Immigration, Sovereignty, and the Constitution of Foreignness
It is a central premise of modern American immigration law that immigrants, by virtue of their non-citizenship, are properly subject to an extra-constitutional regulatory authority that is inherent in national sovereignty and buffered against judicial review. The Supreme Court first posited this constitutionally exceptional authority, which is commonly known as the “plenary power doctrine,” in [...]
“Mentally Defective” Language in the Gun Control Act
The oft-quoted argument asserts that “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” It is essential, then, that gun legislation clearly address who the people are who should not possess or purchase guns. As the country once again reacts to a tragedy with renewed interest in implementing new gun legislation, we must use caution to clearly [...]
Criminal Affirmance: Going Beyond the Deterrence Paradigm to Examine the Social Meaning of Declining Prosecution of Elite Crime
Recent financial scandals and the relative paucity of criminal prosecutions against elite actors that spawned the crisis suggest a new reality in the criminal law system: some wrongful actors appear to be above the law and immune from criminal prosecution. As such, the criminal prosecutorial system affirms much of the wrongdoing that gave rise to [...]
Plurality Decisions: Upward-Flowing Precedent and Acoustic Separation
Beginning in 1977, the U.S. Supreme Court instructed lawyers and lower courts that when there is no majority decision “in support of the judgment . . . , the holding of the Court may be viewed as that position taken by those Members who concurred in the judgments on the narrowest grounds.” For decades, commentators and [...]
Does Intellectual Property Law Have Foundations? A Review of Robert Merges’s Justifying Intellectual Property
Robert Merges’s Justifying Intellectual Property is an ambitious work of unification in intellectual property law. The book defends a broad and sweeping thesis addressing the positive law of intellectual property and its foundation. Justifying Intellectual Property innovatively articulates a set of normative midlevel principles intended to justify, explain, and predict intellectual property case outcomes. Further, [...]
No Farms, No Food: Local Taxation and the Preservation of Connecticut’s Farmland
Connecticut, once a state rich in farmland, has experienced significant loss of farmland in the past two decades. This Note takes a narrow focus on Connecticut’s farmland preservation programs—specifically, how the continuing conversion of farmland has demonstrated that the design and implementation of Connecticut’s programs have been ineffective in using local taxation as a tool [...]
The Derivative Work Right: Incentive or Hinderance for New Literature?
The Copyright Act provides incentives to stimulate the production of artistic work for the good of the general public. These incentives include the exclusive right to prepare derivative works, such as a sequel. This Note argues that in practice, however, the right to prepare derivative works actually stifles creativity. Suntrust Bank v. Houghton Mifflin Company [...]
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2012 Symposium
On November 16, 2012 the Connecticut Law Review hosted its annual 2012 Symposium. This year’s event was titled Examining the Demands and Limitations of the Legal Education Market and took a critical look at [...]
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Let Them Train: Why the Eighth Circuit’s Decision to Stay the Injunction of the 2011 NFL Lockout Was Incorrect
Although the 2011 National Football League (“NFL”) lockout did not result in any cancelled regular season games, nor did it damage the players, stadium employees, and small business owners to the extent that it could have, there are still important lessons to be learned. This Comment provides background on the NFL’s labor history, both in [...]