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National Security as a Means to a Commercial End: Call for a New Approach

Yong-Shik Lee, Director and Professorial Fellow, The Law and Development Institute and Visiting Professor of Law, University of Nebraska College of Law

"This article explains the inherent risks of such national security invocations to corporate freedom and international trade. It presents an alternative approach, under which corporate interests and government industrial policy can be better aligned. The role of government in the economy and private industry must be reconsidered. Adopting a new approach will facilitate a mutually beneficial partnership between government and industry, helping to avoid inappropriate recourse to national security obligations for commercial purposes in domestic and international contexts."

The Structural Harms of Providing Mental Health Services Through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

Heather Swadley, Assistant Professor in Political Science at Lehigh University

"This paper analyzes the effects of tying mental health to gun violence through legislation. Specifically, it argues that the rhetoric and policy mandates enacted in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act reproduce internal, interpersonal, and structural stigma against people with mental health disabilities. Investments in community-based services are sorely needed, but tying these reforms to gun violence prevention will increase stigma."

An Issue of First Impression? State Constitutional Law and Judging the Qualifications of Candidates for the House and Senate

Ben Horton, Attorney and Term Federal Law Clerk

"Article I, section 5, clause 1, makes each House of Congress the judge of the 'Elections, Returns, and Qualifications of its members.' But what does that mean? For historical and jurisdictional reasons, there is a lack of federal precedent on the scope of judicial review of constitutional qualifications of candidates for the House or Senate. However, as federal courts encounter this issue, they should not treat it as an issue of first impression."

Waivers

Keith N. Hylton, William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor, Boston University; Professor of Law, Boston University School of Law

"Waiver contracts are agreements in which one party promises not to sue the other for injuries that occur during their contractual relationship. Waivers are controversial in the consumer context, especially when presented in standard form, take-it-or-leave-it contracts. The law on waivers is inconsistent, with no doctrine or policy among the courts on enforceability. The aim of this paper is to offer a consistent set of policies that can form the foundation of a consistent set of doctrines, leading ultimately to a more consistent treatment of waivers in the courts."

Truth Over Lies: Why Nebraska Must End Deceptive Interrogation Tactics

Jennifer Craven, J.D. Candidate, University of Nebraska College of Law, 2024

"Nearly every law enforcement agency in the United States uses tactics derived from the interrogation method known as the Reid Technique. Police are taught that they can identify guilty suspects through behavior analysis. They can then attempt to get the suspect to confess by using deception—for example, by claiming to have physical evidence that doesn’t exist. These interrogation tactics are not just unnecessary; they have led to wrongful convictions based on false confessions."

Reigning in John Deere: Time for the Nebraska Unicameral to Enact Agricultural Right to Repair Legislation

Max R. Beal, J.D. Candidate, University of Nebraska College of Law, 2024

"Over the past several decades, manufacturers of agricultural equipment have made it increasingly difficult for agricultural producers to repair their own machines. This difficulty is partially the product of complex software that is itself difficult to repair as well as manufacturer imposed restrictions. These repair restrictions, the focus of this article, are being effected both legally (through contract and copyright law) as well as technologically (through encrypted software). These restrictions are harmful to Nebraska’s agricultural producers as well as its economy."

Exclusionary Rules and Deterrence After Vega v. Tekoh: The Trend Toward a More Consistent Approach Across the Fourth and Fifth Amendments

Eugene R. Milhizer, Dean Emeritus and Professor of Law, Ave Maria School of Law

"While Tekoh’s rejection of Miranda protections for § 1983 claims may ultimately prove to be significant, of far greater potential import is the Court’s rationale in support of its holding, which was premised on its assessment of the inadequacy of deterrent benefits that would be obtained by allowing such claims."

What’s “Controversial” About ESG? A Theory of Compelled Commercial Speech Under the First Amendment

Sean J. Griffith, T.J. Maloney Chair and Professor of Law, Fordham Law School

"This Article uses the Securities and Exchange Commission’s SEC’s recent foray into Environmental, Social, and Governance ESG to illuminate ambiguities in First Amendment doctrine. Situating mandatory disclosure regulations within the compelled commercial speech paradigm, it identifies the doctrinal hinge as 'controversy.' Rules compelling commercial speech receive deferential judicial review, provided they are purely factual and uncontroversial."

Crisis Legislation: Analyzing the Noble Quest of the Paycheck Protection Program to Save Small Businesses

Patrick D. N. Perkins, Jeff & Cynthis Harris Fellow of the Entrepreneurial Business Law Clinic, The Ohio State University

"In early 2020, the rapid global spread of the novel COVID-19 virus launched the United States, along with the rest of the world, into simultaneous health and financial crises. Emergency measures implemented to slow the spread of the virus also brought many sectors of the economy to a screeching halt. The U.S. Congress passed the CARES Act, a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill. As part of the bill, Congress established the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a forgivable, low interest private loan program to specifically assist small businesses."

Subsurface Trespass: Private Remedies and Public Regulation

Joseph A. Schremmer, Judge Leon Karelitz Oil & Gas Law Professor and Associate Professor, University of New Mexico School of Law

"This Article provides a high level account of the role of, and relationship between, private remedies and public regulation in a formal system of subsurface property rights. It aims to provide a foundation and framework for future in-depth scholarhsip on remedies and regulation for subsurface trespass. While important, the topics of remedies and regulation are logically posterior to liability. They can be adequately addressed only after developing a principled understanding of when and why subsurface invasions ought to be actionable."