Law Commons^™

Generative Suspicion And The Risks Of Ai-Assisted Police Reports, Andrew Guthrie Ferguson

Northwestern University Law Review

Police reports play a central role in the criminal justice system. Many times, police reports exist as the only official memorialization of what happened during an incident, shaping probable cause determinations, pretrial detention decisions, motions to suppress, plea bargains, and trial strategy. For over a century, human police officers wrote the factual narratives that shaped the trajectory of individual cases and organized the entire legal system.

This practice is about to change with the creation of AI-assisted police reports. Today, with the click of a button, large language models (LLMs), a type of generative AI using predictive text capabilities, can …

Dream A Little Dream Of Licensing: Jazz And The § 115 Compulsory Music Reproduction License, Jackson S. Roberg

Northwestern University Law Review

The compulsory music reproduction license codified at 17 U.S.C. § 115 allows anyone to obtain the right to record another version of, or “cover,” a previously published musical work. Invoking the compulsory license, however, comes at a dramatic cost. Under § 115(a)(2), the licensee cannot copyright any original musical material they compose for the cover without express permission from the underlying copyright owner, even if that material would otherwise be copyrightable. This limitation gravely harms jazz music, as jazz relies on dynamic recompositions of preexisting music. Jazz musicians depend on compulsory licenses to record the reinterpretative covers essential to the …

Existing Together From The Beginning: Freedom To Contract And Black Mutual Aid, Cara Mcclellan

Northwestern University Law Review

In a new wave of litigation, conservative legal organizations are attempting to rely on Reconstruction-era civil rights legislation to prevent nonprofits, charities, foundations, and other privately organized groups from engaging in race-conscious work. Unlike the Supreme Court’s recent rollback of affirmative action, which dealt with universities’ ability to consider race in admissions as state actors and as recipients of federal funding, a series of lawsuits now challenge the ability of private organizations to consider race in how they invest money and resources to create social impact. Adding fuel to the fire, on January 21, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive …

Not Colorblind, Kimberly West-Faulcon

Northwestern University Law Review

This Essay criticizes the use of the term “colorblind” in reference to attacks on racial diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. It argues it is inapt and unconscionably obtuse to use colorblindness terminology to selectively target inclusion-motivated race consciousness for automatic illegality. The Essay’s central project is to examine claims underlying attacks on racial inclusion policies such as the Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College lawsuit to expose the legal endgame that anti-DEI forces seek to make a centerpiece of America’s future. In so doing, it surfaces the differential scrutiny of race consciousness …

Standing On Stare Decisis After Students For Fair Admissions, Areeb Asif, Lindsey Roloff

Northwestern University Law Review

The Supreme Court recognized nearly half a century ago in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke that “the ‘nation’s future depends upon leaders trained through wide exposure’ to the ideas and mores of students as diverse as this Nation of many peoples.” Nevertheless, the Court seriously undercut efforts to bring such a future to life by striking down race-conscious admissions programs in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina (collectively SFFA). Though SFFA’s binding effect is limited to educational institutions, …

Crisis Convergence, Sarah Medina Camiscoli

Northwestern University Law Review

Progressive jurists and legal scholars have called the Supreme Court’s doctrine of colorblind constitutionalism that dismantled affirmative action in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard (SFFA) a crisis for constitutional democracy. However, scholars have not yet tended to students, particularly students mobilized for racial justice, to understand their interpretation of this race-evasive ideology and what insights those mobilized students might offer in this pivotal moment. Given the fact that a small coalition of dissenting conservative jurists, scholars, and mobilized students—the Federalist Society—spent decades crafting the doctrine, scholarship, and resources that drive colorblind constitutionalism …

Toward A Perpetual Practice Of Affirmative Action, Sheldon Bernard Lyke

Northwestern University Law Review

Despite perceptions that affirmative action is “dead” following the Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (SFFA), this Essay argues that affirmative action remains crucial for addressing racial bias in admissions processes. This Essay examines the strict scrutiny standard, which requires that any use of race must serve a compelling government interest and be narrowly tailored to achieve that interest. Courts have interpreted the narrowly tailored prong of this standard to include a logical end point requirement, which mandates that race-conscious measures must have a clear and limited …

Constitutional Futurisms, Jeremiah Chin

Northwestern University Law Review

How do we reckon with the past? The Supreme Court’s recent embrace of originalism as a mode of constitutional analysis relies almost exclusively on a view of history and tradition that would bind us to an understanding of principles and ideals that legitimized the exclusion of minority voices. Cases such as New York State Pistol and Rifle Ass'n v. Bruen use flavors of originalism as a framework to define rights and governmental powers through their historical antecedents, but this broad standard of interpretation is notably absent in the Court’s recent discussions of histories and traditions of racism in the United …

Infrastructure Equality, Deborah N. Archer, Yuvraj Joshi

Northwestern University Law Review

The United States’ racialized geographies have left communities of color with systematically inferior essential infrastructure that perpetuates their social and economic exclusion. From roads, public transportation, and sewage systems, to banks, high-speed internet, and high-quality public schools, people and communities of color have limited access to the fundamental infrastructure necessary to lead socially and economically vibrant lives. This Essay introduces “infrastructure equality” as a unifying framework to address the critical intersection of physical, social, and legal infrastructures that feed racial inequality. Drawing on multidisciplinary research, it argues that infrastructure—the interconnected and vital system of physical structures, networks, and social institutions—should …

Co-Optive Constitutionalism, Raquel Muñiz, Andrés Castro Samayoa

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

In this Article, we introduce the concept of co-optive constitutionalism, a rhetorical mechanism through which the U.S. Supreme Court dismantles civil rights protections while paradoxically employing civil rights language to legitimize these regressive outcomes. Through a detailed analysis of the majority, concurrences, and dissents in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, we demonstrate how the Court's conservative majority strategically appropriates progressive ideals, selectively quotes precedent, and redefines equality to justify overturning decades-long precedent permitting race-conscious admissions. We situate co-optive constitutionalism within the broader conservative legal political movement spearheaded by the Federalist Society, revealing how judicial rhetoric aligns with conservative political …

The Walk Away From Racial Equality, Areto Imoukhuede

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

This article demonstrates that the U.S. Supreme Court has walked away from racial equality in favor of the same liberal equality approach that was the foundation for Plessy v. Ferguson’s “separate but equal” doctrine. The Court’s recent affirmative action cases, from Grutter and Gratz v. Bollinger, to Fisher v. University of Texas, to Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, all apply a liberal equality theory that is hostile to racial equality. In the lead-up to these cases, the Court abandoned its Brown-era interpretation of equality under the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause in favor of …

Disability Activism And Legal Education: How The Student And Parent Activists Of The Disability Rights Movement Paved The Way For Law Students To Challenge Discrimination, Dana Dworkin

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

Disability discrimination in education is a long-standing and powerful tradition in the United States. Students with disabilities in higher education have historically been, and continue to be, the most powerful harbingers of change in eliminating disability discrimination in education. The birth of the disability rights movement occurred in higher education institutions across the nation in the 1970s, and the movement achieved both cultural and legislative success. Its spirit continues on today in U.S. law schools. Law students with disabilities are utilizing the legislative advances achieved by the disability rights activists of yesteryear in order to create a more equitable system …

Sparing The Gory Details: Legal And Social Inertia And The Refusal To Confront The Body In Pregnancy, Francesca Laguardia

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

Health, including pain, suffering, blood, and guts, has always played an outsized role in legal and public analysis of abortion. Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the health implications of forced childbirth have returned to the public’s attention, as evidenced by prevalent health exceptions to abortion bans, legal actions in regard to those bans and exceptions, public attention to those cases, and public opinion polling. Recent, highly publicized cases of medical emergencies associated with pregnancy could be expected to reinvigorate a public exploration of the health risks of pregnancy, but the public has consistently refused to acknowledge the full …

Mixed Review Of Constitutional Rights In Cuba, Ngoc Son Bui

Northwestern Journal of Human Rights

Cuba’s 2019 Constitution and the 2022 Law on the Process of Protection of Constitutional Rights create a mixed model of review. Accordingly, the legislature and the executive review the constitutionality of legislation and regulations, while the courts review the constitutionality of state actions. Synthesizing comparative constitutional law and new institutionalism in political science, this article argues that the mixed constitutional review in Cuba is shaped by different historical influences; competing socialist and liberal ideas and discourse; competing political interests; and competing socialist and universal values. The Cuba experience presents a new hope for other socialist countries like China and Vietnam …

A History Of Post-Roe America And Canada: From Intertwined Abortion Battles To Dobbs, Mugambi Jouet

Northwestern Journal of Human Rights

The changing landscape on abortion following Dobbs has not only sparked a vigorous debate in the United States, but also abroad. Its recriminalization in America led to an outcry in peer Western democracies, whose leaders widely condemned the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision. Yet the social and historical reasons for this international divide are poorly understood.

This Article sheds light on the question through an in-depth comparison of America and Canada from Roe to Dobbs, as the neighboring nations’ abortion histories have been intertwined in intriguing and overlooked ways. When the U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973, …

Auto Dissertation I, Vol. 1: Breaths Along The Potomac: An Epistolary Art Gallery, Dominic Shodekeh Talifero

Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés

No abstract provided.

A (Gen X Pop Music) Criminal Procedure Playlist, Tung Yin

Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés

No abstract provided.

Patriot, Aysha Affaneh

Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés

No abstract provided.

Three Women, Caroline Faye

Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés

No abstract provided.

Unveiling Injustice: The Case For Ending Guantanamo Bay And Extrajudicial Detention, Aasiyah Wasif

Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor, Laya Reddy

Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés

No abstract provided.

(The Lack Of) Fan Fiction Litigation: Why Do Creators Refrain From Suit?, Channah Klapper

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

This Note explores the status of contemporary fan fiction under United States copyright law. It begins by tracing the historical development of fan fiction and then examines fan fiction’s legal treatment in the internet age, with a focus on the potential application of the fair use doctrine. It surveys relevant case law and considers the notable absence of litigation by content creators against fan fiction authors. Finally, it offers a number of possible explanations for this reluctance to pursue legal action.

Robots And (Indian) Reservations: A Jurisdictional Nightmare Waiting To Happen, Adam Crepelle

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

Advances in artificial intelligence are expanding the possibilities of robots. Indeed, robots are now engaging in numerous activities previously thought to require human cognition, such as driving cars and diagnosing diseases. Scholars have published numerous articles examining the intersection of law and robots across myriad fields. However, legal scholarship has yet to explore the relationship between robots and federal Indian law. This is a significant oversight because there are 574 federally recognized tribes and over fifty-six million acres of Indian country. Thus, legal issues involving tribes and robots are inevitable. This is the first law review article dedicated to exploring …

Who Holds The Hammer? A Private Ordering Framework As The Key To Carpenter’S Privacy Puzzle, Matthew Green

Northwestern Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property

This Note builds on the Supreme Court’s reasoning in Carpenter v. United States, suggesting that its technology-specific approach may be insufficiently elastic to address the complexities of modern data privacy. Through an analysis of several exemplars, this Note advocates for a private ordering framework—where data collectors respond to consumer expectations of privacy through self-regulating practices—as a more adaptive and effective means of safeguarding digital privacy. This approach preserves the third-party doctrine while reducing the burden on courts to draw technological boundaries in a rapidly evolving digital environment.

Climate Exceptionalism In Court, Zachary D. Clopton, David A. Dana

Northwestern University Law Review

Across a range of cases, fossil fuel companies, government actors, and some judges have conceded that climate change is an exceptional phenomenon, only to argue that its exceptional nature is a reason to keep climate change out of court. These parties and judges thus seek to avoid the adjudication of climate cases on the merits, even when the neutral application of existing law would provide for jurisdiction in these cases. We term this phenomenon “climate jurisdiction exceptionalism.”

This Article provides a comprehensive account of climate jurisdiction exceptionalism, focusing on two main threads: Article III standing and state court jurisdiction. First, …

Preclusive Jurisdictional Dismissals, Kevin Song

Northwestern University Law Review

Every litigant deserves their day in court. At the same time, litigants cannot endlessly go to court on the same matter. A complex body of preclusion law balances these fundamental tenets by examining when adjudication of a matter precludes subsequent relitigation. This body of law has evolved over time to preserve the day-in-court ideal in a way that is sensitive to the threats that relitigation present to judicial efficiency, fair adjudication, and repose. Modern preclusion law has settled on a pragmatic approach: where a court has issued a final judgment on the merits but erroneously assumed jurisdiction, relitigation may still …

Hindsight Is 20/20: Epilepsy Is Not One-Size-Fits-All, Raika Kim

Northwestern University Law Review

For many, epilepsy is one of the first conditions that come to mind when thinking of a disability, and for good reason: over 50 million people in the world live with epilepsy. Yet misunderstandings about epilepsy have perpetuated social stigma surrounding the disability for centuries. Ableist beliefs led to the passage of laws in the 1900s condoning—and in some cases, requiring—sterilization of individuals with epilepsy and restriction of their right to marry. Even today, state driving laws, justified as promoting public safety, categorically prevent anyone diagnosed with epilepsy from driving unless they are seizure free for an arbitrary, nonuniform period …

Against Monetary Primacy, Yair Listokin, Rory Van Loo

Northwestern University Law Review

To reduce inflation, the Federal Reserve (Fed) raises interest rates. But every month with high interest rates increases the risk of a devastating recession. Recessions impose not only short-term pain in the form of widespread unemployment but also lifelong harm for many, as vulnerable workers and those who start their careers during a downturn never fully recover. Yet hiking interest rates is the centerpiece of U.S. inflation-fighting policy. When inflation is high, the Fed raises interest rates until inflation is tamed, regardless of the consequent sacrifices. We call this inflation-fighting paradigm “monetary primacy.” Despite its great risks, monetary primacy has …

Let's Get Personal: Due Process And Personal Jurisdiction As A New Path Forward For Extraterritoriality, Samy Abdelsalam

Northwestern University Law Review

The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has put fundamental principles of federalism and state sovereignty under attack. Legislation and lawsuits in states nationwide aim to limit the rights of American citizens to travel freely between states in search of medical care. Further, these measures have extraterritorial reach, legally entangling the rights of private citizens in other states who provide medical care even while fully within their own state borders. Scholars have analyzed this development through various doctrinal lenses, including the Dormant Commerce Clause. But these frameworks fail to adequately protect those who are unfortunate enough …

The Renaissance Of Private Law, Yotam Kaplan, Adi Libson, Gideon Parchomovsky

Northwestern University Law Review

Crisis is the new normal. Between global warming, the opioid pandemic, bursts of gun violence, and political instability fueled by fake news, it is hard to remember a time when we were not facing a major catastrophe. Still more troubling, there is a growing sense that our political and regulatory institutions are faltering in their ability to offer effective responses to the incoming crises. The rapid pace at which new problems emerge—together with growing political polarization—stymies regulatory and legislative action, resulting in an inability to address contemporary challenges.

Against this gloomy background, we posit an unlikely hero: private law. Recent …