NULR Of Note

There’s a good chance that, over the past couple of years, you’ve considered quitting your job. One thought that probably crossed your mind was whether you could afford it. But what if you took the plunge, as tens of millions of workers have done since the beginning of the pandemic? You may have planned for other ways to cover housing costs, food, medical needs, ongoing loan payments, and perhaps childcare. But imagine, after your careful planning, receiving a letter that says you…

Read More Read More

Upon approaching the Supreme Court, visitors, justices, and litigants read the phrase, “Equal Justice Under Law.” These four words, chiseled into the heart of the building, could not be more incorrect in today’s legal landscape. Access to lawyers and justice in America is indeed inequitable. What’s broader: the issue exacerbates America’s economic and gender inequality crisis. Yet for too long, scholars and authorities alike have overlooked this legal obstacle. While the 1963 Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright granted a right to counsel for…

Read More Read More

On May 14, an avowed white supremacist fatally shot ten Black people and wounded three others at a Buffalo, New York supermarket. The State of New York has since charged the gunman with not only first- and second-degree murder but also domestic terrorism and hate crimes. At the same time, the U.S. Department of Justice has charged the shooter with thirteen counts of federal hate crimes. But is the federal prosecution redundant? The answer to that question carries implications for both federalism and hate crime enforcement. In some instances, major…

Read More Read More

On May 23, 2022, the First Circuit upheld a decision from the  United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island to remand Rhode Island’s climate change lawsuit back to state court. This marks the fourth time a federal circuit court has upheld a decision remanding a government’s climate change lawsuit against fossil fuel companies, the other three being cases from Baltimore, Maryland, San Mateo County, California, and Boulder, Colorado. For the fossil fuel companies, this pattern is a stark string of losses, forcing the…

Read More Read More

Introduction Latin America has emerged as a hotbed for renewable energy production. In recent years, renewable energy in the region has emerged as a promising business, fueled by a varied range of resources, diversification efforts, increasing demand for energy, and steadily decreasing technological costs.  At the end of 2021, Latin America had “more than 16.5 [gigawatts] of installed renewable capacity,” accounting for roughly 25% of consumed energy. That figure is expected to increase by about 9% in 2022 to 18 gigawatts (GW)….

Read More Read More

Now that Joe Biden has completed his first year of service as President of the United States and the U.S. Senate Democratic majority has concluded the initial session of the 117th Congress, how the chief executive and this upper chamber majority can best fill myriad district court vacancies needs scrutiny. President Biden’s White House and the razor-thin Democratic Senate majority actually realized considerable success in nominating and confirming twenty-nine district court judges throughout 2021. When the second session of the…

Read More Read More

This piece explores a conflict between the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) and the Local Rules of Civil Procedure (LRCP) that occurs in many federal district courts. Specifically, FRCP 15(a)(1)(B) (Rule 15) grants the plaintiff an express right to “amend [her complaint] once as a matter of course within . . . 21 days after service of a motion under Rule 12(b)” (a motion to dismiss). However, many federal district courts’ LRCP give the plaintiff only fourteen days to respond to…

Read More Read More

For decades, qualified immunity has been an evolving controversial legal doctrine. In light of renewed calls to extinguish the defense in state legislatures and Congress, this post adds to the chorus of voices questioning the legal premises of qualified immunity. This post first analyzes the doctrine against the backdrop of racist policing, and second in the context of police mishandling gender-based violence claims. In both examples of police misconduct, qualified immunity prevents officer accountability for civil rights violations of constitutionally…

Read More Read More

The popularity of women’s soccer in the United States has skyrocketed over the past few decades, particularly since the United States Women’s National Team (WNT) won the 2019 FIFA World Cup. The WNT’s success vastly overshadows the performance of the United States Men’s National Team (MNT), which has not won a single major world tournament. For example, . The MNT has not won any Olympic gold medals nor a World Cup, whereas the WNT has won four Olympic gold medals…

Read More Read More

In the wake of the 2020 election, a wave of restrictive voting laws were enacted across the nation. And as the January 6th attack showcased the fragility of our democracy, voting rights are top of mind for many. This is why all eyes were on the Supreme Court as it took on Brnovich v. DNC: not only the most consequential election law dispute in nearly a decade (since the 2010 Citizens United decision) but the Court’s first “vote denial” case…

Read More Read More