Law Commons^™

As The Revolving Door Turns: Government Lawyers Entering Or Returning To Private Practice And Conflicts Of Interest, Douglas R. Richmond

Saint Louis University Law Journal

Government lawyers regularly leave public service for private law practice—often through the same revolving door that launched their public careers. The law firms they join or to which they return welcome them because of the experience they gained, and the expertise they developed, while in the government. The challenge for former government lawyers and their law firms is recognizing and managing conflicts of interest that sometimes arise out of lawyers’ government service. To address the special conflict of interest concerns that emerge from the revolving door of government service, the ABA formulated Model Rule 1.11. With a single exception, Model …

Manipulating Disclosure: Creative Compliance In The Israeli Food Industry, Sharon Yadin

Saint Louis University Law Journal

Front-of-package food labels meant to inform consumers of the food’s nutritional values through simple and easy-to-comprehend graphic rating and warning systems are gaining increasing popularity in regulatory spheres. Around the world, health regulators have adopted front-of-package disclosure systems based on infographics, symbols, logos, colors, numbers, and letters, via both mandatory and voluntary schemes, while others, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), are considering adopting them. The recent Israeli food-labeling reform reveals consumer misinformation tactics deployed by food companies through various graphic manipulations that can be regarded as “creative compliance.” Adding to the policy and theory of disclosure …

Teaching Law Online: Yesterday And Today, But Tomorrow Never Knows, Ira Steven Nathenson

Saint Louis University Law Journal

Although the role of “online” in legal education has grown over the past several decades, online teaching became a lifeline in Spring 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered classrooms nationwide. Online teaching is now necessary, but also problematic. Schools and teachers therefore need to carefully consider how to make effective use of online tools and techniques. This essay reflects on the author’s career-long experiences in online law teaching, much of which predates the COVID-19 pandemic. “With a little help” from a Beatles song or two, the essay reflects the yesterday, today, and tomorrow of online legal education. It closes with …

From Crisis Springs Opportunity: Using Virtual Learning To Develop More Effective Lawyers, Anita M. Singh

Saint Louis University Law Journal

The increase in virtual, distance, and remote learning necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic has presented new challenges to law school faculty and students. But at the same time, increased virtual interactions provide us with a unique opportunity. In particular, increased virtual interactions allow us to test and stress students’ “virtual intelligence,” a suite of more intangible skills that also promotes lawyer effectiveness. These skills include traditional project management tasks and conventional social engagement, but on a heightened level given the challenges inherent in virtual interactions. Legal employers place these skills at a premium, yet at the same time report that …

Legal Education In A Pandemic: A Crisis And Online Teaching Reveal Who My Students Are, Sonia M. Suter

Saint Louis University Law Journal

The COVID-19 pandemic upended things for everyone across the world in so many ways, including at universities and law schools. In switching to online teaching in the mid-semester last spring and continuing to teach first-year law students online this past fall, I have witnessed the strength and compassion of my students even in the face of the challenges of the pandemic, online learning, and political unease in our country. I have been heartened and bolstered by their deep commitment to building community with one another.

Covid-19 And Public Accommodations Under The Americans With Disabilities Act: Getting Americans Safely Back To Restaurants, Theaters, Gyms, And “Normal”, Frank Griffin

Saint Louis University Law Journal

COVID-19 permanently changed the way places of public accommodation like restaurants, theaters, medical facilities, arenas, gyms, and many other proprietors of mainstream American activities must operate in order to accommodate people with newly-defined, COVID-19-related disabilities under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The required modifications will affect all patrons and employees of these establishments. Under the ADA, places of public accommodation are barred from discriminating against people with disabilities in the full and equal enjoyment of goods, services, and facilities. Infectious diseases like tuberculosis and HIV have been categorized as disabilities under the ADA, and COVID-19 is …

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Saint Louis University Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Masthead

Saint Louis University Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Real Problem With Katz Circularity, Raff Donelson

Saint Louis University Law Journal

The Fourth Amendment protects people against “unreasonable searches” by police. To operationalize this protection, courts must have a workable definition of a search. Since 1967, the Supreme Court has used the two-step Katz test as a primary measure of when a search has occurred. Under Katz, a court will find that something has been subject to search when (1) the individual in question has a subjective expectation of privacy in that thing and (2) such an expectation of privacy would be reasonable. From early on, commentators have decried the Katz test as circular and have urged courts to adopt …

At A Covid Crossroads: Public Health, Patient Privacy, And Health Information Confidentiality, Stacey A. Tovino

Saint Louis University Law Journal

This essay summarizes and assesses the various bulletins, guidance documents, and notices of enforcement discretion released by the federal Department of Health and Human Services regarding the application of the HIPAA Privacy Rule to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other topics and actions, these authorities address the application of the HIPAA Privacy Rule to the use and disclosure of protected health information for public health activities, waive the application of certain HIPAA Privacy Rule requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, and announce enforcement discretion regarding certain covered entities’ non-compliance with particular provisions within the HIPAA Privacy Rule. These authorities overwhelmingly, and appropriately, …

Data Privacy: One Universal Regulation Eliminating The Many States Of Legal Uncertainty, Tiffany Light

Saint Louis University Law Journal

Although privacy has been around for quite some time, it has picked up speed within the last fifty years or so. Triggered by the advancements in technology that make the collection, storage, and use of data commonplace in today’s data-driven world, new privacy regulations and data protection standards have begun to spread like wildfire across the globe. Consumers continue to advocate for their right to privacy as they face the privacy paradox—the desire to protect one’s own privacy, while at the same time being forced to give it up as the cost of doing business in our data driven world. …

Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act Litigation In Federal Courts: Evaluating The Standing Doctrine In Privacy Contexts, Michael Mcmahon

Saint Louis University Law Journal

Biometric technology, used to identify individuals based on their unchangeable and unique attributes such as fingerprints or facial geometry, has become commonplace in modern life. In Illinois, the use of biometric information by private organizations is regulated by the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (“BIPA”), which came into effect in 2008 as the nation’s first state biometric information privacy statute. BIPA is unique in that it includes a private right of action and provides for recovery of liquidated damages where the statute is violated, which has resulted in plaintiffs bringing steadily increasing numbers of class-action suits under the law. This note …

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Saint Louis University Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Masthead

Saint Louis University Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Reversing Progress: The Trafficking Of Cuban Baseball Players Continues After Cancellation Of Mlb-Fcb Agreement 103, Van Degregorio

Saint Louis University Law Journal

In December of 2018, Major League Baseball (“MLB”) signed an agreement with the Cuban Baseball Federation that would forever change how the MLB acquires its Cuban talent. The agreement established a formal process of immigration from Cuba to the United States for professional baseball players, replacing the decades-old practice of smuggling players into the United States with the help of dangerous human trafficking organizations. In April of 2019, during its decision to revert back to the traditional foreign policy strategy with Cuba, the Trump Administration scrapped the deal in its entirety, bringing the process back to square one. This Note …

Table Of Contents

Saint Louis University Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Leveling The Playing Field For Remote Sellers: Missouri’S Response In A Post-Wayfair World, Hannah Hope

Saint Louis University Law Journal

The case of South Dakota v. Wayfair opened the door for states to tax remote sellers who did not have a physical presence in the state. In its wake, states have scrambled to implement an economic nexus and start collecting revenue. The results widely vary, from states that have essentially implemented the exact criteria that was seemingly approved by the Court in Wayfair—such as sales and transaction thresholds—to states with no threshold at all. Then there is Missouri, which has so far failed to introduce an economic nexus, despite the millions in revenue it is missing out on.

This …

Law Faculty Experiences Teaching During The Pandemic, Bridget J. Crawford, Michelle S. Simon

Saint Louis University Law Journal

When colleges and universities abruptly shifted to online teaching in March 2020 all, focus (appropriately) was on ensuring continuity of education for students. In adapting courses to the new online environment, professors were encouraged to take into account the incredible stress students were experiencing, their new living conditions, and, in some cases, lack of access to technology and educational resources. For the Spring 2020 semester, almost all U.S. law schools shifted to some form of pass/fail grading in recognition of the enormous upheaval to students’ educational plans.

Less discussed during the initial months of the corornavirus pandemic was how faculty …

Teaching Tiger King, F. E. Guerra-Pujol, Christiana Champnella, Benjamin Mayo, Morgan Travers, Antonella Vitulli

Saint Louis University Law Journal

When our home institution moved all instruction online in response to the pandemic, we began redesigning our business law survey course from scratch. Specifically, we decided to use the popular docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness to explore the legal and ethical environments of business with our undergraduate students. We deliberately chose this surprise-hit television show in order to make our online course as relevant, timely, and engaging as possible. The remainder of the paper will describe the contents of each module of the course, explore their relation to Tiger King, and explain the logic of our …

Warrants Needed For Biometric Analysis, Ted Claypoole

Saint Louis University Law Journal

This article argues that U.S. courts and legislatures should limit law enforcement application of biometric identification technologies within Constitutional bounds. Specifically, warrant requirements should be enforced for police to use facial recognition artificial intelligence and software. Such warrant requirement is practical for law enforcement and is already within the bounds of current Fourth Amendment cases.

A Foia For Facebook: Meaningful Transparency For Online Platforms, Michael Karanicolas

Saint Louis University Law Journal

Transparency has become the watchword solution for a range of social challenges, including related to content moderation and platform power. Obtaining accurate information about how platforms operate is a gatekeeping problem, which is essential to meaningful accountability and engagement with these new power structures. However, different stakeholders have vastly different ideas of what robust transparency should look like, depending on their area of focus. The platforms, for their part, have their own understanding of transparency, which is influenced by a natural drive to manage public perceptions.

This paper argues for a model of platform transparency based on better practice standards …

Fake News & International Criminal Law, Sara L. Ochs

Saint Louis University Law Journal

In a decade defined by fake news, nations have weaponized disinformation to attack political, legal, and social systems throughout the world. Specifically, in recent years, government leaders have spread fake news about the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) in efforts to turn public opinion against the ICC and deter its attempts to investigate and prosecute controversial cases. Given the ICC’s reliance on state party cooperation, not only does this use of fake news hamper the Court’s likelihood of successfully prosecuting crimes that are of most concern to the international community, but it also promotes a version of history that denies victims …

Taking Aim At “Fake News”: Brazil’S Legislative Agenda For Online Democracy, Jeffrey Omari

Saint Louis University Law Journal

Like the United States, Brazil has recently been plagued by a crisis in online disinformation. After the country’s 2018 presidential elections, many Brazilians experienced a shock similar to that experienced by U.S. voters after the 2016 election of Donald Trump. The shock was the result of the election of Brazil’s far-right wing Jair Bolsonaro and his striking political ascent, which was fueled by supporters who mobilized online disinformation campaigns for Bolsonaro’s competitive advantage. During Brazil’s 2018 elections, Bolsonaro’s supporters employed these disinformation campaigns, which often preyed on Brazil’s poor, to gain a voting base in disadvantaged communities. Moreover, these disinformation …

Covid-19 And Law Teaching: Guidance On Developing An Asynchronous Online Course For Law Students, Yvonne M. Dutton, Seema Mohapatra

Saint Louis University Law Journal

Most law schools suspended their live classroom teaching in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and quickly transitioned to online programming. Although professors can be commended for rapidly adapting to an emergency situation, some commentators have nevertheless suggested that the emergency online product delivered to students was substandard. Based on our own experiences in designing and delivering online courses, we caution against embracing a broad-reaching, negative conclusion about the efficacy of online education. Indeed, much of this emergency online programming would be more properly defined as “emergency remote teaching,” as opposed to “online education.” Online education requires professors to …

Now Is Not The Time For Another Law School Lecture: An Andragogical Approach To Virtual Learning For Legal Education, Charletta A. Fortson

Saint Louis University Law Journal

COVID-19 forced nearly every institution of higher learning, as well as others, to quickly pivot from a traditional face-to-face teaching model to an online teaching model. While some institutions had technology in place to quickly adapt, most institutions were not prepared. Even where the technology infrastructure was in place, the faculty were not readily prepared to adapt their teaching style to this online model. Given these challenges, many professors chose the path of least resistance and chose to conduct those lectures just as they always had but just in an online format. However, now was not the time for another …

Some Thoughts On The Corona Semester, Shivangi Gangwar

Saint Louis University Law Journal

The COVID-19 pandemic presented educators across the world with a unique set of challenges. In this Article, I reflect on my experience of transitioning to the online medium mid-semester without much preparation. I compare the vastly dissimilar experiences of conducting classes “physically” and remotely, highlighting the difficulties I experienced in translating to the online realm, and the pedagogical methods I usually employed while teaching Contract law to first-year students.

Adaptable Design: Building Multi-Modal Content For Flexible Law School Teaching, Agnieszka Mcpeak

Saint Louis University Law Journal

This essay discusses ways to build course content that can easily toggle between face-to-face and online modes of instruction. It is meant as a quick, practical guide for law professors faced with challenging teaching circumstances due to COVID-19 and campus closures, but with long-term applicability as law schools continue to expand online and hybrid course offerings. This idea for “adaptable design” is based largely on my own experience moving face-to-face courses online. I try to avoid delving too much into technical definitions and pedagogical theory, instead focusing on personal experience and examples. Although COVID-19 has created an immediate need for …

From A Distance: Providing Online Academic Support And Bar Exam Preparation To Law Students And Alumni During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Antonia Alice Badway Miceli

Saint Louis University Law Journal

At its core, an academic support program’s mission is to help students improve their academic performance. But academic support programs also serve a broader purpose. They serve as a bridge between students, faculty, and staff, supporting faculty in their curriculum and course development and nurturing the connections between members of the law school community. They often develop and improve relations with alumni through bar exam preparation efforts. And, sometimes, they are even involved in the recruiting of new students. Through all of these interactions with students, faculty, staff, and alumni, academic support programs foster a sense of community within the …

What Works In Online Teaching, Margaret Ryznar

Saint Louis University Law Journal

This Article offers lessons from an empirical study of an online Trusts & Estates course. Over three semesters, approximately 280 law students responded to a survey on what works well for them in this online course and what does not. Their top three answers in each category may help serve as guidance for faculty creating online courses.

Five Truths Learned After A Dozen Years Of Asynchronous Online Teaching, Kenneth R. Swift

Saint Louis University Law Journal

In this article the author reflects on his more than twelve years of teaching asynchronous online law school courses and shares some of his beliefs about the value and limits of asynchronous teaching. The article addresses some surprising strengths of asynchronous online courses, including how black letter case law may be more effectively taught in the online format. Additionally, the article discusses how the asynchronous online format provides opportunities to excel for students with different abilities and personalities.

The article also addresses some potential limitations in the asynchronous online format, including the challenges inherent in student group work and collaboration. …