The U.S. has one of the greatest wealth gaps of any developed country in the world.[1] As the nation with the most billionaires[2] and the highest GDP,[3] the U.S. has a shamefully high poverty rate, with 11.5% of the population (37.9 million people)…
Freedom and personal agency are some of the most lauded virtues and policy goals in the American culture. This post is neither going to address the broader philosophical/theological debate about free will nor if choice is an ontologically sound concept…
Shannon Daves was arrested for a misdemeanor offense in Dallas County, Texas on January 17, 2018.[1] She was taken to the county jail and brought before a magistrate for a “hearing” to determine the amount of money bail she would be required to come…
The other day, a man stopped me on the sidewalk outside the Georgetown Law campus. “Excuse me,” he said, “which way should I walk to get to Germantown, Maryland?” It took me a moment to process his question—I was not sure where Germantown was…
People experiencing incarceration are the only population for whom the Constitution explicitly recognizes the right to healthcare.[1] Still, healthcare in carceral institutions remains abysmal, operating as both a tool and result of mass incarceration…
Last September, the United Auto Workers (UAW), the union representing nearly 150,000 employees at factories run by GM, Ford, and Stellantis (the “Big Three” automakers), initiated a historic strike.[1] Chief among the unions’ demands were calls…
In considering the role of law and policy, comparative perspectives are often useful, particularly when they relate to poverty. Every historical and present state has had to deal with parts of their populations that are either unable to meet subsistence…
Senate Democrats have recently introduced a new bill directing the Secretary of Agriculture to “cancel and eliminate all debts” associated with school breakfast and lunch programs.[1] The Act, titled the “School Lunch Debt Cancellation Act of 2023…
About a quarter of Black babies and toddlers in rental housing face eviction every year, according to a new study, and children generally are disproportionately at risk.[1] The study’s finding that the Americans most at risk of eviction are babies and…
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health to overturn the constitutional right to abortion,[1] advocates began concentrating their efforts on ensuring the availability of contraception.[2] However, little…
