By Joe Bourne. Full text here. Since Crawford v. Washington, the Confrontation Clause has protected criminal defendants from testimonial hearsay statements. Less clear is what “testimonial” means. Lower courts have split on the question of whether scientific evidence is testimonial, struggling to apply Supreme Court cases decided in very different contexts to the generation of laboratory…

By Charles E. Dickinson. Full text here. More than half a century after Brown v. Board of Education mandated an end to racial segregation in American schools, districts nationwide remain crippled by racially homogenous classrooms and a widening achievement gap between white and minority students. Racial segregation is rising, minority student achievement is falling, and race-neutral…

By Claire Deason. Full text here. As many as 6,000 women are pregnant in prison in the United States. The option of abortion is particularly suited for these women, who struggle with public assistance, drug addiction, or who are at risk of losing their child to the foster system. The Bureau of Prisons policies governing abortion…

By Margaret E. Wade. Full text here. As soon as fashion models hit the runway, copycat designers snap photos and quickly replicate the original designs, flooding the market with nearly identical, discount versions of the original garments. In response to this phenomenon of fashion piracy, members of the fashion design community have been advocating for a…

By Mark Thomson. Full text here. In order to promote judicial economy, Article III courts routinely delegate decisionmaking authority to probation officers. Probationers increasingly challenge those delegations as violating the Constitution’s command that only Article III judges shall exercise “the Judicial power.” Courts apply either of two standards when evaluating the constitutionality of judicial delegations to…

By Elizabeth C. Borer. Full text here. Increasingly, senior citizens throughout the United States are victimized by aggressive and fraudulent health care marketing practices. Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans are health-benefit options approved by the federal government but sold and administered by private insurance companies. The programs were created as part of the…

By João C. J. G. de Medeiros. Full text here. Harmful pollutants are crossing the United States-Canada border as actors on either side of the boundary export environmental risk and harm through transboundary rivers. However, public international law has been unable to provide a remedy for the problem. Furthermore, efforts to address the problem in national…

By Elizabeth M. Flanagan. Full text here. Trademarks are indispensable tools for businesses and consumers. Although the Internet serves as an efficient means for distributing trademark-related information, it nevertheless provides a platform that can reduce the value of trademarks. In particular, commercial domain name parking—the practice of registering domain names and setting up placeholder websites filled…

By Michael Waterstone. Full text here. Civil rights laws are not self-enforcing. Enforcement mechanisms, therefore, need to be studied as part of the larger debate on the form and direction of civil rights law. The current decline of the ability of the private attorney general to fairly and consistently enforce our civil rights laws strengthens the…

By Hans H. Grong. Full text here. Twenty years ago, Congress fundamentally changed the procedure for sentencing criminal defendants in the federal system by creating the United States Sentencing Commission to promulgate the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The Guidelines were an attempt to increase transparency and decrease disparities in criminal sentences. Unfortunately, as the Supreme Court recognized…