Legislation Commons^™

The Code Of Life And Death, Braden R. Leach

Notre Dame Journal on Emerging Technologies

Biotechnology is advancing at an astonishing clip, but our safeguards are decades behind. Given new technologies and economies of scale, it is possible for nefarious actors to assemble deadly viruses from scratch using synthetic DNA ordered off the internet. The Select Agents statute helps to prevent malicious actors from acquiring dangerous pathogens, but the Department of Health and Human Services has interpreted it to not cover synthetic DNA. Recognizing the gap, HHS issued guidance recommending that gene synthesis companies verify their customers to ensure their legitimacy and screen genetic sequences for matches to pathogen sequences. Unsurprisingly, voluntary guidance has not …

Curtailing Coercion Of Children: Reforming Custodial Interrogations Of Juveniles, K'Reisa Cox

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act: Doctrinal And Policy Problems, Robert Leider

Journal of Legislation

In response to recent mass shootings, Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The Act encouraged states to implement red-flag laws, adopted a more punitive approach to federal gun control, expanded the domestic violence misdemeanors that prohibit firearm possession, and implemented more stringent regulations on young adults purchasing firearms. Because of the difficulties in passing federal gun control laws, Congress hastily passed the Act after a small, bipartisan group of Senators agreed on its text. This stunted legislative process left the new law riddled with ambiguities and technical deficiencies. This Article explores the constitutional, doctrinal, and policy problems created by …

Pirates, Rogues, Revolutionaries, And Lobbyists: A Legislative History Of The Panama Canal Purchase Act Of 1902, Graham Markiewicz

Journal of Legislation

Just three pages of legislative text was enough for the United States to embark on the one of the grandest engineering feats of all time. This Article examines the history, policies, and processes that led to the passage of the Panama Canal Purchase Act of 1902. Beginning and ending with civil wars in Latin America, this Article tells the story of how foreign affairs influence Washington, D.C., and vice versa. It follows closely a rotating cast of characters seeking fame and fortune who resorted to any lengths to achieve them. It winds through stories of revolutions, corruption, pirates, and cutthroat …

Charter Schools: A Missed Opportunity To Improve Education Through Innovation, Maria Chiara Parisi

Journal of Legislation

The U.S. education system, unlike other fields, has failed to encourage and learn from innovation. Charter schools—publicly-funded schools with the freedom to develop innovative practices—offered an opportunity to address the education system’s resistance to change. The hope was that charter schools could serve as laboratories of innovation for new school models that traditional public schools across the country could later adopt.

Despite these good intentions, the charter school movement has not resulted in the change early advocates hoped for. Charter schools often recycle old practices instead of experimenting with new ones. And when a charter school does develop a successful …

Table Of Contents

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

A Federal Legislative Proposal To Address The Demise Of The Bivens Remedy, Henry Rose

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Is It Fair? Is It Competitive? Is It Human?: Artificial Intelligence And The Extent To Which We Can Patent Ai-Assisted Inventions, Hubert Ning

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

A Response To “Thou Shall Not Ration Justice”: Applied Behavior Analysis Causes Harm, Ariana Cernius

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou Royalties?: Reflecting On The Emergence Of Bluegrass And Appalachian Folk Music In Promoting The American Music Fairness Act, Mark Edward Blankenship Jr.

Journal of Legislation

The film Oh Brother, Where Art Thou ironically illustrates two points that are relevant in in the context of copyright law within the music industry. First, it displays the strength of radio play on new artists’ lives, careers, and incomes, which was crucial for bluegrass and string-band artist. Second, the film highlights the distinction between the sound-recording copy-holder’s exclusive right to publicly perform their copyrighted sound recording live and the absence of any such right concerning terrestrial radio broadcasts. The absence of a public-performance right for broadcasts of copyrighted sound recordings by terrestrial radio stations (and the resulting non-incurrence of …

The Case For An Open Bar: Why The Supreme Court Must Establish A Public Bar Membership Roll, Harry William Baumgarten

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents And Masthead

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Backlash: After 40 Years Of Tort Reform Noise, Let's Change The Tone, Undo The Harm, And Correct The Big Lie, Andrew F. Popper

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Covid-19 Hate Crimes: Why Hate Is Rising, And What The United States Can Do About It, Dillon B. Yang

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Panicked Legislation, Catherine L. Carpenter

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Civil Cipa: A Defense Against The Government's Unchecked State Secrets Privilege, Morgan Cleary

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Combatting Suggestiveness In Lineups: Can Legislation Be The Answer?, Samantha Kay Krasker

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Omnibus Legislation And Separation Of Powers: Too Big To Fail?, Evan Wright

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Interpreting State Statutes In Federal Court, Aaron-Andrew P. Bruhl

Notre Dame Law Review

This Article addresses a problem that potentially arises whenever a federal court encounters a state statute. When interpreting the state statute, should the federal court use the state’s methods of statutory interpretation—the state’s canons of construction, its rules about the use of legislative history, and the like—or should the court instead use federal methods of statutory interpretation? The question is interesting as a matter of theory, and it is practically significant because different jurisdictions have somewhat different interpretive approaches. In addressing itself to this problem, the Article makes two contributions. First, it shows, as a normative matter, that federal courts …

It Should Not Matter What Type Of Officer Wrongly Arrests You: Using Civil Rights Actions To Protect Peaceful Protestors, Cole Craghan

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Snitches Cause Stitches: The Need For Legislative Reform On Jailhouse Informant Testimony Laws, Jennifer Sutterer

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

"Seven Years' Worth Of Opportunity": Championing Diversity And Inclusion As Chief Circuit Judge, Carl E. Stewart

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Why Not More States?: States' Importance To Democracy And Statehood's Relevance To Twenty-First Century America, Jennifer K. Mitchell

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Sex Offender Legislation Ex Post Facto: The History And Constitutionality Of Michigan's Sex Offenders Registration Act, Alexander W. Furtaw

Journal of Legislation

Is Michigan’s Sex Offenders Registration Act (“MSORA”) constitutional? Until 2016, courts routinely said yes. In 2016, the Sixth Circuit in Does #1–5 v. Snyder held that the statute was an unconstitutional ex post facto law. In 2021, the Michigan Supreme Court echoed the Sixth Circuit’s holding in People v. Betts. In response, the Michigan legislature passed Public Law 295 of 2020 to amend MSORA, and courts treat the amended act as a “new” statute. Critical analysis of the amended statute’s legality is difficult because the state legislature has seemingly ignored constitutional issues with statutory proposals until after the fact, and …

Encroaching On Command Authority: How History Informs The "Military Justice Improvement And Increasing Prevention Act", Emma K. Hildebrand

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Subsidizing The Unvaccinated: Considering The Legality And Practicality Of Vaccine Mandates For Those On Public Assistance, Michael Conklin

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Solving The Problem Of Power: The Emerging Legislative Coalition For Civil Rights, Myron Orfield, Will Stancil, Eric Myott

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Care In The Time Of Covid: Addressing The State Of Family And Medical Leave In Light Of The Covid-19 Pandemic, Emily Kowalik

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

The Corporate Transparency Act: A Step Toward Broken Shells, Brendan O'Leary

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.

Legislative Actions To Promote And Enforce Ethical Conduct In Government, Christine Todd Whitman

Journal of Legislation

No abstract provided.