Matal v. Tam: The Galloping “Government Speech” Doctrine Hits the Wall
August 21, 2017 Matal v. Tam, 582 U.S. ___ (2017) (Alito, J.). Response by Frank LoMonte Geo. Wash. L. Rev. On the Docket (Oct. Term 2016) Slip Opinion | NPR | SCOTUSblog Matal v. Tam: The Galloping “Government Speech” Doctrine Hits the Wall If First Amendment jurisprudence were a horror film, the doctrine of “government speech” would... Read More
Stingray Confidential
Spencer McCandless 85 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 993 For nearly three decades, American law enforcement has conducted a coordinated campaign across all levels of government to hide its use of a powerful surveillance technology called cell site simulation. Commonly referred to as “stingrays,” the devices allow police to covertly monitor cellular communications and track individuals... Read More
The Religious Right to Therapeutic Abortions
Carla Graff 85 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 954 Religion is a common theme in the abortion dialogue. Much of the religious rhetoric focuses on religious objections to abortion, but there is another side of this discourse. Abortion is not only a political issue or constitutional right, it is a religious obligation: explicitly mandated by some... Read More
The Virtual Bathroom Stall: Solving the Headache of Geo-Based Anonymous Message Applications on University Campuses
Thomas C. Gallagher, Jr. 85 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 922 Since its launch in late 2013, Yik Yak, a location-based application that permits users to post on local, virtual message boards targeted at university campuses, has become a massive headache for universities who are responsible, under Department of Education guidelines, for maintaining a safe environment... Read More
The Legacy of Justice Scalia and His Textualist Ideal
Jonathan R. Siegel 85 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 857 The late Justice Antonin Scalia reshaped statutory interpretation. Thanks to him, the Supreme Court has become far more textualist. Nonetheless, Justice Scalia never persuaded the Court to adopt his textualist ideal that “the text is the law.” In some cases, the Court still gives greater weight... Read More
Searching for Federal Judicial Power: Article III and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
Peter Margulies 85 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 800 The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (“FISC”) has an Article III problem. Under section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008 (“FAA”), which brought the Bush administration’s Terrorist Surveillance Program under the rule of law, the FISC typically proceeds ex parte, hearing... Read More
Police Unions
Catherine L. Fisk & L. Song Richardson 85 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 712 No issue has been more controversial in the discussion of police union responses to allegations of excessive force than statutory and contractual protections for officers accused of misconduct, as critics assail such protections and police unions defend them. For all the public... Read More
Patent Pacifism
Clark D. Asay 85 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 645 Over the last decade, much of the patent law literature has focused on the problem of “patent trolls,” or patent owners who don’t make products, but sue others that do. The basic complaint against these types of entities is that they impose a tax on innovation... Read More
Turner v. United States: Exculpatory Evidence Problems Continue
July 16, 2017 Turner v. United States, 582 U.S. ___ (2017) (Breyer, J.). Response by Stephen A. Saltzburg Geo. Wash. L. Rev. On the Docket (Oct. Term 2016) Slip Opinion | Washington Post | SCOTUSblog Turner v. United States: Exculpatory Evidence Problems Continue In Turner v. United States,1 decided June 22, 2017, the Supreme Court revisited the... Read More
Entire Fairness in the Trust Indenture Act
Kirby M. Smith · July 2017 85 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. Arguendo 58 Recently, the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 has reappeared in out-of-court restructuring litigation. This piece of New Deal legislation was intended to prevent coercive restructurings whereby savvy institutional players took advantage of unknowledgeable or unengaged noteholders. Until recently, the Act was uncontested,... Read More