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.
COVID-19 IN CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES: EIGHTH AMENDMENT VIOLATIONS AND WHY VACCINE PRIORITY IS A NECESSARY IMMEDIATE REMEDY
By Avery Katz, Vol. 105 Staff Member With the COVID-19 vaccine becoming more readily accessible, it is critical that society’s most vulnerable populations are accounted for as the world moves towards normalcy. The prison population must not be ignored. Despite holding some of the most vulnerable populations, the health and safety of people in prisons…
Continue ReadingPAYCHECK PROTECTION DISCRIMINATION: DENIAL OF LOANS TO SEX-RELATED BUSINESSES IS A DANGEROUS EXPANSION OF GOVERNMENT SPEECH
By: Kelly Zech, Volume 105 Staff Member In March 2020, to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, government orders resulted in a sudden and unprecedented nationwide business shutdown. At the same time, Congress passed the historic Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.[1] A provision of the CARES Act entitled “Keeping American Workers…
Continue ReadingRETURN TO SENDER: FOWLER V. COMMISSIONER’S APPLICABILITY TO LATE FILING AND PAYMENT PENALTIES
By: Matthew Thom, Volume 105 Staff Member INTRODUCTION Most Americans file their taxes at the last minute.[1] This year, that late filing is especially understandable: the COVID-19 pandemic produced a great deal of economic uncertainty for many Americans. In the aftermath of a financially complicated year, filing taxes online or with the help of a…
Continue ReadingSPAC-TACULAR TIMES: 2020 SAW AN EXPLOSION OF SPACS IN THE MARKET, BUT WILL THIS MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR TREND CONTINUE?
By: Ali Muffenbier, Volume 105 Staff Member As we have all heard more than we would have liked, 2020 was the year of “unprecedented times,”[1] and one unprecedented activity that rocked the finance world was the explosion of the number of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPAC”), also known as Blank Check companies, to hit the…
Continue ReadingDRAMATIC FACTS AND DRAMATIC IMPLICATIONS: SHOULD THE COMMUNITY CARETAKER EXCEPTION EXTEND TO THE HOME?
By: R. Willets Ely, Volume 105 Staff Member The Fourth Amendment guarantees “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,” and that “no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause.”[1] The Supreme Court has interpreted the Fourth Amendment to generally require a warrant…
Continue ReadingPOLICE ACCOUNTABILITY: IS REPEALING QUALIFIED IMMUNITY THE RIGHT ANSWER AND IS IT ENOUGH?
By: Mary Haasl, Volume 105 Staff Member As the trial of Derek Chauvin comes to an end,[1] Minneapolis and the nation brace for what is to come.[2] A viral recording of Chauvin’s actions this past summer,[3] which led to the horrific death of George Floyd, triggered a nationwide outcry against racial injustice and police brutality[4]…
Continue ReadingNO SHELTER IN THIS PLACE: HOW THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC’S FRUSTRATION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LEGAL PROCEEDINGS CAN GENERATE VICTIM-CENTERED REFORM
By: Samantha Marquardt, Volume 105 Staff Member COVID-19 has given rise to what has been called a second “invisible” pandemic of domestic violence.[1] Stay-at-home orders, increased economic insecurity, and crisis-induced stress have all contributed to a surge of domestic violence cases around the world.[2] In the state of Minnesota, domestic violence shelter requests spiked shortly…
Continue ReadingIT’S COLDER DAY BY DAY: ADOPTING A WINTER EVICTION MORATORIUM IN MINNESOTA
By Daniel Suitor, Volume 105 Staff Member, Volume 106 Lead Symposium Editor INTRODUCTION Missing your rent payment shouldn’t be a death sentence, but it could be in Minnesota. An eviction occurring during the coldest months of the winter could put a family out on the street in temperatures below 0°F.[1] This Post argues that the…
Continue ReadingPEOPLE OVER PROFITS: HOW MINNESOTA TOOK ON BIG PHARMA TO TACKLE THE INSULIN AFFORDABILITY CRISIS
By: Hannah Oliason, Volume 105 Staff Member Every cell, tissue, and organ in your body depends on water to survive.[1] But imagine a scenario in which your water bill cost upwards of $300 per month. In addition, your water quality must be tested daily which costs you $200 per month. Lastly, to maintain the water…
Continue ReadingROBINHOOD’S GOAL IS NOT TO ‘DEMOCRATIZE FINANCE FOR ALL’: DON’T EXPECT GAMESTOP BUYERS’ LAWSUITS TO CHANGE THAT
By: Daniel Raddenbach, Volume 105 Staff Member INTRODUCTION Robinhood, an investment app designed to make trading easy for small investors,[1] caught national attention in January when hordes of its users banded together to defeat hedge funds[2] who were actively profiting from the decline of the value of GameStop stock.[3] Robinhood’s decision to temporarily halt…
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