The Emerging Principles of Fourth Amendment Privacy
Matthew Tokson 88 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1 The Fourth Amendment applies when the government violates a citizen’s “reasonable expectation of privacy.” But the Supreme Court has never explained what makes an expectation of privacy reasonable, and scholars regularly complain that this standard is incomprehensible and unworkable. Yet the reasonable expectation of privacy standard may... Read More
Fine-Tuning: Why Extending the Public Performance Right in Sound Recordings Would Require Changes for the Copyright Royalty Board
Samuel E. Meredith 87 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1518 Imagine yourself getting into your car and tuning in to a local radio station so you can listen to Cardi B’s latest track while you drive to work. Now imagine yourself doing the same thing, only this time you choose to listen to satellite radio. From... Read More
What Is an ICO? Defining a Security on the Blockchain
Seth Holoweiko 87 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1472 2017 brought the rise of the initial coin offering (“ICO”), a novel fundraising concept that enables organizations to raise funds from anyone with an internet connection and a cryptocurrency wallet by selling tokens that will have some future purpose related to the companies’ products or services. But... Read More
Codifying the Agency Class Action
James Hannaway 87 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1451 Through devices like class actions and other consolidation procedures, agencies have developed several tools to manage large numbers of cases involving similar claims. While this effort to create more effective agency class actions is in its nascent stages, some form of codification is appropriate to strike a... Read More
Early Customs Laws and Delegation
Jennifer Mascott 87 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1388 This past Term the Supreme Court reexamined the nondelegation doctrine, with several justices concluding that in the proper case, the Court should consider significantly strengthening the doctrine in its contemporary form. Adherents to the doctrine question whether Congress has developed a practice of improperly delegating to administrative... Read More
Tenure of Office and the Treasury: The Constitution and Control over National Financial Policy, 1787 to 1897
Aditya Bamzai 87 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 1299 The disputed scope of the President’s authority to remove subordinates in the executive branch, and to direct them in the performance of their functions, is one of the central issues of federal constitutional law. On the one hand, some argue that Article II gives the President such... Read More
On the Docket’s Preview of the May Supreme Court Arguments
This month’s oral arguments are truly historic. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Court will not be meeting in person, but rather hearing arguments remotely via telephone, where the Justices will ask questions in order of seniority. Most intriguing, this month’s arguments will be available for live streaming—an unprecedented move by the Court as it... Read More
RNC v. DNC: Absentee Voters and the Partisan Pandemic
As it happened, the election results, when released April 13, surprised most observers. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court’s decision in RNC v. DNC is, to put it politely, paradoxical.
Kansas v. Glover: Just Common Sense?
We have no idea why Officer Mehrer decided to check on Glover’s license plate. Might it matter after all? Can a jurisdiction instruct its officers to run the license plate of every automobile they come across and to assume that any owner whose license has been suspended or revoked should be stopped to see if the owner is driving? What is the common-sense answer?
It Could Have Been Worse, But a Statute Designed to “Break Down All Discrimination” Against African Americans Deserves Better than Comcast Corporation v. National Association of African American-Owned Media
The year after the Civil War, the federal government made a commitment to Black people in this country. In simple but sweeping language, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 mandates that “[a]ll persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall have the same right . . . to make and enforce contracts . . . as is enjoyed by white citizens.”