Online Journal

The Perils and Possibilities for a Multiracial 21st Century America
By Atiba R. Ellis

This article evaluates American democracy in light of a multiracial 21st century America, emphasizing the variation between the ideals embedded in 15th Amendment to the Voting Rights Act and society’s current dynamic. Drawing on foundational principles of democracy, this article analyzes the law’s capability of protecting the common good with an emphasis on voting rights and election law. The author emphasizes the importance of preserving the right to vote, as well as the importance of a possible Third Reconstruction to rewrite our current thinking about democracy.

▸ Recommended Citation Atiba R. Ellis, The Perils and Possibilities for a Multiracial 21st Century America, 101 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online 1 (2024)

The Establishment Clause: No Longer a Lemon
By Gader Wren

This Article explores the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. Unlike its approach to Free Exercise disputes, the Supreme Court has failed to use a consistent test for Establishment cases. Indeed,  Establishment Clause doctrine has chaotically alternated course so much that it has left even careful readers confused. This article explores (1) why original public meaning, not intent, is integral to the interpretation of the Establishment Clause; (2) the history and development of the Establishment Clause; and (3) the future of the Establishment Clause.

▸ Recommended Citation Gader Wren, The Establishment Clause: No Longer a Lemon, 100 U. Det. L. Rev. Online 1 (2023)

The Necessity of Antitrust and Privacy Legislation Concerning Big Tech
By Severine Bateman

Over 99% of data present in the world, including personal data, is stored through various digital means. Individuals are now able to shop for groceries, call a friend, and gain access to their house all from a single device. While some of this data is secure and kept private, a large amount of data is accessed and sold by tech companies that have collected individuals’ data profiles to marketing and other data analysis buyers. First, the paper shows how the rise of digitalization has led to the creation of the Big Data industry and, by extension, Big Tech. Secondly, the paper highlights how the rise of Big Tech has resulted in serious privacy and antitrust violations. Lastly, this paper presents the necessity for a two-prong method to help curtail Big Tech’s uncontained growth that consists of both legislation for privacy protection and stricter antitrust regulation.

▸ Recommended Citation Severine Bateman, The Necessity of Antitrust and Privacy Legislation Concerning Big Tech, 100 U. Det. L. Rev. Online 2 (2023)

Global Migration, Citizenship and Catholic Social Teaching
By Vincent D. Rougeau

The idyllic and affluent island of Martha’s Vineyard lies just seven miles off the coast of Cape Cod—in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts where I have resided for more than a decade. On Wednesday, September 4, two planes landed in sleepy West Tisbury, one of just six Vineyard towns, and unloaded their human cargo—nearly 50 migrants, predominantly Venezuelans, who had previously been housed in migrant centers in Texas. The White House called it a “political stunt,” while governors from Florida, Texas and Arizona viewed it as a way to highlight the Biden administration’s failed immigration policy and distribute the burden of caring for immigrants from border states to sanctuary regions across the United States.

▸ Recommended Citation: Vincent D. Rougeau, Global Migration, Citizenship and Catholic Social Teaching, 100 U. Det. L. Rev. Online 3 (2023)

The Belgian Martens Clause: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Statistical Reanalyses of the Records of the 1899 Hague Peace Conference
By Keisuke Minai

This article challenges the common notion that the 1899 Martens Clause, an integral provision in international law, was drafted solely as a diplomatic tool. Rather, through novel methods of analysis and historical context, it concludes that the humanitarian objectives of the Clause cannot be ignored. It further concludes that the 1988 Martens Clause ought to be renamed to the Belgian Martens Clause, distinguishing it from the modern Martens Clause of 1949, and changing the legal significance of both. Such a change, the article notes, only makes it more difficult to ascertain the legal significance of both Clauses. 

▸ Recommended Citation: Keisuke Minai, The Belgian Martens Clause: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Statistical Reanalyses of the Records of the 1899 Hague Peace Conference, 100 U. Det. L. Rev. Online 4 (2023)

Quantifying the Impact of Matriculant Credentials & Academic Attrition Rates on Bar Exam Success at Individual Schools
By Rory Bahadur & Kevin Ruth

This article demonstrates the impact of matriculant credentials, transfer students, and academic attrition rates on bar passage. It discusses how schools can improve bar passage rates by modulating academic attrition, increasing transfers, and by choosing matriculants based on specific entering credentials.

▸ Recommended Citation: Rory Bahadur & Kevin Ruth, Quantifying the Impact of Matriculant Credentials & Academic Attrition Rates on Bar Exam Success at Individual Schools, 99 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online 6

Anecdotes from A Collaborative Classroom: Teaching the Intersection of Litigation and Transactional Law
By Jay Paskan & Jean Steadman

This article presents the perspectives of two experienced law professors that designed and taught a class focusing on aspects of both litigation and transactional law with the goal of training well-rounded practitioners.

▸ Recommended Citation: Jay Paskan & Jean Steadman, Anecdotes from A Collaborative Classroom: Teaching the Intersection of Litigation and Transactional Law, 99 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online 1

Establishing Corporate Criminal Liability for Crimes Against Humanity
By Harshit Rai

A pervasive culture of impunity surrounds corporate involvement in grave international crimes. Presently, there is no international mechanism to punish corporations for serious international crimes, as the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) does not permit holding legal persons criminally liable.

▸ Recommended Citation: Harshit Rai, Establishing Corporate Criminal Liability for Crimes Against Humanity, 97:4 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online 1

Favoring And Disfavoring Religion In Law
By Sohail Wahedi

This essay discussed the question whether the law should treat religion in a special way because it is religion, either for the purposes of favoring or disfavoring religion in law.

▸ Recommended Citation: Sohail Wahedi, Favoring And Disfavoring Religion In Law, 97:4 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online 1

“Thinking like a Lawyer: A Back to the Future Proposal for a Practitioner Based and Taught Pedagogy”
By Professor Michael Maslanka

An innocuous title for a radical proposal. A proposal that, to borrow the movie title, will take us Back to The Future. This Article proposes that how we currently teach law students to “think like a lawyer,” if at all, is not working. And I use this definition of “think”: “use one’s mind to actively form connected ideas…to direct one’s mind towards something.”

▸ Recommended Citation: Professor Michael Maslanka, “Thinking like a Lawyer: A Back to the Future Proposal for a Practitioner Based and Taught Pedagogy”, 97:4 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online 1

Defining Violent Felonies under the Armed Career Criminal Act after Stokeling v. United States
By Bailey D. Barnes

In 2015, Denard Stokeling, the Petitioner, “pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and ammunition after having been convicted of a felony.” Upon entering the plea, the United States Probation and Pretrial Services Office recommended that the District Court sentence Mr. Stokeling to fifteen years in prison as an armed career criminal under the Armed Career Criminal Act.

▸ Recommended Citation: Bailey D. Barnes, Defining Violent Felonies under the Armed Career Criminal Act after Stokeling v. United States, 97:4 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online 1

A Law Student Prepares: Bringing Theater into a Law School Curriculum
By Samantha Buck

The importance of integrating theater into law school curriculum.

▸ Recommended Citation: Samantha Buck, A Law Student Prepares: Bringing Theater into a Law School Curriculum, 97:1 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online 102

Complaint Conflicts: How Michigan’s State Complaint Oversight Fails to Protect Students with Disabilities
By Emily B. Garcia

This article seeks to show how Michigan Department of Education’s complaint procedures are inconsistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) and the Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education (MARSE), and recommend reforms for improving the system.

▸ Recommended Citation: Emily B. Garcia, Complaint Conflicts: How Michigan’s State Complaint Oversight Fails to Protect Students with Disabilities, 97:1 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online 102

Women’s Rights in the Workplace: The Struggle Is Still Real
By Kirsten J. Silwanowicz

A look at where women’s rights in the workplace are now.

▸ Recommended Citation: Kirsten J. Silwanowicz, Women’s Rights in the Workplace: The Struggle Is Still Real, 97:1 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online 102

From English Law and Blackstone to Modern Jurisprudence: A Survey of the Interpretation and Changes to the Bill of Attainder Clause of the U.S. Constitution
By Alina Veneziano

This article traces the history of the Bill of Attainder Clause, including its origins from English law, U.S. case law, and various commentaries and scholarship.

▸ Recommended Citation: Alina Veneziano, From English Law and Blackstone to Modern Jurisprudence: A Survey of the Interpretation and Changes to the Bill of Attainder Clause of the U.S. Constitution, 97:2 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online 1

Hernandez v. Whitaker: Because We Said So
By Danil E. Vishniakov

In a succession of published and unpublished decisions, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has unjustifiably mischaracterized Michigan’s "felonious assault" statute and ultimately held that felonious assault is not a crime involving moral turpitude. The Sixth Circuit should reconsider its decision in Hernandez v. Whitaker.

▸ Recommended Citation: Danil E. Vishniakov, Hernandez v. Whitaker: Because We Said So, 97:1 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online 102

Opening the Floodgates: Repealing Certificate of Needs Laws Could Drown Nursing Home Care
By Brendan Williams

Although ‘certificate of need’ (CON) laws sweep up other health care services, especially hospitals, this article focuses particularly upon the fraught economics of nursing home care relative to CON laws in arguing that such laws should be maintained.

▸ Recommended Citation: Brendan Williams, Opening the Floodgates: Repealing Certificate of Needs Laws Could Drown Nursing Home Care, 97:2 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online 1

How Sensory Processing Sensitivity Affects Juror Decision-Making
By Michael Conklin & Cheryl Stenmark

This essay reports the findings of a first-of-its kind study designed to measure how Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) affects juror decision-making. The findings support the hypothesis that the verdicts of Highly Sensitive People are uniquely affected by certain trial characteristics. The novel results are highly relevant to trial attorneys, jury selection specialists, criminal justice reform advocates, and legal scholars. Furthermore, the findings invite future research into the relationship between SPS and jury verdicts.

▸ Recommended Citation: Michael Conklin & Cheryl Stenmark, How Sensory Processing Sensitivity Affects Juror Decision-Making, 97:2 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online 1

Immigration Update: The History and Impact of the Newly Defined 'Public Charge'
By Shane Kumar & Kayley C. Leon

This article discusses the 2020 amendment to the definition of a 'public charge' under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which renders non-citizens determined to be public charges inadmissible into the U.S. This change has led to disagreement among politicians, public confusion and has left U.S. immigration in a state of flux.

▸ Recommended Citation: Shane Kumar & Kayley C. Leon, Immigration Update: The History and Impact of the Newly Defined 'Public Charge', 97:2 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online 1

The Legislative History of the Treatment of Military Working Dogs in the United States
By Kayley Cheyenne Leon

The treatment of Military Working Dogs (MWDs) by the American government has transformed drastically over the years. Recent provisions aim to further protect the animals, though formal military recognition has yet to be implemented. This essay addresses legislative changes concerning MWDs and advocates for the addition of further measures to recognize the animals’ contributions.

▸ Recommended Citation: Kayley Cheyenne Leon, The Legislative History of the Treatment of Military Working Dogs in the United States, 97:1 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online 102

Stirring the Bankruptcy Pot
By Brittany Byrnes

A major risk in the marijuana industry is inability of marijuana professionals to file for the protections of bankruptcy.

▸ Recommended Citation: Brittany Byrnes, Stirring the Bankruptcy Pot, 96:1 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. Online