“Black First, Children Second”: Why Juvenile Life Without Parole Violates the Equal Protection Clause
By Avery Katz. Full Text. The United States is the only country in the world that allows imposition of juvenile life without parole (LWOP) sentences. This sentencing scheme was born out of the 1990’s “tough on crime” era, when society held the belief that juvenile offenders were “super-predators” and should face adult time for adult…
Continue ReadingOne Nation Subsidizing God: How the Implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program Revealed the Deteriorating Wall Between Church and State
By Elliot Ergeson. Full Text. The wall separating Church and State is at risk of collapse. The Religion Clauses of the United States Constitution act in tandem to en- sure that the freedom of religion is protected. Over the past three decades, however, the Supreme Court has steadily chipped away at the Establishment Clause while…
Continue ReadingReflections of a Supreme Court Commissioner
By William Baude. Full Text. The Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States was given a fundamentally frustrating task: bipartisan expert analysis of an institution whose greatest challengers are political. I served on that commission and offer my own views on Supreme Court reform: Court packing is lawful but unjustified. Term limits,…
Continue ReadingNonpartisan Supreme Court Reform and the Biden Commission
By Daniel Epps. Full Text. Prior to his election to the Presidency, Joe Biden promised to create a bipartisan commission that would consider and evaluate reforms to the Supreme Court of the United States. Shortly after his inauguration, he did just that, announcing a thirty-six-member Commission on the Supreme Court. Made up of distinguished scholars…
Continue ReadingA Hill to Die On: Federal Court Reform in the 2020s
Symposium Foreword by Daniel P. Suitor. Full Text. Is the Federal Judiciary broken and, if so, what can we do to fix it? To that end, Minnesota Law Review hosted its annual Symposium on March 25, 2022. Titled “A Hill to Die On: Federal Court Reform in the 2020s,” the event gathered some of the…
Continue ReadingWho Decides Where the Renewables Should Go?: A Response to Danielle Stokes’ Renewable Energy Federalism
By Michael B. Gerrard. Full Text. One of the central tasks in addressing the climate crisis is transitioning from an energy system based on fossil fuels to one that mainly uses renewable energy. In her article “Renewable Energy Federalism,” Professor Danielle Stokes has highlighted one of the key impediments to this transition—delays in state and…
Continue ReadingTechnically 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 ReadingPsychological Parenthood
By Anne L. Alstott, Anne C. Dailey, and Douglas NeJaime. Full Text. Family law in the United States is governed by an assortment of familiar legal doctrines and policies that often undermine, and sometimes sever, the relationships between children and the adults with whom children are most closely bonded. For example, the “best interests of…
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