The Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy regularly publishes an online edition — the “Sidebar” — with timely comments on topical trends and current subjects of constitutional law and public policy. The Sidebar provides a forum for students, professors, practitioners, judges, and policy-makers to discuss trends in the law via brief essays, notes, and commentaries that can be quickly published.
On the Record… articles were issued as a component of the “Sidebar” from 2006 to 2009.
Submissions from 2026
It's in the Money: The Independent Federal Reserve, Kathrynne E. Curtis
Towards State Legislative Codification of the WPATH SOC Guidelines, Suresh Hanubal
Using AI to Identify National Security Threats: A Holistic Examination of the Legal Risks and Increased Need for Regulation, Skylar McVicar
Reflections on Judging at the Intersection of Constitutional Claims and Public Policy, Kimberly J. Mueller
When The Second Amendment Meets The Third Dimension: Bruen In The Age of 3D-Printed Firearms, Andrew Touma
Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Possess: Mapping a Potential Second Amendment Challenge to 18 U.S. Code § 922(g)(6), Emil Zakarian
Humphrey's Eulogy: A Functionalist View of Trump v. Slaughter and the Role of the FTC, Alex Zhang
Submissions from 2025
Stacked Against Defendants: Retroactivity, Vacatur, and the First Step Act in Hewitt v. United States, Matthew N. Barry
Fraudulent Transfer Law and Sovereign Immunity: An Actual Abuse of Federalism?, Kyle Beck
Forcing Our Hand: Evaluating the Use of Force in Responses to Wrongful Detentions Abroad, Tyler J. Marovitz
Pick Your Precedent: Bostock, Dobbs, and the Uncertain Reach of Intermediate Scrutiny in United States v. Skrmetti, Molly Pines
The Rogue Private Company and National Defense Emergencies, Gavin Small
A Matter of Public Concern: Wright v. Dorsey and the Need For Speech Protections Beyond Anti-SLAPP Law, Henry Valentine
Submissions from 2024
Full Faith and Credit in the Post-Roe Era, Celia P. Janes
Discharging Equity: Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P. and the Validity of Nonconsensual Third-Party Releases, Andrew Klauber
Disentangling Race and Politics: Racial Gerrymandering in South Carolina's First Congressional District, Matthew Poliakoff
Submissions from 2023
Match Up: Increasing Disclosure of Facial Recognition Technology with Criminal Discovery Rules, Paget Barranco
Moore v. Harper: The Independent State Legislature Theory and the Court at the Brink, Braden Fain
Upholding the Domestic Violence Firearm Prohibitors Under Bruen’s Second Amendment, Samantha L. Fawcett
Cannabis Drug Development and the Controlled Substances Act, Gabrielle Feliciani
Historic Preservation: Launched From Grand Central Terminal, But Derailing, Kraz Greinetz
Too Much SALT: Rejecting the Pass-Through Entity Tax as a SALT Deduction Cap Workaround, Timothy Gray Ingram
Redlining Reimagined: "Race-Neutral Alternatives" in the Likely Wake of Affirmative Action, Margaret Kruzner
The Spirit of Gun Laws, Noah Levine
Protecting Natural Stewardship: Public Trusts, Wildlife Trusts, and the Effect of Trophic Cascades, Nicholas Massey
It Ain't Real Funky Unless It's Got That Pop: Artistic Fair Use After Goldsmith, Benjamin A. Spencer
Allen v. Milligan: Anticlassification and the Voting Rights Act, Graham Stinnett
Submissions from 2022
Protecting Procedural Safeguards in Federal Capital Trials: United States v. Tsarnaev, Ashley DaBiere
Universalizing Fraud, Parmida Enkeshafi
Noncitizens' Rights in the Face of Prolonged Detention: Johnson v. Arteaga-Martinez, Samantha L. Fawcett
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization and the Likely End of the Roe v. Wade Era, Jeffrey Hannan
A Way Forward After Dobbs: Human Rights Advocacy and Self-Managed Abortion in the United States, Kelly Keglovits
Done the Time, Still Being Punished for the Crime: The Irrationality of Collateral Consequences in Occupational Licensing and Fourteenth Amendment Challenges, McCarley Maddock
Privilege in Peril: U.S. v. Zubaydah and the State Secrets Privilege, Alana Mattei
F.B.I. v. Fazaga: The Secret of the State-Secrets Privilege, Rebecca Reeves
Proper Cause for Concern: New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, Ali Rosenblatt
Addressing Interstate Ground Water Ownership: Mississippi v. Tennessee, Alec Sweet
Name and Shame: How International Pressure Allows Civil Rights Activists to Incorporate Human Rights Norms Into American Jurisprudence, Lily Talerman
The Shurtleff Conundrum: Resolving the Conflict in Government-Speech and Public Forum Analysis, James Walraven
Xiaomi Corporation v. U.S. Department of Defense: Defending the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Bailey Williams
Submissions from 2021
United States v. Arthrex Inc.: Clarifying Appointments Clause Requirements for Administrative Judges, Albert Barkan
Trouble With Names: Commercial Speech and a New Approach to Food Product Label Regulation, William Cusack
Ford Motor Company V. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court: Redefining the Nexus Requirement for Specific Jurisdiction, Brittany Day
Not A King: President Trump and the Case for Presidential Subpoena Reform, Robert J. DeNault
TikTok Might Stop: Why the IEEPA Cannot Regulate Personal Data Privacy and the Need for a Comprehensive Solution, Alicia Faison
Missing the Mark: NYSRPA as a Vehicle to Clarify Inconsistencies in Mootness Doctrine, Leila Hatem
Handle with Care: Constitutional Standards for Information Sharing in Medical-Correctional Transition, Andrew R. Hayes
Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee: Examining Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, Arturo Nava
Exhausted and Confused: How Fry Complicated Obtaining Relief for Disabled Students, Chris Ricigliano
Interstate Burdens and Antitrust Federalism: A Reexamination of Parker Immunity, John Sack
California v. Texas: The Denouement of the Affordable Care Act's Legal Challenges?, Rachel Sereix
Mind the Gap: A Comparative Approach for Fixing Volcker, Learning from Liikanen, and Using Vickers To Repair The U.S. Banking System, Rachel Sereix
Fourth Amendment Limits on Extensive Quarantine Surveillance, Benjamin Wolters
Paving the Way for Mind-Reading: Reinterpreting "Coercion" in Article 17 of the Third Geneva Convention, John Zarrilli
Submissions from 2020
Questioning the Definition of "Sex" in Title VII: Bostock v. Clayton County, Ga., Katherine Carter
DHS v. Regents of the University of California: Administrative Law Concerns in Repealing DACA, Charles Fendrych
Campus Sexual Assault and Due Process, Ilana Frier
Pretrial and Error: The Use of Statements Inadmissible at Trial in Preliminary Proceedings, Erin Hughes
Kansas v. Glover and the Issue of Reasonable Suspicion, Zach Kumar
The Wrong Choice to Address School Choice: Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, Brooke Reczka
Kahler v. Kansas: The End of the Insanity Defense?, Eric Roytman
Has Revenge Become a Justification to Legitimize the Death Penalty?, Jordan Ryan
Contracting Free From Racial Animus: Comcast Corporation v. National Association of African American-Owned Media and Entertainment Studios, Catherine Tarantino
Stand in the Place Where Data Live: Data Breaches as Article III Injuries, Jason Wasserman
Submissions from 2019
The Race Horse That Wouldn't Die: On Herrera v. Wyoming, Benjamin Cantor
A Test of Sovereignty: Franchise Tax Board of the State of California v. Gilbert P. Hyatt, Timothy Dill
Timbs v. Indiana: The Constitutionality of Civil Forfeiture When Used by States, Kris Fernandez
Bucklew v. Precythe: The Power of Assumptions and Lethal Injection, Renata Gomez
Let History Repeat Itself: Solving Originalism's History Problem in Interpreting the Establishment Clause, Neil Joseph
Swords into Plowshares: Nuclear Power and the Atomic Energy Act’s Preemptive Scope in Virginia Uranium, Inc. v. Warren, Francis X. Liesman
Legislator-Led Legislative Prayer and the Search for Religious Neutrality, Aishwarya Masrani
Gamble v. United States: A Commentary, Kayla Mullen
Stepping into the Breach: State Constitutions as a Vehicle for Advancing Rights-Based Climate Litigation, Benjamin T. Sharp
Litigating War: The Justiciability of Executive War Power, Chris Smith
Apple v. Pepper: Applying the Indirect Purchaser Rule to Online Platforms, Jason Wasserman
Submissions from 2018
Chance to Change: Jennings V. Rodriguez as a Chance To Bring Due Process to a Broken Detention System, Joe Bianco
Third Circuit Confusion: NCAA v. Christie and an Opportunity to Defend Federalism, Zachary Buckheit
Patchak v. Zinke, Separation of Powers, and the Pitfalls of Form over Substance, Michael Fisher
Carpenter v. United States: How Many Cell Phone Location Points Constitute a Search Under the Fourth Amendment?, Douglas Harris
Compelled Speech, Expressive Conduct, and Wedding Cakes: A Commentary on Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, Andrew Jensen
Preserving the ‘Jewel of their Souls’: How North Carolina’s Common Law Could Save Cyber-Bullying Statutes, Nick McGuire
Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute: How Can States Maintain Their Voter Rolls?, Chris Smith
Racing on Two Different Tracks: Using Substantive Due Process to Challenge Tracking in Schools, Katarina Wong
Submissions from 2017
An Alcohol Mindset in a Drug-Crazed World: A Review of Birchfield v. North Dakota, Devon Beeny
Without More, There Is No More: Standing and Racial Gerrymandering in Wittman v. Personhuballah, Jessica Edmundson
What is the Relevant Parcel? Clarifying the "Parcel as a Whole" Standard in Murr v. Wisconsin, Gavin S. Frisch
Sessions v. Dimaya: Vagueness Doctrine & Deportation Statutes, Matthew Gibbons
Flight Risk or Danger to the Community? Rodriguez and the Protection of Civil Liberties in the U.S. Immigration System, Charlie Kazemzadeh
Ditching Your Duty: When Must Private Entities Comply with Federal Antidiscrimination Law?, Tara Knapp
Violating Equal Protection: Lynch v. Morales-Santana and the Ina’s Sex Discriminatory Physical Presence Requirement, Courtney Magnus
McDonnell v. United States: Defining “Official Action” in Public Corruption Law, Christopher Murphy
Commodity Supply and Extraterritorial Patent Infringement in Life Technologies V. Promega, G. Edward Powell
Drawing Lines: Racial Gerrymandering in Bethune-Hill v. Virginia Board of Elections, Scott Reed
Birchfield v. North Dakota: Warrantless Breath Tests and the Fourth Amendment, Sara Jane Schlafstein