Bringing Home the Supply Chain

SAMUEL ESTREICHER, JONATHAN F. HARRIS

NYU law professors Samuel Estreicher and Jonathan F. Harris describe how the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing the United States to confront the problem of unchecked globalization. Estreicher and Harris argue that once the pandemic subsides, U.S. policymakers should, as a matter of national security, mandate that a minimum percentage of essential supplies be manufactured domestically.

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Unconstitutional Chaos: Abortion in the Time of COVID-19

JOANNA L. GROSSMAN, MARY ZIEGLER

SMU Dedman School of Law professor Joanna L. Grossman and Florida State University law professor Mary Ziegler discuss the abortion bans implemented in several states in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grossman and Ziegler explain why the bans are constitutional and comment on the connection between the legal challenges to those bans and the broader fight over abortion rights.

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Expo Properties, LLC v. Experient, Inc.

Docket: 19-1750

Opinion Date: April 15, 2020

Judge: James Andrew Wynn, Jr.

Areas of Law: Contracts, Landlord - Tenant

Expo Properties owns an office complex in which they leased to Experient. When the lease term ended, the parties dispute the condition the premises should be in when defendant vacated, and who should pay for any work to put the premises into that condition. The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment to Experient, holding that the Estoppel Certificate did not satisfy the requirements of Maryland contract law for modification of a contract. Therefore, contrary to Expo Properties' contention, the Estoppel Certificate did not modify the Lease under Maryland law. Furthermore, the Lease unambiguously does not allocate all costs for all maintenance and repairs, no matter what, to the tenant. Consequently, the district court properly held that Expo Properties' parol evidence was inadmissible.

In re: Emerson Stevens

Docket: 19-305

Opinion Date: April 15, 2020

Judge: Frank K. Richardson

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Fourth Circuit authorized, under 28 U.S.C. 2244, a motion to file a successive 28 U.S.C. 2254 application for federal habeas relief. The court held that movant has made a prima facie showing that his application satisfied section 2244(b)(2)(B)'s requirements. In this case, movant relied on a newly discovered "box of materials" from law enforcement authorities that movant had been requesting for decades and that he claimed showed his innocence, undermining his convictions.

United States v. Spivey

Docket: 18-4099

Opinion Date: April 15, 2020

Judge: Floyd

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment for improper venue. At issue was, in which judicial district(s) is venue proper, when a state sex offender subject to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) relocates from one state to another and fails to update his registration in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2250(a). The court joined several of its fellow circuits in holding that venue was proper in the district from which defendant departed, namely the Eastern District of North Carolina.