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Levels of Generality, the Limits of Originalism, and the Supreme Court’s Second Amendment Jurisprudence
Full text linkJust how originalist is the Court’s Second Amendment jurisprudence after United States v. Rahimi? This is perhaps one of the biggest questions left in the decision’s wake. As it turns out, the answer is not altogether clear post-Rahimi. This is because the case produced some seven separate opinions, many of which—even though they agree as to the bottom line—get there by very different paths. This Article suggests that Rahimi, perhaps more than any other recent decision by the Court, underscores the crucial role that levels of generality in constitutional interpretation play, while illustrating the problems with originalism and how, when faced with a choice between strict adherence to originalism’s core ideals and avoiding deeply undesirable results, many justices—even those who purport to be originalists—will forsake originalism for a far more pragmatic approach to constitutional interpretation. In the end, when the various opinions in Rahimi are dissected, one finds considerable support for the notion that the Justices are “look[ing] for the central purposes of the relevant constitutional provision and tr[ying] to apply it in a vastly different world.” Whatever it is, such an approach is decidedly not originalism
History\u27s Identity Crisis
No full textLower court judges across the country are struggling to manage the Supreme Court’s new “history and tradition” test that applies to Second Amendment challenges. This Article articulates one fundamental reason for the struggle: nobody is quite sure what a judge is actually doing when she evaluates claims about what happened in the past. Is it traditional legal reasoning—weighing evidence and looking for patterns? Is it fact-finding of the sort we think expert historians should testify about—conveying to a trial judge the best evidence we have about the purpose of colonial gun laws? Or is it a different sort of fact-finding—generalized and closer to policy—such that we want appellate judges to make the calls after studying in the law library or digesting dozens of amicus briefs? Each alternative identity carries significant practical litigation consequences, and—because of those consequences—the players are motivated to manipulate the different labels in strategic ways.
I call for some nuance and “bottom-line thinking”: if what really matters is who makes the decision and under what conditions, then we should ask that question directly and specifically rather than getting hung up in definitions and labels. This Article assumes a good-faith judge confronting a history-based test in the Second Amendment context and then offers a way to help: by detangling this identity crisis, exploring the implications of each alternative identity, and then offering preliminary thoughts on a possible path forward
The Meaning of Other Minerals and Other Incidents of Mineral Ownership
No full textOf all the contracts used in the oil and gas industry, none is as important as the oil and gas lease. It is the foundational instrument in oil and gas and a required prerequisite to development for those who do not own the mineral estate. Its uniqueness arises in that, unlike most other oil and gas contracts, it is both a contract and a conveyance of property. Part I of this article begins with an overview of the mineral estate, the predecessor to an oil and gas lease. Part II examines theories of oil and gas rights ownership and oil and gas lease ownership. Part III provides a general overview of the oil and gas lease. Part IV reviews the granting clause, examining its rights of use and the accommodation doctrine; substances granted by the lease; lands and interests granted by the lease, which includes in gross provisions, Mother Hubbard and coverall clauses, after acquired title language, proportionate reduction clauses, subrogation clauses, and warranty clauses. Part V focuses on the incidents of mineral ownership and the meaning of “other minerals.
Essays in Applied Microeconomics
No full textThis dissertation contributes to three interconnected areas of economic research: microeconomics, behavioral economics, and urban economics. Each chapter examines how individual decision-making processes may produce more pronounced economic patterns, while highlighting the role of psychological factors and spatial considerations in shaping outcomes. Chapter 1 studies the causes and dynamics of segregation in US neighborhoods. A conditional instrumental variables estimator allows for unbiased estimation of preferences for past neighborhood minority shares by addressing endogeneity concerns present in my theoretical model. I use estimated preference parameters to simulate neighborhood population dynamics for Texas. I regress measures of racial animus and xenophobia on estimated preference parameters for every US state. Within-group preferences are identified for both Whites and Minorities for four working age population cohorts. These preferences can partially be explained by racial animus and xenophobia. The results of my model predict a worsening of segregation trends driven by discrimination. These findings are robust to socioeconomic controls and county fixed effect estimations. Chapter 2 investigates hurdle rate contracts, risk taking, and search behavior. Entrepreneurial risk taking is well documented, despite the classic notion that individuals are risk-averse. Typical behavioral explanations for this are unsatisfactory, as entrepreneurs often risk investors’ funds, not their own. Venture capital firms investing their funds into entrepreneurs often use hurdle-rate contracts to pay managers. We conduct a laboratory experiment to evaluate these hurdle-rate contracts and their role in promoting risk taking and search by managers. We find that contracts with high hurdle-rates may be harmful to the risk exposure and profits of investors. Conversely, moderately set hurdle rates may improve a manager’s search behavior and choices. Our results contribute to the literature’s understanding of the entrepreneurial risk taking puzzle, and provide guidance for venture capital firms using hurdle-rate contracts. Chapter 3 is a study of language in referee reports written about Economics manuscripts. Data on letters from Economic Inquiry provide a rich setting to study the role of language in editorial decisions, and test for gender differences in how language is used. The editorial data is bolstered by demographic variables produced by a large language model. Text analysis allows for a study of the intensity of language used in referee reports. We observe referee recommendation and the ultimate editorial publication decision. Results point to significant communication differences between genders, with females speaking more objectively. Furthermore, female’s referee reports recommendations carry more weight in editorial decisions. This study contributes to our understanding of how language relates to career outcomes. These three chapters collectively examine how social dynamics, corporate contracts, and communication patterns shape economic outcomes across different domains. Chapter 1 reveals how discriminatory preferences drive neighborhood segregation patterns, while Chapter 2 demonstrates how hurdle rate contracts influence the risk-taking behavior of venture capital fund managers. Chapter 3 studies professional communication, showing language differences between genders and gaps in recommendation outcomes. Together, these studies illuminate ways social preferences, institutional structures like compensation contracts, and communication styles can generate adverse economic outcomes, offering insights into mechanisms that operate at the neighborhood, firm, and professional levels
The Perdiz Problem
No full textIt has been over 70 years since J. Charles Kelley (1947a and b) first defined the Toyah Focus. Dating from approximately AD 1200 to the mid-1600’s. The Toyah Focus begins around the time that people transitioned from spear and atlatl hunting to hunting with bow and arrow technology and continued until the establishment of Spanish mission complexes in Texas in the 1800s (Lohse 2009). The peoples who lived at Toyah sites are believed to have been part of widely spaced small bands of hunter-gatherers who relied primarily on bison (Arnn 2012). Archaeologically, diagnostic artifacts of a Toyah site are Perdiz arrowheads, an expedient stone-toolkit, bison remains, and bone-tempered pottery (Kenmotsu and Boyd 2012). This dissertation takes one aspect of the definition for the Toya Focus - the Perdiz point - and applies new methods of analysis, in the hopes of better understanding variation in lithic technology over the southern Plains landscape as it might relate to the movements of ancient hunter-gatherers and their interactions with other groups (i.e., farmers)
Jurisdictional Competition and Corporate Law: The Rise of Delaware and the Fall of New Jersey
No full textThis paper examines one of the most consequential jurisdictional shifts in American corporate history: the transition of corporate charter dominance from New Jersey to Delaware. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, New Jersey’s liberal incorporation statutes, including the legalization of holding companies, positioned it as the premier domicile for America’s industrial giants. However, Governor Woodrow Wilson’s progressive reforms in 1913—known as the “Seven Sisters” Acts—reversed that trajectory, imposing significant regulatory constraints and catalyzing an exodus of corporations. Delaware, with its permissive General Corporation Law, expert Court of Chancery, and constitutionally protected legal stability, emerged as the preferred alternative. This article explores the legislative, political, and institutional dynamics that facilitated Delaware’s ascendancy and highlights the enduring implications for federalism and jurisdictional competition in corporate governance. By tracing this pivotal historical realignment, the analysis offers insights into how legal infrastructure, not just statutory text, sustains long-term dominance in the market for corporate charters
Statistical Monitoring of Hard Faults in Digital Systems
No full textAchieving a high test coverage is crucial for helping to ensure that integrated circuits are working correctly and are non-defective. Although scan-based structural tests are used throughout the industry, high-level functional tests may be needed to detect some defects— especially those that are environmentally sensitive. Unfortunately, the character of functional test makes it difficult to obtain high coverage, and it is even hard to estimate coverage because fault simulation times of large circuits are long. As a result, some method is required for predicting the ability of a functional test that has not been fault simulated to detect defects. In this thesis, we extend the analysis of a previously proposed approach for the implementation of hardware monitoring to predict the detection of the hardest-to-detect faults in a circuit. This thesis will explore the ability of the approach to predict fault detections in larger circuits with known functionalities and realistic input sets for functional mode
Advancing Single-Molecule Nanopore Sensing: From Protein Conformation and Metal Binding to DNA Transport via Hybrid Nanostructures
Full text linkThis dissertation presents the development and application of solid-state and hybrid nanopore platforms for single-molecule analysis of biomolecular interactions. First, a silicon nitride nanopore was employed to characterize the conformational states of the transferrin receptor (TfR), enabling discrimination between its monomeric and dimeric forms, as well as from its ligand, human serum transferrin (hSTf), despite their similar molecular weights. In a separate study, the same nanopore configuration was used to track the real-time binding of titanium ions to transferrin, demonstrating single-molecule sensitivity to metal-induced conformational changes. A hybrid microtubule–solid-state nanopore (MT–SSN) was then engineered, repurposing microtubules as electrostatically anchored conduits for ionic current. This hybrid system exhibited enhanced signal-to-noise ratios and significantly prolonged DNA translocation times, overcoming key limitations of traditional solid-state nanopores. Additionally, it provides the first experimental method to directly measure the electronic current through the microtubule lumen. Finally, a machine learning pipeline combining Gaussian mixture models and support vector machines was used to classify complex nanopore events and quantify the dissociation constants of SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein binding to candidate alternative receptors. This analysis yielded KD values of 17.4 ± 2.9 nM for Kremen1 and 126 ± 24 nM for ASGR1, closely aligning with ensemble flow cytometry data while offering a label-free, single-molecule alternative. Together, these contributions advance the precision and functionality of nanopore sensing, offering new tools for probing protein–protein interactions, metal coordination, nucleic acid transport, and viral receptor binding at the single-molecule level
Let’s Jettison Some Executive Perks: Exploring the SEC and IRS Approaches to Personal Use of Corporate Aircraft
No full textIn 2023, 46% of the S&P 500 companies provided personal use of corporate aircraft to their chief executive officers, and 31% provided this perk to other named executive officers. This type of executive compensation has notoriously garnered much attention from the media, given the large amount of investor money spent on personal travel and the environmental impacts of flying private. In addition, the line between personal travel and business travel is often blurred, and the media has tracked flight paths of corporate aircraft to speculate that some flights may be incorrectly categorized as business trips when the jets land and take off from resort destinations where an executive may have a second home.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), separate government agencies with distinct focuses, both seek to promote fairness in the United States through disclosures and taxation. The SEC has often scrutinized executive perquisites and aims to provide investors with accurate disclosures so they can make informed investment decisions. The IRS recently reported that it plans to audit corporate aircraft reporting at large companies and subsequently audit high-net-worth individuals who may receive this perk from large companies. ESG concerns—an especially controversial topic today—have also shaped how people view private jet travel, with reports estimating that private jets emit five to fourteen times more pollution per passenger than commercial flights. Additionally, emissions attributable to the wealthy, those who frequently fly private, account for more climate change effects than those of low-income earners