Technically Important: The Essential Role of Technical Corrections and How Congress Can Revive Them
By Mollie M. Wagoner. Full Text. Drafting mistakes are an inevitable part of legislation being written by human institutions. In the context of tax, the complex and nuanced field is rife with opportunities for unintended glitches and mistakes to find their way into legislation. What happens when these mistakes result in the law not properly…
Continue ReadingA Prisoner’s Dilemma: Why COVID-19 Must Serve as a Catalyst to Address Compassionate Release Limitations in Federal Prison
By Mary M. Haasl. Full Text. COVID-19 significantly impacted the U.S. prison population. Given concerns surrounding its rapid spread through prisons, many federal inmates petitioned for compassionate release during the pandemic’s initial months. This significant increase in compassionate release petitions has yielded an impactful case study regarding the significant limitations posed by the compassionate release…
Continue ReadingPower to the People: Distributing the Benefits of a Clean Energy Transition Through Equitable Policy, Legislation, and Energy Justice Initiatives
By Alexandria E. Dolezal. Full Text. The transition to renewable energy may be accelerating, but the path to a clean energy future is still littered with potential inequities. This reality has become increasingly evident in the early 2020s as the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated injustices within the existing energy system, leaving many low-income and minority…
Continue ReadingSize Matters (Even If the Treasury Insists It Doesn’t): Why Small Taxpayers Should Receive a De Minimis Exemption from the GILTI Regime
By Patrick Riley Murray. Full Text. The Tax Cuts & Jobs Act drastically altered the U.S. international tax landscape. Among its most significant changes is the implementation of the Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) regime. GILTI attempts to increase the U.S. tax base by preventing both the offshoring of intangible assets and the avoidance of…
Continue ReadingShow Me the Money: Addressing the Oversight Gap in Private Foundation Donations to Donor-Advised Funds
By Kerry Gibbons. Full Text. Americans’ charitable giving habits are changing. Since the 1990s, a new form of charitable giving (donor-advised funds, or “DAFs”) has skyrocketed in popularity. In 2018, DAFs held at least $72 billion in charitable dollars—representing a 200% increase from four years prior. DAFs’ ascendance can be attributed to their ease of…
Continue ReadingA Moral and Legal Imperative to Act: The Bail Bond Industry, Consumer Protection, and Public Enforcers
By Brandie Burris. Full Text. Bail is not a fine, and it is not a punishment. In theory, bail serves a simple goal: it ensures an accused defendant will appear at their criminal hearings. Yet, as practiced, the American bail system is insidious. Bail bond agencies exploit their grossly unequal bargaining power, depress consumer access…
Continue ReadingYou Don’t Have a Home to Go to but You Can Stay Here: A Bill of Rights for Unhoused Minnesotans
By Daniel P. Suitor. Full Text. Unhoused people are constantly and consistently mistreated by our society. Cities criminalize basic, life-sustaining activities of people experiencing homelessness, such as sitting down in public or sleeping in parks. Law enforcement bodies are quick to harass them, and residents are happy to look the other way in the name…
Continue ReadingTax, Spend, and Prevent Discrimination: Why Title IX’s Passage Under the Spending Clause Holds the Answer to a Quarter-Century Long Circuit Split
By Miriam Pysno Solomon. Full Text. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 both strive to reduce and eliminate discrimination on the basis of sex. While Title VII governs almost all employers in the United States, Title IX similarly governs almost all educational institutions.…
Continue ReadingCopycat Cosmetics: The Beauty Industry and the Bounds of the American Intellectual Property System
By Marra M. Clay. Full Text. The primary justification for intellectual property is simple: it exists to incentivize innovation. Creators, innovators, and inventors are motivated to create, innovate, and invent by the promise of exclusive rights to the fruits of their labor. The founding fathers believed these rights so important that they wrote them into…
Continue ReadingWhose Data Anyway? The Inconsistent and Prejudicial Application of Ascertainability in Data Privacy Class Actions
By Nathan Webster. Full Text. Data breaches are increasingly common. As the frequency of data breaches increases, so too does the frequency of data privacy class action suits. However, as plaintiffs overcome longstanding obstacles to class certification, new challenges are emerging. One issue poses a particular challenge for data privacy plaintiffs: the heightened ascertainability requirement.…
Continue Reading