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Navigating the Patchwork of Privacy: State Privacy Laws in the Absence of a Federal Framework
As technologies change and internet usage has exploded, the amount of personal and consumer data we provide and generate has significantly increased. Through online activities such as purchases, social media, and even surveys or just clicking on links, companies are collecting data from consumers and using it or selling it. This collection and use of […]
A Visit to the Arizona Legislature
This summer vacation brought me to Phoenix Arizona. Not quite our usual family trip to the beach, but we are attending the Irish Step Dancing National Championships. While my daughters practiced, I had a chance to visit the Arizona Legislature (kind of). Unfortunately, the old Capitol Building, which now houses the Arizona Capitol Museum was […]
Making Big Tech Pay Their Share: The Taxation of Digital Advertising in Maryland
In sharp contrast to the bevy of tax incentives offered to Amazon as part of a bid for the so-called “HQ2,” Maryland has charted a path towards taxation of technology companies as part of its commitment and obligation to its residents. This move to hold large companies accountable for the money they derive from Maryland […]
Drive-By Legislation Will Not Solve Drive-By Lawsuits
If you ask disability rights activists about the ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017 (the “Reform Act”), you may get a response that the Reform Act, which recently passed the House, is not nearly as benign or as amicable to the interests of persons with disabilities as its title suggests. In fact, many activists […]
WHO LET THE DOGS OUT? CALIFORNIA BANS USE OF PUPPY MILL
In October 2017, California became the first state to pass a law to deter the use of puppy mills by potential puppy buyers. Under the new law, pet stores must work with animal shelters and other rescue operations to obtain dogs, cats and rabbits, and are prohibited from using breeders. However, private and individual customers can […]
Inter Partes Review: non-Article III Adjudication of Private Property Rights
In November 2017, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments for Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group. Oil States poses a question that forces the Supreme Court to consider whether it will turn patent strategy on its head: whether inter partes reviews (IPRs) violate the Constitution by extinguishing private property rights through a […]
Continuing Responses to 9/11: The Price of Justice
On September 28th, 2016 Congress voted in favor of the first veto override during Obama’s presidency. The bill at issue was the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), a very controversial piece of legislation that received massive support in both the House and Senate but was adamantly opposed to by the Administration. Prior to […]
When the shoe doesn’t quite fit: Fitting a digital world into an analog statutory structure
Few issues in recent years have bedeviled lawmakers at the state and local level as much as the question of how to react to the online “sharing” economy, where people with a car they don’t use much or a typically empty spare bedroom decide to monetize their asset. When voters in Austin, Texas decided […]
Closing Loopholes with New Whistlerblower Protection Legislation and Dispensing the View of Whistleblowers as Mere Disgruntled Employees
Following the havoc of corporate scandals caused by Enron, Worldcom, and Madoff and Stanford’s Ponzi scheme, instances of corporate fraud and whistleblowing is no longer a novel subject matter today. Accordingly, questions surrounding the extent of ethical responsibility of those employees ancillary to the fraud emerged but with no clear answer. Blowing the whistle on […]
Legislating a Disaster: Congressional and Tribal Responses to the Gold King Mine Spill
On August 5, the Animas River in La Plata County, Colorado suddenly turned a bright and unnatural shade of orange as an estimated three million gallons of toxic wastewater spilled from the abandoned Gold King Mine. Local, State, and Tribal governments scrambled to react as the wastewater brought a sudden spike in levels of arsenic, […]