Current Events
Reason-Specific Abortion Bans Under Current Abortion Jurisprudence
March 13, 2023
View/Download PDF Version By Jocelyn Rimes† Introduction In 2021 alone, 108 restrictions on abortion were enacted in just nineteen states.[1] With the recent Supreme Court decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, that eliminated the federal constitutional right to obtain an abortion, abortion access is in a perilous position for millions of individuals.[2] Currently, ten…
Continue ReadingDomestic violence and other gender-related issues during COVID-19 – Interview with Prof. June Carbone
April 24, 2020
JLI’s Editor-in-Chief, Navin Ramalingam, and Executive Editor, Abby Rauls, sit down with Prof. June Carbone, family law professor and faculty advisor for the journal, for the first in a series of video interviews for Inequality Inquiry with the faculty, practitioners and other legal experts about a variety of issues affecting law and inequality during COVID-19. They discuss the gendered dynamics surrounding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics include the effect of quarantine on families and couples who are having to stay at home together, gender discrepancies in the “essential” workforce, funding of the healthcare system, and possible recourse for those who may be facing higher levels of domestic abuse and violence during these turbulent times.
Continue ReadingVolume 40 is Open for Submissions!
February 17, 2021
Do you have an idea for an article everyone should read? Maybe this is the time to write it! The Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality is now accepting submissions for its 2021-2022 Volume 40.
Continue ReadingA New Minneapolis: Opportunities in the Redistricting of Minneapolis Wards
January 19, 2022
By Hannah Stephan* Since the completion of the 2020 U.S. Census, states and cities around the country have begun the process of redistricting. On the tail of a heated municipal election season, redistricting in Minneapolis is especially noteworthy as residents are preparing for a re-do of the City Council election two years from now.…
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 ReadingEviction/Housing Issues During COVID-19—Interview with Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid’s Joey Dobson
April 30, 2020
JLI staff members Maddie Sheehy, Adam Johnson, and Peter Schuetz recently interviewed Joey Dobson (Housing Policy Attorney at Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid). The group discussed how the pandemic can exacerbate health and safety issues in housing (mold, infestations, heat, etc.), the eviction moratorium, and how housing attorneys are advocating for their clients now and will be moving forward.
Continue ReadingRefunding the Community: What Defunding MPD Means and Why It Is Urgent and Realistic
March 18, 2021
We hope this scholarship will help Minnesotans better understand police brutality against Black Americans and people of color, and the need for urgent changes in the way Minneapolis is policed.
Continue ReadingStatement on COVID-19: Addressing Inequity Within Our Law School
January 31, 2022
JLI Editorial Board Over the past year and a half, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted deeply-rooted inequities within our law school community. Coupled with the normal pressures of law school, the pandemic has strained (and continues to strain) students’ mental, physical, and financial wellbeing. And the challenges brought by the pandemic are exponentially increased for…
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.
Inmate Rights and the Prison/Jail System During COVID-19—Interview with Prof. Susanna Blumenthal
May 9, 2020
JLI staff members Abbie Hanson and Jen Davison recently interviewed Professor Susanna Blumenthal in a conversation about COVID-19’s effects on inmate rights and the prison/jail system. Professor Blumenthal co-directs the Program in Law and History at the University of Minnesota and she is an expert in criminal law. Professor Blumenthal’s research and writing focuses on the historical relationship between law and the human sciences. In this discussion, the group highlights the challenges of containing a virus in inherently constrained spaces, the damaging results on inmate rights, and how groups are working to ensure that incarcerated individuals receive adequate protection during a pandemic.
Continue ReadingDeadly Force: How George Floyd’s Killing Exposes Racial Inequities in Minnesota’s Felony-Murder Doctrine Among the Disenfranchised, the Powerful, and the Police
March 8, 2021
View/Download PDF Version Greg Egan[1] I. Equity in Peril: How Felony-Murder Charging Discretion and Widely Varying Punishments are Deployed Against White Defendants, Defendants of Color, and Peace Officers Minnesota’s second-degree felony-murder statute represents a unique and creative charging mechanism that affords wide discretion to prosecutors. This makes it ripe for inequitable application. It is the…
Continue ReadingA Healthy Start: Minnesota Is Pioneering an Alternative to Prison Nurseries, and Other States Should Follow Its Lead
March 28, 2022
by Rachel Pokrzywinski* In May 2021, Governor Tim Walz signed Minnesota’s Healthy Start Act (HSA) into law. The first of its kind in the United States, the HSA authorizes placement of pregnant and postpartum inmates into alternative housing—such as halfway houses and residential treatment facilities—with their newborns for up to one year after birth.…
Continue ReadingBirthright Citizenship: An Unqualified Right?
October 31, 2023
By: Elise Skarda* The concept of birthright citizenship has been mentioned in the news frequently recently. Many conservative presidential candidates are calling for an end to birthright citizenship,[1] though it is an unqualified constitutional right. So what is birthright citizenship, where does it come from, and why is it unconstitutional to qualify it? Birthright citizenship…
Continue ReadingElder Evictions: Relief Coming 2021
November 19, 2020
Consumer protections and regulations of ALFs are long overdue in Minnesota, and the changes effective 2021 will be a welcome relief to older adults across the state.
Continue ReadingThe $2 Billion-Plus Price of Injustice: A Methodological Map for Police Reform in the George Floyd Era
March 22, 2021
View/Download PDF Version David Schultz† Introduction The death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer forced America again to confront the connection between racism and law enforcement. It also compelled the City of Minneapolis to act. Merely a few days later on June 7, 2020 a majority…
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 ReadingTaking Out the Trash: Is Biden’s Plan for Eliminating Junk Fees an Effective One?
January 2, 2024
From Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour tickets to ATM fees, consumers increasingly encounter junk fees. Lead Managing Editor Evelyn Doran explains and evaluates a recently proposed DOL rule requiring junk fee disclosures by financial advisors.
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