The transformative power of teaching and research

The transformative power of teaching and research

Peggie Smith is a champion for strengthening the rights and legal protections of domestic workers, particularly Black women. Smith became interested in the issue while in graduate school, realizing that there was little research and effort at the time around such laborers’ particular concerns and perspectives. She credits her first-grade teacher, with whom she still keeps in touch, with inspiring her to go into teaching rather than practicing law.
Navigating a difficult tax year

Navigating a difficult tax year

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is expected to have another challenging year processing returns. Experts at Washington University’s Low Income Taxpayer Clinic offer tips, including: file early and electronically if possible.
The Laws of Hammurabi

The Laws of Hammurabi

At the Confluence of Royal and Scribal Traditions

The Laws of Hammurabi is one of the earliest law codes, dating from the eighteenth century BCE Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq). It is the culmination of a tradition in which scribes would demonstrate their legal flair by composing statutes on a repertoire of traditional cases, articulating what they deemed just and fair. The book describes how […]
Biden nominee could shake up court’s liberal wing

Biden nominee could shake up court’s liberal wing

If President Joe Biden follows through on his promise to nominate a Black woman to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, longer-term change to the court is possible, based on voting patterns of Black female judges versus white male judges, suggests new research from Washington University in St. Louis.
WashU Expert: Filibuster carve-out protects majority rule

WashU Expert: Filibuster carve-out protects majority rule

A voting rights filibuster “carve-out” — or making an exception to the 60-vote threshold to overcome a legislative filibuster — would help to preserve the core democratic principle of majority rule, says an expert on constitutional law at Washington University in St. Louis.
One-year anniversary of siege on U.S. Capitol

One-year anniversary of siege on U.S. Capitol

January 6, 2022, marks the one-year anniversary of the attack on the U.S. Capitol building by supporters of president Donald Trump. Here, university experts in political science and law offer their thoughts on what the attack means.
Is privacy dead?

Is privacy dead?

In a new book, “Why Privacy Matters,” one of the world’s leading experts in privacy law, Neil Richards, the Koch Distinguished Professor in Law and co-director of the Cordell Institute for Policy in Medicine & Law, argues privacy is not dead, but up for grabs.
Why Privacy Matters

Why Privacy Matters

Many people tell us that privacy is dead, or that it is dying, but such talk is a dangerous fallacy. This book explains what privacy is, what privacy isn’t, and why privacy matters. Privacy is the extent to which human information is known or used, and it is fundamentally about the social power that human […]
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