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
The Implications of Jennings v. Rodriguez on Immigration Detention Policy
The Implications of Jennings v. Rodriguez on Immigration Detention Policy By: Kelsey Lutz, Volume 103 Staff Member Alejandro Rodriguez, a Mexican citizen, came to the United States with his family as an infant.[1] He had been a lawful permanent resident of the United States for nearly twenty years…
Free to Drink Local?
Free to Drink Local? Supreme Court Will Decide Whether Liquor Retailer Durational Residency Requirements Are Valid By: Gina Tonn, Volume 103 Staff Member The maxim “Drink Local” is achievable for many beer and liquor connoisseurs these days.[1] But can state law require that consumers’ only option…
Proportional Representation
Proportional Representation: Ending Partisan Gerrymandering Without the Courts By: Aaron Stenz, Volume 103 Staff Member Representative democracy is as American as apple pie. It is enshrined in the foundational texts of our nation.[1] It is an abstract ideal and the functional foundation of our government, and…
Losing My Religion (and My Money)
Losing My Religion (and My Money): How the Church of Scientology Contractually Limits Its Ex-Members’ Ability to Fight the Church in Court By: Paige Papandrea, Volume 103 Staff Member The Church of Scientology enjoys an unsavory reputation with the general public, in part due to…
JUDICIAL RECUSAL IN THE POST-CITIZENS UNITED WORLD
JUDICIAL RECUSAL IN THE POST-CITIZENS UNITED WORLD By: Bryan Mette, Volume 103 Staff Member I. CITIZENS UNITED AND CAPERTON In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down federal limits on independent expenditures by corporations holding that it was unconstitutional under the First Amendment to prohibit political speech based…
ARE ALL DEFENDANTS “DEFENDANTS”?
ARE ALL DEFENDANTS “DEFENDANTS”? HOME DEPOT U.S.A., INC. V. JACKSON AND THE QUESTION OF THIRD-PARTY COUNTERCLAIM DEFENDANTS’ REMOVAL POWERS By: Travis Panneck, Volume 103 Staff Member The Supreme Court has granted certiorari to hear arguments in Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. v. Jackson.[1] The case has been described as “an…
Fourplex City
Fourplex City: Local Politics and Neighborhood Values By: Sarah Trautman, Volume 103 Staff Member In 2017, a super-liberal field of mayoral candidates split the Democratic-Farmer-Laborer party endorsement with vying platforms that each addressed affordable housing as a top issue.[1] Jacob Frey ultimately leveraged his track record…
Democratizing Democracy
Democratizing Democracy: A Private Right of Action Under the Help America Vote Act Would Improve Election Accuracy and Restore Voter Confidence By: Jack Davis, Volume 103 Staff Member Confidence that a person’s vote will be accurately and honestly recorded is confidence in democracy itself. The recount…
Men Fear False Allegations. Women Fear Sexual Misconduct, Assault, and Rape.
MEN FEAR FALSE ALLEGATIONS. WOMEN FEAR SEXUAL MISCONDUCT, ASSAULT, AND RAPE. By: Jackie Fielding, Volume 103 Staff Member “Why do men feel threatened by women?” . . . “They’re afraid women will laugh at them.” . . . “Why do women feel threatened by men?”…
Hi, Fidelity
‘Hi, Fidelity’: States’ Rights to Control Faithless Electors By: Tim Lovett, Volume 103 Staff Member Introduction The 2016 election had the most faithless electors of any presidential election in modern American history, with seven electors casting votes for individuals different from the candidates who won…
