Law Commons^™

Health Care Civil Rights: Addressing The American Maternal Mortality Disparity Through Health, Law, And Policy, Victoria Pedri

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

The United States is facing a pressing issue in maternal health, standing out as uniquely dangerous among similarly situated nations, with significant disparities in maternal mortality rates, particularly affecting Black American pregnant people. This paper, “Health Care Civil Rights: Addressing the American Maternal Mortality Disparity Through Health, Law, and Policy,” argues that by addressing the root cause of the Black Maternal Mortality Disparity (BMMD)—structural racism—and implementing rigorous, enforced standards of care, the United States can ensure safer childbirth experiences for Black pregnant people. Utilizing intersectional and anti-racist frameworks, the analysis identifies inferior medical care, particularly in diagnosing and treating preventable …

The Role Of First Amendment In Equal Protection And Affirmative Action Analysis: The Compelling Governmental Interest, Simona Grossi

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

The Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard College has transformed the legal framework governing university admissions, sharply limiting race-conscious policies and compelling institutions to align their diversity objectives with the newly shaped heightened scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause. Concurrently, the Trump administration’s broad-based attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs—culminating in executive orders restricting race-conscious initiatives— has further intensified the legal and political pressure on colleges and universities striving to foster inclusive academic environments. This article contends that the First Amendment—particularly its protections of academic freedom and free speech—plays a critical and underutilized role …

Response: Foreign Affairs Prosecutions And Cybercrime, Mailyn Fidler

Law Faculty Scholarship

A response to Professor Steven Koh's new article on how the U.S. makes global criminal justice policy. Prof. Fidler examines what a decade of cybercrime indictments reveals about America's approach to prosecuting foreign hackers. Three things stand out: * Beyond Attribution - These indictments aren't just about naming and shaming, or about the typical dimensions of criminal alw. They're sophisticated foreign policy tools that coordinate and moderate international sanctions and global norms. * Intertwined with Cooperation - The indictments alternately create space for and slow the tempo of international cooperation on this issue, according to U.S. interests. * Power Projection …

The Icj’S Advisory Opinion On Climate Change, Maria Antonia Tigre, Maxim Bönnemann, Antoine De Spiegeleir

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This open-access edited volume offers the first comprehensive analysis of the International Court of Justice’s 2025 Advisory Opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change, one of the most consequential developments in international climate law since the adoption of the Paris Agreement. Bringing together leading scholars and practitioners from across public international law, human rights law, environmental law, and global governance, the book examines how the Court reframed climate change as a matter of binding legal obligation rather than political discretion.

The contributions explore the Opinion’s articulation of state duties under treaties, customary international law, and general …

The Legal Framework For Enhanced Rock Weathering In Minnesota, Ashwin Murthy, Korey Silverman-Roati, Romany M. Webb

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

This paper focuses on one form of carbon dioxide removal, terrestrial enhanced rock weathering, which involves spreading finely ground alkaline rocks over land. Scientists posit that the alkaline materials will bond with carbon dioxide in the air, sequestering it in mineral form, potentially for tens of thousands of years. Within the U.S., Minnesota is thought to be an ideal location for enhanced rock weathering, as it has pre-existing silicate rock reserves and quarrying infrastructure, and appropriate land. However, before enhanced rock weathering can be deployed at scale, further research is required to verify its effectiveness, co-benefits, and risks.

Currently in …

Separation-Of-Powers Lochnerism, Andrea Scoseria Katz

Fordham Law Review

One hundred and twenty years ago, in 1905, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered one of the single most notorious opinions in history, striking down a New York labor law for violating the right to contract—a right found nowhere in the text of the Constitution. Though the era of Lochner v. New York is well past us, the judicial impulses that gave rise to the case remain. With a new champion in the Roberts Court, Lochnerism is alive and well, deployed in a new context to redefine the relationships between the president, Congress, federal agencies, and the courts.

Bringing together two …

Equality In Sentencing Mitigation, John B. Meixner Jr.

Fordham Law Review

As guilty-plea rates have skyrocketed, sentencing has become an increasingly important part of criminal procedure. With judges often wielding significant discretion at sentencing, a key question is how judges interpret mitigation: evidence about the defendant’s background or the case that supports a reduced sentence. Past empirical research—both experimental and in real-world cases—indicates that mitigation plays an important role in determining sentences. But does mitigation help everyone, or does it reinforce inequalities that frequently infect other areas of criminal procedure? Do low-income Black defendants with appointed counsel benefit from sentencing mitigation as much as wealthier White defendants with private attorneys? Do …

The Equal Pay Act’S Hidden Loophole: Eliminating Prior Compensation As A “Factor Other Than Sex”, Madeleine Bol

Fordham Law Review

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA or the “Act”) prohibits employers from engaging in sex-based wage discrimination. The Act includes four exceptions that allow an employer to circumvent liability, the last of which allows for pay disparities when the “differential [is] based on any other factor other than sex.” The language of this exceedingly broad exception raises questions among courts on what “other than sex” entails—specifically, whether a court can rely on an employee’s prior compensation to justify a pay disparity between employees of the opposite sex. This Note examines how federal circuit courts have interpreted this catchall exception. …

(How) Is Plea Bargaining Justified?, Palma Paciocco

Articles & Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Reclaiming Bodily Autonomy Through Gullah Geechee Natural Healing, Tamaray Yvonne White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In today’s sociopolitical climate, restrictive reproductive laws continue to disproportionately target Black women, reinforcing historic patterns of racialized and gendered oppression. This thesis argues that Black women will recommence their usage of traditional herbal healing as both a survival strategy and an act of reclaiming bodily autonomy in defiance of hostile legal, financial, and medical systems. The Gullah Geechee community serves as a blueprint for this transition, offering cultural continuity, intergenerational knowledge, and a model for community-based healthcare and resistance. By tracing the historical necessity of herbal medicine among Gullah Geechee women, this study situates ancestral natural healing within contemporary …

The Quest For Budget Armor: Public Expenditures, Positive Rights, And Separation Of Powers In Washington's State Constitution, Kristen L. Fraser

Washington Law Review

In 2012, Washington’s landmark McCleary decision confirmed and expanded previous interpretations of the state constitution’s “paramount duty” clause, affirming a vital positive right to education and a judicial willingness to enforce it against the other branches. Notwithstanding a tense six-year period of judicial supervision after the ruling, ultimately the state legislature enacted broad education funding reforms and the appropriations and revenues to implement the additional resources for schools. Given competition among stakeholders for public funding for state programs, in the post-McCleary period, other litigants have asked courts to find similar positive constitutional rights to state services and funding. So …

The High Cost Of Law School Casebooks, Jeffrey Bellin

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Commentators have forecasted the demise of high-priced commercial casebooks for two decades. Yet little has changed. This Symposium Essay explores the headwinds facing free and low-cost books in the law school casebook market. It suggests that the biggest problem is “casebook selection inertia.” Given the centrality of the assigned casebook to a typical law school course, professors face strong incentives to make a safe choice from among the leading casebooks—typically those published by the handful of established academic presses who set the highest prices. These choices stick, not only determining the book that will be used for that professor’s future …

Expanding The Foreign National Prohibition To Combat Russian Interference In U.S. Elections, Hailey Arnett

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

In 2016, the Russian government purchased political advertisements from U.S. social media companies like Facebook to sway the U.S. presidential election. These purchases violated the foreign national prohibition (“the Prohibition”), which Congress codified as part of the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974 (FECA). This Note explains why Congress should expand the Prohibition to capture the recipients of independent expenditures that violate the Prohibition and fine people who run online platforms that receive independent expenditures or contributions made by foreign nationals in violation of the Prohibition.

Part I describes current U.S. case law on domestic and foreign campaign finance …

Table Of Contents

MC Law Review

No abstract provided.

University Of Baltimore Law Review, Volume 54, Issue 3, Winter 2025

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Simple Case For Slavery Reparations: Title To Slavery’S Fruits Did Not Pass, Brian C. Potts

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Elected Prosecutors And Discretionary Dissonance In The Pursuit Of Racial Justice, Leo Gabriel Tucker

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Toward An Equitable Legal Marijuana Market In Maryland: Assessing Development Strategies, Jasmine L. Tyler

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

The "Case" To Increase Access To Justice In Copyright Law: A Closer Look At The Copyright Claims Board, Anne Clevenger

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

University Of Baltimore Law Review, Volume 55, Issue 1, Winter 2026

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Right To Be Born?: What Dobbs Could Mean For Artificial Reproductive Technologies, Stewart Chang

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Over The Legal Limit: One State’S Attempt To Control Abortion Healthcare Access Outside Its Borders, Wendy Heipt, William Mitchell, Kelly O’Neill

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Elections Don’T Have Consequences—How Over 57% Of Florida Voters Supported Abortion Rights And Still Lost, Mark Dorosin

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Abortion On The Move: Navigating The Fractured Reproductive Healthcare Landscape, Claire Laurier Decoteau, Kim D. Ricardo

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

How States Decide: The Role Of Judicial Selection In Modern Abortion Jurisprudence, Lesley Bauer

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Miscarriage Of Democracy: What Happened In Arkansas, Florida, Nebraska, And South Dakota To Defeat Abortion-Related Ballot Measures In 2024, Deborah Machalow

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Money And Shame: Leaving Menstruators At Risk, Melissa Bosley

University of Baltimore Law Review

No abstract provided.

Foreword

UC Law Constitutional Quarterly

No abstract provided.

2024-2025 Annual Report, Stephanie C. Miller

Law Library Annual Reports and Assessments

No abstract provided.

From Quid Post Quo To Quid Pro Quo: Toward An Evidentiary Standard For 18 U.S.C. § 666 After Snyder, Luke Henkel

University of Chicago Law Review

This Comment addresses a question left unanswered by the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Snyder v. United States. Snyder held that the federal funds bribery statute, 18 U.S.C. § 666, covers only bribes, not gratuities. That is, an agreement to exchange payment for an official act by a state or local government official is criminally prohibited (if the official’s agency receives a certain amount of federal funding). But § 666 does not prohibit payments made after official acts so long as there was no agreement to conduct a quid pro quo exchange beforehand. Thus, the key issue in cases with …