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Gay Marriage and the Problem of Property

The Supreme Court’s gay marriage decision in Obergefell has been hailed in almost all corners as a milestone in American jurisprudence. From topics as varied as adoption and taxes, a myriad of rights have now descended upon gay couples as a result of the Court’s ruling. In this Commentary, we explore the little discussed downsidesContinue reading “Gay Marriage and the Problem of Property”

The Praetorians: An Analysis of U.S. Border Patrol Checkpoints Following Martinez-Fuerte

In the late seventies, the United States Supreme Court held in United States v. Martinez-Fuerte that the United States Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) could constitutionally operate checkpoints within the United States for the purpose of conducting brief, routine questioning in order to verify a person’s citizenship and immigration status. The case was fueled byContinue reading “The Praetorians: An Analysis of U.S. Border Patrol Checkpoints Following Martinez-Fuerte”

The Declining Allure of Being “American” and the Proliferation of Corporate Tax Inversions: A Critical Analysis of Regulatory Efforts to Curtail the Inversion Trend

In the realm of tax policy, within which there is rarely broad-based consensus, there are few topics as polarizing as corporate tax inversions. An inversion is a paper transaction in which a US corporation reincorporates abroad to realize strategic tax benefits, without actually transplanting its operations overseas. These transactions necessarily reduce the US corporate incomeContinue reading “The Declining Allure of Being “American” and the Proliferation of Corporate Tax Inversions: A Critical Analysis of Regulatory Efforts to Curtail the Inversion Trend”

Pension De-risking

The United States is facing a retirement crisis, in significant part because defined benefit pension plans have been replaced by defined contribution retirement plans that, whatever their theoretical merit, have left significant numbers of workers unprepared for retirement. A troubling example of the continuing movement away from defined benefit plans is a new phenomenon euphemisticallyContinue reading “Pension De-risking”

Reframing Similarity Analysis in Copyright

Copyright law lacks a coherent method to determine non-literal infringement. The core inquiry, “substantial similarity,” purports to assess whether two works are so alike that an accused work infringes the original. Substantial similarity is a fundamental limit on the scope of copyright, but it is plagued by confusion and governed by a series of arcaneContinue reading “Reframing Similarity Analysis in Copyright”

Public Laws and Private Lawmakers

The Obama Administration’s “Clean Power Plan” for addressing industrial carbon emissions is controversial as a matter of environmental policy. It also has important constitutional implications. The rule was initially crafted not by officers or employees of the Environmental Protection Agency, but by two private lawyers and a scientist with industry ties. Private parties operate extra-constitutionally,Continue reading “Public Laws and Private Lawmakers”