Much needed legislation, which reins-in use of algorithms to determine who stays in jail pending trial and who gets out, recently passed in the Idaho legislature. House Bill 118, sponsored by Representative Greg Chaney (R-Caldwell), is first-of-its-kind legislation that addresses inherent flaws in the criminal justice system. The bill calls for the algorithms to be [...]
Toledo, Ohio residents last month overwhelmingly voted in favor of the innovative Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR), an amendment to the city charter which declares Lake Erie has enforceable legal rights. What that vote signals may turn out to be more important to Lake Erie than the well-intentioned but legally flawed LEBOR itself. LEBOR [...]
Nicholas Acklin is on death row in Alabama, our home state where we both have practiced law for almost 50 years. As past presidents of the Alabama State Bar, and together with former members of Alabama’s appellate courts, we have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review Mr. Acklin’s case and ensure that he receives [...]
In the continuously unsettling matter of Otto Warmbier, Donald Trump and Kim Jung Un, a key legal point has been overlooked or obscured: Whether or not the North Korean leader actually knew of Mr. Warmbier’s brutal treatment, torture and death, he remains fully responsible for this crime under pertinent law. This is primarily because of [...]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is considering rolling back payday and title loan regulations designed to protect consumers from dangerous debt traps. Considered part of America’s democratization of credit, payday and title loans are offered by a multi-billion-dollar industry that is growing at a rate that far exceeds the rest of the financial services [...]
In the 2018 elections, women played a larger role than in any other election in American history. The record-breaking number of women running for US senate, house, and gubernatorial seats motivated media outlets to label 2018 another “Year of the Woman.” The first “Year of the Woman” was in 1992, when an unprecedented influx of women entered [...]
Imagine being a young, insecure, terrified child who feels like she does not belong or is loved by anyone. You have been beaten, raped, mistreated and neglected your entire life. Your own family gave you up for adoption, and while you were adopted, you do not feel like the family values you or honestly desires [...]
Under current leadership, the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) seems committed to only grudgingly protecting consumers from unfair and exploitative financial products. In its strategic plan, former Acting Director Mick Mulvaney explained that the Bureau had “committed to fulfill the Bureau’s statutory responsibilities, but go no further.” This language aligns with Mulvaney’s earlier change [...]
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued proposed regulations that could enhance the value of electronic health information. Specifically, the proposed regulations focus on the areas of interoperability and patients’ access to their health data. Electronic health information is a relatively new phenomenon. It became a subject of national importance in 2004, [...]
Recently, a District Court Judge in Iowa struck down a law passed in the spring of 2018 which would have barred abortions after a fetal heartbeat could be detected by means of a vaginal ultrasound. The exceptions included cases of medical emergency, or medically necessity, severe fetal defects, or when the fetus was conceived through [...]
