Jun 1, 2019 | Case Note, Criminal, Nathaniel Hopkins
By Nathaniel Hopkins Abstract In United States v. Sealed Search Warrants (Warrants), the Fifth Circuit issued a ruling within an existing circuit split holding that district courts must conduct a case-by-case analysis to determine whether the common law right of...
Jun 1, 2019 | Case Note, Dominic Riella, Intellectual Property
By Dominic Riella Abstract Common law concurrent trademark use is based on the judicially created Tea Rose–Rectanus doctrine. Although the Lanham Act has codified much of trademark law, courts today still apply some old common law concepts, including the Tea...
Jun 1, 2019 | Case Note, First Amendment, Griffin S. Rubin
By Griffin S. Rubin Abstract Law professors and legal commentators seldom spare a kind word for the distinctive “anomalies and absurdities” that constitute defamation law, as these “senseless distinctions and overly technical rules” have left judges and juries...
Jun 1, 2019 | Case Note, Privacy Law, Tri Truong
By Tri T. Truong Abstract The touchstone of the Fourth Amendment is reasonableness, for it concerns the realm of individual liberty, not expediency in law enforcement. And it is in this light that the Supreme Court has recognized a person’s constitutionally protected...
Jun 1, 2019 | Case Note, Cody Wilson, Gaming Law, Indian and Aboriginal Law, State and Local Government
By Cody Wilson Abstract “[A]t gambling, the deadly sin is to mistake bad play for bad luck.” Native American tribes should keep those words in mind following the decision issued by the Unites States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in State of California...
Jun 1, 2018 | Case Note, Fourth Amendment, Tammie Beassie Banko
By Tammie Beassie Banko Abstract To determine whether a state action violates the Fourth Amendment, the Supreme Court employs a balancing test, weighing on the one hand “the degree to which [the action] intrudes upon an individual’s privacy and . . . the degree to...
Jun 1, 2018 | Austin Brakebill, Case Note, Torts
By Austin Brakebill Abstract What is a reputation worth? King Solomon wrote in Proverbs that “a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.” For businesses, a positive reputation attracts better workers to companies, increases loyalty among customers, and adds...
Jun 1, 2018 | Case Note, Madeleine Giese, Second Amendment
By Madeleine Giese Abstract In Wrenn v. District of Columbia, the D.C. Circuit Court held that the individual right to carry common firearms beyond the home for self-defense, even for those lacking special self-defense needs, is the “core” of the Second Amendment’s...
Jun 1, 2018 | Brian Long, Case Note
By Brian Long Abstract Electronic communications containing harassing threats are part of the cyberbullying problem that exists in Texas with very real consequences for school-aged children and the vulnerable who need protection. The legislature has recently modified...
Jun 1, 2018 | Alicia Pitts, Case Note, Jurisdiction
By Alicia Pitts Abstract In Adhikari v. Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc., the Fifth Circuit issued the latest edition in a series of circuit court decisions that adopted a restrictive “location of the conduct” formulation for the test used to evaluate the Alien Tort...