HLPR Blog: Notice and Comment

By Michael Svedman*   In her recent proposal to break up Amazon, Google, and Facebook, Elizabeth Warren sounds the familiar antitrust alarm. Weak antitrust enforcement has allowed big tech companies to achieve Gilded Age levels of market dominance. They use mergers and proprietary marketplaces to acquire or exclude their competitors. The effect is to squeeze out … [Read more...] about Warren’s Plan to Break up Big Tech: Coordination Rights as a Public Resource

By Michael Webert*   Introduction In the wake of recent decisions by the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF), the military justice system’s highest appellate court, victims of child pornography offenses now receive substantially different rights and treatment in military courts than in federal civilian courts. Two key issues in child pornography cases are … [Read more...] about Revictimized: How the Military Justice System Fails Victims of Child Pornography Offenses

By Eric Allen Kauk*   On November 20, 2015, around 11:00 p.m. Terance Gamble was pulled over in Mobile, Alabama by a local police officer for having a busted light on his car.  As the officer walked up to the car, he smelled marijuana, so he removed Mr. Gamble from the car while he searched the vehicle.  The officer found a small amount of marijuana and a firearm.  … [Read more...] about SCOTUS Gambles with Pardon Power

By Siddharth Sonkar*   CONTEXT Last month, in an unprecedented cyber attack on J.W Marriott Hotel’s guest database, data relating to more than five-hundred million guests spanning over four years was stolen. Not only were the hackers able to obtain the personal information of these guests but were also able to obtain sensitive personal information relating to … [Read more...] about The Data Care Act: Viewing Businesses as Information Fiduciaries

By Mark Satta* Last month, Aaron and Melissa Klein, a couple who owned a bakery in Oregon, asked the Supreme Court to review a ruling from the Court of Appeals of the State of Oregon, which held that the Kleins had violated Oregon state law by discriminating based on sexual orientation when they refused to bake a custom cake for a same-sex wedding. The Kleins, like the baker … [Read more...] about Masterpiece Left Me Optimistic; Kavanaugh Leaves Me Unsure

By Gina Schouten*   I want to argue for a shift in focus in conversations about justice in higher education. Because meritocratic admissions cannot meaningfully promote egalitarian justice, I argue that we should consider using weighted lotteries in admissions decisions, and that we should reform the culture of colleges and universities to make it likelier that … [Read more...] about Justice in Higher Education: Why We Must Move Beyond Admissions Policy

By Shanna Cleveland* When faced with an investigation by the New York and Massachusetts attorneys general over whether or not they misled investors, consumers, and regulators on the impact of climate change, Exxon went on the offensive.  It filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the investigations into potential violations of securities and consumer protection laws was a … [Read more...] about Exposing Exxon’s Ham-Fisted Attempts to Wield a Weaponized First Amendment

By Leah M. Adams*   As 2018 draws to a close, we are left with just one year to fulfil the 2020 vision of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), a set of goals for HIV prevention and treatment that was created by the White House in 2010, and then updated in 2015. To be sure, the priorities and action steps outlined in the NHAS are lofty, and include aims such as 1) … [Read more...] about A Progress Assessment on the National HIV/AIDS Strategy Goals

Alexandra Rawlings* Since European settlers arrived on Turtle Island (North America), they have attempted to assimilate and exterminate the Indigenous peoples of this land. The United States government policy of “kill the Indian, save the man” aimed to eradicate Native languages, sacred knowledge, and family (and thereby governmental) structure, and replace them with those … [Read more...] about Since Time Immemorial: Tribal Sovereignty Education in Washington State

By Eric Allen Kauk* Last week voters in Florida passed a state constitutional amendment that automatically restored the right to vote to more than 1,000,000 people who were previously convicted of felonies, and who have successfully served their sentences.  The amendment was widely-supported by many groups including the ACLU, the Koch brothers-backed Freedom Partners, and … [Read more...] about Who Will Gain From Florida’s 1,000,000 Restored-Felon Voters?