MinnPost quoted Professor Myron Orfield’s testimony before the Minnesota Senate Transportation Committee on a proposal to make sweeping changes to the state’s Metropolitan Council.
The proposal would create 17 new districts across the seven-county Twin Cities metro area, with elections the Met Council beginning in 2024. Currently, the governor appoints all the members of the powerful regional council.
Professor Matthew Bodie was quoted by the Wall Street Journal in an article on the efforts of some states to ease child labor laws. While proponents say the proposed legislation gives teenagers and parents more options, opponents counter that, if enacted, the bills would remove necessary oversight over child labor, the WSJ reports.
Jacinta “Cinta” Matagolai Kaipat ’97, a former House representative for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, passed away on Feb. 22 at the age of 61.
Kaipat, the first Refaluwasch woman to become a lawyer, also served as assistant attorney general and as deputy secretary of the commonwealth’s Department of Labor.
Professor Alan Rozenshtein was quoted in a Law360 article on the Department of Justice's recent amicus brief that stating former U.S. President Donald Trump isn't immune from lawsuits relating to the insurrection on January 6th, 2021. The decision potentially marks a shift in the DOJ's approach to executive power. Prof. Rozenshtein elaborated, "I think it's notable whenever the Department of Justice takes a position when it's constraining executive power.
Professor Charlotte Garden was quoted by the Star Tribune in an article covering the resurgence of child labor in the United States, with Minnesota being no exception. Last year the federal government filed a lawsuit against Packers Sanitation Services Inc., which operates in the midwest. Commenting on the lawsuit, Professor Garden stated, "The specific allegations here are just so shocking, in part because of how they compound each other.
A March 3, 2023 Minnesota Lawyer article titled "Lawsuit Alleges Theft of Voice" discusses a recent lawsuit filed by rapper Yung Gravy in California state court, alleging that singer Rick Astley has violated Gravy's state-law right of publicity as well as the federal Lanham Act by imitating Gravy's voice in a sample of the song "Never Gonna Give You Up." The article quotes Professor Tom Cotter, who states his belief that the state-law claim is probably preempted by federal copyright law, as well as vulnerable to a free speech challenge.
Professor Perry Moriearty was quoted by the Minnesota Reformer on the recent push from Democratic lawmakers to make the criminal justice system less punitive. Discussing the disproportionate effect harsh criminal just laws have on certain communities, Professor Moriearty shared that 80% of people charged with aiding and abetting murders between 2010 and 2019 were people of color — nearly half of them Black — and 63% were under age 25. Over 40% of the convictions were in Hennepin County.
Professor Jill Hasday Appeared on WCCO Radio’s Adam and Jordana Show.
Professor Jill Hasday testified in favor of legislation to prohibit employers from asking job applicants about their pay history.
