Emory Law

The Supreme Court of the United States recently rendered a landmark decision in the antitrust case National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston. On June 21, the court ruled on the legality of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s restrictions on student-athlete compensation and benefits.

The Supreme Court has reiterated several times over the past sixty years that “students do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” In 1969, in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the court upheld the constitutional right of students to wear black armbands to school to protest the Vietnam War. Though it acknowledged that public school students’ speech rights were not as robust as they would be in the village square, the court articulated a relatively rigorous standard that requires school administrators to demonstrate a genuine prospect of a “substantial disruption” to the educational environment in order to restrict student speech.

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court decided California v. Texas, the fifth Affordable Care Act (ACA) case to reach the court since the Act’s passage in 2010. California v. Texas asserted that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 rendered the ACA unconstitutional by amending it. The Supreme Court rejected the case on standing grounds.

The class action is a procedural device that allows many claimants to aggregate their claims in a single case. It is an important tool for private enforcement of the law, particularly in cases involving “negative value” claims: claims so small that no one would assert them individually. Many consumer claims fall into this category. As Judge Posner famously said, “only a lunatic or a fanatic sues for $30.” Without the class action, such claims would not be asserted, which would thwart both the compensatory and deterrent goals of consumer protection laws.

A new Gallup poll shows 70% of people polled support same-sex marriage. In 1996, only 27% supported it. Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Tim Holbrook, a long-time advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, says it's because more people now openly identify as LGBTQ+. "I think that it means that the queer community just becomes part of the tapestry of American culture and American life in a way that is inclusive and welcoming," he said.

Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Dorothy Brown was interviewed on the Economic Policy Institute's podcast, "The State of Working America." She spoke with the institute's Eve Tahmincioglu and provided "a cross-disciplinary analysis exposing the racism of the American tax system."

Unemployment numbers don't tell full story of companies’ current labor challenges, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law says on "Morning Joe." A recent Pew study showed that two thirds of Americans "are thinking about what they want to do going forward," Brown said. "Do they want reexamine their field and their occupation?" Also, the unemployment rate is 9.1 percent for Black Americans, compared to 5.8 percent overall. Also overlooked is "while they're cutting staff, CEO pay has increased."

Hundreds of "Submarine Patents' may be affected by a recent federal circuit ruling, Bloomberg Law reports. A Nevada man's quest for patents on computer designs may be at an end after a ruling that the decades-long delays getting his applications considered may be his own fault. "I found the prosecution laches decision yesterday fascinating/odd for a number of reasons," Holbrook said.

Talking with MSNBC's Chris Hayes on the anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre that burned "Black Wall Street" to ash, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Dorothy Brown notes that dozens of similar assaults on Black excellence occurred across the country and that white U.S. citizens still benefit "in the 21st century from systemic racism that is not too distant past."

In an interview with Washington Post financial columnist Michelle Singletary, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Dorothy Brown talks about her book, "The Whiteness of Wealth" and says the U.S. tax code has built in advantages for Whites, while it disadvantages Blacks. "Our tax laws were designed with White Americans in mind," Brown writes. "That's why no solution proposed by either the right or left — not better jobs, not increased homeownership, and not more access to higher education — will be effective without significant and fundamental tax reform."

Building wealth is hard, but the racial wealth gap makes just how difficult it is apparent. Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Dorothy Brown joined the Washington Post's Michelle Singletary on NPR's 1A to discuss Brown's argument that the tax code is partially to blame.

Calls by some Democrats for Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Breyer to retire are unwarranted, Emory Law Professor Michael Broyde says. "There is no reason for Justice Breyer to resign, and there are good reasons for him to continue doing the excellent job he is doing," he writes in an op-ed for CNN.

Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Dorothy Brown was a guest on "The View" to discuss how the tax code subsidizes white wealth and penalizes Black Americans, even when they participate in the exact same behaviors.

Black students tend to borrow more money than white students to go to college, and students at historically Black colleges and universities, in particular, borrow nearly twice as much as students at non-HBCUs, MarketPlace reports. Thus, donor Robert Smith's gift to pay off loans for 400 Morehouse students is doubly generous. "Student debt is a significant drag on Black college grads who have done everything right, their ability to produce wealth going forward," Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Dorothy Brown said.

"A typical white family has eight times the wealth of a typical Black family in the United States,” Dean Obeidallah writes for Salon. The why behind that racial wealth gap has, until recently, overlooked one driving reason: The U.S. tax code. “That's why Dorothy Brown … wrote her compelling new book, 'The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans — and How We Can Fix It.'"

Since President Biden took office, the Department of Justice has been granted two delays in the House Judiciary Committee's long-running quest to compel Don McGahn, Trump's former White House counsel, to testify before Congress. Professor Jonathan Nash told The Hill that the Biden administration may believe the best path forward is to settle the case in order to avoid a decision that could hurt the executive branch's interests. A court win could create an unwelcome precedent the next time Republicans wield oversight gavels, he added.

IRS Commissioner Charles P. Rettig told a Senate Finance Committee that it's not "outlandish" to believe the U.S. loses $1 trillion annually via owed taxes that aren't collected. Asa Griggs Professor of Law Dorothy Brown told the committee the problem is aggravated by a different tax gap — the favorable treatment the tax code provides wealthy, largely White taxpayers, compared to lower income, largely Black and Latino workers.

Digital lenders that partner with banks to offer consumers high-cost loans may be at risk of a crackdown under President Joe Biden's administration. Prof. Kristin Johnson, a law professor at Emory University, cautioned without adequate consumer protections, lenders can engage in a "race to the bottom" on loan standards and ultimately expose the entire financial system to risk.

In a Q & A with Vox, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Dorothy Brown talked about her book "The Whiteness of Wealth," and how to repair the tax code to remove provisions that benefit white citizens and disadvantage Black people. "My ideal tax system ... is one where pretty much all income is taxed under the same progressive rate system; we get rid of these deductions and exclusions that are overwhelmingly benefiting white Americans. And then we would create one deduction — I call it a living allowance — that's based on what you would need to live in the geographical area you're in."

During her testimony at a Senate Finance Committee Tuesday on inequality in the U.S. tax code, Asa Griggs Professor of Law Dorothy Brown agreed with GOP assertions that repealing the $10,000 cap on the deduction of state and local taxes would run counter to efforts to close income and wealth gaps. Brown told the panel that tax deductions tend to favor white over Black households, particularly since it is mostly wealthier Americans who still itemize on their returns following changes made in the 2017 tax code. 

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and 22 of his national counterparts have started a coalition to prevent DC from becoming a state. They say they're defending the Constitution. Emory Law Professor Alexander Volokh said the issue is how it could dilute voting power of existing states. "Whenever a new state is admitted that dilutes voting power of every existing state, so that means if you are concerned about the power of your state to shap'e the destiny of America, you can welcome new states," he said. "But on the other hand you can say, No, if we're going to dilute voting power it should be valid,'" Volokh said.

The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions requested testimony from Emory Law Asa Griggs Professor of Law Kristin Johnson, in the virtual hearing "Banking Innovation or Regulatory Evasion? Exploring Trends in Financial Institution Charters."

The tax code is designed to build white wealth, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law tells New York Magazine. "If you're a Black American, going, 'What am I doing wrong?' The answer is nothing. The system is what's wrong."

Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Dorothy Brown, author of "The Whiteness of Wealth," was featured on the New Yorker Radio Hour to explain how the seemingly race-neutral tax code compounds inequalities and prevents Black people from building wealth.

President Joe Biden has announced 11 nominations for federal judgeships (including Emory Law grad Julien X. Neals 91L). What are their chances in a still-polarized Senate? Professor Jonathan Nash tells Reuters there are structural impediments to how far Republicans can go to obstruct Biden's effort to reshape the judiciary. Legislators who oppose nominations risk offending colleagues who make recommendations on judgeships in their states. "You're more likely to see (Republicans obstruct) Supreme Court nominees, and the appellate courts," Nash said.

Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Dorothy Brown spoke on how racism and inequality are reflected in the American tax system. She was joined by Georgia State University Professor Maurice Hobson at a virtual event hosted by Charis Books and More in Decatur.

In her new book "The Whiteness of Wealth," Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Dorothy Brown illustrates the way the tax code penalizes Blacks through the lens of Atlanta area homeowner "John," who wanted to raise his sons in a diverse neighborhood. Brown's research finds houses in Black neighborhood don’t appreciate like those in predominantly white neighborhoods. John sold at a loss and moved to a white neighborhood when the gap in property taxes affected the quality of his sons' schools. "This is just one of many ways that the U.S. tax code perpetuates the racial wealth gap," Brown writes for the New York Times. "Collecting tax data by race is a first and necessary step in making our tax laws more equitable."

Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Dorothy Brown was interviewed at the Bloomberg Equality Summit, "Is the Tax Code Racist”?" about her new book "The Whiteness of Wealth" and how the code is geared to build white wealth. Loopholes and benefits concerning marriage, property and investments work against Blacks, she says. "It doesn’t matter how much income you have, tax law disadvantages Black Americans across the income spectrum."

President Joe Biden says he will increase corporate, estate, and capital gains taxes to fund his Build Back Better plan for infrastructure, green energy and education, among other priorities. Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Dorothy Brown has argued capital gains should be taxed on equal footing with income, not just for those making $1 million or more. "If you really want to talk about tax reform that gets at systemic racism, look at the systemic racism that made stock ownership an activity white Americans have engaged in for decades but not Black Americans," she tells Vox.

"The IRS is unusual among federal agencies in never asking about race—the only information it requests is what it's required by law to ask and what it needs to calculate people's tax bills," according to Politico. If the IRS started collecting that data, it would show who benefits from tax breaks. "You would find provision after provision where white taxpayers are more likely to benefit than Black taxpayers," Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Dorothy Brown said.

Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Dorothy Brown is on the cover of the March 15 issue of Bloomberg Businessweek. Her new book, "The Whiteness of Wealth," details her ideas on how to overhaul a tax code geared to increase white wealth and results in Blacks paying more taxes for the same income.

COVID vaccinations are currently being administered under emergency conditions to quell a worldwide pandemic. But going forward, could employers or schools require proof of vaccination? " I think there would be some legal risk to an employer that chose to make a vaccine mandatory," Emory Law Professor Ani Satz tells Fox 5 Atlanta. "But I think there's some legal arguments to support that choice."

Then presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren's proposal to institute a two percent tax on Americans with more than $50 million in assets illuminates the racial wealth gap, Emory Law Professor Dorothy Brown told The Nation. "Given the gap, this tax will overwhelmingly hit white wealthy Americans," said Brown, who backs the idea. "Even wealthy black Americans don't reach the heights of a Bezos or Zuckerberg."

As long as a state can show its coronavirus rules are based on scientific evidence, it's unlikely a court will overturn the restrictions, Emory Law Professor Polly Price tells Law 360.

Emory Law Professor Kristin Johnson joined former Commodity Futures Trading Commission General Counsel Patrick McCarty and Columbia University's Josh Mitts to talk about fairness, hedge funds and social media in the context of the recent fluctuations of GameStop stock. Listen on Roll Call's FinTech Beat podcast.

Associate Professor Alexander Volokh testified before a Georgia House of Representatives subcommittee in a battle between traditional car manufacturers and dealerships, and the electric car industry, which tends to go directly to the consumer for sales. Volokh told the subcommittee that businesses should be allowed to find the best ways to sell their products. "It shouldn't be up to us to tell manufacturers the best way to reach their customers," he said.

A recent Bloomberg story on what progressive Democrats hope for in upcoming federal judicial appointments cited Professor Joanna Shepherd's study on how judges' backgrounds can make a difference in outcomes. Her research found Judges with experience as federal prosecutors or corporate lawyers are less likely to rule in favor of workers in employment disputes.

Emory Law Professor Joanna Shepherd's recently released study "Jobs, Judges, and Justice" found judges who were previously prosecutors or corporate lawyers "are significantly more likely than other types of lawyers to rule against workers as judges." She spoke with NPR about the impact of diversity on the bench.

While Emory has worked hard to eliminate racism and anti-semitism, its Yerkes National Primate Research Center is named for Robert Yerkes, Professor George Shepherd writes in an op-ed for the Emory Wheel. He says the University should stop honoring a man who was a racist proponent of eugenics, instrumental in the passage of the Immigration Act of 1924, which excluded millions of Jews from the U.S. in the years before World War II.

Fulton DA and Emory Law alumna Fani Willis 96L has announced she will investigate solicitation of election fraud, false statements, conspiracy and racketeering charges that stem from former President Donald Trump's post-election phone call to Georgia’s Secretary of State, asking him to find 11,780 votes—one more than he needed to beat Joe Biden. A conspiracy charge is a felony, Emory Law Professor Kay Levine told Bloomberg. Also, Trump's call seems to be evidence of solicitation.

Former president Donald Trump's attorneys have cited a Georgia case from the '60s to support their position that Trump's speech to a crowd, some of whom later attacked the U.S. Capitol, was protected by the First Amendment. In 1965, newly elected Georgia Rep. Julian Bond voiced an opinion opposing the Vietnam War. His House colleagues then refused to allow him to take his seat, but Bond later prevailed in a ruling by the U.S Supreme Court. Professor Fred Smith Jr. told 11 Alive that while creative, it does not necessarily support Trump's case for acquittal.

Three Emory Law faculty--Mary L. Dudziak, Michael J. Perry and Alexander Volokh--joined more than 150 law professors who signed a letter published by the New York Times, which says the First Amendment is no shield for former President Donald Trump at his impeachment trial.

Wargames have long been a part of military training, but now law of war educators are also using the tool, Laurie Blank, director of the International Humanitarian Law Clinic, writes. This year, the Marine Corps Command and Staff College curriculum added a wargame (developed in partnership with the IHL Clinic) that combines legal and operational decision-making. "Not only did the wargame teach students about compliance with the law of armed conflict, it also prepared them to face adversaries who will exploit that compliance for their own tactical and strategic gain."

The Biden Administration has issued an executive order to not renew federal contracts with privately operated criminal detention facilities. In a post for Reason, Professor Alexander Volokh disagrees. "Well-intentioned prison reformers too often blame private prisons for problems that plague incarceration generally," he writes. Instead of ending private prisons, one could make contracts performance-based, to incentivize measurable factors like post-prison employment and recidivism.

In the past year, at least half of the state legislatures proposed limiting governors' emergency powers. Defining when congressional oversight kicks in or public health takes over may be a good idea but "legislating in the midst of an emergency can be a very bad idea," Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Polly Price tells Stateline.

The major points of President Joe Biden's COVID-19 plan are what many state and local health officials have been waiting for, Asa Griggs Candler Professor Polly Price tells NBC. That is: increased testing, boosting PPE supplies via the Defense Production Act and using the CDC's expertise to distribute the vaccine.

"The next presidential term will commence exactly one year after the first confirmed U.S. case of COVID-19," Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Polly Price writes for the American Constitution Society. "The U.S. has since recorded the highest number of COVID-19 deaths and infections in the world. Because an estimated 90 percent of Americans remain vulnerable to infection, the next administration will continue to face the greatest public health threat in more than a century, even if a vaccine does become widely available."

Conflicts over remote work and leave are the most common type of COVID-19 employment litigation in the United States, according to The Atlantic. Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Polly Price was quoted in a story about how to contain COVID-19 until widespread vaccination is achieved. Isolating those who are exposed is effective, but enforcing it is difficult. "We don't really pay people to stay at home to quarantine," Price said.

President Trump's judicial appointments include three judges seated on the influential DC Circuit, Professor Jonathan Nash writes for The Hill. And while a stream of federal judges appointed in the past four years may have bolstered the GOP majority on some courts of appeals, the president's legacy will likely be more limited than commonly assumed, Nash says.

TI:GER director Nicole Morris discussed how Emory Law and Georgia Tech students take innovative ideas from the lab to the marketplace with LawNEXT host Bob Ambrogi. "There is perhaps no one better suited to lead this multidisciplinary program than Morris. A chemical engineer for six years with 3M and Eli Lilly before attending law school, she later served as managing patent counsel at The Coca-Cola Company," Ambrogi said.

The United States' vigorous protection of Intellectual property drives the innovation "that has made the United States an economic powerhouse," Professor Tim Holbrook writes for Insider Advantage. His op-ed centers on the SK Innovation case expected to be decided this week. LG Chem says SK misappropriated its trade secrets for lithium batteries.

Congress is taking on the tech industry, in response to allegations that once scrappy startups have evolved into monopolies that disregard users' privacy in the pursuit of profit. However, getting courts to enforce antitrust laws can be difficult, some professors say. "If you go into court and you say, 'We ought to break up this company because it has a 100% market share,' but you can't show that they did anything reprehensible to gain that market share, then you're going to lose," Professor Alexander Volokh tells Salon.

The nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has generated discussion about the future of Roe v. Wade, Professor Timothy Holbrook writes in a CNN op-ed. However, "Roe is not the only precedent at risk," he writes. "Marriage equality may be too." He discusses recent statements by Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas that "make clear that the vitality of Obergefell is in doubt."

Congress' mammoth stimulus bill, the Cares Act, delivered a quick and happy benefit to some energy companies. For pipeline company Antero Midstream, it was a $55 million payment in the form of a tax refund. Congress could have required companies applying for tax breaks to show they needed the cash and to promise that they would not distribute it to shareholders or lay off employees, Professor Dorothy A. Brown tells the Washington Post. Instead, the tax breaks were too broad in their applicability, she said, and "you see corporations taking money and laying off employees."

Professor Dorothy Brown discusses recent revelations about President Trump's tax records, his businesses and the tax code itself on NPR's "On Point." She was joined by Planet Money's Adam Davidson and Forbes editor Dan Alexander.

While the scandal surrounding the release of President Donald Trump's tax returns may reveal some unflattering things about his business practices, it's also an indictment of the tax code, Emory Law Professor Dorothy Brown tells Vox. "The real wealthy don't save money on taxes by losing money and generating losses. The true wealthy in America have their wealth in investments that are taxed at a preferential rate. They build wealth with the help of federal tax policy, which taxes them less," Brown said.

This week the U.S. Supreme Court sent a pension case back to a California appeals court, which is likely to make fiscal hawks unhappy, the Marin Independent Journal reports. It is based on the so-called “California rule” which prevents state agencies from cutting retirement benefits without providing employees with comparable pension compensation. Earlier rulings in two other cases strongly affirmed the California rule, both with unanimous votes. "I think for sure the Supreme Court is not interested in rethinking the California rule in any global way." Professor Alexander Volokh said.

If President Donald Trump succeeds in seating a third Supreme Court justice, it would be the most for any president since Richard Nixon, and could create a distinct shift toward conservatism, Professor Robert Schapiro told Newsy. Nixon saw four nominees confirmed during his first term. "Having really a staunch member of the liberal side of the court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, replaced by a president who [has] a very different perspective ... could really shift the court significantly in a more conservative direction," Schapiro said.

Could the battle over replacing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court affect some tight Georgia races in this election? Professor Fred Smith Jr. joined a panel on "Political Rewind" to discuss specific races and cases that could sway how Georgia voters cast their ballots.

A company that has called infringement for what it claims is patented contract tracing software likely faces a tough road to proving it, says Emory Law Professor Timothy Holbrook. Blyncsy seeks the equivalent of $1 per resident from states that have released or plan to release contact tracing apps. One of its 2019 patents describes ways to track "contagion" using Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and cellular signals. "It was a little bit shocking that a patent of this breadth managed to get out," Holbrook said. While it refers to an abstract idea of tracking proximity, the patent doesn't include many specifics on implementation beyond common methods like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. "Even dating apps rely on a similar concept," Holbrook said.

Connecticut will begin issuing $100 fines to those who refuse to wear masks in public to slow the spread of the coronavirus, NBC news reports. Professor Polly Price says the fines could be effective in much the same way speeding tickets encourage people to slow down. However, she was dubious on whether it is a "good use of police time." It may be more effective for businesses to adapt a policy on masks similar to the "no shoes, no shirt, no service" concept.

The death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT killed by Louisville police in March, has created a nationwide push to stop no-knock warrants, Center Square reports. Professor Kay Levine says empirical data shows judges who review requests for those warrants typically don't invest a lot of time before granting them. "There is a very common perception, and it is empirically supported that magistrates take about two or three minutes to review warrant applications before signing off," Levine said.

The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services dissolved its child abuse registry after four years. Officials say the database made it more difficult to accurately track and punish abusers. However, cases are still tracked via the SHINES Portal, the statewide, automated child welfare information system. Barton Child Law and Policy Center Executive Director Melissa Carter tells the AJC why the dissolution was prudent.

"While polls show that the majority of Americans are now sympathetic to the Black Lives Matter movement, many are skeptical of calls to defund police,” say the hosts of Political Rewind. Associate Professor Fred Smith joined a panel that included a political writer, mayor, and a human rights attorney, to discuss what defunding the police would mean in Georgia.

Professor Fred Smith jr. spoke with CBS 46 about officers' use of deadly force and said just the presence of a weapon doesn't always justify its use. "The question is whether or not the person could reasonably believe the person constituted an imminent threat," Smith said.

Professor Liza Vertinsky joined two other law professors in an op-ed that criticizes the FDA's recent announcement that it would authorize emergency use of investigational convalescent plasma as a treatment for COVID-19. They question whether the decision reflected extreme political pressure and a departure from evidence-based standards.

Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Dorothy Brown joined Bloomberg News to discuss the capital gains tax cut proposed by President Trump. That would benefit the richest citizens, not the middle class, she said. A more equitable solution? "Go back to the Reagan Tax Reform Act of 1986, believe it or not, where wages were taxed at the same income level, the same rate as gains from stock," she said. "That's the only right answer. There's absolutely no justification for giving a special break to capital that we don’t give to labor."

Regardless of race, most crime victims and perpetrators are of the same race, so public figures talking about "black on black" crime after police brutality isn't relevant, Professor Dorothy Brown tells 11Alive News. The latter is state-sanctioned and often occurs in communities that are over-policed, she said. "It's not again that violent crime isn't serious, of course it's serious, but, I should be able to walk down this street and not be murdered by police. Period, full stop," Brown said. "And anyone who tries to change the subject is really telling me, you don’t care about black lives."

A Georgia couple took a fan photo of Cam Newton that was later used to create a fake scenario (retweeted by ESPN and others) about the quarterback joining the Patriots. They felt wronged. Professors Tim Holbrook and Nicole Morris, both experts in IP, tell Fox 5 about one’s options when your social media posts are appropriated.

Professor Dorothy Brown is quoted in the New York Times on Elizabeth Warren's research on race and economics, including when Senator Warren spoke at Brown's 2004 symposium on critical race theory. She recalled Warren had spoken about how Black college graduates were more likely to file for bankruptcy, because of the student debt they carried. "When she presented, she freaked everybody out with her research," Brown said. "She blew us all away."

Despite a Supreme Court ruling that the DACA program could not be dismantled, the Department of Homeland Security said on July 28 that it will deny all first-time applicants. Professor Polly Price tells the Orlando Sentinel that the Trump administration could try again to legally end DACA, which benefits about 700,000 immigrants nationwide, but the program's terms can’t be modified in the meantime. "Until that is done, there's absolutely no authority and support for this proposition that [DHS] cannot accept new applications," she said. “This is a violation of those court rulings."

In his remarks at the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis' funeral, former President Barack Obama acknowledged his own accomplishments were made possible by standing on the congressman's shoulders, Professor Dorothy Brown writes in an opinion article for CNN. Lewis showed extraordinary courage the day he boarded a bus with a friend in 1960, Obama said. "Imagine the courage of two people Malia's age--younger than my oldest daughter--on their own to challenge an entire infrastructure of oppression." Lewis has passed the baton to protect voting rights to us, Brown says.

Federal agents in camouflage and tactical gear have used tear gas, flash bangs and physical force to clear crowds of protesters in Portland, Deseret News reports. “I think this kind of large-scale federal intervention without the request of state and local authorities is extremely unusual,” said Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Law Robert Schapiro. “So the fact there are allegations that federal authorities are violating the constitution is serious.”

Gov. Brian Kemp has sued Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and challenged restrictions she implemented, which include an ordinance mandating residents wear masks to help stem the spread of COVID-19. It's part of a growing clash between the governor and municipalities over who has authority over how the state handles the ongoing pandemic. Kemp may not win an injunction unless he can meet standard of "irreparable harm," Professor Polly Price tells TIME magazine.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to sue Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms over her announcement to enforce wearing masks in public demonstrates he doesn’t care about Black citizens, who are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, Professor Dorothy Brown writes for CNN.

While Black Lives Matters murals may go viral, they don't improve schools, raise minimum wage, create jobs or "stop the next murder of a Mr. Floyd," Professor Dorothy Brown tells Yahoo. "They don't do anything that would root out the systemic racism that’s holding Black Americans behind."

Associate Professor Fred Smith Jr. was invited to WABE’s "Political Rewind" to discuss Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's executive order that says cities may not pass laws requiring the public to wear face coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Kemp later said mask mandates were unenforceable and ineffective. "From a legal perspective, he picked literally the weakest case," Smith said.

Professor Polly Price criticized Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's recent lawsuit against Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms. It challenges her order requiring Atlantans to wear masks in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Kemp has previously barred local governments from taking more restrictive steps than the state, but on Wednesday he explicitly banned cities and counties from requiring face coverings. Price says it's unlikely Kemp's order would stand up in court. "But rather than force the question, why not allow local decision-making, as Texas has done, rather than waste time and resources engaging in litigation?" Price told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Professor Polly Price spoke with Dan Abrams on how face coverings work to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's order that says municipalities can't pass laws requiring them in public. "The Governor of Georgia does not have authority to override local face mask requirements," Price tweeted. "Do the right thing."

"Plagues in the Nation" is a narrative history of America through major outbreaks, one that examines how law and government affected the outcome of the epidemics that struck America, and how those outbreaks have in turn shaped our government. Professor Polly Price's book examines efforts to control COVID-19 and also, the panic that resulted when Ebola arrived in n America.

A massive new study of more than 10 years and 118 million tax assessments found Black homeowners pay, on average, 10 to 13% more in property taxes each year than a white family in the same situation. Black-owned homes were usually assessed at higher values, relative to their actual sale price, than white-owned homes. "Homeownership in America has always been about race and who could buy a home has always been a function of racism," Professor Dorothy Brown tells WAMU 88.5.

As Congress debates whether and when to send a second round of stimulus checks to offset the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, some Republican lawmakers have proposed dropping the income standard below the previous one of $75,000. "To the extent they make it a lower income cutoff than the last time, it will hurt more people," Professor Dorothy Brown told the Washington Post, noting that many Americans will face the lifting of eviction moratorium. "This will have drastic human consequences."