Digital Commons Network^™

The Epistemology Of Second Best, Gary S. Lawson

Faculty Scholarship

Second best theory “holds that where it is not possible to satisfy all the conditions necessary for a[] . . . system to reach an overall optimum, it is not generally desirable to satisfy as many of those conditions as possible.” Adrian Vermeule, Foreword: System Effects and the Constitution, 123 HARV. L. REV. 4, 17 (2009). In other words, if you are not moving all the way to the ideal state of affairs, it is unclear whether partial moves that seem to go in the direction of the ideal make the world “better” or “worse” – with “better” or “worse” …

Modeling Through, Ryan Calo

Duke Law Journal

Theorists of justice have long imagined a decision-maker capable of acting wisely in every circumstance. Policymakers seldom live up to this ideal. They face well-understood limits, including an inability to anticipate the societal impacts of state intervention along a range of dimensions and values. Policymakers see around corners or address societal problems at their roots. When it comes to regulation and policy-setting, policymakers are often forced, in the memorable words of political economist Charles Lindblom, to “muddle through” as best they can.

Powerful new affordances, from supercomputing to artificial intelligence, have arisen in the decades since Lindblom’s 1959 article that …

Punishment Clauses: Amending United States Constitutions To Pursue “Complete Abolition”, Sydney Osterweil-Artson

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review (CICLR) Blog

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (“UDHR”) proclaims, “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” Though not legally binding, the document denotes international principles of fundamental human rights. The United States Constitution fails to enshrine the UDHR’s categorical denunciation of slavery and servitude, with the Thirteenth Amendment reading: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

This post was originally published on …

An Ngo Input For The Special Rapporteur For The Human Rights Of Migrants To The Office Of The United Nations High Commissioner For Human Rights Report On Human Rights Violations At International Borders: Trends, Prevention, And Accountability, Katherine Kaufka Walts, Sarah J. Diaz, Abigail Mitchell

Center for the Human Rights of Children

The Center for the Human Rights of Children, in collaboration with Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights (“Young Center”) submits this input in response to the call for submissions made by the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants to inform the forthcoming report to the 50th session of the Human Rights Council regarding the United States’ current border management policies that aim to prevent migration atthe southern border. This input will focus on United States’ push back methods, namely the recently reimplemented Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) otherwise known as “Remain …

Face Masks And Freedom Of Speech: The Constitutionality Of Illinois Face Mask Mandates Amidst The Covid-19 Pandemic, Israel M. Del Mundo

DePaul Law Review

No abstract provided.

Can Covid-19 Teach Us How To End Mass Incarceration?, Amy Fettig

University of Miami Law Review

In this essay, the author argues that federal, state and local government response to the COVID-19 epidemic in prisons and jails was largely incompetent, inhumane, and contrary to sound public health policy, resulting in preventable death and suffering for both incarcerated people and corrections staff. However, the lessons learned from these failures provide a roadmap for policy priorities and legal reform in our ongoing need to decarcerate and end the era of mass incarceration, including: (1) rolling back extreme sentences, recalibrating sentences generally and providing for “second look” mechanisms to those currently serving sentences beyond 10 years; (2) ensuring that …

Costly Gadgets: Barriers To Market Entry And Price Competition For Generic Drug-Device Combinations In The United States, Michael S. Sinha

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

If You Can't Stop Them, Protect Them: The Legal Tethers For Bringing Fully Comprehensive Sexual Education Policy To Tennessee, Tess Anderson J.D. Candidate

Belmont Health Law Journal

This Note explores why Tennessee needs a comprehensive sexual education curriculum, how Tennessee can get it, and what should be included in the Curriculum. Part II of this Note provides background on sexual health in the United States. Particularly, this section includes statistics surrounding STDs and teen pregnancy, the current sexual health policy in Tennessee, and examples of different sexual education curriculums currently being used throughout the United States. Part III of this Note analyzes legal tethers that can help attain comprehensive sexual education in Tennessee including the Mature Minor Doctrine, Freedom of Religion, the Fourteenth Amendment Liberty Interest, Title …

The Hidden Enemy On The Frontline: When Medical Professionals Choose Their Profession Over Their Life, Deborah Horn J.D. Candidate

Belmont Health Law Journal

This Note will discuss the disturbing mental health crisis in the medical community and how the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated this issue. Additionally, this Note will discuss why licensure questions regarding mental health contribute and lead to a stigmatization of mental health treatment and unwillingness of both medical school students and practicing physicians from seeking treatment. This Note will also discuss how similar law licensure questions have been outlawed after litigation, yet similar progress has not been shown in medical licensure. Next this Note will discuss The Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act. Finally, this Note advances …

Accidental Injury Or Occupational Disease? Where American Workers' Compensation Law Currently Stands And Where It Should Go In Preparing For Pandemics, Delaney Williams J.D. Candidate

Belmont Health Law Journal

Section I of this Note will introduce the basics of workers' compensation law, including the history of infectious diseases as compensable workplace injuries in the field of American workers' compensation law. Section II explains the fundamentals of both the occupational disease theory and accidental injury theory as a means for recovery when an infectious disease is contracted int he workplace. This section further explores how both theories, in their current state, fail to adequately protect employees in a pandemic emergency. Finally, Section III of this Note provides guidance on how state legislatures may proactively amend their workers' compensation schemes to …

To Be, Or Not To Be, Will Long Covid Be Reasonably Accommodated Is The Question, Angelica Guevara

Minnesota Journal of Law, Science & Technology

No abstract provided.

Hotels In Distress: Surviving An Economic Downturn Through Non-Traditional Contracting, Leslie Mckee

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

The hospitality industry is no stranger to market fluctuation, but with the onset of a global pandemic, 2020 left its mark as the worst year on record for the industry. With vacancy permeating hotels across the nation, hotel owners faced a year of tough financial decisions, while the unrelenting demands of mortgage payments and operating expenses loomed in the background. Uncertainty became the new normal, and the term “unprecedented” became commonplace as the pandemic lingered beyond initial expectations. The one-year anniversary of the 2019 novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic passed without effect as the crisis situation spilled over into a new …

The Aoc In The Age Of Covid—Pandemic Preparedness Planning In The Federal Courts, Zoe Niesel

St. Mary's Law Journal

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic created a crisis for American society—and the federal courts were not exempt. Court facilities came to a grinding halt, cases were postponed, and judiciary employees adopted work-from-home practices. Having court operations impacted by a pandemic was not a new phenomenon, but the size, scope, and technological lift of the COVID-19 pandemic was certainly unique.

Against this background, this Article examines the history and future of pandemic preparedness planning in the federal court system and seeks to capture some of the lessons learned from initial federal court transitions to pandemic operations in 2020. The Article begins by …

Risk Tradeoffs And Equitable Decision-Making In The Covid-19 Pandemic, Lawrence O. Gostin, Sarah A. Wetter

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, societies have faced agonizing decisions about whether to close schools, shutter businesses, delay nonemergency health care, restrict travel, and authorize the use of emergency Covid-19 countermeasures under limited scientific understanding. Measures to control the spread of COVID-19 have disrupted our health, educational, and economic systems, tarnished our mental health, and took away our cherished time with family and friends. Conflicting advice from health agencies on the utility of public health measures left us wondering, was it all worth it? We still do not have all the answers to guide us through difficult risk-risk …

Striking A New Grand Bargain: Workers’ Compensation As A Pandemic Social Safety Net, Dylan V. Moore

University of Chicago Legal Forum

No abstract provided.

Covid-19: Isolating The Problems In Privacy Protection For Individuals With Substance Use Disorder, Kimberly Johnson

University of Chicago Legal Forum

No abstract provided.

Comity, Coronavirus, And Interstate Travel Restrictions, Timothy Carey

University of Chicago Legal Forum

No abstract provided.

Scrambling The New Sanitationist Synthesis: Civil Liberties And Public Health In The Age Of Covid-19, John Fabian Witt

University of Chicago Legal Forum

No abstract provided.

The Validity Of Tribal Checkpoints In South Dakota To Curb The Spread Of Covid-19, Ann E. Tweedy

University of Chicago Legal Forum

No abstract provided.

Essential Businesses And Shareholder Value, Aneil Kovvali

University of Chicago Legal Forum

No abstract provided.

Lochner Under Lockdown, Eugene Kontorovich

University of Chicago Legal Forum

No abstract provided.

Four Futures For U.S. Pandemic Policy, Daniel Hemel

University of Chicago Legal Forum

No abstract provided.

Hoosier Public Health: Reinvigorating Indiana Lead Law Using A Lens For Health Equity, Cassidy Segura Clouse

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

Covid’S Counterpunch: State Legislative Assaults On Publichealth Emergency Powers, James G. Hodge Jr., Jennifer L. Piatt

Brigham Young University Journal of Public Law

Amid the most impactful health crisis in over a century, COVID’s “counterpunch” entails aggressive efforts by numerous state legislatures to diminish state and local public health emergency powers. It is an incredulous movement facially supported by a need to appropriately balance economic interests and rights with communal health objectives. At its political core, however, is a “power grab” by legislatures to free their constituents from extensive emergency powers (e.g., social distancing, assembly limits, and business closures). Never mind the fact that these interventions, when used effectively and constitutionally, save lives and reduce morbidity. Public health agents and activists are understandably …

Statues Of Fraud : Confederate Monuments As Public Nuisances, Emily T. Behzadi

Faculty Scholarship

The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless other African Americans have capitulated a new wave of social activism throughout the United States. Notwithstanding the existence of one of the most infectious diseases of the 21st century, racist and unrestrained police violence continues to plague American society. The unprecedented national uprisings resulting from the brutal killings of African Americans have positioned the U.S. on the precipice of immense social and political change. This transitory period is marked by an amalgamation of social, political, and cultural influences. However, the continued exhibition of Confederate monuments inexorably stymies the ability to remedy …

Reframing Global Biodiversity Protection After Covid-19: Is International Environmental Law Up To The Task?, Maria Antonia Tigre, Natalia Urzola, Victoria Lichet

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

In an increasingly interdependent world, the climate and biodiversity crises are, more than ever, inextricably tied to human health and the transmission of infectious diseases. The 2020 Covid-19 pandemic has irrevocably shown us that the exploitation of wild species and deforestation increases and modifies the interface between people and wildlife, leading to a spillover of diseases from wildlife to people. From a legal perspective, the gaps in international environmental law have contributed to the lack of an effective international biodiversity policy. In light of the challenges brought by the pandemic, there is now an opportunity to rethink our existing legal …

The Impact On Crime Rate During A Period Of Covid-19 Induced Jail Booking Restrictions, Nathan A. Jendrick

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

COVID-19 has become a catalyst for profound changes not just in public health but in criminal justice as well. To reduce the close-quarters populations of correctional facilities in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus, law enforcement administrators in the Pacific Northwest have significantly limited the opportunity to make custodial arrests of criminal suspects. The effect on crime rate by not booking suspected criminals for misdemeanor and felony crimes alike remained largely unstudied. To assess this intervention, a paired samples t-test was used after acquiring call volume data for 13 crime types from the dispatch communications center of …

Infection Prevention In Dentistry: Reaching Our “New Normal”, Karen K. Daw Mba, Cecm, Marie T. Fluent Dds

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This article addresses the evolving landscape of infection prevention in dentistry amid the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the dynamic nature of guidance and standards. It explores historical perspectives, including the transition from "wet finger dentistry" to universal precautions and standard precautions. The focus then shifts to the regulatory considerations and the relevance of transmission-based precautions in the context of COVID-19. The Hierarchy of Controls is discussed, encompassing elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative control, and personal protective equipment. Respiratory hygiene, personal protective equipment, and infection prevention practices are compared between the pre-COVID era and the current landscape, emphasizing the importance of adapting …

Zoonotic Pathogens From Illegally Traded Wildlife Justify Adopting The One Health Perspective In Disease Response, Marianne Allison G. Lee, Vinyl Joseph S. Valeza, Jonathan Patrick H. Yan, Ronald Allan L. Cruz

Biology Faculty Publications

Recent studies have described a direct relationship between the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) and the prevalence of zoonotic pathogens in human populations. In the Philippines, the Philippine Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (PIDSR) framework outlines the monitoring, response, and management of disease outbreaks, but needs to be updated in the wake of zoonoses from IWT. Here, we identified zoonotic pathogens that may be introduced to human populations through the IWT, pinpointed potential outbreak hotspots, and provided recommendations on how to improve the Philippines’ public health response while considering One Health. Using seizure data from the Biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB) covering …

Export Restrictions On Covid-19 Vaccines: What Developing Countries Can Do Under The Wto Law?, Ngurah Parikesit Widiatedja

Indonesian Journal of International Law

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on the global economy and trade, since production and consumption have been reduced around the world. The production and distribution of COVID-19 Vaccines caused unequal distribution as some developed countries have imposed export restrictions. As a result, wealthier countries are resuming normalcy, while the rest of the world continues to struggle to vaccinate its citizens. Article XI(2)(a) of The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade exceptions allow members the legal ability to impose export restrictions if they meet specific criteria: they must be temporary, confined to foodstuffs and vital products, and enforced in the …