By: Marie Lundgren, Volume 108 Staff Member I. BACKGROUND In 2003, Congress passed the Medicare Modernization Act, marking the largest expansion of benefits in the 38-year history of U.S. public healthcare.[1] When the Medicare program was first enacted in 1965, it covered hospital stays (under Part A), physician office visits (under Part B), and pharmaceuticals administered in clinical settings.[2] Notably, it did not cover prescription drugs filled at a pharmacy.[3] However, the Medicare Modernization Act changed that when it introduced Medicare Part D.[4] For the very first time, Medicare b ..read more

By: Will Roberts, Volume 108 Staff Member I. MECHANISMS FOR FIREARMS INDUSTRY LIABILITY In 2005, Congress enacted the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) which significantly shielded members of the firearms industry from civil liability for over a decade.[1] PLCAA prohibits “civil action[s] . . . brought by any person against a [firearms] manufacturer . . . [for] relief, resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of a [firearm] by the person or a third party” barring a few exceptions.[2] Notably, the “predicate exception” permits “action[s] in which a manufacturer or seller o ..read more

By Lea Chapoton, Volume 108 Staff Member In the wake of 2022’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization[1] decision and the ensuing barrage of state laws limiting abortion access, online discussions surged with strategies for maintaining reproductive freedom in potentially hostile circumstances. One popular piece of advice urged deletion of period tracking apps because companies could sell the personal data collected to third-parties, or worse, provide the data to law enforcement as proof of a pregnancy.[2] Just one year later, a mother and daughter pled guilty to violating Nebraska’s anti ..read more

By Hans Frank-Holzner, Volume 108 Staff Member On January 8, 2024, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Campos-Chaves v. Garland,[1] a consolidation of three immigration cases concerning the statutory notice requirements the government must meet before it can order a noncitizen removed without a hearing.[2] Under the government’s reading, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)  provides two independent forms of notice, either of which, if provided to the noncitizen, satisfies the notice requirement.[3] Under the noncitizens’ reading, the INA requires the government to always serve ..read more

By: Dylan Schepers, Volume 107 Staff Member Introduction It was the black of midnight in mid-March 2020. Four police officers approached the front door of an apartment in Louisville Kentucky prepared to execute a drug-related search warrant.[1] Breonna Taylor and her boyfriend Kenneth Walker were asleep just on the other side of the front door in their apartment.[2] The two sleepers were awakened suddenly by a loud pounding on their door. Afraid that someone was breaking in, Walker grabbed his gun. At that moment, the police broke down the door to the apartment with a battering ram, blowing bo ..read more

By: Adam Kolb, Volume 107 Staff Member The death penalty is primitive.[1] The death penalty is ineffective and garners increasing disapproval.[2] The death penalty—though constitutionally challenged and curtailed[3]—is legal in the United States.[4] Now, the extent of its legality is set to be tested yet again by proposed legislation arising in Florida.[5] In January 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis made calls for two separate expansions to Florida’s death penalty laws[6]—amid the atmospherics of his potential campaign for presidency,[7] low execution numbers during his gubernatorial term,[8] and p ..read more

By Chad Berryman, Volume 108 Staff Member In July 2022, the Michigan Supreme Court decided People v. Parks, in which it held that mandatory life without parole sentences for eighteen-year-olds convicted of first-degree murder violate the Michigan Constitution’s prohibition of cruel or unusual punishment.[1] This ruling went beyond prior U.S. Supreme Court decisions such as Miller v. Alabama, which held that mandatory life without parole sentences for juvenile offenders violate the U.S. Constitution.[2] However, the Parks court did not explain why such punishments should be permissible for ..read more

By: John M. Stack, Volume 107 Staff Member Keister v. Bell is the latest major case petitioned to the Supreme Court to confront classifying the status of a public forum for First Amendment purposes.[1] While the Court is unlikely to grant certiorari, if they do I predict that they will fundamentally alter forum categorization under the First Amendment. I. BACKGROUND The extent to which the government can regulate speech varies depending on this classification.[2]  Currently, the Supreme Court classifies public property in four different ways.[3] Relevant here are the traditional public fo ..read more

By: Evan Dale, Volume 107 Staff Member As the U.S. Supreme Court has retreated on its protection of individual rights,[1] state constitutions have taken on a renewed interest. This became as evident as ever in 2022. With the Supreme Court stripping the rights of women to choose to have an abortion,[2] many state constitutions became the last line of defense protecting this right.[3] From abortion to LGBTQIA+ rights[4] and rights for criminal defendants,[5] state constitutions are a unique fount and protector of individual rights. With this retreat accelerating at the federal level, the Minneso ..read more

By Shannon Schooley, Volume 108 Staff Member In 2023, Minnesota legalized recreational cannabis.[1] Although Minnesota followed twenty-two states and the District of Columbia in doing so,[2] its legal landscape presents unique regulatory challenges.[3] Minnesota’s full-scale recreational legalization comes on the heels of a partial legalization in 2022 for edible, low-potency, hemp-derived THC products that unleashed a relatively unregulated industry.[4] In addition to laying out a multi-year roadmap for full-scale recreational cannabis legalization and expungement of low-level cannabis offens ..read more