Archive for May 2023
Minnesota Crisis Pregnancy Centers and The Positive Pregnancies Bill
May 9, 2023
By Lizzy Miller* Introduction In 2022, the federal constitutional right to abortion previously found in Roe v. Wade was overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.[1] Crucially, Dobbs found that “the state has an ‘important and legitimate interest’ in protecting fetuses that it does not have in preventing contraception.”[2] While abortion remains constitutionally protected…
Continue ReadingBreonna Taylor is Not Forgotten: Department of Justice Finds Civil Rights Violations by the Louisville Metro Police Department and the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government
By Alejandrea Brown* Police violence and misconduct against Black people in America is not a new phenomenon. Studies have shown that Black people are 3.23 times more likely than White people to be killed by the police.[1] The lack of accountability concerning police misconduct and violence against the Black community is also not new trend.[2] …
Continue ReadingExpungement: The Missing Federal Piece
May 10, 2023
While states have created their own expungement laws, nothing similar exists under federal law. In this blog post, staff member Diana Kawka explores federal expungement law and offers solutions to solve this gap.
Continue Reading“Reasonable Efforts” Inequities in Minnesota Child Welfare Removals
May 12, 2023
By Luke Srodulski When Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed House File 4065 into law on June 2, 2022, much of the media coverage surrounded provisions legalizing THC-infused edibles and beverages, and whether Republican state lawmakers had actually intended to pass them.[1] Far less notable to most observers were reforms to child welfare law.[2] These amendments…
Continue ReadingExamining the Constitutionality of Targeted Residential Protest Bans
By Alexandra Schrader-Dobris Introduction: Minnesota cities are steadily banning targeted residential protests in response to several Black Lives Matter demonstrations following George Floyd’s death in 2020.[1] That summer, over one hundred Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters picketed outside Minneapolis Police Union President Bob Kroll’s house, calling for his resignation as a result of his failure…
Continue ReadingA New Future for Social Media Platforms, Courtesy of State Legislators.
May 13, 2023
By: Anitra Varhadkar
In March 2023, the Utah Governor signed into law a bill that greatly restricts social media use for minors, citing mental health. This blog post discusses whether or not mental health is the real reason for the legislation.
CALLING ALL ASYLUM SEEKERS: PLEASE, TELL US YOUR TRAUMA, OVER AND OVER AGAIN
May 15, 2023
A Look into the United States Asylum Process for Recent Afghan Evacuees By Coryn Johnson* I met the girl with the quiet not-quite-smile in a small building on a military base.[1] Laminate tiles in a dirty-off white made the flooring, coupled by white-paned windows framing cheap glass. The place resembled a one-room schoolhouse built in…
Continue ReadingPrescribing “Justice”? How the Court’s Stay in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine Demonstrates the Dangerous Growth of Policy-Driven Adjudication in Federal Courts
May 16, 2023
By Evelyn Doran* In August 2022, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM) filed its articles of incorporation in Amarillo, Texas.[1] Three months later, it filed a complaint in the District Court for the Northern District of Texas, the federal district court that serves Amarillo and the surrounding region.[2] In this complaint, it alleged that the…
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