn, the law shapes places, from the dispossession and forced migration of indigenous groups, to land development via railroad land grants, to patterns of resource extraction and infrastructure development. Past efforts to integrate law and geography have focused more on critical …

Exorcising Hobbes's Ghost: A Future For Constitutional And International Law, Monica Hakimi

Faculty Scholarship

Daryl Levinson wants to liberate constitutional law from the ghost of Thomas Hobbes. More than 350 years ago, Hobbes advanced a conception of law that, for all the efforts to move past it, continues to resonate. In the strictest iteration of the Hobbesian conception, law cannot exist apart from Leviathan, a sovereign state that is the “sole source of legal authority” in a defined territory. As the only possible source of law, Leviathan cannot itself be subject to law. “[I]t exercise[s] legally limitless power over its citizens and interact[s] with other Leviathans in a lawless international arena”. It is also …

Pedagogy Of The Polluted: Environmental Justice For School Communities, Sarah M. Hofgesang

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Invasive Species From Sea To Shining Sea: An Exploration Of Different Government Responses To Invasive Species In The United States, Caroline G. Nelson

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Revving Up Or Stalling Out? Examining The Effectiveness Of Electric Vehicles In Combating Climate Change, Meghan E. Miller Termat

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Unveiling A Hidden Hazard: A Deep Dive Into Forever Chemicals And The Urgent Need For Solutions, Katie L. Uszakiewicz

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Re-Imagining Tomorrow: A Technology, Innovation Law, And Ethics Symposium On Addictive Technology And Children, Margaret Chon

Seattle University Law Review

In this Foreword, Professor Margaret Chon introduces Seattle University's Technology, Innovation Law, and Ethics (TILE) program, the 2024 TILE Symposium, and Dr. Gaia Bernstein’s Unwired: Gaining Control Over Addictive Technologies.

Keynote Address: The Movement To Protect Kids From Addictive Technologies, Gaia Bernstein

Seattle University Law Review

In this keynote address, I describe my personal journey starting with a school outreach program I created in 2017 to address technology overuse among kids. While I initially advocated for self-help methods, I grew to recognize that the tech industry bore responsibility. This realization led me to write Unwired: Gaining Control over Addictive Technologies, which focused on collective action to pressure the tech industry to redesign its addictive products.

I then describe the movement to control addictive technologies and protect kids, which has gained momentum since the end of the pandemic. This movement combines grassroots parent activism with legal-political action. …

Moral Panic Or Public Health Crisis? Lessons From Drugs And Gambling For “Addictive” Design, Matthew B. Lawrence, Haomin (Kevin) Yan

Seattle University Law Review

Alcohol, automobiles, guns, lottery, loot boxes, meat, music, opioid painkillers, processed foods, prop bets, slot machines, television, tobacco, violent video games. Over the last century each of these has been subject to concerns—some might even say “moral panics”—from parents and policymakers about avoidable harms to kids and adults. In some cases we look back with the benefit of hindsight and dismiss those concerns as naïve or moralistic. In others we look back at them as justified or as having come too late to check an expanding industry before it did unfathomable harm while growing so powerful that it became all …

Responding To Digital Addiction, Ned Snow

Seattle University Law Review

In Unwired: Gaining Control over Addictive Technologies, Professor Gaia Bernstein calls our attention to the growing problem of digital addiction. Digital addiction may sound like something out of a science-fiction novel or something that does not raise the same sort of real-life practical concerns as are present in a physical health crisis or an economic decline. But as Bernstein presents the evidence, we learn that the consequences of digital addiction can be just as harmful as a serious disease or a financial depression. Cognitive development disorders, anxiety, emotional depression, social isolation, and other mental health ills can be debilitating—as much …

The Ai Doppelgänger Dilemma: Cloned Voices In The Music Industry, Elizabeth Shields

Seattle University Law Review

With the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI), there has been an influx of “voice clones”—deep-learning algorithms that create synthetic speech to realistically mimic human voices. Celebrities and, in particular, music artists, have been subjected to the proliferation of AI voice clones on social media platforms like TikTok and streaming platforms such as Spotify. Despite music utilizing AI voice clones having amassed much popularity, this technology can be harmful and highly invasive to musicians whose livelihoods often depend on their distinct voices. While legal scholars have attempted to articulate various rights that could protect a person’s voice, individuals are largely …

Let The Sunshine In: Crafting Constitutional Transparency Regulations For Content Moderation, Caitlin Ring Carlson

Seattle University Law Review

In response to public concern about the impact of social media, legislators in some U.S. states have developed laws to regulate the process of content moderation. Many include mandatory transparency and disclosure requirements, some of which courts have already deemed an unconstitutional infringement on social media platforms’ right to free expression. This article explores the parameters for crafting constitutional social media transparency regulations using existing U.S. media policy and insights from recent legal challenges. The resulting analysis identifies content neutral transparency requirements that mandate the disclosure of purely factual, non-controversial information as those most likely to withstand judicial scrutiny. Specifically, …

This Is Not A Game: The Addictive Allure Of Digital Companions, Nizan Geslevich Packin, Karni Chagal-Feferkorn

Seattle University Law Review

Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents have become an inescapable part of modern childhood, reshaping education, leisure activities, entertainment, and social interaction. From AI-powered tutors that adapt to individual learning styles to emotionally responsive chatbots that simulate human companionship, these systems promise unprecedented personalization, cognitive stimulation, and social support. However, these benefits mask significant risks that remain unregulated and inadequately addressed.

Although adults are also susceptible to forming deep emotional bonds with AI companions—often trusting them as if they possessed genuine understanding and empathy—children are particularly vulnerable. Their misplaced trust can more severely distort social development, weaken critical thinking, and foster unhealthy …

Indonesia’S Identity Politics And Populism: Disruption To National Cohesion, Firdaus Arifin, Rosa Tedjabuwana, Subelo Wiyono, Mohd Kamarulnizam Bin Abdullah

Jurnal Civics: Media Kajian Kewarganegaraan

The principle of unity in diversity in Indonesia is increasingly challenged by the rise of identity politics and populism. These dynamics emerge as a confluence of pragmatic political strategies and the mobilization of sectarian groups, often leveraging religious and ethnic sentiments during election campaigns. While effective in garnering popular support, such tactics undermine national unity and social cohesion, serving as a shortcut to power at the cost of societal harmony. This issue is particularly pronounced in district head elections, where the politicization of tribal, religious, racial, and inter-community identities has become pervasive. These elections, intended to reflect democratic principles, are …

The Market Value Of Partisan Balance, Brian D. Feinstein, Daniel J. Hemel

Northwestern University Law Review

For the past century, Delaware’s constitution has provided that no more than a bare majority of judges on the state’s courts may hail from the same political party. Some scholars and jurists theorize that Delaware’s commitment to a politically balanced judiciary increases the state’s attractiveness to out-of-state corporations and adds value to Delaware-chartered firms. These claims echo a larger literature in law and the social sciences positing that ideological diversity improves decisional quality. Recently, a series of federal court decisions in the case of Adams v. Carney put these claims to the test. In December 2017, a federal district court …

A Mistake For The Lake: Why Ohio Should Rethink Its Ban On Rights Of Nature For Lake Erie, Shelby Strohl

Cleveland State Law Review

“Throughout legal history, each successive extension of rights to some new entity has been, theretofore, a bit unthinkable.” - Professor Christopher Stone. The purpose of the rights of nature movement is to recognize that ecosystems and natural entities have the right to exist and thrive. Rights of nature give the natural entities legal protections against pollution and other harms. This Note recommends that the Ohio legislature reconsider its stance on prohibiting rights of nature under Ohio Revised Code Section 2305.011. This recommendation stems from the groundbreaking Lake Erie Bill of Rights, which granted rights of nature to Lake Erie in …

Barred From Every Angle: Ninety Days To Save Your Life From Arkansas Prisons, Lindsay Mast

Arkansas Law Review

Charlie Vaughn has been incarcerated since 1991 in Arkansas’s Tucker Unit maximum security prison, serving a life sentence for a first-degree murder he did not commit. His actual innocence is simply irrelevant in the State of Arkansas due to strict adherence to procedural court filing rules. He has only been denied without opinion or procedurally barred. Despite both state and federal constitutional protections safeguarding liberty and freedom through various rights, including to counsel, to remain silent, a speedy trial, a jury of peers, and due process, wrongful convictions persist. Arkansas stands out among other top incarceration rate states as one …