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Full-Text Articles in Law

Affirmatively Furthering Health Equity, Mary Crossley Mar 2024

Affirmatively Furthering Health Equity, Mary Crossley

Brooklyn Law Review

Pervasive health disparities in the United States undermine both public health and social cohesion. Because of the enormity of the healthcare sector, government action, standing alone, is limited in its power to remedy health disparities. This article proposes a novel approach to distributing responsibility for promoting health equity broadly among public and private actors in the healthcare sector. Specifically, it recommends that the Department of Health and Human Services issue guidance articulating an obligation on the part of all recipients of federal healthcare funding to act affirmatively to advance health equity. The Fair Housing Act’s requirement that recipients of federal …


The Gospel Of Federalism: How The Deification Of Political Ideology Impedes The United States’ Abortion Law Scheme, Nicole Jakobson Dec 2023

The Gospel Of Federalism: How The Deification Of Political Ideology Impedes The United States’ Abortion Law Scheme, Nicole Jakobson

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

In 2022, the United States Supreme Court decided Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ended the federal abortion protection established under Roe v. Wade. The Court reasoned that abortion restriction is properly regulated by state governments, and thus a federal abortion law scheme is unconstitutional. In substance, the Court was safeguarding the enduring political and legal principle of federalism. This Note draws a comparison between the United States’ treatment of federalism and foreign jurisdictions’ treatment of religion within the context of abortion. This Note argues that the United States’ preoccupation with federalism is analogous to appeals to religion in …


The Sword, The Shield, And The Jab: How Nato Can Bypass The Un And World Health Organization To Help Control And Prevent Future Pandemics, Aaron Earlywine Dec 2023

The Sword, The Shield, And The Jab: How Nato Can Bypass The Un And World Health Organization To Help Control And Prevent Future Pandemics, Aaron Earlywine

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

An autopsy of the world’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic reveals many preexisting conditions that only exacerbated the crisis. Chief among them are the failures and obfuscations of the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO is sick with corruption, incompetence, or at very least riddled with dysfunction. This is not the first time the WHO has proven itself unable to meet the demands of global health initiatives, let alone global health crises. Not only is this dysfunctional organization proving itself to be a money-consuming abscess, but hostile powers, namely China, have used it to covertly wield influence and shield themselves …


Enough Excuses On Drug Importation: A New Transnational Paradigm For Fda Regulation And Lower Us Drug Prices, Gabriel Levitt Dec 2023

Enough Excuses On Drug Importation: A New Transnational Paradigm For Fda Regulation And Lower Us Drug Prices, Gabriel Levitt

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which enforces drug safety laws, asserts that under most circumstances the importation of prescription drugs is illegal. Yet because of high drug prices in the United States, over the past couple of decades, tens of millions of Americans have imported prescription drugs for personal use. For many, this was their only way to afford them. A unique array of federal laws, regulations, and policies, including the de facto decriminalization of the practice of personal drug importation, have in effect permitted personal drug importation. The same exceptions, however, are not available for commercial drug …


America Is Tripping: Psychedelic Pharmaceutical Patent Reforms Fostering Access, Innovation, And Equity, Quentin Barbosa May 2023

America Is Tripping: Psychedelic Pharmaceutical Patent Reforms Fostering Access, Innovation, And Equity, Quentin Barbosa

Brooklyn Law Review

A resurgence in federally approved psychedelic research has spawned the Psychedelic Renaissance, and with each study it becomes increasingly clear that psychedelics have the potential to revolutionize mental health treatment. However, if Congress fails to reform the industry’s patent procedures, threats to innovation in the budding field of psychedelic medicine will manifest in their ugliest form. Psychedelics are a class of hallucinogenic drugs that primarily trigger substantially altered states of consciousness, including psychological, visual, and auditory changes. Medical research on psychedelics has produced staggering results that indicate psychedelics have the potential to be significantly more effective in treating mental illnesses …


Clicking Away Consent: Establishing Accountability And Liability Apportionment In Direct-To-Consumer Healthcare Artificial Intelligence, Stephanie L. Lee May 2023

Clicking Away Consent: Establishing Accountability And Liability Apportionment In Direct-To-Consumer Healthcare Artificial Intelligence, Stephanie L. Lee

Brooklyn Law Review

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning are making sweeping changes across all industries, and health care is no exception. AI promises to revolutionize patient treatment with the development of algorithm-driven tools to improve efficiency in clinical care. As alluring as machine-driven learning may be given its potentialities, however, the incorporation of AI into the healthcare field has also been received with trepidation. This fear is understandable given the lack of transparency to the public surrounding the exact mechanisms for creating algorithms and the reasoning followed by the software. Indeed, AI in the healthcare system is aptly known as “black-box medicine.” …


Embracing The End: A Comparative Analysis Of Medical Aid In Dying In Canada And The United States, Joel Krinsky Dec 2022

Embracing The End: A Comparative Analysis Of Medical Aid In Dying In Canada And The United States, Joel Krinsky

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Since the late nineteenth century, debate has unfolded over the use of euthanasia and physician-assisted death to alleviate the suffering of individuals with medical illnesses. The controversy surrounding the issue persists and its implications are significant. While most countries prohibit Aid in Dying (AID), legalization of the practice has expanded globally in recent years. Canada and the United States (US) are two such jurisdictions that have expanded access to AID. Canada has federally legalized the practice, which the country refers to as Medical Aid in Dying (MAID), and in 2021, the country expanded the eligibility criteria for individuals seeking access …


Navigating A Multi-Billion Dollar Industry: Protecting Drug-Related Inventions To Further Research And Development, Minal Patel Dec 2022

Navigating A Multi-Billion Dollar Industry: Protecting Drug-Related Inventions To Further Research And Development, Minal Patel

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Even with advancements in science and technology, pharmaceuticals continue to find themselves tethered to patent protection guidelines that once ensured revenue would continue to flow and provide funding for the next blockbuster drug or antibodies. However, as the Federal Circuit appears to inch towards unpredictability in the realm of patent validity, challenges involving patenting are imminent. In fact, gaps are forming in the ability of pharmaceuticals to further research and develop drugs. This Note proposes a solution that encapsulates a more precise standard supported by economic and policy rationales to determine patent validity. It begins with the general requirements of …


America’S Constant Crisis Of Care: The Case For Passing A National Direct Care Ratio For Nursing Homes, Marissa Espinoza Jun 2022

America’S Constant Crisis Of Care: The Case For Passing A National Direct Care Ratio For Nursing Homes, Marissa Espinoza

Journal of Law and Policy

For decades, the conditions in America’s nursing homes have been the subject of bombshell media reporting, governmental investigations, and public outrage. Longstanding issues—such as chronic staffing shortages and inadequate infection control measures—were laid bare as the COVID-19 pandemic tore through nursing homes, exposing society’s most vulnerable populations—the elderly and the sick—to appalling living conditions. Amid horrifying media reports documenting life inside nursing homes, and in response to mounting public outrage, legislators sprang into action. The most aggressive policy proposed was a direct care ratio, which caps the profits that nursing home owners can extract from facilities by mandating a minimum …


The Gatekeepers Of Research: Why A Data Protection Authority Holds The Key To Research In The New York Privacy Acts, Eric B. Green Feb 2022

The Gatekeepers Of Research: Why A Data Protection Authority Holds The Key To Research In The New York Privacy Acts, Eric B. Green

Brooklyn Law Review

Biometric data is among the most sensitive of personal data because it is biologically tied and unique to the individual. Nonetheless, biometric data is an invaluable facet of the research that enables progressive scientific, technological, and medical innovation. Because a comprehensive federal data privacy act does not appear to be on the horizon, the torch has been passed to the states to create their own personal data protection regimes. New Yorkers’ personal biometric data is not aptly protected, partially because neither the New York Privacy Act nor the Biometric Privacy Act (collectively, the NY Privacy Acts) have matured to the …


How Public Health Informed Lawmaking Would Address The Rising Synthetic Opioid Death Toll, Jennifer S. Bard Feb 2022

How Public Health Informed Lawmaking Would Address The Rising Synthetic Opioid Death Toll, Jennifer S. Bard

Brooklyn Law Review

The sharply rising deaths associated with use of synthetic opioids in the United States highlight the failure of a legislative strategy focused on reducing the availability of prescription opioids. However, since synthetic opioids prescribed for pain relief have never been a major contributor to either developing opioid dependence or dying from opioid use, it is not surprising that these measures have not only failed to reduce deaths, but have also caused considerable harm to people in need of pain relief. Yet reversing them and taking a public health approach focused on preventing the most serious harms associated with synthetic opioids …


Lessons Covid-19 Taught: How The Global Pandemic Demonstrated That State Healthcare Regulations Can Kill, Devon Allgood Feb 2022

Lessons Covid-19 Taught: How The Global Pandemic Demonstrated That State Healthcare Regulations Can Kill, Devon Allgood

Brooklyn Law Review

Certificate of Need (CON) laws are designed to lower the cost of healthcare and have been a staple of American law for over half a century. In the most basic sense, CON laws require that medical providers receive the government’s permission to build a new healthcare facility, purchase major medical equipment, add or remove services, and in some cases, change their hours of operation. These requirements are designed to lower the price of healthcare by limiting competition and barring providers from investing in services or equipment that are deemed “unnecessary” by the government, thus preventing these providers from passing the …


Punishing Drug Use During Pregnancy: Is It Time To “Just Say No” To Fetal Rights?, Danika E. Gallup Dec 2021

Punishing Drug Use During Pregnancy: Is It Time To “Just Say No” To Fetal Rights?, Danika E. Gallup

Brooklyn Law Review

In family courts throughout the country, civil neglect and abuse petitions are routinely brought against individuals based on their drug use during pregnancy. While some may be quick to justify such state interventions in the name of child protection based on the presumption that drug use always harms fetuses in utero and the child once it is born, this note questions the propriety of such justifications. While drug use during pregnancy may result in detrimental health outcomes, the theoretical underpinning of this premise has been dramatically distorted due to racist and classist assumptions that permeate child protective schemes. Medical research …


Paging Doctor Robot: Medical Artificial Intelligence, Tort Liability, And Why Personhood May Be The Answer, Benedict See Dec 2021

Paging Doctor Robot: Medical Artificial Intelligence, Tort Liability, And Why Personhood May Be The Answer, Benedict See

Brooklyn Law Review

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a part of everyday life. From our phones, to social media accounts, to online shopping, AI is present and enhances our daily experiences. One area where AI has a heavy (and an increasing) presence is the medical industry. Just as humans make mistakes, so does AI. However, when a human doctor makes a mistake, they can be sued for malpractice, but when AI makes a mistake, who is to be held responsible? Because tort law was designed with humans in mind, it may be hard to apply to medical AI, who’s “black box” algorithms make their …


Health Insurance And Bankruptcy Risk: Examining The Impact Of The Affordable Care Act, Philip M. Pendergast, Michael D. Sousa, Tim Wadsworth Dec 2021

Health Insurance And Bankruptcy Risk: Examining The Impact Of The Affordable Care Act, Philip M. Pendergast, Michael D. Sousa, Tim Wadsworth

Brooklyn Law Review

The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) in 2010 represented a watershed moment for healthcare in the United States. As is well-noted, the federal courts are still wrangling over the constitutionality of the law, and there is significant uncertainty regarding the extent to which the ACA will survive these legal battles. Unquestionably, the ACA has expanded access to health insurance for many millions of Americans. Prior to the advent of the ACA, Medicaid income eligibility for adults without dependents was approximately 61 percent of the Federal Poverty Line. Empirical studies since the advent of the ACA …


Copying Copyright: Adopting A Fair Use Defense In Patent Law In Times Of Public Health Crisis, Kellie C. Van Beck Dec 2021

Copying Copyright: Adopting A Fair Use Defense In Patent Law In Times Of Public Health Crisis, Kellie C. Van Beck

Brooklyn Law Review

Epidemics have devastated humankind for centuries. Given the simultaneous rise of advanced disease prevention and treatment and the great potential for mass public uptake, it is unsurprising that the U.S. pharmaceutical industry has grown to $775 billion in annual sales revenue. It is clear that the commercialization of important public health measures is not without controversy. Of particular debate is that vaccine and other drug manufacturers monopolize their products and control them through patent laws. Yet there is a strong dichotomy between the importance of patents and the need for public access to innovations. This is not to say that …


The Patient Assistance Problem, Daniel O’Brien Lichtenauer Dec 2021

The Patient Assistance Problem, Daniel O’Brien Lichtenauer

Journal of Law and Policy

Implemented in January 2006 as a voluntary enrollment supplement to standard Medicare plans, Medicare Part D coverage subsidizes the cost of prescription drugs for participants. However, significant gaps in coverage exist for those suffering from rare diseases that require costly drugs. Pharmaceutical companies seek to remove the powerful market force of patient price sensitivity by directly sponsoring or substantially funding “patient assistance programs” that help cover out-of-pocket costs. While pharmaceutical donors insist that their goal is strictly altruistic, the reality is that many of these programs offer a financial windfall for drug makers because they help funnel patients towards new …


An Analysis Of The Patent Linkage System And Development Of The Biosimilar Industry In Taiwan, Jerry I-H Hsiao Dec 2021

An Analysis Of The Patent Linkage System And Development Of The Biosimilar Industry In Taiwan, Jerry I-H Hsiao

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

In 2019, as an effort to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement (now Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)), Taiwan has implemented the patent linkage system which covers both small molecule generic drugs and large molecule biosimilar into the Pharmaceutical Affair Act. The system modeled after the U.S.’s patent linkage system designed for small molecule drugs under the Hatch Waxman Act (HWA). Based on the experience of the patent linkage system under the HWA, biosimilar industry representatives in Taiwan contended that the adoption of the patent linkage system will be detrimental to the development of local industry. By …


High Time For A Change: How The Relationship Between Signatory Countries And The United Nations Conventions Governing Narcotic Drugs Must Adapt To Foster A Global Shift In Cannabis Law, Alexander Clementi Dec 2021

High Time For A Change: How The Relationship Between Signatory Countries And The United Nations Conventions Governing Narcotic Drugs Must Adapt To Foster A Global Shift In Cannabis Law, Alexander Clementi

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Since the early 1970’s, the inclusion of cannabis and its byproducts in the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs has mandated a strict prohibition on cultivation and use of the substance, which has led to a largely global practice of criminalization and imprisonment of anyone found to be in its possession. Yet recently, mostly in response to growing public health concerns, countries like Uruguay, Portugal, The Netherlands, Canada, and the United States have enacted laws which seek to decriminalize or even legalize cannabis use and possession. Yet, cannabis remains classified as a Schedule IV narcotic under the Single Convention, …


Federalized Corporate Governance: The Dream Of William O. Douglas As Sarbanes-Oxley Turns 20, Joan Macleod Heminway Dec 2021

Federalized Corporate Governance: The Dream Of William O. Douglas As Sarbanes-Oxley Turns 20, Joan Macleod Heminway

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

The federalization of U.S. corporate governance has been a topic of conversation among policymakers from the very beginning of federal securities law in the New Deal era. Among the early proponents of a federalized system of corporate governance oversight was William O. Douglas—perhaps best known as the longest-serving U.S. Supreme Court justice, but who also was a former commissioner and chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Reflecting on Douglas’s federal corporate governance ideas, Professor Roberta Karmel wrote a law review article for the Delaware Journal of Corporate Law, published in 2005, commenting on the extent and nature of …


Freedom Without Opportunity: Using Medicare Policy And Cms Mechanisms To Anticipate The Platform Economy’S Pitfalls And Ensure Healthcare Platform Workers Are Fairly Paid, Kim A. Aquino Sep 2021

Freedom Without Opportunity: Using Medicare Policy And Cms Mechanisms To Anticipate The Platform Economy’S Pitfalls And Ensure Healthcare Platform Workers Are Fairly Paid, Kim A. Aquino

Brooklyn Law Review

The rapidly aging population, along with the demand for innovative Medicare delivery models such as bundled payment programs have incentivized the use of technology in healthcare because of its potential to cut costs and improve quality of care. Like many industries embracing technological strides to automate and digitize services, the healthcare industry has welcomed new labor markets like the platform economy to facilitate connections between patients and workers with ease. Along with streamlining connections, the platform economy also promises workers flexibility and autonomy over their own schedule. The platform economy’s promise of freedom, however, is not enough to prevent the …


The Rise Of Ada Title Iii: How Congress And The Department Of Justice Can Solve Predatory Litigation, Sarah E. Zehentner Sep 2021

The Rise Of Ada Title Iii: How Congress And The Department Of Justice Can Solve Predatory Litigation, Sarah E. Zehentner

Brooklyn Law Review

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted in 1990 to afford equal opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Title III of the ADA, specifically, was enacted to afford disabled individuals equal access to places of public accommodation. When the ADA was enacted, the internet was still in its infancy and Congress did not contemplate the need for governing accessibility to websites of public accommodations. Today, the internet has become embedded in virtually every aspect of our lives, yet there are still millions of disabled individuals who are unable to equally access the websites of American businesses. With the ADA being …


Shifting Antitrust Laws And Regulations In The Wake Of Hospital Mergers: Taking The Focus Off Of Elective Markets And Centering Health Care, Maya Inka Ureño-Dembar Sep 2021

Shifting Antitrust Laws And Regulations In The Wake Of Hospital Mergers: Taking The Focus Off Of Elective Markets And Centering Health Care, Maya Inka Ureño-Dembar

Brooklyn Law Review

Access to health care requires access to a care center and access to comprehensive health care services. Rampant hospital mergers are uniquely poised to reduce both the number of hospitals, requiring patients to travel further, and the services provided within a newly merged hospital, namely reproductive health services. This phenomenon is clearly seen through the merging of secular and nonsecular hospitals, which often result in patients being forced to travel much further for reproductive health care. In the United States’ current model, health care is not a right, but is treated as a commodity. As such, it is governed by …


Budgetary Courage To Face The Double Crises Of Covid And Climate Change, Frank Pasquale Jan 2021

Budgetary Courage To Face The Double Crises Of Covid And Climate Change, Frank Pasquale

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.


Functional Statehood In Contemporary International Law, William Thomas Worster Dec 2020

Functional Statehood In Contemporary International Law, William Thomas Worster

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The international community lacks a form of territorial-based, international legal personality distinct from statehood, and yet, non-state, territorial entities of varying degrees of autonomy or independence need to function within the international community in some form. Some of these entities cannot be recognized as states because their creation violates jus cogens norms, though others are not recognized based on an assessment that they may not fully qualify as a state or that there are political reasons to refuse recognition. However, existing states still need to engage with these territorial quasi-states through the only paradigm the international community has—statehood. For example, …


Directors’ Duty Of Care In Times Of Financial Distress Following The Global Epidemic Crisis, Leon Yehuda Anidjar Dec 2020

Directors’ Duty Of Care In Times Of Financial Distress Following The Global Epidemic Crisis, Leon Yehuda Anidjar

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The global COVID-19 pandemic is causing the large-scale end of life and severe human suffering globally. This massive public health crisis created a significant economic crisis and is reflected in a recession of global production and the collapse of confidence in the functions of markets. Corporations and boards of directors around the world are required to design specific strategies to tackle the negative consequences of the crisis. This is especially true for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that suffered tremendous economic loss, and their continued existence as ongoing concern is under considerable risk. Given these uncertain financial times, this Article …


The Regulatory Production Of Vaccine Hesitancy, Eugene Mccarthy Dec 2020

The Regulatory Production Of Vaccine Hesitancy, Eugene Mccarthy

Brooklyn Law Review

This article argues that U.S. vaccine law produces the “anti-vax” movement. The anti-vax movement is a growing problem, as more than half of American parents have concerns about vaccinating their children. Remarkably, these “vaccine-hesitant” individuals tend to be highly educated, wealthy, and experienced parents. Three legal structures cause vaccine hesitancy: strict immunization mandates, lax regulatory oversight, and blanket limited liability for vaccine manufacturers. The United States stands alone with regard to its vaccine mandates—no other developed democracy requires its citizens to receive such a large number of childhood vaccines. Meanwhile, the law permits financial conflicts of interest in vaccine approval …


“A Climate Of Lawlessness”: Upholding A Government’S Affirmative Duty To Protect The Environment Using Deshaney’S Special Relationship Exception, Katherine G. Horner Dec 2020

“A Climate Of Lawlessness”: Upholding A Government’S Affirmative Duty To Protect The Environment Using Deshaney’S Special Relationship Exception, Katherine G. Horner

Journal of Law and Policy

The Industrial Revolution introduced an era of exceptional technological advances. However, it also led to rampant environmental pollution and degradation. The proliferation of toxic pollutants in the air, water and soil has led us to the precipice of an unimaginable future; a future defined by climate change. This Note argues for the use of the special relationship exception, affirmed by the Supreme Court in DeShaney v. Winnebago, in environmental litigation in order to uphold governments’ affirmative duty to protect the environment. As federal and state governments have the sole power to regulate environmental pollution and enforce environmental protections, individuals are …


Splendid Isolation: Va’S Failure To Provide Due Process Protections And Access To Justice To Veterans And Their Caregivers, Yelena Duterte Dec 2020

Splendid Isolation: Va’S Failure To Provide Due Process Protections And Access To Justice To Veterans And Their Caregivers, Yelena Duterte

Journal of Law and Policy

Imagine you are a spouse and caregiver of a severely injured post-9/11 veteran. Your spouse served in the Marine Corps, with several deployments to Iraq. During their last deployment, your spouse sustained a severe traumatic brain injury and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Due to these injuries, they need consistent care throughout the day. Thankfully, upon their return, the VA provided a caregiver program that allowed you to step away from your job and focus on caring for your spouse full time. As part of this program, you received a caregiver stipend of $2,400 per month, healthcare, and support from …


Decriminalizing Prostitution: Embracing The Swedish Model By Removing The Mistake-Of-Age Defense From New York’S Stop Violence In The Sex Trade Act, Carley Cooke Dec 2020

Decriminalizing Prostitution: Embracing The Swedish Model By Removing The Mistake-Of-Age Defense From New York’S Stop Violence In The Sex Trade Act, Carley Cooke

Journal of Law and Policy

In recent years, New York has re-focused on the widely debated topic of how to best manage and regulate prostitution in the United States. As a state-level issue, the debate presents an invaluable opportunity to re-examine how New York as a society views sex work. The answer in New York focuses on the idea that sex work is real work, where workers should be able to carry out their profession without stigma or fear of arrest. As it stands, the proposed reform largely focuses on decriminalizing both the purchase and sale of sex. This approach contrasts with the legal structure …