The Perils and Promise of Public Nuisance
This article utilizes the opioid litigation to explore the three most common sets of objections to public nuisance: (1) traditionalist, (2) formalist, and (3) institutional. Public nuisance can seem unusual, even outlandish. At worst, it is a potentially capacious mechanism allowing executive branch actors to employ the judicial process to address legislative and regulatory problems. Nevertheless, its perils are easily overstated and its promise overlooked.
In 5-4 ruling, SCOTUS dramatically expands the power of states to prosecute crimes on reservations
On the second-to-last day of the 2021-22 term, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Oklahoma — and all other states — possesses concurrent jurisdiction with the federal government over crimes committed by non-Indians against Indians in Indian country, wiping away centuries of tradition and practice.
Election Law Localism and Democracy
This Article examines the local role in the 2020 election, together with the state pushback of 2021, as a study of both the surprising significance of local officials in promoting democracy and the place of local government in our intergovernmental system more generally.
Divided court rejects Texas’ bid to control gambling in tribal casinos
The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Ysleta del Sur Pueblo v. Texas resolves a longstanding dispute about the ability of Texas to control gambling on the lands of two of the Native American tribes that reside there. The answer the court gave was a stern rebuke, vitiating the plenary control that lower-court decisions had granted the state for more than a quarter of a century
How El Salvador Has Changed U.S. Law by a Bit: The Consequences for the UCC of Bitcoin Becoming Legal Tender
As the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender, El Salvador made world history and sparked many debates and predictions about the effects its decision may have on the Central American nation and its economy. Beyond such consequences, El Salvador has, wittingly or unwittingly, changed the legal effects of various provisions in the Uniform Commercial Code. This Article explores some of the consequences wrought by El Salvador’s bold action
Courts may not “make up” new procedural rules to favor arbitration
This article was originally published on SCOTUSblog.com on May 24, 2022. In a series of decisions, the Supreme Court has insisted that the Federal Arbitration Act requires courts to put arbitration contracts on “equal footing” with other kinds of contracts.
The ALI Adviser is intended to inform readers about the legal topics and issues examined in many of ALI’s current projects; posts do not necessarily represent the position of the Institute taken in those projects. Posts on The ALI Adviser are written by ALI project participants, ALI members, and outside sources. Completed work is available to purchase online.