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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 $9 BILLION SURPLUS, YET “KIDS CAN’T READ”: MINNESOTA TEACHER STRIKES MAY VIOLATE STUDENTS’ RIGHTS UNDER THE STATE CONSTITUTION AND THE LEGISLATURE HAS A DUTY TO FIX IT

By: Joshua Gutzmann, Volume 106 Staff Member After almost a full week of no school for over 31,000 students,[1] because teachers are on strike in Minneapolis,[2] the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers President declared that they were “ready to go for as long as it takes.”[3] The strikes—authorized by a vote of over 97% in favor[4]—are…

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REMEDYING DECADES OF DISPARITIES IN DRUG SENTENCING: HOW CONCEPCION v. UNITED STATES OPENS THE DOOR FOR BROADER RELIEF IN FIRST STEP ACT RESENTENCING PROCEEDINGS

By: Rhianna Torgerud, Volume 106 Staff Member From 1986 to 2010, one gram of crack cocaine was treated as equivalent to 100 grams of powder cocaine when setting federal statutory minimum and maximum sentences.[1] This 100-to-1 sentencing disparity was widely criticized as discriminatory against African Americans, and other minorities, who are more likely to be…

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WAR POWERS UNDER ATTACK

By: Jesse Noltimier, Volume 106 Staff Member On March 29, 2022, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Torres v. Texas Department of Public Safety.[1] The Court will decide whether a veteran can sue the state of Texas, his former employer, for discrimination. Beyond this employment discrimination claim, Torres raises important questions concerning Congress’…

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THE SUPREME COURT DILUTES MINORITY VOTER RIGHTS: THE FATE OF THE VOTER RIGHTS ACT FOLLOWING MERRILL V. MILLIGAN

By: Justin Oakland, Volume 106 Staff Member Following the 2020 census, a Republican-majority Alabama state legislature voted to redraw congressional districts to functionally dilute the voting power of Black residents.[1] Despite Black voters making up 26.8 percent of Alabama’s population, the redrawn districts only grant Black voters one district of significant representation with the remaining…

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RUSSIAN WARFARE: NEW JERSEY COURT HOLDS RUSSIAN-SPONSORED CYBERATTACK NOTPETYA IS NOT PART OF WAR EXCLUSION FOR ALL-RISK INSURANCE POLICY, AND ILLINOIS MIGHT SOON FOLLOW

By: Caleb Johnson, Volume 106 Staff Member On December 6th, 2021, a New Jersey Superior Court announced in Merck & Co., Inc. v. Ace American Insurance Company that insurance companies could not use a hostilities/war exclusion to deny coverage to biopharmaceutical company Merck’s claim after falling victim to the NotPetya cyberattack.[1] The court focused its…

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REMEDYING DISCRIMINATION IN AGRICULTURAL LENDING: ANALYZING THE LEGAL CHALLENGES FACING THE EMERGENCY RELIEF FOR FARMERS OF COLOR ACT

By: Jackie Cuellar, Volume 106 Staff Member To alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the United States’ economy, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA).[1] Section 1005 of the ARPA, also referred to as the Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act, is a historic provision that allocates $4 billion…

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SOVEREIGN CITIZENS: SITTING ON THE DOCKET ALL DAY, WASTING TIME

By: Calvin Lee, Volume 106 Staff Member Sovereign Citizens: a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. The once-isolated political sect has ballooned to over 300,000 followers, and the rapid proliferation of their pseudo-legal ideologies is severely compromising court efficiency.[1] Sovereign Citizens’ abject refusal to stipulate to even the most basic tenets of the…

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