The Alien Tort Statute is a short, thirty-two word section of the United States Code enacted in 1789 as part of the Judiciary Act. The Alien Tort Statute, or ATS, has an uncertain and controversial beginning and remains controversial in current jurisprudence. The ATS reads as follows: “The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States." It is my intent for this thesis to be an academic discussion of the mysterious history, intent, and court cases that have evolved the ATS; and the way in which the evolution took place. Having lain dormant for almost two decades, it is important to understand how the ATS was finally utilized and how this affected the statutes ability to become a tool for human rights persecution abroad; until the decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum. Examining the language of two opinions by the District Court of the Second Circuit and the Supreme Court in Kiobel we will be able to understand, but reject, the arguments of both these courts.

As technology has developed, Americans have come to carry their most private information around with them in their pockets in digital form on their cell phones. A cell phone has immense storage capacity and can contain a wide variety of communicative information about its owner. In the past, there had been a disagreement among the lower courts as to whether police officers could search the contents of an arrestee's cell phone when making an arrest. The United States Supreme Court settled this disagreement in Riley v. California; in that case, the Court held that the warrantless search of a cell phone incident to arrest violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. This thesis discusses case law that preceded the United States Supreme Court case Riley v. California, that decision, and possible ramifications of that decision.

During the late 2000s the United States economy was faced with the most traumatic event in United States financial history since the Great Depression. Large multibillion dollar corporations collapsed, families lost their life savings, and the United States economy stood on a precipice for total destruction. In the wake of the Financial Crisis, investment firms such as Merrill Lynch collapsed and their portfolios were sold to competitors for far lower than their estimated value (Sorkin). In 2008, the Financial Crisis impacted the working man the most. With foreclosures on the rise, an estimated 81.2% increase from the year before, average citizens lost their homes, savings and certainty in the United States Government to protect their best interests (Armour). One of the hardest hit states, Nevada, saw a total foreclosure rate of about 7.3% which was an increase from the previous year of a staggering 125.7% (Armour). All these foreclosures rippled throughout the U.S housing market and made it nigh impossible for the banks securing the loans to collect upon the principle amount loaned, yet alone the interest. The shock from the United States financial sector echoed throughout the world. Correlating with the Financial Crisis, United States and global suicide rates were on the rise. According to a 2009 Article published by the British Medical Journal, United States suicide rates in men age 45-64 increased by over 6.4% of the expected trend ("Male Suicide Rate Rose during 2008 Global Economic Crisis, Says Time-Trend Study"). The Financial Crisis made it so that average individuals felt increased economic strain and an ever looming sense of disparagement. This is an examination and evaluation of the perhaps one of the greatest schemes in the history of global financial markets; this is a critical analysis of how greed, power and a lack of moral decency reshaped the world. This is an examination of how, in an age of deregulation, the powerful seemingly take precedence over the masses. This is the Story of the 2007/2008 Recession, of what has been done, of what we need to do, and of moving forward to assign blame and punishment to those responsible for the pain and suffering incurred by so many.

The following paper will explore the future of sustainable building practices as it relates to building design rating systems and whether building design rating systems are effective in conserving energy and resources in the construction of new buildings. This paper will begin by highlighting some of the general principles behind sustainable design practices, and the challenges of determining if building design rating systems are utilized effectively towards the goal of sustainability. In addition, the paper will highlight issues specific to ongoing litigation in Gifford v. U.S. Green Building Council and allegations made within the lawsuit that question the methodology and efficacy of building design rating systems. How political and ideological influences have propelled sustainability practices into the mainstream, and to what extent government is and should be involved in regulating building design rating systems will also be explored. Lastly, how will new energy performance and sustainable design methodologies, which are now being required in the law, affect the professional liability of building design professionals in the future?

Cord blood storage, use, and donation is a rising trend. The cells found in the blood of the umbilical cord can be used to treat various life threatening diseases. It has been shown that the use of these cells can produce results that are just as effective as a bone marrow transfusion. The yield of cells from a sample of cord blood is not always enough to be effective for a transfusion in adults. As such children are the primary demographic for cord blood transfusions. For this reason, prospective parents are taking notice of the trend. Currently, federal and state statutes are set up to promote the introduction of cord blood use. What current law fails to recognize is that cord blood is in use and has a lot of potential. For this reason laws need to be updated to better reflect the current market. A more proactive approach needs to be taken to better utilize the potential of cord blood. As the trend is popularized there is an increasing notion that informed consent is not uniform enough, state laws do not adequately promote cord blood use, and there is a discrepancy between the standards of public and private cord blood banks. In order to improve upon these issues it is necessary to review the laws that are currently in place and then expand upon them so that they better reflect the storage, use, and donation of the blood. If umbilical cord blood becomes more than medical waste, as is projected to happen, then there is a need for an adequate legal foundation that protects the interests of all parties involved, especially prospective parents.

Over the last few decades our society has moved towards restricting where sexual offenders can live, work, and overall congregate. This issue has been the focus of great public attention due to the media's role in bringing these offenders to the light. Whether it is through the news, movies, TV series, books, talk shows, newspapers articles, etc., these offenders are constantly being talked about. Every body of government in the United States has moved towards implementing restrictions that are aimed at keeping sex offenders away from places where they are considered a potential danger. However, what it is not talked about is that in efforts to limit where sex offenders can live and work to ensure the safety of our society; we are isolating these offenders and hindering their reintegration into our society. By isolating sexual offenders from our society we are doing more harm than good because we are discriminating and not working to fit the needs of each individual offender. One size does not fit all. The intent of this thesis is to explore sexual offender legal restrictions, treatment, case law, constitutionality of these laws and to compare Florida's approach towards restriction of sexual offenders with other states. Through the analysis of case law and statutes, recidivism rates, and treatment options this thesis will evaluate what different approaches should be taken towards aiding the reintegration of sexual offenders into our society. This thesis will provide background information on sexual offenders, compare legal restrictions among states, give an analysis of sexual offender websites, and provide recommendations to a better approach in treating sexual offenders. By raising awareness to the unfairness of treatment of sexual offenders, this thesis aims to open a new gateway to determine more successful ways to rehabilitate sexual offenders.

The United States of America is facing an important decision. Should illegal immigrants be allowed to obtain driver’s licenses? Thus far ten states and the District of Columbia as well as Puerto Rico have passed laws permitting this to come into fruition. The purpose of this thesis is to gain an understanding of the significance that licensing laws have on this country. This thesis will compare the views and beliefs of both the proponents and opponents to this law. This thesis also discusses how Florida is deeply affected due to its large Hispanic immigrant population. This issue is laden with passion and emotion due to the desire of many to see this group of people that are currently undocumented, have the ability to lead a more normal life and conversely the fear that allowing licenses will give undocumented aliens privileges of citizens and encourage illegal immigration. The views on these laws are divided throughout the nation. The lawfulness is examined in reference to rewarding and promoting illegal immigration and the cumulative negative effects that this can have on this country. The driver’s license requirements were analyzed for each individual state. News articles were researched and used to enrich the pros and cons on this topic. This research was then used to give a recommendation for Florida law

The United States has experienced several mass shootings in the past few years. It has been averaging one shooting every week in 2015, and something must be done about it. This problem appears to be limited to the United States since several other nations have been able to minimize, and almost eliminate the number of mass shootings. By taking an analysis of the gun laws of the United States with those of Australia and Canada it can be concluded that some aspects of strict gun control can reduce the number of mass shootings. Further, the United States should look at what other common law nations have done to reduce the number of mass shootings. The United States is also the only nation that recognizes a fundamental right to keep and bear arms, and any legislation must address that right. Some ways to address strict gun control in the United States is to strengthen the background check system, add a liability insurance requirement, and strictly enforce culpable negligent statutes. Adding some elements of strict gun control will help minimize the amount, and impact of the shootings. Canada, and Australia both have active hunting communities that require the need for some legal firearms. A night at the movies, a day at school, or attending a church event should not bring about worry that an individual may get shot and killed by a deranged individual. Other similar nations have shown that rampage shootings do not have to be a side effect of living in a free society.

With recent and contentious Supreme Court cases dealing with corporate constitutional rights, such as Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010), as well as with the appointment of a new justice, the time is particularly ripe for evaluations of the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence in this area, including predictions about the future of this line of cases. The purpose of this thesis is to establish a better understanding of the historical jurisprudential approach utilized by the Supreme Court to decide corporate constitutional rights by establishing the well-known doctrine of selective incorporation as an appropriate analogy. No other works attempt to frame the case history of corporate constitutional rights within a consistent doctrine, yet many works seek to evaluate and predict Court decisions in this area. This work will therefore create a new frame of reference for corporate constitutional rights, providing a new basis for interpretation and predictions. This thesis begins by conducting a thorough overview of both lines of cases, focusing on the establishment of each doctrine over time as well as the reasoning behind the Court’s use of this particular approach. Once a clear picture of both approaches has been ascertained, this thesis moves on to an overall comparison and evaluation of both approaches. In finding the process, intent, and overall effect of both jurisprudential approaches to be the same, the use of selective incorporation as an analogy for the Supreme Court’s approach to corporate constitutional rights gives way to predictions about the future of corporate constitutional rights. Considering the relevant views expressed by the new justice, Neil Gorsuch, and the previous decisions of the Roberts Court, this analogy provides solid evidence for predicting continued expansion of corporate constitutional rights, including such areas as freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and perhaps even rights of the accused. The comparative approach used in this thesis, as well as the analogy it establishes, can also be revisited as new Court decisions are made and as the makeup of the Court changes overtime.

The intent of this thesis is to examine the future of the third-party doctrine with the proliferation of technology and the online data we are surrounded with daily, specifically after the United States Supreme Court's decision in Carpenter v. United States. In order to better understand the Supreme Court's reasoning in that case, this thesis will review the history of the third-party doctrine and its roots in United States v. Miller and Smith v. Maryland. A review of Fourth Amendment history and jurisprudence is also crucial to this thesis, as it is imperative that individuals do not forfeit their Constitutional guarantees for the benefit of living in a technologically advanced society. This requires an understanding of the modern-day functional equivalents of "papers" and "effects." Furthermore, this thesis will ultimately answer the following question: Why is it legally significant that we protect at least some data that comes from technologies that our forefathers could have never imagined under the Fourth Amendment? Looking to the future, this thesis will contemplate solutions on how to move forward in this technology era. It will scrutinize the relevancy of the third-party doctrine due to the rise of technology and the enormous amount of information held about us by third parties. In the past, the Third-Party Doctrine may have been good law, but that time has passed. It is time for the Third-Party Doctrine to be abolished so the Fourth Amendment can join the 21st Century.