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The Doomed Constitutional Case Against Exclusive Representation, Michael M. Oswalt Jun 2021

The Doomed Constitutional Case Against Exclusive Representation, Michael M. Oswalt

College of Law Faculty Publications

When the Supreme Court decided Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in 2018, the decision not only made it unconstitutional for public sector unions to require “fair share fees” for negotiating contracts and defending workers, it also set off a litigation landslide. Literally hundreds of cases have waded through the courts urging various theoretical extensions of Janus that—boiled down—seek to starve unions and their members of even more funding


Burnout Doesn't Frighten Me, Meredith A.G. Stange Mar 2021

Burnout Doesn't Frighten Me, Meredith A.G. Stange

College of Law Faculty Publications

This past semester we all taught during an unprecedented worst-case scenario, moving our courses online at the literal drop of a hat. Although I know my experience is not unique, from March to the end of the semester in May, I felt like I was just treading water. I realized that feeling unsure of myself, feeling disconnected from my students, and feeling like I was just treading water really was not me. In fact, I had not felt this way in the classroom since my first few years of teaching. Those were days I did not want to revisit because, …


State Prisons Turning Into De Facto Mental Health Institutes: A Comparative Look At The Illinois And Nebraska State Prison Systems, Margaret Kramer Nov 2020

State Prisons Turning Into De Facto Mental Health Institutes: A Comparative Look At The Illinois And Nebraska State Prison Systems, Margaret Kramer

Northern Illinois Law Review Supplement

This Comment discusses the systems of approaching mental health in Nebraska and Illinois state prison systems. Starting with how prison systems became some of the largest de facto mental health institutes in the country after deinstitutionalization happened on a national scale. It will then provide the guidelines and regulations in place for both Nebraska and Illinois. This Comment will then discuss what regulations would be most beneficial and how some of these can help in continuing after an individual is released from prison.


Table Of Contents & Masthead, Northern Illinois University Law Review Online Supplement, Vol. 12, No. 1, Fall 2020, Northern Illinois University Law Review Nov 2020

Table Of Contents & Masthead, Northern Illinois University Law Review Online Supplement, Vol. 12, No. 1, Fall 2020, Northern Illinois University Law Review

Northern Illinois Law Review Supplement

No abstract provided.


Amazon’S Antitrust Fair Play, A Transatlantic Evaluation, Angelos Vlazakis, Angeliki Varela Nov 2020

Amazon’S Antitrust Fair Play, A Transatlantic Evaluation, Angelos Vlazakis, Angeliki Varela

Northern Illinois University Law Review

For the first time after a century, antitrust law has been making headlines around the country. Amazon, among other technological giants, finds itself in the middle of a cyclone against economic power. This article joins the endeavor of several scholars to understand Amazon's conduct, but through a different lens. It tries to see the big picture of Amazon's relevant market of operation, it evaluates indirect and potential competition and reaches the conclusion that the legendary e-retailer has a weak monopoly, if not any monopoly power. Subsequently, the article assesses several doctrines that could sanction Amazon's market conduct through comparative legal …


Circumventing Consultation Under The National Historic Preservation Act: How Judicial Misapplication Of Section 106 Is Putting Historic And Cultural Resources At Risk, Samuel W. Gieryn Nov 2020

Circumventing Consultation Under The National Historic Preservation Act: How Judicial Misapplication Of Section 106 Is Putting Historic And Cultural Resources At Risk, Samuel W. Gieryn

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s website proudly features “Section 106 Success Stories” where broad and meaningful consultation led to exemplary outcomes. But what if the consultation process that lead to those successes was never triggered? Unfortunately, there are too many stories of far less success because of legal opinions that mistakenly determined federal actions not to be “undertakings” under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. This article attempts to settle the question of “What is an ‘undertaking’ in Section 106?” Through an analysis of statutory and regulatory changes, legislative history, and legal opinions, this article demonstrates that …


Global Innovation Law, P. Sean Morris Nov 2020

Global Innovation Law, P. Sean Morris

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Article is about opening up a debate on global innovation law. The Article argues that a new hybrid area of transglobal law has emerged in the past decade due to the rise of various disruptive and technological challenges to law beyond the state. As such, the Article argues that global innovation law is a new field that encapsulates the dynamics of law making and regulatory governance in how law operates in a transglobal environment. With the rapid changes in law and regulation to meet the demands of the global economy--the interaction of law and these changes at the domestic …


Governments "Erasing History" And The Importance Of Free Speech, Noah C. Chauvin Nov 2020

Governments "Erasing History" And The Importance Of Free Speech, Noah C. Chauvin

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Nationwide protests against police brutality and structural racism have led to a renewed push for governments to take down or alter Confederate monuments and symbols. Advocates for these changes argue that they will make our public spaces more just and welcoming to all people. Not everyone agrees. Some defenders of the monuments and symbols accuse pro-removal protestors and the governments who acquiesce to their demands as conspiring to "erase history." In this essay, I argue that those who oppose removing the monuments should come away from the controversy with an appreciation for the importance of free speech. On the other …


Researching The Jury's Internet And Social Media Presence: The Ethical And Privacy Implications, Whitni Hart Nov 2020

Researching The Jury's Internet And Social Media Presence: The Ethical And Privacy Implications, Whitni Hart

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Comment discusses the lack of guidelines regulating attorneys' online research of potential and sitting jurors. Instantaneous online access to the personal lives of jurors provides attorneys with the opportunity to exploit private information throughout the entire trial process, ranging from voir dire to closing arguments. Because this research most often occurs outside of the courtroom doors, courts have had little opportunity to address the issue. Very few courts and ethics committees have implemented policies related to the use of social media to investigate jurors, which leaves it up to the attorneys in most jurisdictions to decide what is or …


Vol. 41, No. 1, Fall 2020: Table Of Contents, Northern Illinois University Law Review Nov 2020

Vol. 41, No. 1, Fall 2020: Table Of Contents, Northern Illinois University Law Review

Northern Illinois University Law Review

No abstract provided.


A History Of Elector Discretion, Michael L. Rosin Nov 2020

A History Of Elector Discretion, Michael L. Rosin

Northern Illinois University Law Review

In its opinion in Chiafalo v. Washington, the Supreme Court disposes of the actual history of elector discretion as too inconsequential to merit its serious analysis. A history of elector discretion not only includes a history of the electors who exercised discretion when casting electoral votes, it also includes a history of commentary on the role of electors as the Constitution was created and, more importantly, as Congress was attempting to amend it. The Court almost completely ignores this history. When Congress crafted the Twelfth Amendment in 1803 it recognized that “the right of choice [of president] […] devolve[s] upon” …


Secret Surveillance Scores: Pay No Attention To What's Behind The Curtain, Allison Piper Geber Nov 2020

Secret Surveillance Scores: Pay No Attention To What's Behind The Curtain, Allison Piper Geber

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Comment discusses the potential and actual misuse of consumers' secret surveillance scores in e-commerce, employment, and housing situations, as evidenced in a 2019 FTC complaint. The calculation and use of these secret surveillance scores are currently unregulated. The Comment presents two main arguments: First, secret surveillance scores are equivalent to credit scores used in the financial credit reporting industry and should thus undergo similar regulation. Second, the collection of consumer data points to calculate secret surveillance scores highlights the need for broad, nationwide consumer digital data privacy legislation. The collection and use of secret surveillance scores are akin to …


America’S Pastime: Human Trafficking, Cuba, And The Road To The Show, Cole Burton Jun 2020

America’S Pastime: Human Trafficking, Cuba, And The Road To The Show, Cole Burton

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Cuban athletes face a treacherous journey in venturing from Cuba to the United States in order to pursue their dreams of becoming professional athletes. The MLB-FCB Agreement of 2018 sought to ease this journey by alleviating the smuggling of Cuban athletes by violent gangs and criminal organizations. However, the Agreement was declared unconstitutional by the Trump administration months later. This Comment analyzes the MLB-FCB Agreement, including the benefits and risks associated with it, and presents potential alternate solutions to cut down on the trafficking of Cuban athletes.


Vol. 40, No. 3, Summer 2020: Table Of Contents, Northern Illinois University Law Review Jun 2020

Vol. 40, No. 3, Summer 2020: Table Of Contents, Northern Illinois University Law Review

Northern Illinois University Law Review

No abstract provided.


Time, Place, And Manner Restrictions On Speech, R. George Wright Jun 2020

Time, Place, And Manner Restrictions On Speech, R. George Wright

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The category of time, place, and manner restrictions on speech, as supposedly distinct from absolute bans, appears to be central to free speech law. Even a modest examination of the case law, however, suggests the arbitrariness of any such distinction. Any familiar time, place, or manner restriction on speech can be reasonably re-described as an absolute ban on speech, and vice versa. Any differences in how the relevant regulations of speech should be judicially tested, whether by differing degrees of rigor or otherwise, are correspondingly arbitrary. This Article recommends abandoning any attempt to substantively distinguish between time, place, and manner …


Our English Legal Forebearers And Their Contributions To The Practice Of Law And American Jurisprudence: Sir Thomas More, Sir Edward Coke, And Sir William Blackstone, Heather R. Darsie May 2020

Our English Legal Forebearers And Their Contributions To The Practice Of Law And American Jurisprudence: Sir Thomas More, Sir Edward Coke, And Sir William Blackstone, Heather R. Darsie

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Article seeks to remind lawyers of the important duty to uphold the law, and how that was shown through the actions of several English and British attorneys from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. Beginning with Sir Thomas More, considered as a secular person in this Article, and his refusal to go against what he believed to be the law, to Sir Edward Coke, whose legal judgments assisted early Americans, and ending with Sir William Blackstone, whose careful thinking paved the way for the American legal system. This semi-biographical Article relays the legal changes occurring during the time periods mentioned …


Similar Interpretations, Different Conclusions: The Criminalization Of Hate Speech In The West, Michael Goryelov, Wesley S. Mccann May 2020

Similar Interpretations, Different Conclusions: The Criminalization Of Hate Speech In The West, Michael Goryelov, Wesley S. Mccann

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The United States is unique internationally in that hate speech is not considered a criminal offense. Drawing from a sample of Western countries and their respective statutes, the analysis will look at different nations' interpretations of hate speech criminality. This study identifies common patterns in international criminal legal codes and compares them to U.S. jurisprudence, focusing on content neutrality and the ideological content of these laws. It was found that hate speech statutes internationally tended towards content neutrality, were structured similarly to anti-defamatory codes, and generally did not result in amendments/extensions of new regulatory laws. These findings imply a closer …


Illinois Supreme Court Rule 352(A): An Attempted Revival Of The Appellate Oral Argument, Laura Peters May 2020

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 352(A): An Attempted Revival Of The Appellate Oral Argument, Laura Peters

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Though long considered a bedrock of the American legal system, oral argument has steadily lost popularity in appellate courts across the country. Due in large part to ever-increasing caseloads and limited judicial resources, most jurisdictions now favor the expediency of written briefs over oral argument to decide appeals. While written briefs have their place, oral argument offers an inimitable opportunity for lawyers and judges to directly converse. As such, the practice of oral argument at the appellate level should be preserved. The Illinois Supreme Court took a step towards revitalizing appellate oral argument with its revised Rule 352(a). However, the …


This Is Not A Game: Blockchain Regulation And Its Application To Video Games, Diana Qiao May 2020

This Is Not A Game: Blockchain Regulation And Its Application To Video Games, Diana Qiao

Northern Illinois University Law Review

The use of blockchain technology as a financial instrument is often viewed with the same skepticism as emails from a foreign prince promising a portion of his inheritance for a “small” fee the recipient must pay for banking fees. Contrary to popular belief, there are various useful applications of blockchain technology, namely through the issuance and utilization of coins and tokens. “Tokens” are digital assets built on top of a particular blockchain, stored within the blockchain rather than through a central bank or regulatory authority, and provide a wider range of functions than that of Initial Coin Offerings. One of …


Vol. 40, No. 2, Spring 2020: Table Of Contents, Northern Illinois University Law Review May 2020

Vol. 40, No. 2, Spring 2020: Table Of Contents, Northern Illinois University Law Review

Northern Illinois University Law Review

No abstract provided.


Voting Like A Duck: Reflecting On A Year Of Legal Writing Voting Rights, Meredith A.G. Stange Mar 2020

Voting Like A Duck: Reflecting On A Year Of Legal Writing Voting Rights, Meredith A.G. Stange

College of Law Faculty Publications

Over the years, in various legal writing forums, I have heard that legal writing professors should try to “look like ducks.” This means we should publish, teach doctrinal courses, and otherwise do everything we can to make ourselves look like the tenure-track, non-legal writing faculty. The theory is that the more we look like tenure-track faculty, the harder it will be to treat those of us who are not tenure track differently. This has always bothered me because it seems to minimize the work that legal writing professors do and makes it seem that in order to have value, we …


Moving Forward From The Scoop Era: Providing Active Efforts Under The Indian Child Welfare Act In Illinois, Cassandra Crandall Nov 2019

Moving Forward From The Scoop Era: Providing Active Efforts Under The Indian Child Welfare Act In Illinois, Cassandra Crandall

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Comment argues that Illinois should adopt the view that active efforts are a higher standard than reasonable efforts and implement procedures encouraging state agencies and courts to implement these requirements. Following the Supreme Court's rationale in Mississippi Choctaw Band of Indians v. Holyfield, one of the only Supreme Court cases addressing the ICWA, this Comment argues that a uniform definition and application of "active efforts" should exist in every jurisdiction. Furthermore, this Comment emphasizes that "active efforts" require more than "reasonable efforts," and that these standards are different. Part I of this Comment reviews the history of the ICWA. …


Table Of Contents & Masthead, Northern Illinois University Law Review Online Supplement, Vol. 11, No. 1, Fall 2019, Northern Illinois University Law Review Nov 2019

Table Of Contents & Masthead, Northern Illinois University Law Review Online Supplement, Vol. 11, No. 1, Fall 2019, Northern Illinois University Law Review

Northern Illinois Law Review Supplement

No abstract provided.


Bridging The Gap Between Immigration Detainment And Parental Rights: A Constitutional Consideration Of Migrant Children Separation, Kelsey Burge Nov 2019

Bridging The Gap Between Immigration Detainment And Parental Rights: A Constitutional Consideration Of Migrant Children Separation, Kelsey Burge

Northern Illinois Law Review Supplement

Federal immigration law does not completely comport with state family law because some federal legislation, such as the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), requires states to initiate parental custody proceedings due to children being separated from their parents for a statutorily defined period, even when parents are detained in immigration centers with very uncertain timelines. Parental custody proceedings involve factors that each state has authority to enact evaluating parental fitness; however, the factors may be implicitly or explicitly biased toward migrant parents, resulting in migrant parental custody being terminated unfairly. While Trump's zero-tolerance policy enacted in 2018 sparked outrage …


Kennedy V. Bremerton School District: A Fumble The Supreme Court Needs To Recover, Emily C. Neely Nov 2019

Kennedy V. Bremerton School District: A Fumble The Supreme Court Needs To Recover, Emily C. Neely

Northern Illinois Law Review Supplement

Many people support one or the other: freedom of religion or freedom from religion. Current Supreme Court case law favors the protection of students' rights under the Establishment Clause. However, First Amendment free speech rights for public officials do not enjoy the same protection. Previous notes seek to affirm the constitutionality of restricting the speech of public officials in deference to the Establishment Clause. This Note differs from those, however, by acknowledging the prominent role that the Establishment Clause plays in protecting student rights, but also advocating for greater First Amendment protection for public officials.


Civil Penalties Against Public Companies In Sec Enforcement Actions: An Empirical Analysis, David Rosenfeld Nov 2019

Civil Penalties Against Public Companies In Sec Enforcement Actions: An Empirical Analysis, David Rosenfeld

College of Law Faculty Publications

Civil penalties have become an increasingly important part of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) enforcement program. The SEC now routinely obtains large civil penalties in enforcement actions, regularly trumpets those penalties in press releases, and highlights the penalty amounts in its end-of-the-year statistics. Civil penalties are defended on the ground they are necessary to make unlawful conduct costly and painful, and thereby deter misconduct and promote adherence to lawful and ethical standards of behavior. But with respect to one category of cases, civil penalties have always been controversial: when civil penalties are assessed against public companies, the cost of …


Extending Batson To Peremptory Challenges Of Jurors Based On Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity, Mark E. Wojcik Nov 2019

Extending Batson To Peremptory Challenges Of Jurors Based On Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity, Mark E. Wojcik

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Article argues that it is now time to extend Batson to all federal and state trial courts and expressly prohibit the exclusion of jurors based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. The lack of protection for jurors based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity fosters discrimination in the law, violates the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons who may be excluded from serving on juries, violates the rights of LGBT persons whose criminal or civil cases are heard in court, and undermines public confidence in judicial proceedings that …


Vol. 40, No. 1, Fall 2019: Table Of Contents, Northern Illinois University Law Review Nov 2019

Vol. 40, No. 1, Fall 2019: Table Of Contents, Northern Illinois University Law Review

Northern Illinois University Law Review

No abstract provided.


Seeking Equality In Wages For Employees With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Kate Mcilvanie Nov 2019

Seeking Equality In Wages For Employees With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Kate Mcilvanie

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Comment discusses the little-known exception to the minimum wage within the Fair Labor Standards Act that allows individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to be paid at a rate below the federal minimum wage rate. Starting with background information regarding the progression of labor laws, this Comment addresses the current paradigm of the "sheltered workshop" and the current protections for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the workforce. It will provide specific examples of exploitation that has occurred as a result of this practice, as well as an overview of opposing arguments in the controversy surrounding the sub-minimum …


Of Dangers, Conditions, Children, And Maturity: A Plea For A Comprehensible Standard In Long-Standing Rules, Maureen Straub Kordesh Nov 2019

Of Dangers, Conditions, Children, And Maturity: A Plea For A Comprehensible Standard In Long-Standing Rules, Maureen Straub Kordesh

Northern Illinois University Law Review

This Article explores the common law doctrine of attractive nuisance in Illinois and proposes a more detailed explication of the rule. The doctrine lies in the junction between tort and contract, which might account for the incompleteness of its presentation. It argues that because law students are a significant audience for case law, the language of such rules should be as detailed and clear as possible.