By Elliot Ko. Full text here. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from intentionally discriminating against employees because of their race or gender. It also prohibits employers from adopting even facially-neutral employment practices that have a “disparate impact” on women or racial minorities. But what exactly is a “disparate impact”? Does…

By Luke Haqq. Full text here. The massive increase of microcephalic infants in recent years as a result of the pandemic spread of Zika virus has reinvigorated public responses to birth defect risks. However, the possibility of fetal abnormalities attends every pregnancy, yet public tools have not been efficiently leveraged to respond to this reality. This…

By Robert C. Gallup. Full text here. Where the Tax Code and the collections industry collide, unique tax situations arise which leave taxpayers with little recourse. Creditors are required to “discharge” debt for tax purposes at specific times governed by Treasury Regulations, but they are still very much interested in and able to collect the debt.…

By Taylor C. Stippel. Full text here. Since the mid-1990s, courts have construed the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to allow for the imposition of individual liability on private sector supervisors. Reasoning that the FMLA’s definition of “employer” parallels the definition of “employer” in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and noting that individual liability…

By Alysha L. Bohanon. Full text here. Government entities increasingly rely on their social media pages to inform and interact with their constituents. These posts can attract a wide range of comments from the public—some of which are thoughtful and informed, while others are downright hateful, racist, threatening, or vulgar. May a government entity remove…

By Allen Cook Barr. Full text here. Since Apple brought encryption technology into wide public use with its inclusion on the iPhone, there have been calls from law enforcement for technology companies to include backdoors—the ability to bypass the encryption and access information even if one does not have the password, fingerprint, et. cetera normally required…

By Jonathan Grant. Full text here. Over thirty states have instituted address confidentiality programs to protect victims of sexual assault, domestic abuse, stalking, and other crimes from perpetrators who try to track them through public records. The protections states offer vary widely. Minnesota has applied its address confidentiality program more broadly than any other state, extending…

By Leah Tabbert. Full text here. Rule 403 of the Federal Rules of Evidence applies to virtually every piece of evidence introduced in federal proceedings, permitting the trial judge to exclude evidence if the danger of unfair prejudice substantially exceeds the evidence’s probative value. By requiring that the danger of prejudice substantially outweigh probative value in…

By Kyle R. Kroll. Full text here. Policy-makers have become increasingly wary of a new patent litigation strategy called “patent privateering.” Through licensing or transfers of patents, companies can sponsor and direct—or privateer—other entities (often called patent assertion entities (or PAEs)) to sue competitors for patent infringement. Unlike patent trolling, patent privateering is not purposed on…

By Katharine Saphner. Full text here. In 2014, the Supreme Court held in Riley v. California that law enforcement officers must obtain a warrant before searching a cell phone. Though the Court intended that this holding would provide clear guidance to law enforcement officers, it may ultimately provide even more confusion. Riley distinguishes an arrestee’s…