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Dye in the Cracks: The Limits of Legal Frameworks Governing Police Use of Big Data
Get PDFComputational procedures increasingly inform how we work, communicate, and make decisions, raising sociolegal questions about how data are used by police and what the consequences are for laws governing police activity. Legal scholars have begun analyzing the implications of big data policing, yet their work to date is largely theoretical. In this article, I draw on ethnographic fieldwork conducted with the Los Angeles Police Department (“LAPD”) to ground legal debates about police use of big data in empirical detail. The article opens with a brief description of the fieldwork and findings on how the police use big data for dragnet and directed surveillance. I then identify four ways legal frameworks are overlooking the social side of big data. First, the way the conceptual categories that underpin legal doctrine—like individualized suspicion—are deployed and organized to make normative assessments do not reflect how decision-making plays out on the ground. Second, police are not simply scaling up data collection in the digital age; rather, different kinds of data are being produced. Despite the fact that there is a difference in kind—rather than just degree—old legal doctrine is still being laid on top of these data. Third, relying on extant legal mechanisms like the exclusionary rule means using what is meant to be a check on state power at one point in time and space, whereas data is fundamentally social and, as such, has a life course. Fourth, unfettered big data policing creates new opportunities for information asymmetries and can threaten due process through parallel construction
What Can We Learn from Amy Coney Barrett’s First Opinion?
Get PDFIn her first opinion, Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote an opinion that limits the Freedom of Protection Act. In this article, Blake Stocke will explore how her opinion interprets the Act, and what we can learn from this opinion moving forward.https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/lawjournalonline/1062/thumbnail.jp
Leveling the Playing Field for Remote Sellers: Missouri’s Response in a Post-Wayfair World
Get PDFThe case of South Dakota v. Wayfair opened the door for states to tax remote sellers who did not have a physical presence in the state. In its wake, states have scrambled to implement an economic nexus and start collecting revenue. The results widely vary, from states that have essentially implemented the exact criteria that was seemingly approved by the Court in Wayfair—such as sales and transaction thresholds—to states with no threshold at all. Then there is Missouri, which has so far failed to introduce an economic nexus, despite the millions in revenue it is missing out on.
This note discusses and summarizes the various responses and analyzes how Missouri could implement a similar nexus. It discusses the proposed Senate Bills that, though ultimately did not pass, shed light on Missouri’s expected approach, and whether this approach fits with Missouri’s unique tax jurisdictions and needs. With over 2000 autonomous tax jurisdictions, it is not likely that Missouri will hit all the criteria laid out in Wayfair—particularly a uniform tax administration—however, this note concludes that the suggested thresholds which are in line with the Wayfair requirements, combined with a thorough tax-mapping feature, serve as a sufficient compromise
COVID-19 Employee Health Checks, Remote Work, and Disability Law
Get PDFThe Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities, about 61 million individuals in the U.S. The law’s protections in the workplace are especially important during COVID-19, which has worsened pre-existing disparities experienced by people with disabilities. The ADA also applies to new strategies to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection in the workplace. This Chapter will focus on two strategies that impact individuals with and without disabilities – employee health screening, testing and vaccination policies, and new or expanded remote work programs
Homeward Bound: The Current Rise of Homeschooling and the Need for Regulation
Get PDFWith the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of American homeschoolers has drastically increased. While all fifty states have passed legislation allowing for homeschooling, regulations of homeschooling vary from state-to-state, with some states having virtually no regulation at all. In this essay, Mary Fletcher examines homeschooling laws and discusses the need for consistent federal regulation to ensure that homeschooled students receive an adequate education.https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/lawjournalonline/1069/thumbnail.jp
As a Matter of Fact: Reasserting the Role of Basic Facts in Veterans Court Jurisprudence
Get PDFUnique to legal literature, this article outlines the most basic and unsexy nature of fact finding at the lowest tribunal – what is decided by a lower tribunal after weighing the different stories and conflicting evidence, and after deciding which story to believe or which evidence has more value. While legal holdings and precedents are much more engaging to the legal mind, such legal “holdings” are heavily dependent upon the basic facts found for support. A legal rule without supporting facts is mere dicta, while a legal rule squarely derived from the facts forms a legal precedent.
This article identifies several logical errors and predispositions that appellate courts may be prone to that alter the deference owed to the lower court’s most basic fact finding. The article focuses specifically in administrative law, and more specifically Department of Veterans Affairs decisions, providing illustrations of US Court of Veterans Appeals (Veterans Court) fact deference errors
The Global Minimum Tax Agreement: An End to Corporate Tax Havens?
Get PDFThe June 2021 OECD Global Tax Agreement between countries advocates for a Global Minimum Corporate Tax (GMT) rate of 15%. In this article, Colleen Essid argues that if the negotiating countries manage to overcome roadblocks from countries such as Ireland and the potential hurdle of U.S. congressional approval, the GMT could mean the end of the modern-day tax haven.https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/lawjournalonline/1070/thumbnail.jp
Does the Ministerial Exception Protect a Minister\u27s Humiliating Comments?
Get PDFThe Seventh Circuit case of Demkovich v. St. Andrew the Apostle Parish applied the ministerial exception to bar a fired minister’s claim of a hostile work environment. In this article, Yiting Feng lists the reason why she disagrees with the majority opinion and leans towards the dissenting opinion.https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/lawjournalonline/1072/thumbnail.jp