Volume 111 / Issue 6

The President Told Me To: The Public Authority Defense in the Trump Era

After hundreds were charged in connection with the events of January 6, 2021, several defendants argued they were only doing what President Trump told them to. More specifically, they raised the public authority defense as articulated in the U.S. …

By Lauren S. Emmerich
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Volume 111 / Issue 6

Radical Constitutional Change

At defining points in American history, there have been radical constitutional changes, defined as massive shifts in constitutional understandings, doctrines, and practices. Apparently settled principles and widely accepted frameworks are discarded …

By Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash & Cass R. Sunstein
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Volume 111 / Issue 6

Local Rules

Federal courts have been making their own rules—“local rules”—since the First Judiciary Act. These rules, which operate alongside the Federal Rules, govern all aspects of the litigation process, from the initial filing and case assignment in the …

By Zachary D. Clopton & Marin K. Levy
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Volume 111 / Issue 6

The Fourth Amendment’s Hidden Intrusion Doctrine

The Fourth Amendment’s concept of probable cause is the linchpin of legal standards governing law enforcement actions such as arrests, searches, and seizures. This Article challenges the assumption that the same quantum of evidence can meet the …

By Laura Ginsberg Abelson
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Volume 111 / Issue 5

Free Speech, Breathing Space, and Liability Insurance

An important piece of the “speech-tort” picture has been almost completely missing from doctrinal and policy analysis: the role played by liability insurance in protecting speech. In New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court began adopting …

By Kenneth S. Abraham
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ONLINE EDITION

Neo-Brandeis Goes to Washington: A Provisional Assessment of the Biden Administration’s Antitrust Record

In early 2021, a new coterie of trustbusters came to Washington with the stated purpose of radically overhauling the antitrust status quo. The three central figures—Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) Chair Lina Khan, Department of Justice (“DOJ”) …

By Daniel A. Crane
111 Va. L. Rev. Online 215

Fourth Amendment Trespass and Internet Search History

Browsing the internet is an everyday activity for many Americans. Law enforcement has capitalized on this reality by employing a novel investigative technique: reverse keyword search warrants. Keyword warrants allow investigators to obtain detailed …

By Alec J.H. Block & Joseph W. Paul
111 Va. L. Rev. Online 188

Free Speech as White Privilege: Racialization, Suppression, and the Palestine Exception

Free speech is under siege. This is not to say that all speakers and viewpoints are at equal risk—some voices receive support and protection, while others are subject to threats and suppression. Pro-Palestinian speech falls into the latter category. …

By René Reyes
111 Va. L. Rev. Online 166
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