Articles, Essays, & Tributes
States as Shields
By LINDSAY F. WILEY. Full Text. State laws that aim to shield providers of reproductive health and gender-affirming care from the punitive actions of out-of-state officials raise thorny questions. Can the federal courts, Congress, or the Trump Administration require New York officials to enforce a Texas ban on abortion or gender-affirming care against a New…
AI Companions and the Lessons of Family Law
By CLARE HUNTINGTON. Full Text. Virtual friends and lovers powered by artificial intelligence are rapidly moving to the center of our emotional and social lives. Millions of people turn to AI companions every day for conversation, romance, sexual intimacy, therapy, and education. AI companionship holds promise, potentially reducing loneliness, supporting people without access to mental…
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: A Comparative Constitutional Analysis of Whistleblowing Speech, the Government’s Managerial Domain, and the Imperatives of Democratic Self-Government
By RONALD J. KROTOSZYNSKI, JR. Full Text. Since issuing its 1968 landmark decision in Pickering, which first recognized that the First Amendment protects government employees’ speech about matters of public concern, the U.S. Supreme Court has proceeded to whittle away First Amendment protections for government employees. The Justices have done so by adopting a series…
Securitizing the University
By MARYAM JAMSHIDI. Full Text. Since October 7, 2023, public and private actors have doubled down on efforts to securitize the American university. In large part, these initiatives aim to quash a vocal pro-Palestine movement that has become highly visible across U.S. campuses since October 7th. In targeting this group, these efforts have variously treated…
Notes
Bare Analysis: Prison Visitor Strip and Body-Cavity Searches and Federal Courts’ Insufficient Fourth Amendment Analysis
By TRISTEN LINDELL. Full Text. Strip and body-cavity searches are among the most egregious invasions of personal privacy that the government can impose. The Fourth Amendment, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, demands that courts thoroughly analyze these searches. Courts must consider not only the suspicion that warranted the search, but the way the search…
“Pollution Does Not [sic] Discriminate”: Louisiana v. EPA, Disparate Impact, and the Fight for Environmental Justice in a Hostile Climate
By NAOMI BRIM. Full Text. Human-induced climate change hurts people. Environmental burdens impact a person’s ability to live freely, in good health, and with loved ones. And in the United States, people in positions of political authority and decision-making—who are predominantly white and high-income—use the legal system to push environmental harms disproportionately onto low-income, Black,…
The Penalty Is Declined: The NFL’s Exclusive Streaming Agreements and the Limits of Antitrust Law
By WILLIAM HOLT. Full Text. The National Football League’s (NFL) decision to grant NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service exclusive rights to carry the 2023–24 wild-card matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins signaled a major shift in the league’s media distribution strategy. Football fans that had long depended on free, over-the-air broadcasts for…
Headnotes
Commodification, Precarity, and Identity: A Review of Professor Bridget Crawford’s Taxing Sugar Babies
By TESSA DAVIS. Full text.
The Liminality of Transactional Relationships
By VICTORIA J. HANEMAN. Full Text.
Tax Talk and Taxing Sugar Babies
By BLAINE G. SAITO. Full Text.
John Roberts’ Supreme Court: The Triumph of Partisanship and Ideology Over Precedent
By DAVID SCHULTZ & JACOB BOURGAULT. Full Text.
Critical Curriculum Design: Teaching Law in an Age of Rising Authoritarianism
By RACHEL LÓPEZ. Full Text.
A Great American Gun Myth: Race and the Naming of the “Saturday Night Special”
By Jennifer L. Behrens and Joseph Blocher. Full Text. At a time when Second Amendment doctrine has taken a strongly historical turn and gun rights advocates have increasingly argued that gun regulation itself is historically racist, it is especially important that historical claims about race…
Refining the Dangerousness Standard in Felon Disarmament
By Jamie G. McWilliam. Full Text. To some, 18 U.S.C. 922(g) is a necessary safeguard that keeps guns out of the hands of dangerous persons. To others, it strips classes of non-violent people of their natural and constitutional rights. This statute makes it a crime…
“Proven” Safety Regulations: Massachusetts 1805 Proving Law As Historical Analogue for Modern Gun Safety Laws
By Billy Clark. Full Text. Concerned by the public health threats posed by certain firearms, the Massachusetts legislature enacts a law to set safety standards for firearms in the Commonwealth. Firearm dealers across the State, including some of the leading manufacturers of the day, not…
Curbing Gun Violence Under PLCAA and Bruen: State Attorney General–Driven Solutions to the Surging Epidemic
By David Lamb. Full Text. At the same time that the deadly toll of gun violence continues to grow in the U.S., now taking nearly 50,000 lives per year, federal lawmakers and courts have increasingly constrained government authorities’ tools for fighting the epidemic. Pursuant to…
De Novo Blog
No More Surprises: Patients fight back against Surprise Medical Bills
Before his 2013 surgery for herniated disks, Peter Drier checked off all the boxes a diligent patient could: he made sure the facility was in-network, the surgeon was in-network, and he even ensured the anesthesiologist would be in-network. Nonetheless, during the surgery an out-of-network assistant surgeon—whom Drier had never met—stepped in to help.
Amateurs by the Hour
AMATEURS BY THE HOUR: EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT COMPLETION CENTERS AND TORT LIABILITY By: Mitchell Williams, Volume 103 Staff Member In the wake of the recent air disasters involving Boeing 737 MAX airplanes,[1] much media attention has been directed to the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) for inadequacies in…
There and Back Again
THERE AND BACK AGAIN: THE NLRB’S RECENT JOURNEY THROUGH WORKER CLASSIFICATION UNDER THE NLRA By: Alex Shaner, Volume 103 Staff Member In the modern “gig” economy, a critical issue for access to labor rights comes down to how a worker is labeled.[1] Is a worker an…
HOLISTIC CARE BEGINS WITH SAFE USE PRACTICES
HOLISTIC CARE BEGINS WITH SAFE USE PRACTICES: SAFE INJECTION SITES AS CRUCIAL PIECES TO FIGHTING THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC By: Michelle Cardona Vinasco, Volume 103 Staff Member While using drugs may initially start off as a choice, it often ceases to be one; addiction takes this choice…
IS A GOOGLE SERVER A “PLACE” FOR PURPOSES OF PATENT VENUE?
IS A GOOGLE SERVER A “PLACE” FOR PURPOSES OF PATENT VENUE? THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT’S REFUSAL TO REHEAR IN RE GOOGLE HINTS THAT IT MIGHT BE By: Jenna Saunders, Volume 103 Staff Member The Supreme Court’s recent holding in TC Heartland has given patent litigators yet another opportunity to challenge the…
DEMOCRACY UNCAGED
DEMOCRACY UNCAGED: FLORIDA VOTERS STRIKE DOWN CONSTITUTIONAL REMNANT OF THE JIM CROW ERA AND SET STAGE FOR 2020 ELECTION By: Conor Hume, Volume 103 Staff Member What does it mean to be an American citizen when the law prevents you from participating in democracy? The…
PICK UP THE PACER
PICK UP THE PACER: PROGRESS ON THE HORIZON FOR AN OUTDATED AND OVERPRICED SYSTEM By: Megan Square, Volume 103 Staffer “The Wall” has become a recent subject of hot debate. Discussions highlighting its astronomical cost and questionable legality have come to the fore, with some…
CHANGING TIDES
Changing Tides: Article III Standing and Climate Change Litigation By: Hillary Hoffman, Volume 103 Staff Member Globally, young people are attempting to assert their stake in the future of the environment through litigation.[1] This should come as no surprise, since young people will surely be the…
REHEATING THE COLD WAR
REHEATING THE COLD WAR By: Bonny Birkeland, Volume 103 Staff Member “We really have no choice. Perhaps we can negotiate a different agreement adding China and others, or perhaps we can’t. And in which case, we will outspend and out-innovate all others by far.”[1] — President Trump…
ALL WORK AND NO PAY
ALL WORK AND NO PAY: HOW A STATUTORY CHANGE COULD PROTECT FEDERAL EMPLOYEES’ RIGHTS DURING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS By: Brooke Robbins, Volume 103 Staff Member Spurred by political disagreement, recently, there has been a surge in extended government shutdowns.[1]There are huge costs associated with government shutdowns.…
