SLU Law Journal Online

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  Missouri Joins Other States in Providing Unpaid Leave for Domestic and Sexual Violence Victims

  Haley Gassel

  Domestic violence has increasingly become an issue of employment law. Over thirty states provide workplace protections to employees facing domestic or sexual violence, now including Missouri. In this article, Haley Gassel provides an overview of the recently passed Missouri law and the significance of these safeguards.

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  Rules in the Workplace: Does the NLRA Protect Employees’ Ability to Record Working Conditions?

  Avery Lubbes

  In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, some employees have recorded videos at work and posted them online to express their disagreement with working conditions. The NLRB recently created a new standard of review for evaluation of employer work rules, and the Board upheld an employer's "no-camera" rule, which included cell phones capable of taking photographs and videos. In this article, Avery Lubbes analyzes whether the Biden Board overturn this ruling as violative of labor rights.

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  Grand Juries Should Not Hear Police Misconduct Cases: Grand Juries will Indict Anything, but a Police Officer

  Kaeleigh Wiliams

  Grand juries will indict everyone but police officers. In this article, Kaeleigh Williams argues that the time has come for a new mechanism to be used in police officer misconduct cases.

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  The Effects of Missouri's Medicaid Expansion

  Chandni Challa

  A Missouri Supreme Court ordered the Missouri legislature to implement a state constitutional amendment to expand Medicaid. In this article, Chandni Challa argues that this decision will undoubtedly affect the state economy, and based on empirical evidence from Michigan, provide a net benefit.

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  Wade’s Way No More? The Future of Reproductive Rights in Light Of Texas Senate Bill 8’s Constitutionality

  Dolly Suresh

  There are many hot-topic discussions occurring in today's political climate. In this article, Dolly Suresh focuses on the recent legislation in Texas, the Texas Heartbeat Act, and the conversations surrounding it.

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  When “Empty is not Closed”: Organizing Efforts to (Officially) Close St. Louis’ Infamous Workhouse

  Brianna Coppersmith

  Despite years of community organizing, legal advocacy, and policy change to close St. Louis’ Medium Security Institution, the jail has reopened. In this article, Brianna Coppersmith provides a brief history of the campaign to close the jail, commonly called the Workhouse, and discusses what its reopening might mean for related pending litigation.

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  Does the Ministerial Exception Protect a Minister's Humiliating Comments?

  Yiting Feng

  The 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.

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  Institutionalized Child Abuse: The Troubled Teen Industry

  Yasmin L. Younis

  The “troubled teen industry” is an industry providing behavioral modification treatment to youths that promises to keep children safe, but by design is a breeding grounds for institutionalized child abuse through legal loopholes. By analyzing the legal shortcomings and alleged abuses, Yasmin Younis stresses the importance of heavy regulation in order to provide the necessary treatment some of these children need.

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  The Global Minimum Tax Agreement: An End to Corporate Tax Havens?

  Colleen Essid

  The 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.

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  Homeward Bound: The Current Rise of Homeschooling and the Need for Regulation

  Mary Fletcher

  With 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.

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  Taking the Long View on Shorting: Market Manipulation and GME

  Andrew Steiner

  In this article, Andrew Steiner provides an overview of the events surrounding the GameStop short squeeze coordinated by retail investors on the internet forum WallStreetBets over the last year and the possible legal fallout. While some traditional institutional investors call for regulatory intervention, retail investors have pointed the finger at trading app Robinhood.

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  The Fourteenth Amendment and the Heart of the Constitution

  Guy Chet

  Since the nineteenth century, Americans have worked consistently to liberate their national government from the Constitutional constraints placed on it by Madison and his colleagues. This effort has transformed the United States from a federated republic in which local communities governed themselves into a modern managerial nation-state that is governed from the center. In this article, Dr. Guy Chet argues that the key to this transformation – of the Constitution and of the United States – was the Fourteenth Amendment.

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  The Fight for Pay: How the Supreme Court Ultimately May Use Antitrust Law to Allow Student-Athletes to be Paid

  Josef Nilhas

  The NCAA has long avoided the idea of compensating players. Josef Nilhas discusses how now, after years of inaction, this decision may ultimately lay in the hands of the Supreme Court from the perspective of federal Antitrust law.

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  Black Lives Matter: Bridging the Gap Between Accountability and Justice

  Nicole Chabloz

  The United States has a long history of police violence against Black Americans. In this article, Nicole Chabloz discusses the Chauvin verdict and the impact it will have on the fight for justice and equality.

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  Contract Clauses Under Scrutiny: COVID-19

  Mike Zawalski

  Force majeure clauses have saved many businesses that have been unable to perform their contractual obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this article, Mike Zawalski discusses case law on force majeure provisions in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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  What Can We Learn from Amy Coney Barrett’s First Opinion?

  Blake Stocke

  In 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.

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  Fallout Avoided? Zoombombing Litigation Update

  Kaitlin Carpenter

  In this article, Kaitlin Carpenter discusses Zoom’s dark side in a practice called Zoombombing, and also provides an update on the lawsuit addressing this problem.

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  Missouri’s Chance at Low-Cost Renewable Energy ‘Gone with the Wind’?

  Jeff Becker

  The Grain Belt Express, a large-scale wind energy transmission line that will span across much of the Midwest, may now be blocked from proceeding in Missouri if House Bill 527 passes in the state Senate. In this article, Jeff Becker advocates against the passage of the bill, arguing that it is contrary to the state's public interest because it would deprive Missourians of the substantial benefits the project, both economic and environmental.

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  Freedom of Tweets: The Role of Social Media in a Marketplace of Ideas

  Patrick Ganninger

  One of the more polarizing political issues of 2021 was when social media platforms like Twitter permanently banned President Donald Trump from their platforms. As the law stands, most experts agree that the First Amendment does not restrict online social media platforms from exercising broad discretion to censor content or individuals. However, even if social media platforms have a right to unilaterally ban users from their platforms, should they? More importantly, should we let them? In this article, Patrick Ganninger explores these important questions.

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  The Fate of the Public Charge Rule Following a Covid-19 Era

  Jacquelyn Sicilia

  Within two weeks of the new administration, President Biden sought immediate review of the long existing Public Charge Rule and former President Trump's changes to it. In this article, Jacquelyn Sicilia discusses the recent litigation on the Public Charge Final Rule and where it stands today.

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  Democracy Under Attack: Iowa’s ‘Bloody Second’

  Dylan McCloskey

  The 2020 election is in the past for most Americans, but not for Iowans who live in the Second Congressional District where a contested election challenge is just beginning. Dylan McCloskey discusses how a contested election works and what impact this may have on our democracy.

  *Photo by Darren Halstead on Unsplash

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  My Body, My Temple: The Constitutional Requirement for Religious Exemptions to a COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate

  Ben Davisson

  While the COVID-19 crisis has caused many to fear the threat that the virus poses to the health and safety of themselves and their loved ones, for others, and particularly for those with certain religious beliefs, the cure is worse than the disease. The possibility of a government mandated vaccine has caused extreme anxiety for many Americans. In this article, Ben Davisson discusses the constitutionality of mandatory vaccination programs and how such programs may come into conflict with the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

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  HIPAA-Phobia Hampers Efforts To Track And Contain COVID-19

  Lee Hiromoto M.D., J.D.

  The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), enacted by the US Congress 1996, laudably protects medical privacy in healthcare settings. However, this federal law has created a culture of fear that limits current efforts to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare providers, who are covered by HIPAA, may be reluctant to disclose information about outbreak clusters for fear of violating the law. Healthcare organizations, who are also covered by the law, still rely on fax machines to avoid violating HIPAA’s data security requirements. And the scrupulous rule-following in healthcare has given independent life to a HIPAA boogeyman. Thus, officials who are not covered by the law (e.g. schools) withhold or deter the release of valuable information—even when HIPAA does not apply to them. The Executive has taken some action to relax HIPAA in these unprecedented times and should take further action, along with Congress, to balance privacy rights with the need for greater transparency in the fight against COVID-19.

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  The CDC’s Moratorium: Will the New Year Bring About an Eviction Crisis?

  Matt Donahoe

  The new relief bill has extended the eviction moratorium another month. In this article, Matt Donahoe discusses whether this will provide tenants the necessary protection to avoid an eviction crisis as well as whether the moratorium is an infringement upon a landlord’s constitutional rights.

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  United States v. Arias: Can the Confrontation Clause Compel Discovery?

  Ryan Gallagher

  In United States v. Arias, the Eighth Circuit ordered documents to be produced on the basis of the Confrontation Clause. Despite creating a circuit split, in this article Ryan Gallagher argues that the holding is correct.