MINNESOTA DNR’S SEPT. 16, 2021 LINE 3 ENFORCEMENT ACTION DEMONSTRATES HOW MUCH GROUNDWATER PERMITTING “SUCKS”
By: Sonja Smerud, Volume 106 Staff Member Enbridge Energy’s Line 3 Pipeline, a replacement project for the delivery of crude oil from Canada to a processing facility in Superior, Wisconsin, was recently completed despite extensive opposition.[1] In September 2021 shortly before completion, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (“DNR”) issued a civil enforcement action against…
Continue Reading#FREEBRITNEY: BRINGING ATTENTION TO A “TOXIC” SYSTEM OF CONSERVATORSHIP
By: Zack Hennen, Volume 106 Staff Member After months of legal deliberation, family infighting, and a full-blown pop culture movement, Britney Spears was released from her “Toxic”[1] thirteen-year conservatorship earlier this month.[2] Britney was placed under conservatorship in 2008 after a lengthy record of controversy left the 27-year-old pop star in financial debt and public…
Continue ReadingTAXING BILLIONAIRES AND THE CONUNDRUM OF CONSTITUTIONAL INCOME
By: Sadie Betting, Volume 106 Staff Member In March 2020, the United States had 614 billionaires.[1] By October of this year, it had 745.[2] Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ultra-wealthy have grown their fortunes by $2.1 trillion,[3] or roughly half of what the United States collected in tax revenue in 2021.[4] It…
Continue ReadingROE V. A TECHNICALITY: HOW PROCEDURAL DECISIONS WILL BRING ABOUT THE END TO CONSTITUTIONALLY PROTECTED ABORTION RIGHTS
By: Leah Reiss, Volume 106 Staff Member For forty-eight years now, the Supreme Court has recognized that the Constitution protects “a woman’s[1] right to terminate her pregnancy before viability.”[2] Though subsequent decisions have narrowed that right, it still exists to this day.[3] Most Americans believe abortion should be legal in all or most pregnancies, and…
Continue ReadingROE AND CASEY UNDER ATTACK: WILL THE SUPREME COURT OVERTURN LANDMARK ABORTION PRECEDENT IN DOBBS V. JACKSON WOMEN’S HEALTH ORGANIZATION?
By: Theresa Green, Volume 106 Staff Member On December 1, 2021, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the first major abortion-related case since Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett joined the Court.[1] The case involves a Mississippi law that prohibits nearly all abortions after fifteen weeks…
Continue ReadingCATEGORICALLY INSUFFICIENT: THE U.S. SUPREME COURT MUST FIND ATTEMPTED HOBBS ACT ROBBERY IS NOT A “CRIME OF VIOLENCE” UNDER 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(A).
By: Michael Van Ryn, Volume 106 Staff Member In United States v. Taylor, the U.S. Supreme Court is presented with the question of whether an attempted robbery in violation of the Hobbs Act qualifies as a “crime of violence” under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(A).[1] The Supreme Court should find that it is not a crime…
Continue ReadingLOCKED, LOADED, AND CONCEALED—THE SUPREME COURT’S FIRST GUN RIGHTS CASE IN A DECADE
By: Michael Kinane, Volume 106 Staff Member INTRODUCTION On November 3, 2021, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen.[1] New York currently requires that applicants for conceal and carry firearm licenses show “proper cause” for the license.[2] As license issuance is left to the discretion…
Continue ReadingTHE CANINE MAGISTRATE: THE FOURTH AMENDMENT IMPLICATIONS OF WEAK ALERTS TO NARCOTICS IN VEHICLE SEARCHES
By: Chase Slasinski, Volume 106 Staff Member The use of dogs in policing is a practice that has existed in the United States for over a century.[1] Countless searches and seizures have been predicated on dogs’ detection of the faintest odors of illegal drugs, explosives, and other contraband items. In the context of vehicle searches…
Continue ReadingGAME OF PHONES: THE IRS’S OUTDATED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IS CAUSING SERVICE AND LEGAL ISSUES FOR THE U.S. TAXPAYER
By: Alec Lybik, Volume 106 Staff Member As a law student, I thought I was done with math. Unfortunately, my struggles in eighth-grade algebra came back to haunt me when I attempted to calculate the probability of reaching the IRS after they disconnected my call for the third time in one day. My experience is…
Continue ReadingICWA’S “ACTIVE EFFORTS” STANDARD DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
By: Molly Nelson-Regan, Volume 106 Staff Member[1] Congress enacted the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978[2] (ICWA) out of concern for the “abusive child welfare practices that resulted in the separation of large numbers of Indian children from their families and tribes.”[3] ICWA offers the “gold standard” for family reunification in the landscape of child welfare.[4]…
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