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…

By Dan Ganin. Full text here. The secondary boycott provision of the National Labor Relations Act prohibits labor unions from using coercive tactics to induce “neutral” parties to sever economic ties with others. Although the judiciary has failed to clearly delineate the concept of coercion, secondary labor picketing has been deemed categorically coercive and subject…

By Carrie Ryan Gallia. Full text here. Despite its typical responsiveness to technological advances, copyright law has not kept pace with the emergence of the director as the primary player in American theater, leaving the contributions of this essential, creative artist without recognition or protection. Because work must be original, authored, and fixed to warrant…

By Alyson Tomme. Full text here. In cities across the country, tax increment financing has grown substantially as a tool to promote economic development. Also known as TIF, this public financing method designates an area as a TIF district and subsequently freezes the tax base at a given year’s level. Any tax revenue generated above that…

By Lindsey L. Tonsager. Full text here. The United States is undergoing a communications revolution. Analog services are replacing digital, and broadband and mobile telephones are replacing dial-up and line lines. Businesses, educational institutions, consumers, and the public safety community increasingly rely on cheaper, faster, and always-on communications services that allow them to transmit voice, video,…

By Lindsey D. Saunders. Full text here. For purposes of federal diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, a corporation is a citizen of both its state of incorporation and the state where it has its principal place of business. In adopting that provision, Congress provided very little guidance to the federal courts as to the method…

By E. Daniel Robinson. Full text here. Through benefit decisions, health insurance companies have the power to refuse treatment to insured persons. Individuals harmed by denials that are unjustified or violate the insurance contract may have no recourse. The federal Employee Retirment Income Secuirty Act (ERISA) governs all health insurance plans provided through employers. With ERISA,…

By David C. Jenson. Full text here. Presidential signing statements are creeping into judicial opinions with increasing frequency, leading to a resurgence of interest in the issue and several attempts, by Congress and others, to limit the use of signing statements or to challenge their constitutionality. This Note contends that the paramount separation of powers concern…

By Todd R. Olin. Full text here. Since the famous Scopes Trial in 1925, religious groups have struggled to introduce into public school science education a theory of human origin predicated on a supernatural creator. The latest theory to challenge evolution is Intelligent Design. Although this theory makes no explicit reference to religion or God, it…

By Amy Bergquist. Full text here. Pharmacists with greater frequency are refusing to fill certain prescriptions on religious grounds. These employees contend that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act requires pharmacies to accommodate refusing pharmacists by allowing other pharmacists to fill objectionable prescriptions. Some employers embrace this view and accommodate refusing pharmacists by sending customers…