The “Textalyzer”: A Violation of the Fourth Amendment or a Life Saving Device?

The “Textalyzer”: A Violation of the Fourth Amendment or A Life Saving Device?

Marleigh Davis*

With distracted driving statistics revealing the large number of people who dangerously choose to use their cell phones while driving, the question arises of how many accidents occur because of this phenomenon and whether they could be prevented? New York’s legislature is attempting to take action to help end this common practice with a device called a “Textaylzer.” N.Y. Sen. S6325A, 2016 Leg., Sess. (N.Y. 2016). Road patrol officers would each have one of these devices which would be used to see if an individual in a car accident was using a phone at the time of the accident or immediately before it. See id. Is this device, however, constitutional after the Supreme Court held in 2014 that police officers need a warrant to search a phone? See Riley v. California, 134 S. Ct. 2473, 2495 (2014). Can this device be easily compared to the Breathalyzer that is used in the fight against drunk driving? Noah Feldman, Breathalyzers, Textalyzers and the Constitution, Bloomberg (Apr. 28, 2016, 11:56 AM), https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-04-28/breathalyzers-textalyzers-and-the-constitution.

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Recognizing the Workplace Rights of Student-Workers: Adapting Labor Law for the 21st Century

Recognizing the Workplace Rights of Student-Workers: Adapting Labor Law for the 21st Century

William Suggs* 

For over eighty years, workers acting collectively to improve the terms and conditions of their employment have been protected by the National Labor Relations Act.  National Labor Relations Act, ch. 372, § 7, 49 Stat. 449 (1935) (current version at 29 U.S.C. § 151 (2012)).  This means that when workers get together and ask management to do things such as raise wages, improve workplace safety, or recognize a labor organization of their choosing, they are legally protected from retaliation.  Id.  In the decades following the Act’s implementation, membership in labor organizations skyrocketed, and—although union membership is currently at a historic low—workers today are seeking unions in traditionally union-free industries.  This includes writers at new media companies, interns, and even college athletes.  See Jonathan Timm, Can Millennials Save Unions?, Atlantic (Sept. 7, 2015), http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/09/millennials-unions/401918/.

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Private Intelligence Contracting in Syria: Can the Department of Defense Outsource Intelligence Analysis?

Private Intelligence Contracting in Syria:  Can the Department of Defense Outsource Intelligence Analysis?

Janet Franklin*

By allowing contractors to perform intelligence gathering and analysis, is the Department of Defense outsourcing “inherently governmental functions” in violation of the Federal Activities Inventory Reform (FAIR) Act of 1998?  This has long been a subject of debate.  Keric D. Clanahan, Wielding a “Very Long, People-Intensive Spear”:  Inherently Governmental Functions and the Role of Contractors in U.S. Department of Defense Unmanned Aircraft Systems Missions, 70 A.F. L. Rev. 119, 173 (2013).  Compare Walter Pincus, Increase in Contracting Intelligence Jobs Raises Concerns, Wash. Post (Mar. 20, 2006), http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/19/AR2006031900978.html (criticizing the outsourcing of intelligence and interrogation activities to private contractors), with Daniel Gouré, Washington Post Series Criticizing Intelligence Contractors Is Short on Evidence, Lexington Inst. (July 20, 2010), http://lexingtoninstitute.org/washington-post-series-criticizing-intelligence-contractors-is-short-on-evidence (arguing that outsourcing intelligence activities is both cost-effective and legal).  With the Department of Defense’s July 2016 announcement that it has awarded a contract to Six3 Intelligence Solutions, Inc. for intelligence analysis services in Syria, this debate will likely be rekindled.  See U.S. Dep’t of Def., Release No. CR-143-16 (July 27, 2016), http://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/873473; David Choi, The US Is Hiring Military Contractors for Operations in Syria, Bus. Insider (Aug. 9, 2016, 9:03 PM), http://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-contractors-operations-syria-2016-8.  May contractors perform intelligence analysis, and if so, what limitations apply?

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MARYLAND’S JUSTICE REINVESTMENT ACT: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Maryland’s Justice Reinvestment Act: What You Need to Know

Brett Smoot*

On May 19, 2016, Governor Larry Hogan signed the Justice Reinvestment Act (JRA) into law.  Proponents of the JRA believe that the Act represents a progressive and necessary step in reforming the state’s criminal justice system.  However, the JRA also represents the largest and most comprehensive criminal justice reform to pass in a generation.  This raises several questions.  What issues caused this legislation to be passed?  What exactly does the JRA do?  What are some of the potential flaws in the Act?  For anyone involved in Maryland’s criminal justice system, the answers to these questions are pertinent.

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Pokémon Go, Augmented Reality, and the Future of Mobile Gaming

Pokémon Go, Augmented Reality, and the Future of Mobile Gaming

Jakob Metz*

Pokémon Go, the latest mobile gaming craze, has taken the world by storm since its release in July 2016.  The game, created by Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, and Niantic Labs, has been downloaded millions of times by players across the world.  Tiffany Li, Pokémon Go and the Law: Privacy, Intellectual Property, and Other Legal Concerns, Freedom to Tinker (July 19, 2016), https://freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/tiffanyli/pokemon-go-and-the-law-privacy-intellectual-property-and-other-legal-concerns/.  Pokémon Go is free to download for iOS and Android devices.  Stephanie Lee, What Is Pokémon Go and Why Is Everyone Talking About It?, Lifehacker (July 11, 2016, 8:00 AM), http://lifehacker.com/what-is-pokemon-go-and-why-is-everyone-talking-about-it-1783420761.  The game does include in-game purchase options that can make playing the game easier and more enjoyable.  Id.  The game operates by accessing the GPS capabilities of any smartphone.  By locating players and placing them on a real-world map, the game allows users to navigate and interact with the environment around them.  Id.

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