Law Commons^™

"What's In A [Dead] Name?": Title Vii Protections Against Misgendering And Deadnaming Of Gender Diverse Individuals, Mackenzie O'Connell

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

The Supreme Court’s 2020 holding in Bostock v. Clayton County monumentally altered the availability of employment discrimination claims under Title VII to individuals identifying as members of the LGBTQ+ community. The Court did so by finding that the meaning of Title VII’s prohibition of workplace discrimination “because of sex” includes discrimination against individuals on the basis of their homosexual or transgender statuses. The effects of this decision on other aspects of employment litigation are still uncertain.

Pre-Bostock, transgender and non-binary individuals were largely left without a legal remedy under Title VII for hostile work environment sexual harassment claims. …

Up In Smoke: Preparing The Air Force For The Legalization Of Marijuana, Major Jeffrey D. Baldridge

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

Over the last four decades, public sentiment regarding marijuana has changed drastically. Many states now allow medicinal marijuana to be prescribed and consumed, while some even permit recreational use. The federal government, as both sovereign and employer, is behind the curve. In both roles, the federal government has failed to act meaningfully. Lax enforcement and the shift in public sentiment will force Congress and the President to enact some significant changes to marijuana law in the very near future. If no action is taken, a dramatic clash between state and federal law will ensue within the nation’s court system.

The …

How To Close Pandora's Dox: A Case For The Federal Regulation Of Doxing, Hannah Shankman

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

Doxing, or the sharing of one’s personally identifiable information on the Internet without consent, saw a boom during the COVID-19 pandemic. It became a way for Internet users to punish people for racist, rude, or anti-masking behavior and to quench a collective thirst for justice. While some continue to view doxing as an exercise in accountability, it is a malleable tool that can suit anyone’s aim. White supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the alt-right regularly resort to doxing those with whom they disagree. Beyond the harassment, financial harm, and death threats doxing victims face, it is a tactic that is counter to …

Surveillance And Policing Today: Can Privacy And The Fourth Amendment Survive New Technology, Artificial Intelligence And A Culture Of Intrusion?, Jon L. Mills, Caroline S. Bradley-Kenney

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

We are on the verge of a surveillance state. New technologies enable intrusions unimagined two decades ago. Our current culture voluntarily provides intimate personal details that are available to the world and to law enforcement. Current interpretations of Fourth Amendment privacy protections are failing to protect individuals from this brave new world. This Article describes the current state of technology, culture, and deficiencies in the law. We propose a specific test that can provide a workable approach to current and emerging intrusions. That test expands upon existing theories, like the mosaic theory and a reformation of the third-party doctrine, but …

Holding States Accountable For Harmful Algal Blooms: Florida's Water Crisis In Focus, Jason Totoiu, Jaclyn Lopez

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

Scientists generally agree that agricultural runoff is a principal source of nutrient pollution in the United States. Intensive agricultural practices have resulted in decades of phosphorus and nitrogen accumulating in the natural system which continue to contribute substantially to nutrients entering watersheds. Coupled with failed water quality control measures, this water pollution has led to some of the worst harmful algal blooms (HABs) in recorded history. These nonpoint sources need to be addressed to restore and protect water quality.

Florida’s Lake Okeechobee watershed provides an apt case study. Commonly referred to as the “liquid heart” of the Everglades, the lake …

Hidden In Plain Sight: Two Models Of Medicare Privatization, Hannah Ruth Leibson

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

Medicare and private insurance are often cast as diametrically opposed forces. This framing is not only inaccurate, but it obscures the dynamic relationship that has existed between these entities for several decades. Private insurers have been playing an active role in Medicare delivery since its passage in 1965, and their role has expanded over time.

This Article seeks to illuminate the way privatization has impacted Medicare and what current privatization policy choices mean for its future. This Article draws from the copious literature on government administration and privatization to explain two key models of privatization within the Medicare program. Highlighting …

Black Culture Is "Professional": Causation After Bostock & Racial Stereotypes, Adriante Carter

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

Employment discrimination has progressed past the days of overt prejudices. In today’s society, employment discrimination manifests as stereotypes that perpetuate negative results. Those who suffer from stereotypic discrimination have long been denied redress for these wrongs. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock, this Note argues, is a way forward. This Note argues that case law has developed, and should continue to develop, in a way that recognizes racial stereotyping as discriminatory. This Note explores the history of this case law and examines how the theory of causation from Bostock can be used to better the jurisprudence on racial …

The Pro-Choice Case For Overturning Roe V. Wade: A New Constitutional Home For Reproductive Rights, Jordan Grana

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

Reproductive rights, despite their white-hot controversial nature in the last decades of American politics and their life-changing impact on those who are denied such rights, are a constitutional anomaly. More than any other right forced to take shelter with the right to privacy in the Fourteenth Amendment’s cramped Due Process Clause, reproductive rights are in danger of losing their federal constitutional protection. This Note posits that pro-choice activists must abandon Roe v. Wade and its progeny––not because the cases are wrong, but simply because they are unlikely to survive much longer. Instead, the goal of preserving access to reproductive rights …

Protecting And Preserving The Dead: Georgia Cemetery Law And Sea Level Rise, Hunt Revell

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

Georgia coastal cemeteries are one of many facets of modern life that are at-risk due to the sea level rise—and its increased erosion, flooding, and storm surge—brought on by climate change. The unique historical development and property rights associated with the graveyard require investigation to better understand the opportunities available for environmental mitigation and cemetery relocation. Georgia law, like the law in many states, includes statutes regulating modern “perpetual care” cemeteries, as well as older “abandoned” cemeteries. The statutory factors and requirements for disinterment and relocation require careful analysis and thoughtful planning. Common law in the state also sheds light …

Civil War Ii: The Consitutionality Of California's Travel Bans, Beckett Cantley, Geoffrey Dietrich

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

California, along with a few other states leaning toward the liberal side of America’s political system, enacted a series of laws banning state-funded or state-sponsored travel to other states identifying more as conservative. While other states enacted these mandates through gubernatorial executive orders, California legislated its ban. Multiple states have attempted Supreme Court challenges to California’s law under the Court’s Article III original jurisdiction. Yet, the Court twice declined the opportunity to hear the issue. Justice Thomas and Justice Alito wrote extensive dissents against the majority’s rejection, arguing that the Court must exercise its jurisdiction in controversies between the states. …

Minimum Wage Enforcement: The Unfinished Business Of Florida's Constitutional Amendment, Alexis P. Tsoukalas, Jenn Round, Janice Fine, Daniel J. Galvin

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

Prior to 2004, Florida was one of seven states without its own minimum wage. In 2004, state voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot initiative that enshrined the right to a state minimum wage in Florida’s Constitution. In 2020, voters passed a second ballot initiative that gradually raises Florida’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. Despite bipartisan voter support, the Authors found that since 2004, the State has taken no formal actions to enforce Florida’s minimum wage law. Further, the Authors’ analysis of U.S. Census data demonstrated that amid the failure of State enforcement, minimum wage violations rose dramatically, disproportionately impacting women, …

Specialized Judicial Empowerment, Zhiyu Li

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

Specialized courts have emerged as a useful addition to courts of general jurisdiction in the contemporary world. These courts allocate judicial resources by assigning complex and technical cases to specialized judges and resolve social problems through legal and nonlegal remedies. Countries around the world recognize the benefits of entrusting a specialized judiciary in alleviating generalist courts’ dockets, delivering high-quality judgments, and advancing the consistency of law. In the United States, specialized benches have been established at both the federal and state levels. In recent decades, Europe has also experienced steady growth in judicial specialization.

In 2014, the People’s Republic of …

"I Don't Work For Free": The Unpaid Labor Of Child Social Media Stars, Amber Edney

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

Today, some of the biggest child stars are not getting their start on the silver screen. Instead, they are finding success through their (or their parent’s) smartphones. The explosion of social media over the past few years has created a new type of child star: the kid influencer or “the kidfluencer.” These children appear alone or alongside their families to discuss child’s clothing, toys, and other family-related topics. If they gain enough followers, they may be able to monetize their social media accounts and obtain sponsorships from big brands such as Walmart and Mattel. Even though the method of achieving …

Splitting Heirs: How Heirs' Property Continues The Legacy Of Challenges To The Accumulation Of Wealth For Black Americans, Ryan Cook

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

When people die without executing estate planning instruments, their real property is divided to their heirs as tenants in common. Property owned in this arrangement is called heirs’ property. The issues associated with heirs’ property are compounded when several generations pass without proper estate planning, and interest in the real property becomes highly fractionated. African Americans are more likely to die without wills, so the risks of heirs’ properties are disproportionally felt by people of color. One threat to heirs’ property arises when third parties buy out one heir’s share to force a partition sale. The Uniform Partition of Heirs …

Negotiating Social Change: Backstory Behind The Repeal Of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Linell A. Letendre, Hal Abramson

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

This Article is about negotiating social change in the largest U.S. institution, the Military and its five Services. Inducing social change in any institution and society is notoriously difficult when change requires overcoming clashing personal values among stakeholders. And, in this negotiation over the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT), clashing values over open service by gays and lesbians were central to the conflict. In response to President Obama’s call to repeal DADT, the Secretary of Defense selected a Working Group to undertake studies, surveys and focus groups to inform the debate. During the nine-month process of gathering a …

Educational Malpractice: Is It A Tort Whose Time Has Come? An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study, Todd A. Demitchell, Stefanie King, Terri A. Demitchell

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

Peter Doe, a high school student with an average IQ and an average attendance record, graduated from high school in 1972. His reading ability at the time of graduation was approximately at the fifth-grade level. Peter Doe brought suit against the school district and its employees for negligence resulting in his inability to read and write. He sought damages of $500,000. The plaintiff claimed that these actions resulted in depriving him of basic academic skills thus limiting his lifetime stream of earnings. In other words, he asserted that he was injured because the school district and its “teachers negligently or …

Regulating International Commercial Surrogacy: A Balance Of Harms And Benefits, Sophia Shepherd

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

International surrogacy can produce great joy, as well-paid surrogates help produce healthy children for caring parents. However, many current cross-border surrogacy arrangements occur under conflicting citizenship laws, which can leave surrogate-born children stateless and their intended parents fighting for parental rights. In addition, without sufficient regulation, international surrogacy can lead to abuses, including exploitation of surrogate mothers and abandonment of surrogate-born children. At the other extreme, excessive regulation, including prohibition, can also cause great harm as surrogates and intended parents are denied surrogacy’s benefits. Moreover, inadequate regulation can quickly lead to prohibition, as abuses cause a country to flip from …

A Call For Constitutionalizing The Affirmative Insanity Defense, Mia C. Larson

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

This Note sheds light on varied insanity defense formulations which fail to adequately protect the constitutional rights of people deemed legally insane. An emerging trend has arisen whereby states adopt alternative approaches to legal insanity focused solely on the mental state of a criminal offender at the time the offender committed a crime. Rather than operating as an excusal from criminal liability, this alternative approach offers insanity as mitigating evidence to be used at the sentencing phase of trial. The result is that a person deemed not guilty in a state employing the affirmative defense could be deemed guilty in …

Don't Make A Run For It: Illinois V. Wardlow In Light Of Police Shootings And The Nature Of Reasonable Suspicion, Edith Perez

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

Fear and distrust of law enforcement have been longstanding in the Black community. Those in power have fueled this fear and distrust through brutal beatings, harassment, and general discrimination. The reasonable suspicion standard is problematic because it allows for unchecked biases to guide interactions between police officers and minorities, creating incentives to persecute. But today, a new tool exacerbates this problem and makes escaping the violence nearly impossible, deepening the contempt, and spreading its adverse effects: the media. Using a hierarchy of “if it bleeds it leads,” the capitalistic fear-based media targets the anxieties and biases of Americans, creating a …

The Legitimacy And Limits Of Punishing "Bad Samaritans", Luke William Hunt

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

The Plight Of Cyntoia Brown: Can Safe Harbor Laws Prevent The Prosecution Of Child Sex Trafficking Victims, Nickera Rodriguez

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

The Duel Between Reversible Error And Preservation: Florida Supreme Court To Have Last Word On Family Law Cases With Inadequate Statutorily-Required Findings, Larry R. Fleurantin, Esq.

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Place Your Finger On The Home Button: The Legality Of Compelling Biometrics, Casey Coffey

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Statutory Caps On Noneconomic Damages In Florida Medical Malpractice Actions: Constitutional Or Not?, Allison Mangan

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

A Palatable Option For Sugar-Coated Palates: Labeling As The Libertarian Paternalism Intervention That American Consumers Need, Nicholas G. Miller

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Fiscal Geography, Eric A. San Juan

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Prisoners As "Quasi-Employees", Ethan Heben

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

The Constitutional Incongruity Of "May-Issue" Concealed Carry Permit Laws, Noah C. Chauvin

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Let The Sunshine In: Floridian Felons And The Franchise, Joshua Winograd

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

No abstract provided.

Pay For Play In College Athletics: Why Cost Of Attendance?, Danielle Day

University of Florida Journal of Law & Public Policy

No abstract provided.