Aug. 23, 2025
Trump v. Wilcox and the Supreme Court’s Retreat from Administrative Independence
On May 22, 2025, the 6-3 supermajority of the Supreme Court granted an emergency application for a stay, a procedural maneuver that effectively enabled President Donald Trump to dismiss National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) Member Gwynne Wilcox despite statutory protections against removal without cause. This immediate action left the NLRB without a quorum, thereby halting crucial federal labor law proceedings. The Court’s utilization of its emergency docket suggests that it views the unitary executive theory not merely as a preferred interpretation, but as an urgent constitutional imperative, justifying the circumvention of traditional deliberative processes and established norms of judicial review.
Aug. 20, 2025
Minor Marriage: A Major Problem for States
This year, Missouri joined the (surprisingly short) list of fifteen states to completely ban child marriage. This legislation marks an update from the 2018 amendments to Missouri law, which allowed children between sixteen and eighteen years old to marry with parental consent. Prior to 2018, many considered Missouri a “destination” state for child marriage, with individuals coming from both coasts to marry fifteen-year-old girls. This Note explores the history and attitudes behind child marriage and the fairly recent wave of states to adopt full child marriage bans while also considering the implications of child marriage on parental rights, especially for divorced parents.
Aug. 19, 2025
Paved with Good Intentions: Missouri’s Prosecutor-Initiated Relief Statute and the Perils of Criminal Justice Innovation
The road to hell is paved with good intentions, especially when it comes to criminal justice reform. Section 547.031 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri allows circuit attorneys to file motions vacating convictions based on innocence evidence—an ambitious reform that In re Circuit Attorney, 22nd Judicial Circuit ex rel. Christopher Dunn reveals as fundamentally flawed. This Note argues that Missouri’s prosecutor-initiated relief statute creates more problems than it solves, resulting in a framework that is more complex, less efficient, and potentially less effective than the traditional post-conviction mechanisms it was meant to supplement.
April 29, 2025
Banning Harm Without Harming Speech: Alternatives to Broad Professional Speech Regulation
In a significant case testing the boundaries of free speech and professional regulation, licensed counselor Kaley Chiles challenged Colorado's ban on conversion therapy for minors, arguing it violated her First Amendment rights.
April 29, 2025
Pre-Empting the People: Missouri’s Legislative Response to the Voter-Approved Paid Sick Leave Mandate
In November 2024, with nearly 1.7 million “Yes” votes, Missouri voters decisively approved Proposition A, which established paid sick leave requirements for employers across the state. But, after this clear expression of voter will, the Missouri legislature has moved to dismantle these protections through House Bill No. 567 (HB 567), which sought to repeal the law before it could take effect.
April 29, 2025
Infinite Arbitration: How One Click Can Take You Out of Court Forever
Recently, infinite arbitaration clauses have been the center of public outrage, resulting from a dispute where Disney argued that a Disney+ subscriber was required to arbitrate his wife’s wrongful death claim. Although Disney backed down on its stance, the argument left open an important question: would Disney have succeeded in compelling arbitration?
Aug. 23, 2024
Ignore, Not Block: A City Official’s Social Media Duty to the First Amendment
In Felts v. Green, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri considered if a public official blocking a Twitter user constituted a violation of the Twitter user’s First Amendment rights.
Aug. 23, 2024
Clearing the Hurdle of Proving a “Clearly Established” Right to Overcome Qualified Immunity
In Molina v. City of St. Louis, two lawyers distantly and passively observed the police response to a protest that erupted in response to a white St. Louis police officer’s shooting and killing of a Black teenager. After police officers launched a tear gas cannister near them, the lawyers filed suit against the officers, alleging that the officers retaliated against them for exercising their First Amendment rights.
Aug. 23, 2024
Teaching Values: Court Backs School in Same-Sex Marriage Dispute
In Billard v. Charlotte Catholic High School, teacher Lonnie Billard filed a lawsuit against his former employer for sex discrimination under Title VII after being fired for intending to marry his same-sex partner. The district court initially ruled in favor of Lonnie Billard, but the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit later reversed this decision after considering the ministerial exception to employment discrimination laws.
Jan. 12, 2024
A Tale of Two Statues: Constitutional Issues in Closing a Limited Public Forum
A city in Minnesota decided to create a limited public forum in a park. Applicants could obtain a permit from the city in order to place a monument in the park. Two of these permits were issued, but the city voted to close the limited public forum just a few months later. This raised questions as to the purpose behind closing the limited public forum and whether the city violated the First Amendment.