By Ilya Somin. Full text here. Original meaning originalism may now be the most popular version of constitutional theory in the legal academy. The methodology has been endorsed by at least two Supreme Court justices and well-known scholars from across the political spectrum. Original meaning is usually interpreted as focusing on the public understanding of the…

By Christine Klein. Full text here. Many western states are on the verge of bankruptcy, with debts exceeding assets. And yet, they continue to take on additional debt through contracts and other commitments. Although such distress may sound like an outgrowth of the 2008 recession, this crisis involves water, not money. In particular, the problem concerns…

By Laura K. Donohue. Full text here. Federal interest in using facial recognition technology (FRT) to collect, analyze, and use biometric information is rapidly growing. Despite the swift movement of agencies and contractors into this realm, however, Congress has been virtually silent on the current and potential uses of FRT. No laws directly address facial recognition—much…

By Steven L. Schwarcz. Full text here. States in the American federal system increasingly are raising financing by issuing bonds through special-purpose entities. Although this represents a significant portion—in some cases, the majority—of state financing, relatively little is known or has been written about these entities. This Article examines state special-purpose entities, comparing them to special-purpose entities used…

By J.B. Ruhl. Full text here. Many people and businesses in the United States will receive market and nonmarket benefits from climate change as it moves forward over the next one hundred years. Speaking of climate change benefits is not for polite “green” conversation, but ignoring them—as climate policy dialogue and legal scholarship consistently have—will not…

By Wulf A. Kaal & Richard W. Painter. Full text here. In Morrison v. National Australia Bank Ltd., the U.S. Supreme Court in 2010 held that U.S. securities laws apply only to securities transactions within the United States. The transactional test in Morrison could be relatively short lived because it is rooted in geography. For cases…

By Mark D. Janis & Timothy R. Holbrook. Full text here. Many rules of patent law rest on a false premise about their target audience. Rules of patentability purport to provide subtle incentives to innovators. However, innovators typically encounter these rules only indirectly, through intermediaries such as lawyers, venture capitalists, managers, and others. Rules of patent…

By Richard A. Bierschbach & Stephanos Bibas. Full text here. As the real policymakers of criminal justice, prosecutors and other criminal justice professionals resolve many of the complex debates about justice in sentencing by deciding what charges to file, what plea bargains to strike, and what sentences to recommend. But they make those value-laden decisions out…

By Richard Thomson. Full text here.

By Aaron Perzanowski & Jason Schultz. Full text here.