By: Bridget Hoffmann, Vol. 106 Staff Member In his 2021 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, Chief Justice John Roberts emphasized the importance of maintaining judicial independence[1] in response to public criticism and calls to impose “ethics and transparency measures” on the federal courts.[2] The Chief Justice specifically addressed recent Wall Street Journal (“Journal”) reporting…

By: Mark Kaske, Volume 106 Staff Member “Stop the spread” has been the rally cry across the world since Covid-19 originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019.[1] Just how to achieve this goal, however, has been a controversial and polarizing debate. In the past two years, Covid-19 has ravaged the world, infecting over 290 million…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…