When Ballots Are Blank: Write-In’S Serving Local Government And The Implications For A Healthy And Vibrant Democracy,
2024
Hamline University
When Ballots Are Blank: Write-In’S Serving Local Government And The Implications For A Healthy And Vibrant Democracy, Thomas J. Ruter
School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations
Our democracy depends on having a supply of candidates running for elected office, but in some instances, no one wants to run. This phenomenological study asks what the effects on a healthy and vibrant democracy are if ballots are blank and the seat is filled through write-in or appointment. Rooted in democratic theory, this study explores small, rural city elections where write-ins won election. Understudied, local governments are responsible for decisions affecting the lives of millions of people each day. Workforce scarcity, the alienation of young Americans from politics, government bashing, nasty campaigns, threats of physical harm, and other barriers …
How Can Law Enforcement Use Technology To Protect Citizens Justly?,
2024
Kennesaw State University
How Can Law Enforcement Use Technology To Protect Citizens Justly?, Zach Kantenwein
Emerging Writers
This paper explores the danger of emerging artificial intelligence technology perpetuating racial injustice in law enforcement and how police can ensure the protection of citizens amid this information age. We dissect a real-world case in which AI predictive policing technology resulted in alarming racial discrimination against American minority citizens. We discuss the possible explanations for this result and explore the limitations of artificial intelligence technology. Furthermore, we brainstorm methods for ensuring American citizens' just and constitutional protection as new technology is developed and tested. We propose implementing transparency laws that make the details about any policing technology and surveillance available …
Second-Tier Marriages,
2024
Saint Louis University School of Law
Second-Tier Marriages, Jeremiah A. Ho
All Faculty Scholarship
This Essay interrogates the reasoning behind the retrenchment toward LGBTQ rights progress that has taken place since marriage equality. With marriage rights for same-sex couples now "on the books," the Supreme Court's treatment of same-sex couples in both Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Comm'n and 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis reveals the status quo's hesitancy to recognize same-sex relationships on equal footing. Retrenchment, however, only describes the moment itself; it alludes to but offers no comprehensive or satisfying theory that identifies the motives behind the moves. This Essay theorizes from within the context of the Supreme Court's LGBTQ …
A Little Bird Told Me: The Lived Experiences Of Officers Who Participated In Deep Undercover Programs,
2024
West Chester University
A Little Bird Told Me: The Lived Experiences Of Officers Who Participated In Deep Undercover Programs, Oakley Fungaroli
West Chester University Doctoral Projects
This study used interpretative phenomenological analysis to gather and analyze semi-structured interviews of seven participants who took part in deep undercover programs between the 1970s and 1990s. In the early 1980s, under pressure from civil rights advocates, law enforcement implemented policies restricting the use of undercover police officers in non-violent intelligence investigations. The new guidelines resulted in robust selection and training requirements for deep undercover assignments which became focused on those who advocated criminal acts in furtherance of social or political objectives. The lived experiences revealed that while intelligence guidelines intended to protect civil rights applied to all personnel, training …
Nebraska Department Of Correctional Services Classification And Crowding Project Technical Report,
2024
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Nebraska Department Of Correctional Services Classification And Crowding Project Technical Report, Zachary Hamilton, Alex Kigerl, Baylee Allen-Flores, Addison Kobie, John Ursino, Amber Krushas, Brian Gildea, Ryan E. Spohn
Reports
In response to recent reports and noted issues of prison crowding, NDCS (Nebraska Department of Correctional Services) contracted with NCJR (Nebraska Center for Justice Research) to investigate the impacts of crowding. Going beyond the CSG, CJI, and Master Plan reports (Council of State Governments, 2015; Criminal Justice Institute, 2022; Dewberry, 2023; JFA, 2020), NDCS requested NCJR identify which facilities and populations are impacted greatest via crowding. Further, findings provide areas of recommended changes needed to ease growth and help maintain safety and functionality of NDCS institutions. As part of Phase I, we completed a process evaluation, which included a review …
Cultivating Attentiveness To Law In India Through Legal Anthropology,
2024
Emory University School of Law
Cultivating Attentiveness To Law In India Through Legal Anthropology, Deepa Das Acevedo, Jahnavi Chamarthi
Faculty Articles
This Article reviews and analyses scholarship at the intersection of anthropology and law. The first half of the Article provides context for understanding the boundaries, animating concerns, and tensions that have characterised the anthropology of law as an area of interdisciplinary inquiry. We focus especially on the subdiscipline’s Anglo-American history and show how a promising early period of engagement dissipated as both anthropologists and legal scholars lost enthusiasm for each others’ insights and methods. Then, we expand our analysis outward. Because legal anthropology belongs within, and is increasingly attentive to, the broader field of law and society scholarship, we explore …
The New Straightjackets: How Prisons Have Come To Be The Mental Illness Solution,
2024
St. John Fisher University
The New Straightjackets: How Prisons Have Come To Be The Mental Illness Solution, Parker A. Wolfe
Soaring: A Journal of Undergraduate Research
This paper examines the current mental health resources that are available in prisons, as well as the correlation between deinstitutionalization and the rise of individuals struggling with mental illness within prison walls.
Crj 63 - An Introuction To The Criminal Justice System,
2024
CUNY Kingsborough Community College
Crj 63 - An Introuction To The Criminal Justice System, Grace Trotman
Open Educational Resources
This course provides a study of the elements that comprise the criminal justice system: the police, courts, and corrections. Attention is given to civil liberties issues, which involve the procedural due process rights of criminally accused persons. Students undertake an intellectual journey through the criminal justice system to fortify their knowledge of the law and protections guaranteed under the Bill of Rights as they apply to the agencies that comprise the criminal justice system.
Should We Disaggregate Latino Youths Based On Ancestral Group When Examining Risk Factors Of Violent And Delinquent Behavior,
2024
Nova Southeastern University
Should We Disaggregate Latino Youths Based On Ancestral Group When Examining Risk Factors Of Violent And Delinquent Behavior, Elvis G. Sevilla
Theses and Dissertations
Researchers frequently aggregate Latino subgroups during statistical analyses despite findings indicating that cultural distinctions within Latino subgroups have unintended hidden impacts on analyses. This study disaggregated the Latino sample to assess if Latino youth samples differ among subgroups (i.e., Mexicans/Mexican Americans, Cubans/Cuban Americans, Puerto Ricans, Central/South Americans, and other Latinos) who self-reported violent and nonviolent delinquent behavior. Also, this study used Sampson and Laub’s age-graded theory to investigate life-course characteristics that predicted violent and nonviolent delinquent behaviors. A two-step approach analysis determined the differences in violent and delinquent behaviors among Latino subgroups and then which life-course risk factors predicted the …
Examining Digital Hostility Against Black Women: A Thematic Analysis Of The Black Manosphere On Twitter,
2024
Nova Southeastern University
Examining Digital Hostility Against Black Women: A Thematic Analysis Of The Black Manosphere On Twitter, Nekea Sanders
Theses and Dissertations
The Manosphere is a collective of powerfully influential men who create and control harmful narratives about women online. Individuals within the Manosphere are disseminating their beliefs and garnering support through various online platforms, including social media. This research study sheds light on the Black Manosphere, a group within the Manosphere that has gone under the radar, despite the detrimental and toxic content they publish online about Black women. This qualitative research study examined the hostile rhetoric published by the Black Manosphere on Twitter (now X) about Black women. The research questions guiding this qualitative examination were: (1) What types and …
Law Library Blog (January 2024): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive,
2024
Roger Williams University
Law Library Blog (January 2024): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law
Law Library Newsletters/Blog
No abstract provided.
Predictors Of Identity Crime Victimization Of Adolescent Youth In Foster Care,
2024
University of Pennsylvania
Predictors Of Identity Crime Victimization Of Adolescent Youth In Foster Care, John Gyourko, Greg Ridgeway
Department of Social Work - Faculty Scholarship
Identity crimes pose serious risks and challenges for youth in foster care. As young people move through various out-of-home placements and schools, their personal data are often widely disseminated, difficult to secure, and thus vulnerable to theft and misuse. When they transition from foster care to adulthood, identity crime victims with compromised credit histories may be denied loans, employment, and/or housing during the already-precarious period of emerging adulthood. Even though federal law requires state child welfare agencies to conduct annual credit checks for adolescent youth in foster care, little is known about the factors contributing to risk of identity crime …
The Effects Of Confession Evidence And Defendant Race On Juror Perceptions,
2024
Antioch New England Graduate School
The Effects Of Confession Evidence And Defendant Race On Juror Perceptions, Victoria E. Dodge
Antioch University Dissertations & Theses
Confession evidence continues to be one of the most persuasive, incriminating forms of evidence presented during a criminal trial (Kassin & Gudjonsson, 2004; Leo, 2009). Research suggests that jurors may also be influenced by extra-legal factors, such as personal characteristics of the defendant (e.g., the defendant’s race; D.J. Devine & Caughlin, 2014; Pickel et al., 2013; Sommers & Ellsworth, 2000). Research investigating the effect of race on juror perceptions has yielded mixed results. Some research has found that White jurors discriminate against defendants belonging to a racial minority while other research identifies a phenomenon referred to as the watchdog hypothesis …
Empirical Examination Of Factors That Influence Official Decisions In Criminal Cases Against Police Officers,
2024
The University of Mississippi
Empirical Examination Of Factors That Influence Official Decisions In Criminal Cases Against Police Officers, Francis D. Boateng, Daniel K. Pryce, Michael K. Dzordzormenyoh, Ming-Li Hsieh, Alan Cuff
Sociology & Criminal Justice Faculty Publications
In the current paper, we examine departmental and court decision-making in criminal cases against police officers. The study has two objectives: 1) to examine variables that impact departmental decisions in criminal cases against police officers, and 2) to examine factors that affect case disposition/conviction decisions by the courts. To achieve these objectives, we analyzed nationally representative arrest data using multiple statistical approaches. The results obtained revealed important patterns that are critical to our understanding of how the courts and police departments decide matters relating to police criminality. For instance, victim characteristics significantly influenced decision-making by both the police agency and …
Judicial Independence: An Important Yet Fragile Concept Needed For The Democracy Of The United States,
2024
Arcadia University
Judicial Independence: An Important Yet Fragile Concept Needed For The Democracy Of The United States, Michael Johnson Jr
Capstone Showcase
My thesis explores the processes by which jurists are appointed to the bench to various State Supreme Courts through several selection methods. I delve deep into the extensive and intricate history surrounding judicial independence as an institutional concept, which has caused signs of concern for many legal and institutional scholars. My research aims to address the question: To what extent do the methods and mechanisms intended to safeguard judicial independence effectively fulfill their purpose? To answer this question, I use a pattern matching method to analyze a selection of six summary judgment cases–chosen randomly–from each state. Three cases where the …
The Violence Of Numbers: A Critical Appraisal Of The Justice Capabilities Framework,
2024
National Law University, Delhi
The Violence Of Numbers: A Critical Appraisal Of The Justice Capabilities Framework, Abhineet Maurya
Socio-Legal Review
Systems of indicators and international rankings have today become a new mode of evaluating social, political, and economic life. In the context of measuring the rule of law and justice delivery systems at a local as well as a global level, such indicators enable empirically grounded solutions to justice reform issues. However, scholars like Siddharth Peter de Souza argue that the existing discourse concerning the rule of law and access to justice indicators promote a specific vision of a well functioning justice system grounded in western normative considerations. de Souza, in his book Designing Indicators for a Plural Legal World …
Fat And Water Content Effects Of Three Food Substrates (Ground Veal, Ground Beef, And Beef Liver) On Lucilia Sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Development And Mortality,
2024
Virginia Commonwealth University
Fat And Water Content Effects Of Three Food Substrates (Ground Veal, Ground Beef, And Beef Liver) On Lucilia Sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Development And Mortality, Nicole Dailey
Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects
Although temperature has been identified as the most important catalyst affecting blow fly larval development, other variables encountered by these species, such as the fat and moisture content of the food source, may have an impact on accurate estimations of the PMImin in forensic investigations. Thus, body composition differences between human carrion, such as variations in body fat and water percentages between younger and older individuals, or heavier persons, could affect blow fly developmental rates, and in turn cause over or under estimations of the PMImin. In this study, the weight, length, and development times of Lucilia sericata third instar …
The Development And Evaluation Of A Method For Complete Collagenase I Digestion Of Bos Taurus Bone Samples,
2024
Virginia Commonwealth University
The Development And Evaluation Of A Method For Complete Collagenase I Digestion Of Bos Taurus Bone Samples, Reilly Price
Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects
Current methods for processing aged forensic bone samples for DNA analysis involve pulverization and organic extraction, which further destroys already degraded DNA and uses large amounts of limited samples. Additionally, the success rates for this type of analysis vary widely as homogenization incorporates PCR inhibitors into the sample. Little research has explored how pulverization results in DNA damage in profiles obtained from skeletal remains. This study proposes an enzymatic digestion method to separate osteocytes from PCR inhibitors in the extracellular bone matrix to improve the quality and quantity of DNA isolated from aged bone samples. The technique described here used …
A Comparative Analysis Of Swabbing Solutions For Sexual Assault Evidence: Direct Impact On Spermatozoa And Dna Recovery,
2024
Virginia Commonwealth University
A Comparative Analysis Of Swabbing Solutions For Sexual Assault Evidence: Direct Impact On Spermatozoa And Dna Recovery, Olivia Q. Kassie
Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects
Forensic laboratories struggle with a backlog of sexual assault cases, prompting the need for effective techniques to develop consistent protocols and address scientific gaps. Challenges in recovering optimal DNA from assault evidence stem from factors like collection timing and sampling variables. Variations in lab protocols can lead to differences in DNA yields and profile success. This was observed in a state lab when protocols were developed allowing the use of acetone to swab sexual assault evidence. The use of acetone originated due to their case-routing protocols in multi-section cases involving latent fingerprints. While not necessary for sexual assault and porous …
Evaluation Of Charcoal Strip Extraction Efficiency Under Varying Substrate Conditions,
2024
Virginia Commonwealth University
Evaluation Of Charcoal Strip Extraction Efficiency Under Varying Substrate Conditions, Abby Wester
Master of Science in Forensic Science Directed Research Projects
The ability of a forensic examiner to identify the presence of ignitable liquids (ILs) in fire debris collected from the area of origin of a fire is an essential component for determining intent in fire investigations. However, this relies on an effective extraction method that provides a complete picture of what is present in the debris. In this study, eight substrate materials underwent three different treatments: a low-volume of substrate that was unburned, a low-volume of substrate that was burned, and a high-volume of substrate that was unburned. Each sample was spiked with a 1:1 mixture of gasoline and diesel …
