Medical Jurisprudence Commons^™

Inadequate Privacy: The Necessity Of Hipaa Reform In A Post-Dobbs World, Katherine Robertson

Seattle University Law Review

Part I of this Comment will provide an overview of HIPAA and the legal impacts of Dobbs. Part II will discuss the anticipatory response to the impacts of Dobbs on PHI by addressing the response from (1) the states, (2) the Biden Administration, and (3) the medical field. Part III will discuss the loopholes that exist in HIPAA and further address the potential impacts on individuals and the medical field if reform does not occur. Finally, Part IV will argue that the reform of HIPAA is the best avenue for protecting PHI related to reproductive healthcare.

In Search Of: A Federal Safe Harbor For State Legalization Of Psilocybin, Kathryn L. Tucker, Holly Martinez, Ebony Morris

Lewis & Clark Law Review

In 2020, Oregon voters passed the Oregon Psilocybin Services Act (PSA). The PSA allows for the adult use of psilocybin at designated service centers and does not require a medicinal purpose for consumption. While the use of psilocybin becomes legal in Oregon in 2023 under the PSA, psilocybin remains a Schedule I substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act. This conflict between state legalization and federal prohibition creates significant challenges for individuals and businesses intending to abide by the requirements of the PSA—including the potential of jail time, fines, and forfeiture of property. This Essay explores three potential solutions the …

Sanitation: Reducing The Administrative State’S Control Over Public Health, Lauren R. Roth

Scholarly Works

On April 18, 2022, in Health Freedom Defense Fund, Inc. v. Biden, United States District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle vacated the mask mandate issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Following a framework laid out in other decisions restricting CDC actions in response to COVID-19, the court found that the agency lacked statutory authority to protect the public from the virus by requiring mask wearing during travel and at transit hubs because Congress did not intend such a broad grant of power. Countering decades of public health jurisprudence, the federal district court failed to defer to experts and …

Baker V. Women & Infants Hospital Of Rhode Island, 268 A.3d 1165 (R.I. 2022), Melissa Richi

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Distilling The Language Of The Law, Stacey A. Tovino

Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Universal Forms Of Influence: Support For Women On Boards, Cindy A. Schipani, Paula J. Caproni

Seattle University Law Review

There are various efforts underway to increase gender diversity on corporate boards, including legislation in California, a recent SEC approved comply or explain rule for companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, and efforts by institutional investors such as State Street and BlackRock to recognize the value diversity brings to corporate decisionmaking. Although some of these efforts are being contested in the courts, many companies have begun to comply with these initiatives.

This Article is organized as follows. Part I provides an overview of several efforts to increase gender diversity on boards along with numerous research studies showcasing the benefits …

“Statistics Are Human Beings With The Tears Wiped Away”: Utilizing Data To Develop Strategies To Reduce The Number Of Native Americans Who Go Missing, Lori Mcpherson, Sarah Blazucki

Seattle University Law Review

On New Year’s Eve night, 2019, sixteen-year-old Selena Shelley Faye Not Afraid attended a party in Billings, Montana, about fifty miles west of her home in Hardin, Montana, near the Crow Reservation. A junior at the local high school, she was active in her community. The party carried over until the next day, and she caught a ride back toward home with friends in a van the following afternoon. When the van stopped at an interstate rest stop, Selena got out but never made it back to the van. The friends reported her missing to the police and indicated they …

#Metoo And The Corporation In Popular Culture, Brenda Cossman

Seattle University Law Review

#MeToo’s initial virtual explosion in the fall of 2017 was very much about Hollywood, with famous actresses speaking out against famous producers, media moguls and celebrities, exposing the ubiquity of sexual harassment and sexual violence in and around the entertainment industry. Since then, #MeToo has made its way into Hollywood representations without much irony. Films and television shows have explicitly taken up the #MeToo themes, exploring issues of sexual harassment and violence and its afterlives. Many television shows, from the relaunched version of Murphy Brown to Brooklyn Nine-Nine to The Good Fight have incorporated #MeToo themes into episodes exploring the …

A Synthesis Of The Science And Law Relating To Eyewitness Misidentifications And Recommendations For How Police And Courts Can Reduce Wrongful Convictions Based On Them, Henry F. Fradella

Seattle University Law Review

The empirical literature on perception and memory consistently demonstrates the pitfalls of eyewitness identifications. Exoneration data lend external validity to these studies. With the goal of informing law enforcement officers, prosecutors, criminal defense attorneys, judges, and judicial law clerks about what they can do to reduce wrongful convictions based on misidentifications, this Article presents a synthesis of the scientific knowledge relevant to how perception and memory affect the (un)reliability of eyewitness identifications. The Article situates that body of knowledge within the context of leading case law. The Article then summarizes the most current recommendations for how law enforcement personnel should—and …

Dobbsmacked By The Dobbs Decision: The Need For More Privacy Protection For Personal Health Information, Morgan Vanden Heuvel

Mitchell Hamline Law Review

No abstract provided.

Nestlé V. Doe: A Death Knell To Corporate Human Rights Accountability?, Phillip Ayers

Seattle University Law Review

The Supreme Court in Nestlé v. Doe held that foreign plaintiffs who claimed to be victims of overseas tortious conduct by corporate defendants had no jurisdiction to sue in federal courts using the Alien Tort Statute. This Comment looks at the history of the Alien Tort Statute, from its inspiration, long dormancy, and recent reinvigoration beginning in the 1980s. The Comment then explores the background of Nestlé and its issues with child slavery in its cocoa supply chain. From there, the Comment analyzes the Nestlé v. Doe decision, and posits an alternative outcome. Finally, this Comment looks for a new …

Privacy For Student-Patients: A Call To Action, Stacey A. Tovino

Faculty Articles

Consider a law student who has a mental or reproductive health issue that the student wishes to keep private. If the student seeks care at an off-campus health clinic that is not affiliated with the student’s law school or university, the student typically has a number of federally enforceable privacy rights. For example, the federal HIPAA Privacy Rule will typically apply and prohibit the clinic from disclosing the student’s protected health information to professors, parents, and other third parties without the student’s prior written authorization. The law student also will have the right to receive a notice of privacy practices, …

Section 1115 Waivers: Innovation Through Experimentation, Or Stagnation Through Routine?, Nicole Johnson

Emory Law Journal

The Medicaid program operates as a federal-state partnership, in which the states agree to meet certain federally mandated requirements in exchange for federal matching funds for program expenditures. These federal matching funds can be anywhere from 50–90% of health care expenses incurred through state Medicaid programs. As such, states have a substantial interest in continuing this partnership and ensuring that their state plans comply with federal requirements. There is a way, though, in which states can gain more freedom in building their individual state plans. Through section 1115 waivers, states can ask the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) …

Hatch-Waxman’S Renegades, John R. Thomas

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

No intellectual property rights impact society more forcefully than patents on pharmaceuticals. But as a practical matter, only a handful of jurists resolve disputes involving them. Two neighboring federal districts, Delaware and New Jersey, adjudicate the vast majority of patent contests between brand-name drug companies and generic manufacturers. And in contrast to Eastern Texas, which has been persistently derided as a renegade jurisdiction, the authority of the mid-Atlantic courts has seldom been questioned. The complex workings of the Hatch-Waxman Act, the compromise legislation that governs pharmaceutical patent litigation, go a long way to explaining such distinct shareholder reactions to highly …

Applying Family Mediation To The Creation Of Psychiatric Advance Directives, Olivia Kalsner Kershen

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

No abstract provided.

Corporate Governance And Gender Equality: A Study Of Comply-Or-Explain Disclosure Regulation, Aaron A. Dhir, Sarah Kaplan, Maria Arabella Robles

Seattle University Law Review

In 2020, the Nasdaq Stock Market filed a proposal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission seeking permission to adopt a board diversity-related disclosure requirement for its listed companies. In 2021, the SEC approved the proposal, thus entrenching Nasdaq’s position as the most significant stock exchange to date to mandate listing rules that reflect the intention of diversifying corporate boardrooms. Nasdaq’s movement into the diversity space is not the first attempt to address homogeneous boards in the U.S. In 2009, the SEC adopted a rule requiring publicly traded firms to report on whether they consider diversity in identifying director nominees. …

Judicial Ethics And The Eradication Of Racism, Dontay Proctor-Mills

Seattle University Law Review

In 2020, the Washington Supreme Court entrusted the legal community with working to eradicate racism from its legal system. Soon after, Washington’s Commission on Judicial Conduct (hereinafter the Commission) received a complaint about a bus ad for North Seattle College featuring King County Superior Court Judge David Keenan. Along with a photo of Judge Keenan’s face, the ad included the following language: “A Superior Court Judge, David Keenan got into law in part to advocate for marginalized communities. David’s changing the world. He started at North.” The Commission admonished Judge Keenan for violating the Code of Judicial Conduct, in part …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Why Corporate Boards Should Include Lgbtq+ People, Jeremy Mcclane, Darren Rosenblum

Seattle University Law Review

Corporate boardrooms sit at the heart of most of society’s most consequential decisions but fall far short of the diversity of our society. The current movement toward board diversification aims to remedy the underrepresentation of marginalized groups on corporate boards. More recently, some efforts have included LGBTQ+ people, even though the basis for their inclusion on corporate boards remains largely unstated. This Article examines both the normative and instrumental bases for LGBTQ+ inclusion in board diversity initiatives, articulating unspoken assumptions and linking LGBTQ+ people to the broader inclusion effort. In so doing, it begins to surface the unique issues LGBTQ+ …

Off-Label Speech, David A. Simon

Emory Law Journal

This Article argues that the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) should regulate drug manufacturer speech about off-label uses based on the evidentiary support for the relevant use. The more evidence that an off-label use is safe and effective, the less restrictive the regulation should be. The less evidence that an off-label use is safe and effective, the more restrictive the regulation should be. Although intuitive, this is not exactly how current regulation of off-label information works. If the FDA approves a drug, the manufacturer can advertise to doctors and patients for the approved indication. Drug manufacturers cannot, however, promote or …

Education And Electronic Medical Records And Genomics Network, Challenges And Lessons Learned From A Large-Scale Clinical Trial Using Polygenic Risk Scores, Ellen Wright Clayton, John J. Connolly, Et Al.

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Polygenic risk scores (PRS) have potential to improve health care by identifying individuals that have elevated risk for common complex conditions. Use of PRS in clinical practice, however, requires careful assessment of the needs and capabilities of patients, providers, and health care systems. The electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) network is conducting a collaborative study which will return PRS to 25,000 pediatric and adult participants. All participants will receive a risk report, potentially classifying them as high risk (∼2-10% per condition) for 1 or more of 10 conditions based on PRS. The study population is enriched by participants from …

The Impact Of Post-Dobbs Abortion Bans On Prenatal Tort Claims, Aviva K. Diamond

Michigan Law Review

In June 2022, the Supreme Court revoked Americans’ fundamental right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. However, the Court said nothing about how its decision would impact tort claims related to reproductive care. Many states have since adopted near-total or early-gestational- age abortion bans, which has not only diminished access to reproductive care, but has also incidentally impaired the ability of plaintiffs to bring long-recognized prenatal tort claims. Prenatal tort claims—wrongful pregnancy, birth, and life—allow victims to recover when a medical professional negligently performs reproductive or prenatal care. This Note identifies the impact that post-Dobbs …

Legislated Ableism: Bill C-7 And The Rapid Expansion Of Medical Assistance In Dying In Canada, Isabel Grant

All Faculty Publications

This paper explores the recent expansion of medical assistance in dying to disabled people who are suffering intolerably but are not at the end of their lives. The paper argues that it is impossible to separate suffering caused by an irremediable disability and suffering caused by the impacts of systemic ableism, which include high rates of poverty, social isolation and exclusion for people with disabilities. The paper suggests that this expansion raises constitutional issues under s. 15 and s. 7 of the Charter because it is premised on a view that portrays disability as potentially worse than death and thus …

Leveraging Academic-Medical Legal Partnerships To Advance Health Justice, Vicki W. Girard, Yael Cannon, Deborah F. Perry, Eileen S. Moore

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Unmet legal needs contribute to housing, income, and food insecurity, along with other conditions that harm health and drive health inequity. Addressing health injustice requires new tools for the next generations of lawyers, doctors, and other healthcare professionals. An interprofessional group of co-authors argue that law and medical schools and other university partners should develop and cultivate Academic Medical-Legal Partnerships (A-MLPs), which are uniquely positioned to leverage service, education, and research resources, to advance health justice.

The Nih-Moderna Vaccine: Public Science, Private Profit, And Lessons For The Future, Christopher J. Morten

Faculty Scholarship

This commentary highlights the scientific history of the NIH-Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and corroborates Sarpatwari’s theme of private capture of value created by the public. The commentary also identifies missteps by the Trump and Biden Administrations and offers policy recommendations: better contracts with and incentives for pharmaceutical manufacturers and a not-for-profit “public option” for pharmaceutical development.

Don't Tread On My Ip Rights: A Law And Economics Analysis Of "March-In Rights" Under The Bayh-Dole Act, Caitlin Grow

Cleveland State Law Review

The Bayh-Dole Act has been imperative to the development of the United States’ dynamic pharma-biotech sector. However, the use of march-in rights under the Bayh- Dole Act has remained controversial. On the one hand, there is the idea of market equilibrium with a need to secure health care for the public. Many believe march-in rights should be used to create this balance by regulating the pricing of drugs that were developed using federally funded research. On the other hand, some advocates recognize that the current relationship between public-sector institutions and business as the developers of basic research, and private-sector biotechnology …

Embracing The End: A Comparative Analysis Of Medical Aid In Dying In Canada And The United States, Joel Krinsky

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Since the late nineteenth century, debate has unfolded over the use of euthanasia and physician-assisted death to alleviate the suffering of individuals with medical illnesses. The controversy surrounding the issue persists and its implications are significant. While most countries prohibit Aid in Dying (AID), legalization of the practice has expanded globally in recent years. Canada and the United States (US) are two such jurisdictions that have expanded access to AID. Canada has federally legalized the practice, which the country refers to as Medical Aid in Dying (MAID), and in 2021, the country expanded the eligibility criteria for individuals seeking access …

Determinism V. Free Will & Genetic Evidence Of Addiction In Plea Bargaining And Sentence Mitigation: Conversion Of Incarceration To Probation And Rehabilitation Based On Genetic Addiction Risk Severity (Gars) Test, Kenneth Blum, Paul Mullen, Richard Green

St. Mary's Law Journal

In this Article, Dr. Kenneth Blum and his team present the case of a presently abstinent, thirty-five year old alcoholic (“AG”) who has several convictions for DWI. AG has undergone and continues to be engaged in out-patient substance abuse treatment. He entered treatment before adjudication and was mandated by the court to continue treatment to assist in maintaining sobriety. Treatment included the administration of the Genetic Addiction Risk Severity (“GARS”) Test.

AG was facing a probable five-year sentence for his fifth DWI conviction in Bexar County, Texas. However, because AG’s genetic risk results indicated a genetically induced dopamine dysfunction, hypodopaminergia, …

Navigating A Multi-Billion Dollar Industry: Protecting Drug-Related Inventions To Further Research And Development, Minal Patel

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Even with advancements in science and technology, pharmaceuticals continue to find themselves tethered to patent protection guidelines that once ensured revenue would continue to flow and provide funding for the next blockbuster drug or antibodies. However, as the Federal Circuit appears to inch towards unpredictability in the realm of patent validity, challenges involving patenting are imminent. In fact, gaps are forming in the ability of pharmaceuticals to further research and develop drugs. This Note proposes a solution that encapsulates a more precise standard supported by economic and policy rationales to determine patent validity. It begins with the general requirements of …

Why A New Deal Must Address The Readability Of U.S. Consumer Contracts, Michael L. Rustad

Cardozo Law Review

United States companies are increasingly drafting consumer contracts that are complex and unreadable, thus making it difficult for many Americans to comprehend terms of use that apply to goods and services. Many U.S. companies are creating terms of use that are, in effect, rights-foreclosure schemes. Many consumer agreements cap damages at a nominal amount, disclaim all warranties, limit remedies, and impose mandatory arbitration clauses and class action waivers. U.S. courts enforce these unfair mass-market contracts with few exceptions. My proposal for a New Deal for Consumer Contracts, as described in this Article, would impose a more exacting readability standard, enforcing …