Current Events
“Defending the Homeland”: Where Does it End? History’s Demonstration of How Far ICE Can Go
February 4, 2026
By: Sophia Artley View/Download PDF Version: “Defending the Homeland” Where Does it End? History’s Demonstration of How Far ICE Can Go (Artley) In the land of the cold and snow, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has become a key point of contention. The Trump administration has ramped up ICE presence and raids on the Minnesota…
Continue ReadingRedrawing Democracy: The Supreme Court’s Texas Map Ruling and the Future of Racial Equality in Voting
January 29, 2026
By: Maya Frazier View/Download PDF Version: Redrawing Democracy The Supreme Court’s Texas Map Ruling and the Future of Racial Equality in Voting (Frazier) When the Supreme Court of the United States allowed Texas to implement a newly drawn congressional map that a lower court found diluted the voting power of Black and Latino communities[1], it did…
Continue Reading“Words Written on Water”—Targeted Immigration Enforcement Under the Trump Administration
January 22, 2026
By: Kaylie Vasquez, Volume 44 Lead Articles Editor View/Download PDF Version: “Words Written on Water”—Targeted Immigration Enforcement Under the Trump Administration (Vasquez) “America has been a democracy of convenience. Rights are granted to those who align with power. For the poor, for the people of color, for those who resist injustice, rights are but…
Continue Reading“One Big Beautiful Bill” Education Caps: Lowering Student Debt or Limiting Access to Education?
January 28, 2026
By: Emma Kizer View/Download PDF Version: “One Big Beautiful Bill” Education Caps Lowering Student Debt or Limiting Access to Education? (Kizer) As the United States approached its 249th birthday, the country’s eyes were turned towards Congress’s heated debates surrounding the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that was filled with cuts to social safety net…
Continue ReadingThe Cost of Fairness: Why LIHTC’s Expense Can Be a Progressive Strength
January 21, 2026
By: Sumati Srivastava View/Download PDF Version: The Cost of Fairness Why LIHTC’s Expense Can Be a Progressive Strength (Srivastava) The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is the United States’ largest federal program for incentivizing the development and preservation of affordable rental housing. LIHTC builds are often criticized for being more expensive than market-rate construction,…
Continue ReadingAdministrative Censorship: The Pentagon’s Press Rules as an Abridgment of Press Freedoms
November 7, 2025
By: Jessica Payne, Volume 44 Executive Editor View/Download PDF Version: Administrative Censorship and the Pentagon Press Policy (Payne) Media organizations with Pentagon press access have faced a significant decision over the past several weeks: sign a newly adopted Pentagon press policy or lose access to the Pentagon.[1] In an unprecedented affront to well-established press First…
Continue ReadingUnder Siege: The Legal Profession at a Crossroads
April 24, 2025
Incoming Volume 44 Editor-in-Chief Jaxon Alston and Professor June Carbone, Robina Chair for Law, Science, and Technology trace how the current attacks on lawyers, law firms, and the justice system began, examine why major law firms are capitulating to external pressures, and explore the ripple effects on pro bono representation and education. The very foundations…
Continue ReadingOut of the Cell and Into the Fire: Inherently Dangerous Prison Work Assignments, the Eighth Amendment’s Guarantee of Safe Conditions of Confinement, and California’s AB-2147
April 13, 2022
by River Lord[1] Using the labor of inmates in the United States has a long and controversial tradition. Many observers have identified how higher rates of policing and incarceration among minority communities, coupled with the widespread use of inmate labor in exchange for sub-minimum wages, create a system of labor exploitation and racial oppression…
Continue ReadingHow Recent Executive Actions Deliver Reproductive Healthcare Discrimination
April 7, 2025
By: Kavya Mahesh, Volume 43 Staff Member View/Download PDF Version: How Recent Executive Actions Deliver Reproductive Healthcare Discrimination (Mahesh) Systemic healthcare discrimination targeting vulnerable populations has been a persistent obstacle in ensuring quality medical services can be enjoyed equally by everyone. The impacts of the current healthcare inequities on maternal and reproductive care result in…
Continue ReadingThe TRAIN Act and Copyright: Generative AI’s Ongoing Impact on Creators
February 27, 2025
By: Jessica Payne, Volume 43 Staff Member View/Download PDF Version: The TRAIN Act and Copyright (Payne) Since generative artificial intelligence’s (AI) soar to popular use over the past several years, a slew of legal issues has risen demanding the attention of Congress. The past two Congressional sessions have featured a significant number of AI-related legislation…
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 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 ReadingPlease Don’t Read: How Book Bans Suppress Voices of Color
November 14, 2024
By: Safiyyah Khan, Volume 43 Staff Member View/Download PDF Version: Please Don’t Read – How Book Bans Suppress Voices of Color (Khan) Book bans are not a novel concept—however, in recent years, calls for book bans have surged to unprecedented levels. Within the last four years, an increasing number of states have introduced and…
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 ReadingDirect File Is a Step in the Right Direction that Still Leaves Out Some Taxpayers
October 11, 2024
By: Spencer Culbertson, Volume 43 Staff Member View/Download PDF Version: Direct File Is a Step in the Right Direction (Culbertson) In May 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it would make Direct File a permanent option for taxpayers to e-file their income tax returns following the success of the 2024 Direct File…
Continue ReadingThe Suncor Sets on the Fossil Fuel Empire: Why the Fight for Climate Justice Will Take Place in State Courts
October 4, 2024
By: Elizabeth Mansfield, Volume 43 Online Editor View/Download PDF Version: The Suncor Sets on the Fossil Fuel Empire (Mansfield) Introduction In recent years, numerous states have sued big oil companies over their role in causing the climate crisis and the lies they perpetuated to hide it. One of the most notable cases came out of…
Continue Reading2020 Summit for Civil Rights – What Is To Be Done? How Can We Help?
December 1, 2020
Locking the Door to the Country on the Way Out: The Trump Administration’s Final Attempt to Eliminate Protections for Asylum Seekers
January 22, 2021
Only weeks before the expiration of the Trump presidency, his Administration sought to create an alarming regulation that opponents have called “the death knell” to asylum law and protections for vulnerable migrants. Check out this post from staff member Katie McCoy, as she outlines the proposed rule and the situation that the Biden-Harris Administration inherits.
Continue ReadingThe Law in Politics: A Conversation with Rep. Ryan Winkler
January 12, 2021
In this interview, staff member Jon Erik Haines met with Minnesota House Majority Leader Rep. Ryan Winkler. Mr. Winkler is the Democratic Majority Leader in the Minnesota House of Representatives and represents suburban district 46A, which contains Golden Valley, St. Louis Park and Plymouth. As a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law…
Continue ReadingThe Intersection Between Antitrust Law and Labor Law – A Conversation with Professor Sanjukta Paul
January 3, 2021
Does antitrust law have a role in promoting inequality within our economic system? Check out this interview with Professor Sanjukta Paul to learn more.
Continue ReadingAn American Caste System: A Conversation with Professor Sheryll Cashin
December 30, 2020
Is there a caste system in the United States? Check out this video for a thought-provoking conversation with Professor Sheryll Cashin, Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law, Civil Rights, and Social Justice at the Georgetown University Law Center.
Continue Reading2020 Summit for Civil Rights – Awards Ceremony
December 1, 2020
Thanks for joining us, your support, and for engaging in an important and timely conversation. We look forward continuing on the journey of establishing a more just and equitable society.
Continue ReadingWhy a Tuesday in November? An Original Intent Argument for Increased Voter Accessibility
November 25, 2020
What is so important about a singular “Election Day” and why is it some Tuesday in November? To reinforce the original intent of legislators in 1845, we should make adjustments to election day to make it more convenient for voters, just as they did for farmers in the 1800’s.
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