Volume 48, Issue 2

News stories in recent years have regularly appeared where students, staff, or faculty members at public institutions of higher education are investigated, rebuked, or reprimanded by their college or university for online expression. Such cases have the potential to raise First Amendment questions. In particular, there are several instances of students being scrutinized for their…

Minnesota recently joined the majority of states that apply the vicarious liability doctrine of apparent authority to hospitals for the negligence of independent contractor physicians in emergency rooms. In Popovich v. Allina Health Systems, the Minnesota Supreme Court clarified previous decisions involving vicarious liability in emergency rooms, stating that the previous holdings conflated the two…

To become a licensed attorney, law school graduates must pass the dreaded bar exam, a two or three-day, grueling exam that has been characterized as a brutal and hellish experience. Many attorneys describe the exam as “among the most painful experiences of their lives.” But, there is a lesser known yet equally as important hurdle…

On July 11, 2008, Sharmin Walls allowed Korey Mayfield to drive her Chevrolet Lumina. Walls, Randi Harper, and Christopher Timms were passengers in the vehicle. During the ride, a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper activated his blue light, signaling for Mayfield to pull over. Instead of obeying the signal, Mayfield accelerated and then led the…

On January 6, 2021, Congress assembled to perform “one of its most solemn constitutional responsibilities”: the electoral count. As the House and the Senate convened in their respective rooms, and with Vice President Mike Pence presiding, President Donald Trump held the “Save America Rally” in the Ellipse within the National Mall just a short distance…

Police grievance arbitrations play a major role in whether police officers keep or lose their jobs following discipline imposed by the police department they work for. In May 2020, Minneapolis, Minnesota and the rest of the nation erupted after watching one Minneapolis Police Department (“MPD”) officer with numerous prior misconduct complaints murder George Floyd, which…

Voting is foundational to any democracy. In fact, “[v]oting provides citizens with an opportunity to make public decisions about policies that can impact their quality of life.” Thus, when the government denies specific subsets of the population the right to vote, it “becomes less democratic.” In the United States, the federal government permits states to…

American consumers are becoming increasingly aware farmed animals suffer greatly during farming processes that aim to provide meat at the lowest possible price. It has become standard practice on industrial farms for animals to be crowded into spaces so small they cannot move freely; deprived of sunlight and outdoor access; denied basic social interaction; artificially…