Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote in his acclaimed novel Crime and Punishment, "if he has a conscience he will suffer for his mistake. That will be punishment as well as the prison."1 The plague of guilt on the mind of a criminal is a key element in this book and is quite applicable to the case study at hand which examines why some juveniles are habitual criminal offenders. What prompts a youth to commit crimes? How does a child deal with his conscience for the unlawful acts? Does he understand right from wrong, truth from falsehoods, and freedom from repercussions? And should there be more stringent punishments by the state for committing the offenses? Society has developed ideas on what is acceptable in handling problem children. The justice system has turned from the idea of punishing offending youths to rehabilitating them. However, given the many problems our country faces with crime rates for juvenile offenders, perhaps society should question if the methods currently employed are effective. This examination specifically reviews the crime rates in Florida and how the law is applied to youths. This thesis aims to discover aspects of what encourages children to commit violent acts and which governmental and societal methods employed are successful or ineffective in treating this behavior. The purpose of this thesis is to probe the boundaries of our society and provoke social imagination to find resolutions in how the state may bring down crime rates for this age group.

Real Estate law is the body of rules and regulations with legal codes that concern ownership, development and transactions. Real Estate has grown to be one of the main contributors to the nation's financial system. For decades, the housing market has been such an integral part of the economy. Unfortunately, in the beginning of the twenty-first century lax regulatory oversight led the nation to an economic collapse. Indeed, federal, state and local governments have become heavily involved in solving the downward spiral in the economy. This research focuses on the mortgage crisis in order to show how Real Estate law can in fact, restore the economy when the government has a balance between regulations and market discipline. The intent of this thesis was to study the occurrence of the mortgage crisis, the regulatory authorities and the legal effects of the housing market. Through the analysis of case law and statutes, data, previous recessions, and economic indicators, this thesis examines the key factors in our legal system that should drive reform in our economy. Results suggested that greater efforts to a regulatory structure generate a secure financial system. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is not only to solve our current mortgage crisis but also to mitigate or prevent future crises.

Within the United Kingdom (UK) prisons exists Foreign National women (FNW), a unique demographic of women who are non-UK citizens who have committed crimes within the UK. It is important to delve deeper into the issue before judgment is made, however, it seems as though in most circumstances, most citizens are not willing or perhaps even unknowledgeable that such a population within prison exists. Therefore, it is important to educate others about the issues that FNW in prison face. This research focuses on the issues such as lack of special services for the women such as translation and family contacts, lack of assistance with applications for asylum, general fear for returning to the home country, and why the women came to the country to begin with. Once the general public becomes aware of these issues, these women can move forward as legislation and assistance can be provided to them. The lack of resources for FNW can lead to isolation, fear, loss of family ties, and even death, should they be forced to return to a dangerous country or situation. While this issue is a worldwide problem, this research will specifically address FNW in prison in the United Kingdom (UK), and the policies and assistance, or lack thereof that the UK has provided thus far. Furthermore, the research will address the issue of the UK's Automatic Deportation Policy and whether or not FNW are being charged with harsher punishment than the UK national women with similar crimes.

In recent years, animal cruelty has stirred into the limelight as society has given the issue further consideration. State and federal laws as well as the establishment of diverse non-governmental organizations exist to abate animal cruelty, but such institutions have lagged in creating effective control mechanisms in spite of the growth of this modern day pandemic. This thesis will discuss animal cruelty, the types of cruelty, legislative developments, correlation of animal cruelty to violence among humans, and ways to strengthen control mechanisms. Credible findings have indicated a propensity for offenders of animal cruelty to escalate their acts of violence towards a human. Although animal cruelty has made a modest impression on society, a significant segment of our population nevertheless shares the belief that animals are property lacking a holistic set of basic rights, which in turn perpetuates egregious forms of abuse towards animals. Said abuses will be thoroughly reviewed in this thesis with the intent of bringing a collective consciousness to the reader of the extensive types of abuses animals are subjugated to by some of the most heinous offenders. Then, a discussion will proceed of the hoisting impact animal cruelty has in galvanizing violence towards humans. By meticulously analyzing a variety of empirical research showing the overarching effects of animal cruelty as well as by analyzing state and federal laws that have been hindered tepid enforcement control mechanisms over the years, this thesis will argue for an overhaul of enforcement mechanisms so as to cause broader circumvention of animal cruelty. While research shows that there has been a growth in awareness by another significant segment of the population as to gravity of the situation dealing with the mistreatment of animals in our society, there still remains insufficient societal awareness and governmental power to abundantly curtail this imminent problem. Only when society is enlightened with the dangers of animal cruelty and how it can have dire undulating effects within the community, will substantial advancements be made to give animals the wide spectrum of rights they deserve. After conveying the societal necessity for change in constructively protecting animals, a discussion will ensue on the inadequacy of animal laws today. Then, a discussion will proceed on ways to strengthen animal rights in a manner that is reflective of the general cultural norms and values in this modern age. It is the intent of this thesis to affect change and begin a constructive discourse in society of how to mend the preceding errors of prior generations when dealing with animal abuse. While for a significant segment of the population the merit of such argumentation may rest solely in the notion that animals deserve certain basic rights, this thesis widens the purview of consciousness with the empirically-proven affirmation that animal violence can potentially lead to attacks against humans by people who progressively engage in anti-social acts. Thus, the nexus between admonishable violent acts and sanctionable criminal acts is intrinsically intertwined in the notion that animal abuse is a potential precursor to human abuse. In this light, even that segment of the population apathetic towards the plight of animals may not refute the importance of impugning any and all admonishable violent acts against animals into the realm of punitive criminal sanctions orchestrated by a governmental body empowered with seeking the common good--for to otherwise refute animal rights through this newly-endowed lens would be to refute human rights as well.

Cuba is a communist country an estimated population of 11,075,244(2013), Cuba is located about ninety-three miles south of Key West, Florida. Cuba has been ruled by the communist regime of Fidel Castro, and now his younger brother Raul Castro. For over fifty years this regime has forced a major increase in the amount of people migrating to the United States. The regime has been disregarding basic human rights for decades and oppressing Cuba’s citizens. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans have come to the United States using boats, rafts, or any means available. The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 (amended in 1994 to contain the Wet Foot, Dry Foot Policy) states that if Cubans trying to reach the United States are intercepted at sea, they will be sent back to Cuba, or a third country. If they make it to United States soil, they will have the chance to start the journey to becoming citizens of the United States. Many Cubans die at sea trying to reach the United States for this chance at citizenship. There have been attempts to implement immigration policy in the past. President Obama is now trying to reform current immigration laws. What effects could a new immigration policy have on Cuban immigration versus the legislation put forth in the past? This study will be an examination and analysis of past and Cuban immigration policy and issues. This research paper utilizes government websites, news articles, presidential addresses, books and various sources to address this question. My hope is that this study will help to explain the impact past policies and reform had on Cuban immigration, and the impact proposed policy and current issues may have in the future.

Same sex couples around the nation have continually fought for their right to marry and in thirty-six states they have been given that right. What same-sex couples did not think to fight for was the right to divorce. There has been a considerable lack of focus on one such issue often left out of the public discourse over marriage equality: determining parental rights for the purposes of child custody/visitation in the context of a homosexual relationship that has broken down. The choice to have a child in a same-sex couple, with the exception of adoption, usually only allows for one parent to serve as the biological parent to the child. These options include: surrogacy, in vitro fertilization, and artificial insemination. What that means is that it leaves the other parent as the nonlegal and nonbiological parent in which they would be given no rights to the child if the relationship were to dissolve. After looking at many cases in Florida, the courts place a significant emphasis on biology in determining child custody in dissolution of marriage or relationship proceedings. In this thesis, we offer solutions in order to allow same-sex couples the equal parental rights they deserve even when they are not the biological parent of the child. Florida statutes have not been updated to reflect the changes in the law such as the recognition of same-sex marriage and the right for same-sex couples to adopt. Although restrictions on adoption and same sex marriages have been found unconstitutional, the implications of these changes in the law regarding custody and parental rights have not changed. Once the proposed solutions have been adopted, same-sex couples will be able to dissolve their relationships and marriages without fear of losing the custody and/or visitation rights to their child while still applying the best interest of the child standard used in heterosexual dissolution of marriage cases.

Law schools are criticized for graduating students who lack the skills necessary to practice law. Legal research is a foundational ability necessary to support lawyering competency. The American Bar Association (ABA) establishes standards for legal education that include a requirement that each law student receive substantial instruction in legal skills, including legal research. Despite the recognized importance of legal research in legal education, there is no consensus of what to teach as part of a legal research course or even how to teach such a course. Legal educators struggle to address these issues. The practicing bar and judiciary have expressed concerns about law school graduates ability to conduct legal research. Studies have been conducted detailing the poor research ability of law students and their lack of skills. Although deficiencies in law student research skills have been identified, there is no agreement as to how to remediate these deficiencies. This dissertation suggests the legal research resources that should be taught in law schools by identifying the research resources used by practicing attorneys and comparing them to those resources currently included in legal research instruction at the 202 ABA-accredited law schools. Multiple data sources were used in this study. Practitioner resource information was based on data provided by practicing attorneys responding to the 2013 ABA Legal Technology Survey. Resources taught in ABA-accredited law schools were identified through three sources: a 2014 law school legal research survey sent to the 202 ABA-accredited law schools, a review of law school syllabi from ABA-accredited law school legal research and legal research and writing courses, and the Association of Legal Writing Directors 2013 annual survey of legal research and writing faculty. The combined data from these three sources were compared to the resources used by practicing lawyers identified in the annual national 2013 ABA Legal Technology Survey. This comparison of what is taught with what is used in practice identifies a deficiency in law school instruction in the research resources used by practicing attorneys. These survey results detail distinct areas of inadequate instruction in legal research resources and provide legal educators with detailed information necessary to develop a curriculum that will result in graduating students with practice-ready competencies.

The thesis examines the expressions and origins of negative attitudes to gender equality in the Czech Republic, which have been noticeable especially in the process of implementation of the EU sex equality acquis. It asks whether and how they can be explained with reference to socio-legal developments that started during Czechoslovakia’s State Socialist past, but are still relevant today. In order to answer these research questions, the thesis examines how gender equality has been regulated through law and how it has been understood by law-makers, judges and legal scholars in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic during State Socialism (1948-1989) and Transition (1989-today). The thesis examines legal developments in gender-relevant areas, most importantly in antidiscrimination law. It also excavates the underlying, sometimes hidden, but crucial understandings of key concepts such as ‘women’, ‘gender’, ‘equality’, ‘discrimination’ and ‘rights’. The thesis argues that while formal legal guarantees for women have largely been satisfactory in the Czech Republic by international standards, the way these formal legal guarantees are understood, interpreted and applied has not been gender-progressive. It argues that the reasons for this are: (i) entrenched patriarchal ideas about women’s appropriate role both in private and public life; (ii) a failure to understand gender as a social construct and to recognize gender order as a pervasive social structure; (iii) an inadequate conceptualization of equality and a refusal to combat sex discrimination; and (iv) a limited understanding of the role of law and of rights in the shaping of social relations. It argues that these understandings have been considerably path-dependent on State Socialism, be it through a rejection of anything perceived as State Socialist (which has harmed redistributive policies), as well as through the mostly unconscious retention of ideas or their absence (which has led to a blindness to the cultural aspects of patriarchy).

Since the passing of Proposition 47 in California in 2014, drug court programs across the state have invariably undergone changes. In my thesis, I evaluate the drug court programs of three counties in Southern California: Orange County, Los Angeles County, and Riverside County. Through a qualitative analysis of the drug court programs in these counties, via interviews, data collection, and courtroom observation, I provide insight into the functionality of each county's program, as well as an analysis of the effects of Proposition 47. This paper aims to address the key factors involved in maintaining a functional and successful drug court system.

This qualitative socio-legal study critically examined the protection against housing discrimination found in chapter 2 § 12 of the Swedish Discrimination Act (SFS 2008:567), in light of United Nations, Council of Europe and European Union housing and non-discrimination (human rights) standards. As an applied socio-legal study it aimed to be critical towards the limits of law in context. By applying an intersectional approach as the theoretical framework for the study, it aimed to identify legal weaknesses from an intersectional point of view. The study made use of a descriptive doctrinal analysis method and a critical text analysis method. The material for analysis consisted of civil housing discrimination law: legislation, preparatory works and case law. The case law, anonymized for this study, consisted of three district court judgments and three appeal court judgments processed during the years 2007-2016. The first research question asked what, if any, forms of intersectional discrimination the housing discrimination law face and comprise. The descriptive doctrinal analysis revealed that all cases shared the discrimination ground ‘ethnicity’ and discrimination form ‘direct discrimination’. The critical text analysis resulted in three themes illustrating intersectional discriminating facing the law: “aggressive men” (the intersection of sex and ethnicity), “resourceless women” (the intersection of sex, socio-economic class and ethnicity) and “unsettled strangers” (the intersection of socio-economic class and ethnicity). The second research question asked what, if any, the limits of law are from an intersectional point of view. By discussing the three themes in relation to the legal landscape and previous research it was possible to identify several limits of law relating to intersectionality, such as the exhaustive list of discrimination grounds, absent discrimination grounds and an absence of intersectional awareness. The study concluded that Swedish housing discrimination law rely on formal equality, which renders intersectional discrimination invisible and the power of housing human rights disputable.