By Amanda M. Ghannam

Despite the fact that medical marijuana has been perfectly lawful in Massachusetts since 2012, it was not until July 2017 that the Supreme Judicial Court affirmed an employee’s right to use medical marijuana without fear of adverse employment decisions. See St. 2012, c. 369, §1 et seq; Barbuto v. Advantage Sales Marketing, LLC, 477 Mass. 456 (2017). Barbuto was the first major Massachusetts decision that linked medical marijuana use to the issue of employment discrimination. 477 Mass. 456 (2017). But whether Barbuto will survive under the Trump administration remains to be seen. Now that Jeff Sessions has rolled back Obama-era protections against federal prosecution of marijuana possession, a confrontation between state and federal law – potentially endangering the rights recently affirmed by the Barbuto court – may be inevitable . . .

Siri Nelson

The murder of Heather Heyer and the injury of at least 19 others during an event organized by hate groups in Charlottesville, Virginia, has forced many Americans to grapple with rhetoric spewed by hate groups and whether such speech should be protected under the First Amendment. See, e.g., K-Sue Park, The A.C.L.U. Needs to Rethink Free Speech, N.Y. Times (Aug. 17, 2017); Jonathan Hamrick, After Charlottesville, Reconsider the First Amendment, The Emory Wheel (Sept. 6, 2017); Josh Blackman, The First Amendment on the Grounds in Charlottesville, LawFare (Aug. 14, 2017, 2:00 PM) . . .

By Seth H. Barron

Property Assessed Clean Energy (“PACE”) is a type of financing program that is implemented by a state or local government. This program is designed to increase the usage of expensive clean energy technology and can be applied to either commercial or residential property. This program has been active in California since 2007. Enabling Legislation, PACENation, http://pacenation.us/pace-in-california/ (Last visited 6/20/2017) . . .

By Jessica Silbey

Richard Prince, the contemporary appropriation artist, has been sued again by a photographer whose pictures Prince reframed, cropped and commented upon for Prince’s own gallery show called “Untitled” at the famed Gagosian Gallery in New York City. Mahita Gajanan, Controversial Artist Richard Prince Sued for Copyright Infringement, The Guardian (Jan. 4, 2016), https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign /2016/ jan/ 04/ richard-prince-sued-copyright-infringement-rastafarian-instagram. Plaintiff Donald Graham, the creator of the reused photograph at issue, called “Rastafarian Smoking a Joint,” originally made the photo in 1996 and published it in 1998 in magazines and through an art gallery . . .

By Ryan McGovern Quinn
On June 26, 2017, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers, which is likely to settle whether employees who report misconduct to their employer rather than directly to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) qualify as whistleblowers under the Dodd-Frank Act (“DFA”), thus resolving a split in the circuits on the question. See Berman v. Neo@Ogilvy LLC, 801 F.3d 145, 153 (2d Cir. 2015) (noting a circuit split on this issue, and listing the cases on each side of the split). This case will be important for NUSL students interested in employment law, securities law, and corporate compliance . . .

By Brook Baker

I have worked closely with Professor Yousuf Vawda from the University of KwaZulu Natal on patent law reform in South Africa since 2001.  It’s been a long haul, but recent success in the form of a newly announced Intellectual Property Strategy has only been possible because of our collaboration with leading treatment access movements in South Africa, most especially the Treatment Action Campaign, Section27 (formerly the AIDS Law Project), and Doctors Without Borders . . .