By Molly Miller. Full text here. When a person or couple elects to use in vitro fertilization to create embryos they often end up with more embryos than they need. Most fertilization clinics now require these people to specify what they want done with the remaining embryos (destruction, storage, donation to science, or donation to others…

By Ryan Griffin. Full text here. Preliminary injunctions are a frequently sought form of relief in public law litigation. However, federal courts are inconsistent in the tests they employ to grant or deny this relief. Two recent cases, Winter v. Natural Resources Defense Council and Planned Parenthood v. Rounds, highlight a particularly important doctrinal grey area:…

By Kristin K. Zinsmaster. Full text here. The juvenile justice system is not the same as when it started. This Note argues that the juvenile court has become as punitive, as public, and as formalistic as the adult system from which it was supposed to differ. Furthermore, the modern juvenile court suffers from the precise problems…

By Theresa Nagy. Full text here. The First Amendment should not protect credit rating agencies for their grossly inaccurate ratings of residential mortgage-backed securities. The rating agencies played a significant role in the subprime mortgage crash and resulting financial market crisis. In past litigation, rating agencies have been successful in defending lawsuits involving claims of inaccurate…

By Eric M. Marshall. Full text here. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is intended to provide consumers broad protection from abusive and harassing practices of debt collectors. However, courts disagree over whether mortgage foreclosure constitutes debt collection under the Act. Several circuit courts hold that mortgage foreclosure is debt collection under the FDCPA, but…

By Barry M. Landy. Full text here. Contractor fraud against the government is rampant as contractors regularly inflate the cost of their services and overcharge the government for their work. The federal False Claims Act (FCA) is the government’s most successful litigation tool for combating fraud, resulting in recoveries of approximately $22 billion since 1986. Traditionally,…

By Darryn Cathryn Beckstrom. Full text here. In 2006, the Supreme Court held in Garcetti v. Ceballos that public employees are not entitled to First Amendment protection for speech arising from their official duties. The Court declined to address whether Garcetti’s holding applied to academic speech, and consequently, lower courts are unclear about whether academics employed…

By Jordan D. Shepherd. Full text here. Human rights litigation under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) has increased dramatically in the past few decades. Due to actions of a host of players around the world, this struggle for rights and remedies is dependent upon the rules of domestic court systems. Within U.S. civil litigation, two key…

By Ryan P. Kelley. Full text here. The international response to acts of maritime piracy around Somalia requires a credible foundation in international law. Naval patrols from nearly every world power lack accurate and well-reasoned jurisdictional mandates necessary to carry out their duties effectively. They want for this essential legal complement because their states fail to…

By Cory G. Kalanick. Full text here. In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United, nonprofit organizations originally designed to promote social welfare interests have become the latest loop­hole for political financiers to bypass campaign finance regulations. The federal regime of campaign finance laws—designed to prevent corruption and preserve the integrity of our…