When Is a Defendant Not a Defendant? Home Depot U.S.A, Inc. v. Jackson
June 11, 2019 Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. v. Jackson, 587 U.S. ___ (2019) (Thomas, J.). Response by Alan B. Morrison Geo. Wash. L. Rev. On the Docket (Oct. Term 2018) Slip Opinion | SCOTUSblog When Is a Defendant Not a Defendant? Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. v. Jackson Some cases, like the travel ban or the census... Read More
Franchise Tax Board v. Hyatt: An Unnecessary Overruling
May 21, 2019 Franchise Tax Board v. Hyatt, 587 U.S. ___ (2019) (Thomas, J.). Response by Alan B. Morrison Geo. Wash. L. Rev. On the Docket (Oct. Term 2018) Slip Opinion | SCOTUSblog Franchise Tax Board v. Hyatt: An Unnecessary Overruling In Franchise Tax Board of California v. Hyatt1, the Court, by a vote of 5–4,... Read More
Is Transmission of Electricity a “Governmental Function?” Thacker v. Tennessee Valley Authority
May 10, 2019 Thacker v. Tennessee Valley Authority, 587 U.S. ___ (2019) (Kagan, J.). Response by Richard J. Pierce, Jr. Geo. Wash. L. Rev. On the Docket (Oct. Term 2018) Slip Opinion | SCOTUSblog Is Transmission of Electricity a “Governmental Function?” Thacker v. Tennessee Valley Authority The Court concludes its unanimous opinion in Thacker v. Tennessee... Read More
Is the Court Encouraging Agencies to Rely on Junk Science? Biestek v. Berryhill
April 23, 2019 Biestek v. Berryhill, 587 U.S. ___ (2019) (Kagan, J.). Response by Richard J. Pierce, Jr. Geo. Wash. L. Rev. On the Docket (Oct. Term 2018) Slip Opinion | SCOTUSblog Is the Court Encouraging Agencies to Rely on Junk Science? Biestek v. Berryhill It would be easy to interpret the six-Justice majority opinion in... Read More
Bucklew v. Precythe: The Supreme Court’s Tortured Death Penalty Jurisprudence
April 17, 2019 Bucklew v. Precythe, 587 U.S. ___ (2019) (Gorsuch, J.). Response by John D. Bessler Geo. Wash. L. Rev. On the Docket (Oct. Term 2018) Slip Opinion | SCOTUSblog Bucklew v. Precythe: The Supreme Court’s Tortured Death Penalty Jurisprudence In Bucklew v. Precythe,1 the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a death row inmate’s as-applied challenge... Read More
On the Docket’s Preview of the April Supreme Court Arguments
April 15 Iancu v. Brunetti No. 18-302, Fed. Cir. Preview by Boseul (Jenny Jeong), Online Editor This case arose out of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”)’s decision to refuse Brunetti’s trademark registration based on 15 U.S.C. § 1052(a), which bars the registration of, among other things, immoral and scandalous marks. The Federal Circuit found... Read More
Crossing State Lines: The Trojan Horse Invasion of Rent-a-Bank and Rent-a-Tribe Schemes in Modern Usury Law
Jayne Munger 87 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 468 Modern American society fosters a capitalist culture that depends on the extension of credit to purchase both basic and luxury items. Although the federal banking system has comprehensive regulation to control potential excesses, the nonbank lending industry is subject to a patchwork system of state laws that... Read More
Unexpected Consequences: Why Criminal Defense Attorneys Have an Ethical Obligation to Inform Noncitizen Clients of the Immigration Consequences of Conviction
Megan Elman 87 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 430 Noncitizens entering the criminal justice system care about not only the length of a possible sentence but also the impact of a conviction on their immigration status. Criminal defense attorneys, however, are only constitutionally required to inform clients of immigration consequences when a conviction or plea deal... Read More
If Rockefeller Were a Coder
Carla L. Reyes 87 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 373 The Ethereum Decentralized Autonomous Organization (“The DAO”), a decentralized, smart-contract-based investment fund with assets of $168 million, spectacularly crashed when one of its members exploited a flaw in its computer code and siphoned off $55 million. In the wake of the exploit, many argued that participants... Read More
Wrongful Collateral Consequences
Abigail E. Horn 87 Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 315 Collateral consequences of criminal convictions perpetuate racial hierarchy, disadvantage individuals and families, undermine communities, and harm the public by hindering reentry efforts. This Article is the first to systematically expose another overlooked characteristic of collateral consequences—the extent to which they are imposed wrongfully. Wrongful collateral consequences are those... Read More