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De Novo Archive

De Novo is the newest addition to the Minnesota Law Review family. The blog serves as a forum through which the staff, editors, and alumni of the Minnesota Law Review can contribute to legal thought and academic debate.

A NEW TAKE ON TAKINGS: BIG PHARMA’S CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES TO BIDEN’S INFLATION REDUCTION ACT

By: Marie Lundgren, Volume 108 Staff Member I. BACKGROUND In 2003, Congress passed the Medicare Modernization Act, marking the largest expansion of benefits in the 38-year history of U.S. public healthcare.[1] When the Medicare program was first enacted in 1965, it covered hospital stays (under Part A), physician office visits (under Part B), and pharmaceuticals…

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READY, AIM, FIRE? EVALUATING THE FUTURE OF LIABILITY FOR THE FIREARMS INDUSTRY DURING NEW-WAVE PLCAA LITIGATION

By: Will Roberts, Volume 108 Staff Member I. MECHANISMS FOR FIREARMS INDUSTRY LIABILITY In 2005, Congress enacted the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) which significantly shielded members of the firearms industry from civil liability for over a decade.[1] PLCAA prohibits “civil action[s] . . . brought by any person against a [firearms]…

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CONVENIENT OR CONFRONTATIONAL?: SAMIA WIDENS CONSTITUTIONAL LOOPHOLE

By: Mark Hager, Volume 108 Staff Member On June 23, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Samia v. United States, the latest in a line of cases regarding the use of non-testifying co-defendant confessions in joint criminal trials.[1] Together, these cases operate as a loophole to the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment.[2]…

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THE FIGHT FOR PRIVACY: CALLING FOR BROAD ONLINE PRIVACY REFORM IN THE AGE OF BEING CHRONICALLY ONLINE

By Lea Chapoton, Volume 108 Staff Member In the wake of 2022’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization[1] decision and the ensuing barrage of state laws limiting abortion access, online discussions surged with strategies for maintaining reproductive freedom in potentially hostile circumstances. One popular piece of advice urged deletion of period tracking apps because companies…

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SUPREME SPECULATION: WHAT ORAL ARGUMENTS HINT ABOUT HOW JUSTICES ARE LEANING IN CAMPOS-CHAVES V. GARLAND

By Hans Frank-Holzner, Volume 108 Staff Member On January 8, 2024, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Campos-Chaves v. Garland,[1] a consolidation of three immigration cases concerning the statutory notice requirements the government must meet before it can order a noncitizen removed without a hearing.[2] Under the government’s reading, the Immigration and Nationality Act…

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A HAZY FIVE HOURS: MINNESOTA SHOULD NOT REINVENT THE WHEEL IN ADDRESSING THC BEVERAGES IN RESTAURANTS

By Shannon Schooley, Volume 108 Staff Member In 2023, Minnesota legalized recreational cannabis.[1] Although Minnesota followed twenty-two states and the District of Columbia in doing so,[2] its legal landscape presents unique regulatory challenges.[3] Minnesota’s full-scale recreational legalization comes on the heels of a partial legalization in 2022 for edible, low-potency, hemp-derived THC products that unleashed…

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MICHIGAN’S NEW POINT OF NO RETURN: EVOLVING AGE RESTRICTIONS ON MANDATORY LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE

By Chad Berryman, Volume 108 Staff Member In July 2022, the Michigan Supreme Court decided People v. Parks, in which it held that mandatory life without parole sentences for eighteen-year-olds convicted of first-degree murder violate the Michigan Constitution’s prohibition of cruel or unusual punishment.[1] This ruling went beyond prior U.S. Supreme Court decisions such as Miller…

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