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The Buck Stops Here: Missouri Legislature’s Defunding of Abortion Providers
Get PDFOn May 2, 2022, the Supreme Court’s draft opinion for Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization leaked online. The era-defining opinion to overturn fifty years of Roe v. Wade and undo the constitutional right to abortion reinvigorated the discussion surrounding reproductive healthcare access among the American public, with the majority of Americans supporting legal access to abortion in all or most cases. Over the last decade, a movement to defund abortion providers has arisen, and the issue of defunding has become an even hotter point of debate after the Dobbs decision. In Missouri, elected representatives have fought to defund Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers—both actions that are now subject to legal challenges under the Missouri State Constitution
The Clock is Ticking: Legal Barriers in § 1983 Execution Protocol Challenges
No full textAt 7:53 p.m. on January 25, 2024, the curtains opened, revealing Kenneth Smith strapped down in the execution room, covered by a white sheet. A respirator mask covered his face, serving as the conduit for nitrogen gas that Smith would soon inhale. The prison warden entered the execution chamber, read Smith’s death warrant, and allowed Smith to share his final words: “Tonight Alabama causes humanity to take a step backwards. I’m leaving with love, peace[,] and light . . . . Love all of you.” Alabama’s Attorney General permitted the warden to continue, signaling no court orders were staying the execution. At 7:58 p.m., nitrogen gas flowed through the respirator, and “Smith began to shake and writhe violently, in thrashing spasms and seizure-like movements.” Smith’s arms moved against the gurney’s straps, his head raised, and then he collapsed back. This “shaking went on for at least two minutes” until he began taking “deep gasping breaths,” with which his chest noticeably rose. A corrections officer checked on Smith at 8:08 p.m. when his breathing was no longer visible. At 8:15 p.m., the curtains were closed and Smith was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m
Abuse of Contract: Boilerplate Erasure of Consumer Counterparty Rights
Get PDFContract law and the new Restatement of the Law of Consumer Contracts generally treats the entirety of a company’s boilerplate as presumptively binding. Entrusting the content of consumer contracts to companies creates a fertile legal habitat for abuse through boilerplate design.
There is no consensus on how widespread or severe abuse of contract is. Some consumer law scholars have warned of dangers inherent in granting companies unrestrained power to sneak waivers into their online terms, but others contend that market forces adequately constrain potential abuse. On the other hand, in the absence of adequate consumer knowledge and power, market competition might instead fuel the spread of abusive boilerplate provisions as companies compete to insulate themselves from costs. The new Restatement and several prominent scholars claim that existing protective judicial doctrines siphon off the worst abuses among adhesive contracts. They are willing to accept those abuses that slip through the cracks as the unavoidable cost of a functioning, modern economy.
The raging debate over how to best constrain contractual abuse relies mainly on speculation regarding the proliferation and extent of sneak-in waivers. This Article provides some necessary missing data by examining the Author’s study of one hundred companies’ online terms and conditions (“T&C Study”). The T&C Study tracked the extent to which the surveyed companies’ boilerplate purported to erase consumer default rights within four different categories, thereby helping to assess the effectiveness of existing market and judicial constraints on company overreach. Evidence from the T&C Study shows that the overwhelming majority of consumer contracts contain multiple categories of abusive terms. The existing uniformity of boilerplate waivers undermines the theory that competition and reputation currently act as effective bulwarks against abuse. After explaining and discussing the T&C Study and its results, this Article suggests how such data can assist scholars and advocates in more effectively protecting and empowering consumers
A Video Guide for Teaching Law Students to Use AI Wisely
No full textThis article introduces a video that provides practical guidance about using artificial intelligence (AI) in legal education. It presents a basic introduction to AI and describes how law students and faculty can benefit from tools like ChatGPT. Because many students already use AI on their own, the video emphasizes the need to teach them how to use it wisely and responsibly. The video also includes demonstrations showing how faculty can use AI to develop new simulations and how students can use it to prepare for them. This article provides links to the video, PowerPoint slides, the chat transcript, and related resources. Finally, the article describes RPS Coach, a specialized AI tool trained on dispute resolution and legal education resources
Faculty Use of Artificial Intelligence in Teaching
No full textThis report presents findings from a 2025 survey of U.S. law faculty about their own use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and how their students use them as well. Most respondents reported using AI at least occasionally for teaching-related purposes, and many estimated that a majority of their students used it in their courses.
Faculty identified benefits such as time savings, idea generation, and improved clarity. They also reported significant concerns about students’ over-reliance on AI, as well as the unreliability of its outputs.
Most faculty had revised assignments and assessment practices and provided guidance to students about responsible AI use. However, many felt unprepared to determine whether students had used AI.
The report concludes with implications for policy, pedagogy, and future research
Extended Reality for Alternative Dispute Resolution
Get PDF“What is real? How do you define ‘real’? If you’re talking about what you can feel, what you can smell, what you can taste and see, then ‘real’ is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.” As technology continues to advance, its effects will be felt in all aspects of our lives, and the world of Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) will be no different. Dispute resolution processes must adapt to the needs of their users. These users are increasingly in different parts of the world as the global economy expands. Inevitably, globalization leads to more conflicts that require resolution. Technology can be effectively utilized to bridge this gap and allow for ADR proceedings to take place while disputants are located almost anywhere in the world. Although great progress has been achieved in the world of online ADR in recent years, it still lacks a sense of reality, as it tends to take place on a screen or over the phone and does not provide the same level of in-depth immersion and realism of a face-to-face conversation. By introducing the technology of virtual, augmented, and mixed realities, collectively referred to as Extended Reality Technology (“XR Technology”), mediators and arbitrators may be able to conduct ADR proceedings online in a way that gives the participants the feeling of actually being present at their proceedings despite being in different physical locations
Silenced on Campus: Unveiling the Injustice of Speaker-Based Restrictions in Public University Spaces
Get PDFThe preservation of free speech within public universities is essential to fostering open dialogue and cultivating an environment where diverse perspectives can flourish without fear of censorship. As a result, public universities have often found themselves at the center of First Amendment disputes. While First Amendment freedom of speech cases have traditionally focused on content-based discrimination, the Supreme Court has recently addressed the problematic nature of discrimination based on the identity of the speaker as well. In the landmark case, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Court stated: “The First Amendment protects speech and speaker, and the ideas that flow from each.
A Return to the Wild West: Missouri’s Heightened Standard Under the Known Third Person Exception
Get PDFPicture this: a crowded saloon packed with patrons enjoying food, drinks, and each other’s company—for the Western movie lover, the imagery is familiar. While establishments like saloons were essential social centers of the West in the later years of the nineteenth century, violence from brawls took the lives of many. Lawmen were tasked with keeping the peace and tracking down dangerous outlaws on the American frontier. Despite the existence of these fabled sheriffs, revolvers and alcohol were a lethal combination that led to dangerous gun battles between community members
Meals on Duty: The Case for Excluding Meal Reimbursements for Law Enforcement
Get PDFThis article advocates for the extension of the Internal Revenue Code (I.R.C.) § 119 exclusion to cover cash reimbursements for meals provided to law enforcement officers. Currently, § 119 excludes meals furnished by an employer from gross income, but not cash reimbursements. The unique demand placed on law enforcement officers, including the requirement to remain on-call during meals, justify the inclusion of these reimbursements within the scope of § 119. Through a comprehensive analysis of legislative intent, case law, and the “substance over form” doctrine, this article argues that cash reimbursements serve the same substantial business purpose as meals-in-kind and should be considered non-compensatory. The article proposes limiting the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Commissioner v. Kowalski to cash allowances and extending §119’s coverage to reimbursements for law enforcement officers, ensuring equitable tax treatment. This revision would support operational efficiency of these necessary public servants while promoting fairness in the tax code