Northeastern University Law Review
What is a “Meaningful Opportunity?” Disparities ...

BY EILIDH CURRIE

When it comes to criminal culpability, the Supreme Court has consistently treated children in a manner different than adults. Because of this understanding, the Court has recognized that sentences of life without parole may be too harsh for minors. The Court has banned mandatory juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) but permits courts to issue discretionary JLWOP sentences. The Supreme Court also permits courts to impose lengthy sentences, often called “virtual” or “de facto” life sentences. However, when issuing these lengthy sentences, courts must ensure that a minor retains a meaningful opportunity for release. Striking this balance is a challenge for sentencing courts: how long of a sentence is too long? Which sentences equate to JLWOP? What is a meaningful opportunity?…

Religious Accommodations and The Forgotten Secular Employees: Undue Hardship Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

By Sara Kniaz

The special status of religion in the United States has long been emphasized in statutory schemes that protect the rights of employees. Most forms of employment discrimination cannot be legally justified. But when religious beliefs conflict with the requirements of a job, employers can refuse a  religious accommodation when it would cause an “undue hardship on the conduct of [an] employer’s business.” In its 2022–2023 session, the Supreme Court considered the meaning and role of undue hardship for the first time since 1977 in Groff v. DeJoy. Previously, in Trans World Airlines v. Hardison, the Court determined that an employer need not provide an employee with a religious accommodation if the employer must “bear more than a de minimis cost.” After Hardison, courts could not agree on the meaning of undue hardship and what constitutes a de minimis cost. Groff, decided by the Supreme Court in June 2023, clarified an undue hardship to be “substantial increased costs,” which requires more than a showing of de minimis. However, it remains unclear what burden this may have on secular coworkers….

From Founding Fathers to Founding Mothers: Lessons From Failed Amendments

By Julie Suk

In September 1787, thirty-nine men became the “Founding Fathers” of the nation by signing the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sending it on to ratifying conventions in the states. Constitution Day commemorates that moment every year. Constitution Day need not be devoted to veneration of the Founding Fathers or the document that emerged from their compromises.  It can be an opportunity for Americans to reflect on those eighteenth-century compromises, and to ask how well the Constitution is serving the democracy we aspire to be today….

Utilizing the Nurse Practitioner: Rethinking State-Level Regulatory Structures to Increase Access and Quality of Healthcare

By Abygail Hoey

In 2020, it is estimated that there were over 325,000 nurse practitioners (NPs) licensed to practice in the United States. NPs are registered nurses with “advanced training,” typically a master’s degree, who provide comprehensive services to patients by combining clinical training in diagnostics and the treatment of health conditions, with disease prevention and health management. Over the last decade, the demand for health care, specifically primary care, has increased. This increase results from several factors—one being newly insured Americans—but it is largely due to population growth and aging, which accounts for 81% of the change in demand from 2010 to 2020. The current number of physicians will not meet this growing demand. And marginalized populations and rural areas will be the most impacted, because physician shortages are particularly severe in these areas. Without addressing the physician shortage, access to primary care will become more delayed and widespread in underserved rural and urban areas. Medically underserved populations may face economic, cultural, or language barriers to health care.

The Untapped Potential of Medicaid and Doulas: Increasing Reproductive Justice for Communities of Color

BY ALLYSON CRAYS

The United States (U.S.) is experiencing a maternal mortality and morbidity crisis. Black pregnant and birthing people are particularly vulnerable to adverse health risks and complications from pregnancy. In 2021, over 1,200 women died of maternal causes in the U.S. Although maternal mortality has been steadily rising over the last couple years, this is a sharp increase from 861 in 2020 and 754 in 2019. Compared to other high income countries in 2021, the U.S. had a maternal death rate over ten times the rate of those countries, with 32.9 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Compared to white women, Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native women in the U.S. are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes. Importantly, over 84% of pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. Factors such as lack of quality healthcare, structural racism, and implicit racial bias contribute to this severe disparity in birth outcomes among Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (“BIPOC”) who give birth. …

Drug-Induced Homicide: A Comprehensive Statutory Proposal

BY ANNA BEAVERS

The staggering increase in US opioid overdose deaths in the last decade has prompted federal and state governments to aggressively pursue drug-induced homicide prosecutions, underscoring the propensity for punitive rather than policy responses to drug use. State and federal drug-induced homicide laws are too often overly broad and consequently incriminate individuals who lack the requisite mens rea for homicide prosecution. This paper addresses the issues with the current status of drug-induced homicide legislation and offers a legal framework to resolve certain deficiencies. In Part I, this paper explains the problematic approaches federal and state governments currently employ to combat today’s opioid epidemic while Part II explores the legal conundrum resulting from overly broad statutory language. The paper then offers, in Part III, a comprehensive statutory proposal that includes key elements paramount to the fair and just administration of our laws. Finally, the paper explains, in Part IV, why this statutory scheme is best designed to target culpable parties without incriminating blameless individuals. 

303 Creative v. Elenis – It's Not About Religious Liberty

BY PROFESSOR STEPHEN SMITH

In 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, a web designer complained that Colorado state law required her to “speak” in a way that supports same-sex marriage, against her will. The Supreme Court concluded that public accommodation laws requiring the provision of services to the public on a non-discriminatory basis must give way to free speech concerns when those laws “compel an individual to create speech she does not believe.” The majority’s opinion puts a religious liberty tint on a case that purports to have no religious component, in terms of legal doctrine. The case was decided under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment. The Free Exercise Clause – the typical source of religious liberty claims – is never mentioned in the decision. …