School of Law

In the wake of the Aug. 12 confrontations between protesters and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, some progressives are calling for legal restrictions on the display of the Nazi flag. These arguments are entirely understandable, but they often misapply existing First Amendment law, and they suppress free speech values that progressives — more than anyone else — should want to defend, says a constitutional law expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

Should physicians be required to disclose their religious beliefs to patients? How should we think about institutional conscience in the health care setting? How should health care providers deal with families with religious objections to withdrawing treatment? These questions and more are tackled in a new book co-edited by an expert on health law at Washington University in St. Louis.

As Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia continue to become more prevalent, it may not be long before there is a push for legalizing physician-assisted death in dementia cases in the United States. American officials must thoroughly consider the moral and social consequences of such an action, says an expert on medical ethics at Washington University in St. Louis.

The 21st Century Cures Act and key changes made during its drafting remain controversial and show the need for a more informed comment period for future health care legislation, says an expert on health law at Washington University in St. Louis.

The justices of the nation’s highest court have a bird’s-eye view of the nation’s discord. But Lee Epstein trains her binoculars on them as they do their work.

Despite the efforts of some school districts to say otherwise, the naturally curly texture of the hair of many African-Americans is not unprofessional, distracting or faddish, says an expert on implicit bias and the law at Washington University in St. Louis.

Nancy Staudt, dean of the Washington University School of Law and the Howard and Caroline Cayne Professor of Law, is serving as graduation speaker June 16 for the Faculty of Law at the University of Bergen in Bergen, Norway.

President Donald Trump has made the decision to pull the U.S. out of the 2015 Paris climate agreement, a move that that cannot be justified on the stated grounds for withdrawal, says an expert in environmental law at Washington University in St. Louis.

The U.S. Supreme Court this week struck down North Carolina’s federal House district boundaries as unconstitutional, finding the lines were drawn based on race. However, Democrats and liberals who welcomed the decision may not be cheering for long, said a constitutional law and Supreme Court expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

Here is the text of graduate student Wei Zhu’s message to 2017 graduates. Zhu earned a law degree.