Civil Rights and Liberties
The Right to Choose From An Empty Shelf: Anti-Abortionists Sue to Remove FDA Approval of Crucial Medication
March 28, 2023
Staff Member Bethany Jewison analyzes a recent lawsuit where multiple anti-abortion organizations seek to repeal the FDA’s approval of an important abortion drug, mifepristone.
Continue ReadingFundamental, Not Absolute: Implications of the Minnesota Supreme Court’s Ruling in Schroeder v. Simon
March 29, 2023
In this blog, Staff Member John Leiner examines the Minnesota Supreme Court’s ruling in Schroeder v. Simon and how legislation could restore voting rights to Minnesotans with past felony convictions.
Continue ReadingThe Clash Between LGBTQ Anti-Discrimination Law and Freedom of Speech in 303 Creative v. Elenis: Which Will Take the Cake?
April 2, 2023
By Elizabeth Wellhausen* In December 2022, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for 303 Creative v. Elenis, a case that is basically a “redo” of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission.[1] In Masterpiece, a baker refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple because same-sex marriage conflicted with his religious views.[2] The…
Continue ReadingMinnesota 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 ReadingExamining the Constitutionality of Targeted Residential Protest Bans
May 12, 2023
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 ReadingRight to Spiritual Advisors During Executions: Missouri’s Latest Refusal and the Supreme Court’s Evolving Jurisprudence
June 12, 2023
In Inequality Inquiry’s latest blog post, Britane Hubbard discusses how the Missouri Department of Corrections denied Leonard “Raheem” Taylor’s request for a spiritual advisor leading up to his execution.
Continue ReadingWill Minnesota’s New Automatic Expungement Laws Have an Effect on Federal Sentences?
February 14, 2024
By Britane Hubbard* On January 1, 2025, Minnesota’s new automatic expungement statutes will go into effect.[1] Under this new law, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will identify eligible people and grant them expungement relief if they qualify.[2] Offenses eligible for expungement range from petty misdemeanors to felonies.[3] The possibility of a new wave of expungements…
Continue ReadingA Civil Gideon? The Case for Universal Representation in Immigration Courts
March 5, 2024
A Civil Gideon? The Case for Universal Representation in Immigration Courts By: Meg Keiser* In 1932, the Supreme Court began considering the right to counsel as a due process concern in Powell v. Alabama, holding that in capital cases where a defendant is unable to independently secure counsel, the Court must appoint counsel.[1] From Powell…
Continue ReadingSeneca Re-Ad Industries Reinforces Why Congress Should Eliminate 14(c) Certificates
March 29, 2024
Seneca Re-Ad Industries Reinforces Why Congress Should Eliminate 14(c) Certificates By: Matthew Schmitz* Early this year the District Court for the Northern District of Ohio reviewed the application of a key component of American minimum wage law: Section 14(c) certificates.[1] The case, brought by workers with disabilities and appealed by their employer, seems to represent…
Continue Reading“Mind Your Own Damn Business”: Why Governor Walz Is Right that The Right to Control Your Body Should Not Be Based on Geography
October 19, 2024
By: Claire Cavanagh View/Download PDF Version: _Mind Your Own Damn Business_ – Why Governor Walz Is Right that The Right to Control Your Body Should Not Be Based on Geography (Cavanagh) Minnesota Governor, Tim Walz (Walz), has been selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. Throughout the campaign, especially during the vice presidential…
Continue ReadingTitle IX’s 50th Anniversary: Time for the NCAA to Step in the Arena and Start Playing by the Rules
September 30, 2024
View/Download PDF Version Title IX 50th Anniversary (Emendorfer) By: Rachel Emendorfer
Continue ReadingSleep Tight? Not on This Bench: Grants Pass and the Criminalization of Unhoused Individuals
October 4, 2024
By: Liddy Patterson, Volume 43 Staff Member View/Download PDF Version: Sleep Tight – Not on This Bench – Grants Pass and the Criminalization of Unhoused Individuals (Patterson) Houselessness is a pervasive and heartbreaking crisis across the United States. Life as an unhoused individual is scary, exhausting, and overwhelming. In the winter, many individuals are denied…
Continue ReadingDelaying Justice: How Jurisdictional Gaps Fuel the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Crisis in the United States
October 21, 2024
By: Alejandra Arboleda, Volume 43 Staff Member View/Download PDF Version: Delaying Justice – How Jurisdictional Gaps Fuel the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Crisis in the United States (Arboleda) Hand-in-hand, thirty-eight Dakota men began to harmonize, calling out each other’s names to ensure no one was missing.[1] Four thousand spectators gathered to witness a…
Continue ReadingSupporting Criminalized Survivors: The Ongoing Need for Minnesota to Pass the Survivor’s Justice Act
November 18, 2024
By: Lucy Moran, Volume 43 Online Editor View/Download PDF Version: Supporting Criminalized Survivors – The Ongoing Need for Minnesota to Pass the Survivor’s Justice Act (Moran) On December 13, 2021, Samantha Heiges was released from one of Minnesota’s prisons after serving 12 years for causing the death of her baby. In front of Minnesota’s…
Continue ReadingTwo Years Since Dobbs: How Access to Contraceptives and IVF Has Changed
November 9, 2024
By: Claire Albrecht, Volume 43 Staff Member View/Download PDF Version: Two Years Since Dobbs (Albrecht) I. Introduction Prior to June 24, 2022, the government “could not control a woman’s body or the course of a woman’s life: It could not determine what the woman’s future would be.”[1] On that date, the Supreme Court denied women…
Continue ReadingWaupun Correctional Institution: A Case Study in the Failures of the PLRA’s Administrative Remedies Requirement
November 22, 2024
By: Claire Girod, Volume 43 Staff Member View/Download PDF Version: Waupun Correctional Institution – A Case Study in the Failures of the PLRA’s Administrative Remedies Requirement (Girod) The Eighth Amendment protects prisoners from cruel and unusual conditions of confinement. Court intervention is often credited by commentators as the driving force keeping correctional facilities from…
Continue ReadingArtificial Intelligence and Facial Recognition: Biases & Privacy Concerns
November 25, 2024
Volume 43 Staff Member Jems Guirguis interviews Omer Tene, a Partner at Goodwin Procter in a wide-ranging discussion of the challenges posed by AI and facial recognition. Recommended Readings: Thaddeus L. Johnson & Natasha N. Johnson, Police Facial Recognition Technology Can’t Tell Black People Apart: AI-powered facial recognition will lead to increased racial profiling, Scientific American…
Continue ReadingThe Cost of Bad Apples: Recovery for Sexual Assault Victims Against Public Employers Post-Sterry
By: Desmond Bassett, Volume 43 Staff Member View/Download PDF Version: The Cost of Bad Apples – Recovery for Sexual-Assault Victims against Public Employers Post-Sterry (Bassett) In tort law, the doctrine of vicarious liability provides that an employer can be held liable for the torts committed by their employees. This doctrine has not always extended…
Continue ReadingFifth Circuit En-Banc Split Produces Dangerous Theories of Racialized Politics
January 27, 2025
By: Dawn Dudley, Volume 43 Staff Member View/Download PDF Version: Fifth Circuit En-Banc Split Produces Dangerous Theories of Racialized Politics (Dudley) In November, the Fifth Circuit issued an equally divided en-banc ruling regarding whether a white student was discriminated against because of his race in violation of Title VI.[1] Title VI prevents discrimination based on…
Continue ReadingFBI Breaks It, FBI Buys It: Will SCOTUS Finally Make Sure the Feds Pick Up the Tab When They Raid the Wrong House?
February 27, 2025
By: Margarit Margaritov, Volume 43 Managing Editor Should victims of erroneous Special Weapons and Tactics (“SWAT”) raids by federal law enforcement be able to obtain money damages from the federal government? Will the availability of such remedy make law enforcement more cautious about its conduct? We may soon have a chance to find out.…
Continue ReadingExpanding Compassionate Release Eligibility in a Post-COVID World
By: Sydney Koehler, Volume 43 Managing Editor View/Download PDF Version: Expanding Compassionate Release Eligibility in a Post-COVID World (Koehler) The elderly prison population in the United States is at an all-time high.[1] By 2030, experts estimate that nearly one-third of the national prison population will be 55 years old or older.[2] Despite this trend, both…
Continue ReadingPunishment or “Protection”? The Case Challenging Racialized Homelessness Nationwide
April 7, 2025
By: Noelle Sperrazza, Volume 43 Note & Comment Editor View/Download PDF Version: Punishment or “Protection”? The Case Challenging Racialized Homelessness Nationwide (Sperrazza) Homelessness is one of the most prominent, urgent, and ever-growing crises in America today. As of 2023, roughly 653,100 people in the United States were experiencing homelessness on any given night.[1] Rising housing costs,…
Continue ReadingThe Deportation Marketplace: The Unethical and Potentially Illegal Deal with El Salvador’s Mega-Prison
April 1, 2025
By: Jane Genske, Volume 43 Staff Member View/Download PDF Version: The Deportation Marketplace (Genske) The outsourcing of asylum responsibilities by wealthier nations through financial incentives—often termed “the commodification of refugees”—is not a new phenomenon. Countries have long paid others to accept and detain migrants, effectively shifting their obligations elsewhere. A recent agreement between the United…
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