Digital Commons Network^™

Ndls Communicator: Week Of 11.17.25, Notre Dame Law School

NDLS Communicator

The Latest News

• Justice Amy Coney Barrett to judge final round of moot court tournament named in her honor
• Veterans Day 2025: Honoring our ND Law student veterans and reflecting on God, Country, Notre Dame
• Notre Dame faculty contribute to dialogue on artificial intelligence at the Vatican
• Notre Dame experts bridge law and child development to tackle crisis of family separation amidst armed conflict

Alumni News

• Notre Dame LL.M. Graduates Victoria Mendoza Ruiz and Mbonisi (Bo) Secure Prestigious UN Internships

Faculty Briefs

• Caleb Stone
• Christina Jones
• John Meiser
• Nicole Garnett
• Patrick Corrigan
• Mary Ellen O'Connell
• Haley Proctor
• Sadie Blanchard
• Nell …

First Amendment Exceptions To Otherwise Valid Laws: A Doctrinal And Meta-Doctrinal Perspective, Richard H. Fallon Jr.

Northwestern University Law Review

When do the First Amendment’s Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses require exceptions to generally valid laws? Recently, the Supreme Court has upheld a number of such exceptions, which excuse some speakers and religiously motivated actors from legal duties that apply to others, including in prominent cases under antidiscrimination statutes and emergency pandemic regulations. By contrast, other landmark cases––such as United States v. O’Brien and Employment Division v. Smith—insist that First Amendment exceptions should be rare.

In analyzing the fraught and confusing issues that surround First Amendment exceptions, this Article makes four main contributions. First, it conceptualizes claims to …

Maybe It Is Time To Retire The Nlra, Jordan Pollack

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and Social Justice (ERSJ) Blog

Within the first week of his presidency, President Trump removed National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo and Board Member Gwynne Wilcox, leaving the NLRB without a quorum and therefore unable to have any real impact on cases brought before it.  This action sent unions and organizers into a panic as employers celebrated the expanded ability to get away with unfair labor practices and policies that limit strikes and work stoppages.  However, the history of unions in America is not one defined by the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).  In fact, the NLRA was implemented to stifle the …

Control As A Constitutional Threshold: Moody V. Netchoice And The Case For Human Authorship, Giselle Goad

Northwestern University Law Review

The Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Moody v. NetChoice, LLC left a critical question unanswered: when do algorithmic outputs on social media platforms, such as recommended posts and videos, constitute the platform’s protected speech under the First Amendment? This Note contends that courts and litigants should borrow from the First Amendment’s speech-promoting partner, copyright law, and its authorship framework when answering that question. Copyright doctrine has already begun to grapple with how much human control is required over expressive outputs generated with the aid of technology, including AI, in order for an author to receive copyright protection over those outputs. …

The Search Of A Search: Moderating Reverse Internet Keyword Warrants, Tui Rademaker

Northwestern University Law Review

Statistics show that Americans consistently turn to Google and other search engines to answer their most personal and private concerns, yet a new investigative tool risks law enforcement having vast discretion in the access of this data. With a keyword warrant, law enforcement can request from a search engine provider (usually Google) a list of probative search queries that users made over a specified time period. Such warrants are beginning to face legal challenges, and so far, courts seem reluctant to recognize the constitutional implications—instead leaving law enforcement with greater potential discretion over their use.

This Note assesses the constitutionality …

Incorporating Tax Law Into Legal And Regulatory Environment Of Business Courses

Journal of Legal Studies in Business

No abstract provided.

Too Much, Too Little, Or Just Right? Beyond The Perception (Or Reality) Of Law School Rigor In Teaching Undergraduate Copyright Law

Journal of Legal Studies in Business

No abstract provided.

Redistricting, Gerrymandering, And Graham V. Adams: It's Time For An Independent Redistricting Commission In Kentucky, Kathleen Dudgeon

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

"Blocking Out The Haters:" Government Officials Create Split Among Federal Judiciary, Andrew Weisgerber

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Next Generation, Jeremiah Chin

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Governors Slightly More Bound? A Critique Of The Uniform Law Commission's Model Public-Health Emergency Authority Act, Paul A. Diller

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Protecting Public Employees' Free Speech: It's Time For The Sixth Circuit To Take Action, Faith O. Turner

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The End Of An Aberration: Overturning Major League Baseball's Century-Old Antitrust Exemption, Jacob Baird

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Ductile Rights, W. C. Bunting

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Demonstrating Civility: A Law School Learning Outcome, Laurel Rigertas

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Myth Of Fundamental Decisions, Michael D. Cicchini

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The First Amendment, Discrimination, And Public Accommodations At Common Law, Adam J. Macleod

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Paradox Of Barring Early-Release Defendants From Section 1983 Relief, Emily M. Puckett

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Disproportionate School Brutality Upon Black Children, Nicole Tuchinda

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Avoid The Proxy: It's Time For Congress To Wager On Sports Betting, Andrew Tao

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Redistricting's Ultimate Antidote, Douglas M. Spencer

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Cost Of Waiting: Navigating The Ftc’S Noncompete Ban And The Risks Of Inaction, Cameron Weiss

University of Miami Business Law Review

This Comment critically examines the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) now–abandoned rule that sought to ban noncompete clauses in employment contracts, emphasizing the limitations of advice provided by attorneys, legal scholars, and experts who advocate for a “wait–and–see” approach during its development and subsequent litigation. Noncompetes, while serving as a tool for employers to safeguard proprietary interests and limit competition, also restrict employee mobility and bargaining power. The FTC’s proposed rule, which aimed to ban most noncompete clauses, faced immediate and substantial legal challenges under the major questions and nondelegation doctrines.

Although the FTC ultimately ceased defending the rule and acceded …

Cryptocurrencies And Financial Crimes: The Role Of Decentralized Cryptocurrency In Facilitating Money Laundering And The Challenges Posed On Anti–Money Laundering Regulations, Jeffry A. Collins

University of Miami Business Law Review

This research examines the role of decentralized cryptocurrencies in facilitating money laundering and the challenges they pose to Anti–Money Laundering (AML) regulations through literature review and regulatory analysis. The study reveals that the decentralized, anonymous, and borderless nature of cryptocurrency enables illicit activities via cryptocurrency ATMs, mixing services, and decentralized exchanges (DEXs). For over a decade, the same regulatory problems persist today as were present at the inception of cryptocurrencies. Current AML frameworks, such as the Bank Secrecy Act and the Money Laundering Control Act, are inadequate for this decentralized ecosystem. The analysis critiques the fragmented efforts of U.S. regulatory …

Artificial Intelligence And The Prohibition On The Use Of Force: Intention And Causation, Russell Buchan

International Law Studies

This article explores the application of Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter to AI-enabled systems that carry out unintended engagements involving the use of force. First, it analyzes whether State responsibility for a breach of the prohibition on the use of force is defined in subjective or objective terms. Most commentators maintain that a State must intend to use force against the victim State in order for the prohibition to apply. However, through an examination of State practice, this article demonstrates that the prohibition is based on objective responsibility. Second, this article assesses whether a State must cause the …

Artificial Intelligence And The “Armed Attack” Threshold In International Law, Katie A. Johnston

International Law Studies

This article argues that the deployment of artificial intelligence, even in its strong fully autonomous form, does not have significant consequences for the application of the jus ad bellum framework, and in particular the armed attack threshold. As with all new weapons technologies, the deployment of artificial intelligence in the resort to force requires consideration of what “imminence” means in this context. However, artificial intelligence is fundamentally a means of making decisions to resort to force or contributing to the reasons for which such decisions are made by humans. Unlike the jus in bello, the jus ad bellum is …

The Rise And Fall (And Rise?) Of New Mexico's Criminalization Of Abortion, Jennifer Laws

Scholarship Day 2025

No abstract provided.

Presidents, Opinions, And Independent Officers, Jed Handelsman Shugerman

Faculty Scholarship

The Opinions in Writing Clause is a persistent textual problem for the claim that Article II implies an indefeasible removal power: If the Framers believed they had given the president an unconditional removal power, why would they also specify a lesser power merely to ask for opinions? New historical research confirms this textual problem was also contextual: early state constitutions, the Ratification debates, and the First Congress indicate that the Opinions Clause’s original public meaning signaled independence of department heads, or at least the possibility of congressional requirements like good cause.

Legal scholars have already shown that the texts of …

Education Standards And The United States Military, Makayla Donnelly

Liberty University Journal of Statesmanship & Public Policy

The United States military has been observed by many conservative and libertarian think tanks, such as The Heritage Foundation and CATO, as losing strength and effectiveness. Many outside these major think tanks are concerned about why defense takes up so much of the discretionary budget when the military seemingly continues to decline as most military branches fall short on their recruitment quotas. To boost recruitment and bolster the US military several branches have reexamined policies and altered them to expand the recruiting pool. One policy that is being investigated for reexamination is education standards. Education standards in some branches may …

Amazon.Com And The Nlrb: Privacy Rights, Home Visits And Beyond, Leonard Bierman, Rafael Gely

Texas A&M Law Review

In the important November 2024 case of Amazon.com Services LLC, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) held employer “captive audience speeches” to be per se unlawful. The NLRB held that employer anti-union speeches of this kind, delivered on paid company time on company premises and which employees are required to attend, unlawfully intruded on employee privacy and autonomy. This Article critiques the NLRB’s recent Amazon.com decision from various perspectives. First, the NLRB, in its ruling, appears to ignore decades-long precedent in this area of the law, precedent that firmly upheld the “free speech” rights of employers to …

Sweat And Subjectivity Copyright Impulses, Danny Friedmann

Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal

Generative artificial intelligence (gAI) is generating vast vol- umes of content, including visual art with minimal human effort that competes directly with visual artists and threatens to dilute human culture in the process. In response, courts and copyright offices are quietly reintroducing two doctrines long considered incompatible with modern copyright: sweat of the brow, which rewards labor over originality, and aesthetic discrimination, which risks conditioning protection on perceived merit.

This article is the first to demonstrate how legal authorities are reintroducing these discredited doctrines under the guise of regulating AI-assisted outputs, thereby eroding the set of copyright doctrines accepted by …