Dec. 6, 2025
Let the Credit Report Speak For Itself: Res Ipsa Loquitur within the FCRA Context
Access to our nation’s economic opportunities largely depends on a consumer’s credit. As a result, credit report accuracy is essential to a consumer’s ability to access those opportunities. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA” or “Act”) provides an avenue for individuals to recover damages caused by inaccurate credit reporting. However, the difficulty plaintiffs face in successfully litigating claims under the statute render this recourse insufficient. To address this shortfall, courts should allow plaintiffs to invoke the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur when asserting negligence under the FCRA.
Dec. 5, 2025
Refocusing on Rehabilitation: Why the Missouri Legislature Should Amend the SVP Act to Commit Offenders Earlier
In the United States, the Federal Government, District of Columbia, and twenty states have enacted Sexually Violent Predator (“SVP”) laws. These laws allow for the indefinite civil commitment of thousands of individuals to mental health facilities after they have served their criminal sentences. The majority of scholarship in this area has focused on whether Sexually Violent Predator laws should exist. This paper instead addresses how states that have enacted these laws, particularly Missouri, can make these laws more effective in achieving their intended goals.
Dec. 5, 2025
Addressing the Elephant in the Room: Granting Rights and Protections to Highly Cognitive Nonhuman Animals
There is not much that can beat a day spent at the zoo. Imagine this: You are seven years old. The sun is shining on a beautiful summer day in late morning, before the day has gotten too hot to be comfortable. You have cotton candy in hand, and your parent even bought some for your siblings, so you do not have to share. You are strolling up to the elephant enclosure, thinking it is the best day ever. What could possibly ruin this perfect summer day? The elephants are not in their enclosure, but instead, they are in court contesting their confinement in the zoo. Day ruined.
June 4, 2025
Navigating Constitutional Waters: The Legality of School Choice Programs in Missouri and Beyond
School choice voucher programs, which enable public education funds to be used for private school tuition, have evolved from controversial educational experiments of the 1990s into a central battleground for religious liberty. These controversial programs, once challenged primarily on Establishment Clause grounds, now face a transformed legal landscape where religious exclusion, rather than inclusion, raises constitutional concerns. In Missouri, Senate Bill 727, enacted during the 2024 legislative session, illustrates this transformation by creating an innovative tax credit scholarship program that includes religious schools despite the state’s restrictive constitutional provisions.
June 4, 2025
Gaming in Legal Limbo: Missouri’s Civil Remedy Shortfall for “Gray Market” Gaming Devices
In 2021, Missouri stood at a crossroads between two billion-dollar industries: state-licensed casino gaming and a rapidly expanding “gray market” of unregulated video lottery terminals. At stake was not just tax revenue or market share, but the very framework of how Missouri regulates one of America's oldest vices. When the Missouri State Highway Patrol (“Highway Patrol”) began seizing Torch Electronics devices from multiple locations as illegal “gambling devices,” the resulting legal challenge forced courts to confront a fundamental question: who has the power to determine the legality of these devices?
June 4, 2025
Noho Ki‘eki‘e ke Aloha (Aloha Reigns): An Example of Values-Based Constitutional Jurisprudence
While Hawai‘i’s government structure has gone through several major upheavals since the time of King Kamehameha I, the Law of the Splintered Paddle has remained as a guiding principle towards a right to a safe environment in what is now the state of Hawai‘i. This principle came into question recently in the 2024 Hawai‘i Supreme Court case, State v. Wilson. The Supreme Court of Hawai‘i addressed a fundamental question: to what extent can a state with a distinct legal and cultural tradition regulate firearm possession without infringing on federal constitutional rights?
Nov. 29, 2024
The Homeschool Quest for Extracurricular Access: Missouri Senate Bill 819
The most recent venture into homeschool legislation from the Missouri Legislature seeks to expand homeschooling beyond the walls of the home and into the walls of a public school—or, more aptly described, onto their football fields. However, this legislation may lead to confusion and conflict due to its unrealistic expectations.
Nov. 29, 2024
Arkansas State Conf. NAACP v. Arkansas Bd. Of Apportionment: An Interpretive Rorschach Test
The Rorschach inkblot test is a psychiatric diagnostic tool. During the test a psychiatrist shows a patient a series of ink blots and records the patient’s interpretation. There are no right or wrong answers. The theory is that the patient projects their feelings on ambiguous images, exposing how they project meaning onto the world. Arkansas State Conf. NAACP v. Arkansas Bd. of Apportionment is a Rorschach test for judicial interpretation.
Nov. 29, 2024
Can’t Fire One? Just Fire Them All: The Eighth Circuit’s Hard Stance Against Circumstantial Evidence for Mass Discharges
The National Labor Relations Act protects employees from adverse employment actions based on union-related activities, such as organizing efforts. Under the Mass Discharge theory, the National Labor Relations Board has historically found violations when employers discharge large groups of employees to discourage union activities. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit's recent decision in Strategic Technology Institute v. NLRB challenges this approach, potentially leaving employees vulnerable to discriminatory terminations without clear legal recourse.
April 26, 2024
Joy Silk Revisited: Gissel, Cemex, and Remedial Bargaining Orders
The 2023 National Labor Relations Board's decision to apply the Cemex standard has led to a more timely and worker-friendly approach to resolving labor disputes. However, will this new standard lead to potential consequences?