By: Mannirmal Jawa Across the Southern United States, Confederate monuments stand on government property as active souvenirs of the Jim Crow era. Local governments that try to remove the statues sometimes run into hurdles. For example, sometimes members of the public protest the removal; the infamous Unite the Right rally that turned deadly in Charlottesville …
By: Tisha Martin Last August, an Oklahoma District Court Judge held Johnson & Johnson liable for its role in the opioid epidemic in Oklahoma. Oklahoma brought its case against the pharmaceutical company under public nuisance law. The court’s ruling—that a company can be held liable under public nuisance law for the effects of their advertisements—is …
Virginia lawmakers have repealed a centuries-old, vague profanity law. The statute criminalized “any person [who] profanely curses or swears” and made any violation thereof a Class 4 misdemeanor. While Virginia joins a host of states who have already repealed such laws, many states still retain profanity statutes. As one spokesman for Virginia’s governor—who is expected …
By: Tim Sookram On May 21, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights promulgated the final version of the “Conscience Rule,” a regulation aimed at protecting the rights of those who cite religious grounds in refusing to perform or assist with certain health care services. Opponents have decried the …
By: Zachary Tooman Lamenting Richard Nixon’s nomination of William Rehnquist for Associate Justice in December 1971, Dr. Hunter Thompson labeled Rehnquist a “vengeful geek” who would, along with fellow nominee Lewis Powell, “reduce the U.S. Supreme Court to the level of a piss-poor bowling team in Memphis,” and create a “disastrous, nazi-bent shift of the …
By: Prakash Kadiri Is giving nutritional advice protected by the First Amendment? Absolutely. Now, what if you’re not licensed by the state but compensated for that advice—is your speech still protected by the First Amendment? A Florida District Court recently said no. In deciding cases like this, courts try to distinguish whether the licensing laws— …
By: Elliotte Kiel Applicant Surveillance to Prevent Fraud In March 2019, the Social Security Administration (SSA) announced it is looking into social media surveillance of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) applicants. The agency justified this as part of their “responsibility to detect and prevent fraud.” SSDI pays monthly benefits to people who cannot regularly work …
By: Lindsay Byers October is a busy month for institutions that are subject to the Clery Act, as they begin releasing their safety reports. While many institutions, like UNC Chapel Hill, might be focused on the shocking uptick of reported sexual assaults on campus, Syracuse University is facing an additional issue. Syracuse students have voiced …
By: Clarke Martin You’d be hard-pressed to find an attorney who would characterize their client’s membership in a gang (street, motorcycle, prison, or otherwise) as a “good fact.” But what is a gang and why is being part of one such a bad omen for charges and prosecutions to come? Social scientists note that gangs …
Last week, Julian Assange was indicted on 17 violations of the Espionage Act, a federal law that prohibits interference with United States military operations and support for enemies in times of war. In 2010, Assange published secret government documents on his website, Wikileaks, and now faces federal prosecution. Scholars have noted that the Espionage Act …
