Articles, Essays, & Tributes
Major-Questions Lenity
By JOEL S. JOHNSON. Full Text. Both the historic rule of lenity and the new major questions doctrine rest on a fundamental commitment to the separation of powers for important policy questions. In light of that shared justification, the logic of the major questions doctrine in the administrative-law context has much to offer lenity in…
The Economic Structure of Trade Secret Law
By TUN-JEN CHIANG. Full Text. The standard economic account of trade secret law focuses on providing incentives for creating new inventions. The incentive-to-invent theory, however, provides little explanation for why the key doctrinal features of trade secret law are structured the way that they are. For example, providing ex ante incentives to invent does not…
Insurers as Contract Influencers
By DAVID A. HOFFMAN & RICK SWEDLOFF. Full Text. Contract boilerplate degrading consumers’ litigation options is omnipresent, but a little mysterious. And that’s not just because no one reads it. We know that terms mandating arbitration, exculpating liability, requiring individualized litigation, and shifting risk have proliferated in the last generation. But consumer contracts’ production and…
Notes
Exempt but Not Immune: Why the Section 501(c)(3) Tax Exemption Amounts to Federal Financial Assistance and Demands that Private Schools Comply with Title IX
By ELLEN BART. Full Text. Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 (Title IX) prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance and ensures that federal funds are not used to support discriminatory practices. Independent, non-public, educational institutions try to escape compliance with Title…
Pressing Charges: Criminal Fees and the Excessive Fines Clause
By ANNEMARIE FOY. Full Text. Millions of people owe money to the government as a consequence of a criminal charge. But while some of that debt is tied to fines or restitution, much of it is levied as fees, or payments owed to the government for the administration of a defendant’s criminal proceedings. Criminal fees…
Immigration, Federalism, and the Invasion Clauses: Who Has a Seat at the Table in Disputes Over the State Power to Repel “Immigrant Invaders”
By MEGAN NIEMITALO. Full Text. In Arizona v. United States, the Supreme Court famously invalidated an Arizona statute that criminalized immigration violations and empowered state officials to enforce immigration law. Arizona seemed to settle the issue of whether states can regulate immigration for the following decade. In the last year, however, questions around the division…
Headnotes
Volume 110: Fall Issue
Exceptional Cases
By EMILY CAUBLE. Full Text.
Machine Gun Funk: The Unusual Analysis of “Dangerous and Unusual”
By GREGORY S. PARKS & VIVIAN BOLEN. Full Text.
Nipping it in the Bud: The Promise and Perils of Tort Litigation in Addressing the Health Harms of High-THC Products
By REBEKAH NINAN. Full Text.
Volume 108: Symposium Supplement
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.…
