Category: Constitutional Law
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Primate Personhood? PETA v. NIMH and the Future of Expanding Legal Protections for Primates
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“Murray has spent more than 40 years and over $50 million taxpayer dollars isolating, caging, and then deliberately damaging macaques’ brains without leading to any new treatments or cures for mental health issues in humans.”[1] This powerful statement epitomizes the way that research primates are abused in the United States, and the reason why in…
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From Fertility to Felony: What is a 4th Amendment “Search” in a Post-Dobbs era?
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In the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization,[1] thirteen states criminalize abortion; in these states, technology like the Oura Ring, which collects reproductive data from users, may not receive Fourth Amendment protections. What constitutes a “search” when reproductive information is managed by a third-party? Can states use the third-party doctrine to use fertility…
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This is My Own Private Domicile, and I Will Not Be Harassed: Undue Expansion of Warrantless Entry Exceptions in Case v. Montana
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On January 14, 2026, the United States Supreme Court decided Case v. Montana, in which it affirmed its precedent of the emergency aid exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement.[1] However, the Court also expanded the authority of law enforcement officers to enter private residences without a warrant in the case of an emergency. The…
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Executive Overreach: The Fight Over Trump’s $100,000 H1-B Visa Fee
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On September 19, 2025, President Trump issued a presidential proclamation titled “Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers” (the “Proclamation”).[1] The Proclamation, conditions the entry of H-1B specialty-occupation workers on an employer’s payment of $100,000 fee.[2] During the Proclamation signing conference, government officials described the measure as a quick and effective response to perceived labor-market…
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Are We There Yet?: Why Students for Fair Admissions Isn’t Stopping at Harvard
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In 2023, the United States Supreme Court published its opinion in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard.[1] In his majority opinion, Chief Justice Roberts held that, “[e]liminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it” and therefore “[o]ur constitutional history does not tolerate” the mathematical use of race in the university admissions context.[2] The Court’s decision…
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Vacations & Verdicts: Supreme Court Highlights from Summer 2025
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Bondi v. VanDerStok Opinion March 26, 2025 – Ruling 7-2 In Bondi v. VanDerStok, the Court upheld a 2022 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (“ATF”) regulation treating ghost guns and unfinished frames or receivers as “firearms” under the Gun Control Act of 1968.[1] The plaintiffs brought a facial challenge arguing that the kits…
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Moore v. United States: The Supreme Court’s Quiet Earthquake in Tax Law
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The Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Moore v. United States didn’t exactly break the internet, but in the world of tax law, it might as well have. On its face, the ruling is a narrow affirmation of the Mandatory Repatriation Tax (MRT), which lets Congress tax certain foreign corporate earnings even if U.S. shareholders haven’t seen a…
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Juveniles in the Adult World of Crime
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The United States dominates the world of incarceration, jailing more individuals than any other country.[1] At any given time, there are approximately two million people suffering behind bars and struggling to endure the many harms associated with the legal system.[2] Laws surrounding the criminal justice system greatly impact how people are treated, charged, and prosecuted.[3]…
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On This Inauguration Day: The Law Behind the Transition of Presidential Power
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Every four years on Inauguration Day, the country watches as the president-elect recites the oath of office, parades through the nation’s capital, and attends numerous formal parties and balls to celebrate the beginning of a new presidential term. While less exciting than parades and balls, it is important to recognize the body of law that…
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Behind the Bans: Navigating the Legal Landscape for Transgender Youth Rights in a Post-Dobbs Era
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In 2023, the American Civil Liberties Union joined forces with two families to challenge an Idaho law criminalizing gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.[1] The two transgender teenagers in the lawsuit, identified as Pam Poe and Jane Doe because of their minor status, are both Idaho natives currently receiving the gender-affirming medical care which Idaho…