Posts by lawreview

By: Billy Price, Volume 105 Staffer Before a single general election ballot was cast, commentators were already referring to the 2020 election as “on track to the be the most litigated ever,”[1] thanks in large part to lawsuits concerning the complexities of voting during the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] Largely hidden by the drama of lawsuits concerning…

By: Elliot Ergeson, Volume 105 Staff Member Voter suppression is a prominent issue in American elections.[1] One mechanism by which States engage in voter suppression is by closing or limiting the number of polling places in certain areas.[2] During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, many voters chose to vote by mail rather than in person for…

By: Alexandria Dolezal, Volume 105 Staff Member On September 18, 2020, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at age 87, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.[1] Days before her death she communicated to her granddaughter that her “most fervent wish [was] that [she] not be replaced until a new president is installed.”[2] That wish did…

By: Ashley Meeder, Vol. 105 Staff Member If you have $285 for a filing fee and 20 minutes to fill out a form in Minnesota, you can ruin someone’s life.[1] Filing an eviction complaint starts a legal battle, but renters are wounded before they even enter a court room. In Minnesota, evictions are publicly accessible…

By: Alenah Luthens, Volume 105 Staff Member “Facts don’t care about your feelings” is conservative pundit Ben Shaprio’s trademark phrase.[1] And he’s right. Indeed, the phrase proved particularly true in Young America’s Found. v. Kaler where Shapiro’s free speech lawsuit against the University of Minnesota (University) ultimately fell flat.[2] The case began in 2018 when…

By: Brice Michka, Volume 105 Staff Member  As the United States trudged through the most grueling months of the COVID-19 pandemic, countless contracts were affected. Many sporting organizations, including the National Basketball Association, Kentucky Derby, NASCAR, Indianapolis 500, Major League Soccer, National Hockey League, and others, changed their seasons drastically through postponement or cancellation.[1] Many…

By: Jason Leadley, Volume 105 Staff Member  On August 23, 2020, police officers shot Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man from Kenosha, Wisconsin, sparking protests.[1] Following the shooting, the Milwaukee Bucks decided not to take the floor in their Game 5 playoff matchup against the Orlando Magic.[2] The NBA players, alongside other professional athletes, sought…

By: Nathan Webster, Volume 105 Managing Editor             As the United States confronts the Coronavirus pandemic, experts are devoting considerable thought to discerning the best method for overcoming the crisis. While most overt discussions center on the ways medical science can help treat the disease, policymakers are expending considerable time using their legal authority to…

By: Spencer Davis-Vanness, Volume 104 Staff Member In a recent case, Ralph Duke—prosecuted and convicted in Minnesota during the early 1990s as one of the state’s biggest-ever drug dealers­—successfully challenged elements of his conviction under a habeas petition in federal district court in Wisconsin, where he was imprisoned. Shortly thereafter, Duke was returned to Minnesota…

By: Natalie Feeney, Volume 104 Staff Member Private prisons have become a focal point of American criminal justice reform in recent years, especially in regard to solving the problem of mass incarceration.[1] According to data from 2017, the number of individuals incarcerated in privately-owned prisons has increased 39.3 percent since 2000, even though the overall…