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
Florida v. Riley: Foreshadowing Fourth Amendment Issues in 21st Century Aerial Surveillance and The Need for Clarity
Florida v. Riley: Foreshadowing Fourth Amendment Issues in 21st Century Aerial Surveillance and The Need for Clarity By: Christopher Beglinger, Volume 103 Staff Member At its core, the Fourth Amendment reflects the maxim “every man’s house is his castle.”[1] Founded on the Framer’s opposition to abuses…
DISNEY-FOX, AT&T-TIME WARNER, AND DOJ INCONSISTENCY
DISNEY-FOX, AT&T-TIME WARNER, AND DOJ INCONSISTENCY By: Shashi Gowda, Volume 103 Staff Member In October 2016, AT&T Inc. (“AT&T”) announced that it would be acquiring TimeWarner Inc. (“TimeWarner”) through a $108.7 billion purchase.[1] Two years later, The Walt Disney Company (“Disney”) announced that it would be…
GOVERNMENT CAN’T HAVE ITS CAKE AND EAT IT TOO
GOVERNMENT CAN’T HAVE ITS CAKE AND EAT IT TOO: WHY GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT INITIATE A CBM REVIEW AND ESCAPE AIA ESTOPPEL PROVISION By: Seung Sub Kim, Volume 103 Staff Member What is a person? Although it is often used as a synonym for “a human…
A LESSON IN STATUTORY INTERPRETATION
A LESSON IN STATUTORY INTERPRETATION: AZAR V. ALLINA HEALTH SERVICES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE HEALTHCARE AND ADMINISTRATIVE LAW WORLDS By: Allisa Newman, Volume 103 Staff Member Medicare administration has met its match. An already technical healthcare statute is under scrutiny to navigate proper rulemaking procedure for its…
Physician Obligations to Suicidal Patients in the Era of Physician-Assisted Death Laws
By Kate Hanson, Volume 103 Staff Member On January 1st of this year, Hawaii became the eighth jurisdiction[1] in the United States to allow physician-assisted death. In physician-assisted death law jurisdictions, physicians may prescribe medication to hasten death,[2] and patients retain the choice to fill the prescription…
Constructing the Sandwich
By Alexander Park Introduction What is a sandwich? Most people never stop to ask themselves this question. After all, the answer seems almost too obvious—two slices of bread with meat, cheese, or some sort of filling between the two slices of bread. In recent years, this…
Constructing the Sandwich
Constructing the Sandwich By Alexander Park Introduction What is a sandwich? Most people never stop to ask themselves this question. After all, the answer seems almost too obvious—two slices of bread with meat, cheese, or some sort of filling between the two slices of bread.…
Physician Obligations to Suicidal Patients in the Era of Physician-Assisted Death Laws
PHYSICIAN OBLIGATIONS TO SUICIDAL PATIENTS IN THE ERA OF PHYSICIAN-ASSISTED DEATH LAWS By: Kate Hanson, Volume 103 Staff Member On January 1st of this year, Hawaii became the eighth jurisdiction[1] in the United States to allow physician-assisted death. In physician-assisted death law jurisdictions, physicians may prescribe…
SLAPPing Down Discriminatory Voter Fraud Prosecutions
SLAPPing Down Discriminatory Voter Fraud Prosecutions: A Possible Solution to a Problem that Threatens to Chill Participation in Elections By: Sam Cleveland, Volume 103 Staff Member INTRODUCTION A sinister new trend in discriminatory prosecution of alleged voter fraud has compounded other problems which already make…
The Modern Public Forum
THE MODERN PUBLIC FORUM: GOVERNMENT-RUN SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT By: Hudson Peters, Volume 103 Staff Member As American society becomes increasingly digitized, so too has political discourse. However, the law has generally not kept pace with the changing landscape, as more and…
