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Justice For Venezuela: The Human Rights Violations That Are Isolating An Entire Country, Andrea Matos

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

A Guide To The 87th Texas Legislative Session, José Menéndez, Pearl D. Cruz

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Challenges and potential solutions during the 87th Texas Legislative session.

Coronavirus, Compulsory Licensing, And Collaboration: Analyzing The 2020 Global Vaccine Response With 20/20 Hindsight, Arjun Padmanabhan

Student Scholarship

In December 2019, COVID-19, a novel strain of the SARS-2 Virus, appeared in Wuhan, China. Within a year, over ninety million people had been infected, and two million had died. Amid all the death and desolation, humanity's ingenuity and willpower emerged in history's greatest vaccine race. The global community sought to find novel ways to protect innovation and intellectual property while still collaborating to roll out a vaccine in record time. Despite the presence of compulsory licensing provisions like 28 U.S.C. § 1498 and the Bayh-Dole Act in the U.S., and the TRIPS Agreement at the international level, the journey …

Vaccine Clinical Trials And Data Infrastructure, Ana Santos Rutschman

Utah Law Review

We find ourselves at a momentous turn in the history of vaccines. The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a quasi-global vaccine race that not only compressed vaccine research and development (R&D) timelines, but also paved the way for the administration of a new type of vaccine technology – mRNA vaccines, which work in substantially different ways from the vaccines in use before the pandemic.

While the process of bringing emerging COVID-19 vaccines to market has taken place in an unusually short timeframe, it was largely predicated on the same scientific and regulatory processes that govern the development, approval and deployment of new …

Covid-19 And Its Impact(S) On Innovation, Clark Asay, Stephanie Plamondon Bair

Utah Law Review

In previous work, we explored how certain characteristics of adversity are often more conducive to innovation than others. In this Article, prepared as part of the Lee E. Teitelbaum Utah Law Review Symposium—The Law & Ethics of Medical Research, we review some of that work and apply it specifically to the COVID-19 context. We conclude by assessing certain policy implications in light of how the COVID-19 pandemic has both spurred and hindered innovation.

Vectors: Immunity In Commercial Aviation, Timothy M. Ravich

William & Mary Business Law Review

COVID-19 nearly wiped out demand for commercial air travel in 2020, driving down passenger traffic by a jaw-dropping 94.3% from the previous year. The airline industry thus understandably lobbied for a government bailout to manage what was nothing short of an existential crisis, with losses exceeding $35 billion. Less worthy of sympathy, however, were the ad hoc policies airlines unhelpfully put in the path of their customers even while securing for themselves $25 billion in payroll grants together with a similar sum in low-interest loans. For example, carriers refused to provide refunds or liquidate travel credits in a straightforward way …

The Jury Trial Reinvented, Christopher Robertson, Michael Elias Shammas

Texas A&M Law Review

The Framers of the Sixth and Seventh Amendments to the United States Constitution recognized that jury trials were essential for maintaining democratic legitimacy and avoiding epistemic crises. As an institution, the jury trial is purpose-built to engage citizens in the process of deliberative, participatory democracy with ground rules. The jury trial provides a carefully constructed setting aimed at sorting truth from falsehood.

Despite its value, the jury trial has been under assault for decades. Concededly, jury trials can sometimes be inefficient, unreliable, unpredictable, and impractical. The COVID–19 pandemic rendered most physical jury trials unworkable but spurred some courts to begin …

Saving The Nonessential With Radical Tax Policy, Rodney P. Mock, Kathryn Kisska-Schulze

University of Cincinnati Law Review

Under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, for-profit entities are distinguishable from tax-exempt entities in that they, among other factors, pursue profits, and enjoy unrestricted commercial activities. The COVID-19 lockdowns prevented commercial activity for numerous for-profit small businesses. For the first time in United States history, a distinction was made between "essential" and "nonessential" businesses. Such distinction is historically absent in both legal scholarship and tax law; instead, it is a product of governmental reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic. Via executive order, nonessential businesses were characterized as being trivial to the fabric of society, and thus shuttered, while …

When The Conditions Are The Confinement: Eighth Amendment Habeas Claims During Covid-19, Michael L. Zuckerman

University of Cincinnati Law Review

The COVID-19 pandemic cast into harsher relief much that was already true about mass incarceration in the United States. It also cast into harsher relief much that was already true about the legal barriers confronting people seeking to make its conditions more humane. This Article offers a brief overview of the legal landscape as the COVID-19 crisis arose and then surveys eight prominent federal cases involving Eighth Amendment claims related to COVID-19 outbreaks at carceral facilities, most of which included significant litigation over whether they could secure release through habeas corpus. The Article then distills six key tensions from these …

Twenty Years After The Anthrax Terrorist Attacks Of 2001: Lessons Learned And Unlearned For The Covid-19 Response, Lawrence O. Gostin, Jennifer B. Nuzzo

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, resulted in deep national reflection. Less remembered are the events that began to unfold 7 days later as anonymous letters laced with deadly anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) spores began arriving at postal facilities, media companies, and congressional offices. The first death from inhaled anthrax exposure occurred on October 5, with an additional 4 deaths and 17 infections over the ensuing months.

The anthrax attacks exposed a health system ill-equipped to respond to acute emergencies. This article explores the lessons learned, and unlearned, from the anthrax attacks, through to …

Trademarks And The Covid-19 Pandemic: An Empirical Analysis Of Trademark Applications Including The Terms "Covid," "Coronavirus," "Quarantine," "Social Distancing," "Six Feet Apart," And "Shelter In Place", Irene Calboli

Akron Law Review

True to its nature as a (hopefully) once in a lifetime event, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a tsunami of trademark applications. These include the terms “COVID,” “Coronavirus,” and other medical and pandemic-management related terms. This unprecedented number of applications has been highlighted by several commentators in general terms in the past months. This Article examines these applications in detail. Notably, the Article presents the first and most complete survey of the applications filed between the onset of the pandemic and the end of 2020, which include the following terms: “COVID,” “Coronavirus,” “Quarantine,” “Social Distancing,” “Six Feet Apart,” and …

International And Transnational Intellectual Property Law: An Update, Marketa Trimble

Media & Informal Publications

Professor Trimble presents recent developments in international and transnational IP law for the 2021 Intellectual Property Law Conference (hosted by the Intellectual Property Law Section of the State Bar of Nevada).

Hypocrisy On The High Seas: An Examination Of The Conflicting Policy Goals And Actions Of The International Community Regarding Illegal, Unreported, And Unregulated Fishing, Peter J. Tamburello

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

Fish and the fishing industry are one of the main sources of food protein and commerce in many areas of the world, whether it be from traditional and artisanal fishing practiced in Somalia and other undeveloped countries or large scale international commercial fishing from rich and industrialized nations. The world’s oceans are currently being plagued by overfishing both from legally authorized activities and Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing. The purpose of this paper is to examine the problems plaguing the world’s fisheries with an eye towards the environmental damage and economic harm that stem from it. It is also to …

Protection Of Victim-Witnesses Of Human Rights Violations In Criminal Prosecutions In Nigeria, Suzzie Onyeka Oyakhire

The Transnational Human Rights Review

The protection of victims of crime and witnesses in criminal trials from intimidation is gradually being recognised in Nigeria as a critical aspect of criminal justice administration. Policing activities leave a record of widespread human rights violations committed by law enforcement and security personnel. Attempts to investigate and prosecute these violations are impeded by acts of intimidation or threats of reprisals against the victim who testifies as a witness in criminal proceedings against the perpetrators. This expository paper brings to the fore the importance of interrogating the issues of protection for victim-witnesses participating in criminal proceedings and ensuring accountability for …

Covid-19 Vaccine Mandates—A Wider Freedom, Lawrence O. Gostin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

President Biden has required COVID-19 vaccinations across much of the US workforce, reaching nearly 100 million workers. Opponents call it unconstitutional, a violation of personal freedom, and even “un-American.” The truth is that vaccine mandates are lawful and deeply entrenched in US history and values. They constitute a “wider freedom” so that everyone in society can feel safer where they work, learn, worship, and live.

Jordan's Public Policy Response To Covid-19 Pandemic: Insight And Policy Analysis, Wa’Ed Alshoubaki, Michael Harris

Public Administration Faculty Research

The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of how the Jordanian government has responded and continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. It utilizes the interpretive policy analysis approach through document analysis. The analysis showed that Jordan created social protection policies to assist people who lost their jobs or whose work was suspended due to the coronavirus. The economic policies build solidarity and facilitate the private sector’s recovery. The health care measures firmly applied included lockdown, wearing masks, and restrictions on gatherings and public events. Jordan uses hard power and imposes sanctions on any violation that threatens …

Professional Responsibility, Legal Malpractice, Cybersecurity, And Cyber-Insurance In The Covid-19 Era, Ethan S. Burger

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, law firms conformed their activities to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and state health authority guidelines by immediately reducing the size of gatherings, encouraging social distancing, and mandating the use of protective gear. These changes necessitated the expansion of law firm remote operations, made possible by the increased adoption of technological tools to coordinate workflow and administrative tasks, communicate with clients, and engage with judicial and governmental bodies.

Law firms’ increased use of these technological tools for carrying out legal and administrative activities has implications …

Editorial Introduction, Lisa Silvestri

Journal of Hate Studies

For the past fifteen years I have written almost exclusively about American warfare in some capacity. As a Communication Studies scholar, my interest in war stems from its exemplary failure. War is communication through force; it is a last resort. As I continue to think, write, and reflect on the subject, I recognize that at the heart of my fascination with war is its inducement. How do we arrive at a warlike mind? On top of that, knowing what we know about war’s horror and trauma, why do we keep doing it? I’m not sure I will ever arrive at …

Predictors Of Anti-Asian Xenophobia During Covid-19: Towards Developing Targeted Intervention Campaigns, Jennifer Lambe, Dannagal Young, Amy Bleakley, John P. Crowley, Kami Silk

Journal of Hate Studies

Anti-Asian xenophobia (AAX) spiked during Covid-19, exacerbating health disparities among affected groups. This study uses data from a national survey to identify predictors of AAX to enable targeting of audience segments and effective messaging to counteract Anti-Asian attitudes and behaviors. Using Intergroup Threat Theory (ITT) to pinpoint possible predictors, we find that situation specific variables such as favorability toward Trump and information seeking and avoidance behaviors consistently predict higher levels of AAX. Individual differences like being female, well-educated, and having a high tolerance for ambiguity are negatively related to AAX.

Defamation Per Se Cases Should Include Guaranteed Minimum Presumed Damage Awards To Private Plaintiffs, Steven A. Krieger

San Diego Law Review

To combat the reputational harm associated with defamatory comments, forty states allow plaintiffs to recover presumed damages for reputational harm for defamatory statements considered “per se” defamation without having to prove the exact dollar figure associated with their reputational damages. While damages are presumed to a plaintiff’s reputation in a successful defamation per se lawsuit, the spectrum of presumed damages is so wide that there is almost no practical way for a plaintiff to reliably know the size of a presumed damages award, especially a lower-income plaintiff. Plaintiffs cannot evaluate the financial merit of a defamation lawsuit, which removes the …

Lessons Learned From The Hiv/Aids Pandemic And Access To Medicines For Covid-19 Treatment, Thalia Le

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

There is an imminent need to address the healthcare disparities in accessing all COVID-19 medicinal products in developing countries. While logistical issues like inadequate production facilities such as the lack of vaccines administration capacity, storage issues, gap between supply and demand as well as vaccine hesitancy can certainly play a part in impeding COVID19 medicines distribution, patent monopolies and intellectual property protection laws further exacerbated the problem, especially when vaccines were at its early stages of authorization. Historical and contemporary case studies of efforts to challenge patents on HIV AVRs treatment provide a useful lens through which we may glean …

Covid-19 Relief And The Ordinary Inmate, Jenny E. Carroll

Faculty Scholarship

As scholars and advocates have lamented the deficiencies of remedies pre- and post-conviction for the extraordinary, the “ordinary” are not saddled with slow and deficient remedies -- they have none. This Essay explores this absence of such relief for those unable to make an extraordinary claim during the COVID-19 public health crisis of 2020. For the ordinary men, women, and children held in custody in 2020 and beyond, pretrial detention and sentencing laws make no exception in the face of a potentially fatal contagion or the public health crisis it creates. Yet, the pandemic highlights the reality that systematic flaws …

Osha’S Comprehensive Failure To Protect Workers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nancy M. Modesitt

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Under the Trump Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), failed to protect workers from COVID-19, which has led to deadly workplace outbreaks of the virus. OSHA’s failures began when it refused to produce legally-binding rules, known as emergency temporary standards, that would mandate the most basic step of requiring masks in the workplace to protect workers from the risks of infection on the job. In addition, while OSHA did produce non-binding guidance for employers, that guidance was unclear and fundamentally deficient in failing to require masks in all workplaces and failing to require recordkeeping that would identify potential …

Developing An Innovative Pandemic Treaty To Advance Global Health Security, Lawrence O. Gostin, Benjamin Mason Meier, Barbara Stocking

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Recognizing marked limitations of global health law in the COVID-19 pandemic, a rising number of states are supporting the development of a new pandemic treaty. This prospective treaty has the potential to clarify state obligations for pandemic preparedness and response and strengthen World Health Organization authorities to promote global health security. Examining the essential scope and content of a pandemic treaty, this column analyzes the policymaking processes and substantive authorities necessary to meet this historic moment.

Disability Without Documentation, Katherine A. Macfarlane

Fordham Law Review

Disability exists regardless of whether a doctor has confirmed its existence. Yet in the American workplace, employees are not disabled, or entitled to reasonable accommodations, until a doctor says so. This Article challenges the assumption that requests for reasonable accommodations must be supported by medical proof of disability. It proposes an accommodation process that accepts individuals’ assessments of their disabilities and defers to their accommodation preferences. A documentation-free model is not alien to employment law. In evaluating religious accommodations, employers—and courts—take a hands-off approach to employees’ representations that their religious beliefs are sincere. Disability deserves the same deference. This Article …

The Labyrinth Of Data Collection For Humanitarian Project Funding And Implementation, Maria Alejandra Pulido

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My research concentrates on four NGOs: IOM, IDMC, JIPS, and OCHA which use different tools to collect data and translate the information into evidence for data-driven decision making (DDDM) for the implementation of humanitarian assistance projects. I focus on the importance, advantages, and various data collection tools which help ameliorate the humanitarian sector since it does not have a current professionalized path to enter the workforce. I incorporated four interviews, attended two conferences and analyzed multiple online sources during my project.

Osha’S Comprehensive Failure To Protect Workers During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nancy M. Modesitt

All Faculty Scholarship

Under the Trump Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), failed to protect workers from COVID-19, which has led to deadly workplace outbreaks of the virus. OSHA’s failures began when it refused to produce legally-binding rules, known as emergency temporary standards, that would mandate the most basic step of requiring masks in the workplace to protect workers from the risks of infection on the job. In addition, while OSHA did produce non-binding guidance for employers, that guidance was unclear and fundamentally deficient in failing to require masks in all workplaces and failing to require recordkeeping that would identify potential …

The Jury Trial Reinvented, Christopher Robertson, Michael Shammas

Faculty Scholarship

The Framers of the Sixth and Seventh Amendments to the United States Constitution recognized that jury trials were essential for maintaining democratic legitimacy and avoiding epistemic crises. As an institution, the jury trial is purpose-built to engage citizens in the process of deliberative, participatory democracy with ground rules. The jury trial provides a carefully constructed setting aimed at sorting truth from falsehood.
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/="/">Despite its value, the jury trial has been under assault for decades. Concededly, jury trials can sometimes be inefficient, unreliable, unpredictable, and impractical. The COVID–19 pandemic rendered most physical jury trials unworkable but spurred some courts …

Social Distancing As A Privilege: Assessing The Impact Of Structural Disparities On The Covid-19 Crisis In The Black Community, Olympia Duhart

Georgia State University Law Review

There is a harsh reality for people living with the COVID-19 restrictions in the same city. Though the virus has been called an equal opportunity threat, the truth is that it has had a deadly, disproportionate impact on Black and Brown people. The COVID-19 pandemic has crushed communities of color. Among Black Americans, who make up around 13% of the U.S. population, the COVID-19 infection and death rate are disproportionally high.

To curb the spread of this infectious disease, the CDC has advanced simple advice: apply social distancing guidelines. Social distancing (physical distancing) requires people to keep at least six …

The Last Call For Civil Rights: Toward Economic Equality, Steve Lee

Georgia State University Law Review

Over six decades have passed since the civil rights movement began in the mid-1950s, but American society has not yet fully realized the promise of the civil rights movement, which at its core embodies the protection and promotion of equity and dignity of all people. Despite the historic improvements that accord the legal protection of equal rights among different races, genders, and ethnic groups, significant economic disparity among racial and regional lines persists. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. declared, “Now our struggle is for genuine equality, which means economic equality.” However, the pursuit of economic equality has not been …