Recent Articles
Trump Administration’s Attacks on the Press, Universities, and Law Firms: Five Key Commonalities
MARY-ROSE PAPANDREA
When Donald Trump returned to the Presidency in 2025, the heated rhetoric attacking the press, universities, and lawyers that dominated his first term in office turned to action. These aggressive attacks on our nation’s elite institutions have been remarkably successful. This Essay asks why. This Essay first offers some historical context for Trump’s attacks and outlines their general parameters. Although the current Trump administration attacks on the press, universities, and law firms are more brazen and more aggressive than any we have ever seen before, our own nation’s history laid the groundwork for them. In addition, in recent decades the public’s trust in universities, the press, and elites in general has dramatically decreased, blunting political outrage. The second Part of this Essay identifies five key factors leading to the remarkable success of the Trump attacks: (1) these institutions need money and are run like businesses; (2) legal challenges to the Trump administration’s actions face significant procedural obstacles and substantive uncertainty; (3) the Administration’s actions have a broad chilling effect on others; (4) the institutions under attack have a weak commitment to the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, and academic freedom; and (5) the institutions are fractured and have failed to engage in effective collective action. In light of these weaknesses, saving our democratic institutions from the Trump administration’s attacks will be no easy feat.
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Everything Old Is New Again: Attacks on New York Times v. Sullivan and the Weaponization of Libel Law
AMY KRISTIN SANDERS
Free press advocates have lamented the recent uptick in the number of lawsuits news organizations from the Wall Street Journal to CNN are facing for their critical coverage of government and political leaders. But history reminds us that these attacks are not new despite the First Amendment’s purported protection of freedom of expression. Even before the Constitution was ratified, printer John Peter Zenger faced seditious libel charges for criticism of Britain’s colonial leaders. During the Civil Rights Movement, segregationists turned to libel laws to discourage news coverage of their violent efforts to avoid integration. Not long after Watergate brought down President Nixon, conservative political groups launched high-profile attempts to bring the watchdog press to heel. This Essay analyzes these key lawsuits and the historical moment in which they arose in an effort to glean key litigation and advocacy strategies to help news organizations rebut current attempts to weaponize libel law and erode press freedom.
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Combatting Cyberstalking with Copyright Law: An Alternate Route for Redress
JAYLEIN PIEKARSKI
This Comment explores the growing phenomenon of “copycat cyberstalking,” a form of stalking in which individuals obsessively mimic another’s social media content—including posts, poses, outfits, captions, and digital aesthetics—to the point of emotional distress and reputational harm. Given the limitations and inconsistencies of existing cyberstalking laws, which often fail to address nuanced and non-physical forms of digital harassment, this Comment proposes an innovative legal remedy: the application of copyright law. Through a detailed analysis of the first-of-its-kind case based in copyright, Gifford v. Sheil, this Comment argues that content creators can frame instances of cyberstalking as copyright infringement by utilizing doctrines such as the substantial similarity test. By applying copyright standards to curated digital expression, victims can pursue legal recourse even when cyberstalking statutes fall short. Ultimately, this Comment advocates for the recognition of user-generated content as protectable creative work and highlights the potential for copyright law to fill critical enforcement gaps in the digital age.
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News
Access to safe and affordable housing remains a challenge for millions of Americans. Historical and systemic factors, including redlining and discriminatory lending practices, have disproportionately affected minority communities, contributing to disparities in home ownership and exacerbating the housing affordability crisis. Unsafe or inaccessible rental housing, as well as rising rental costs, create additional barriers to housing security nationwide. While progress has been made due to the passage of the Fair Housing Act and other consumer protection laws, the affordable housing crisis and tenant rights’ violations persist. Moreover, the use of artificial intelligence in housing markets and public housing is raising new concerns. Leading scholars will discuss some of these problems and innovative efforts to address them. Participants will also share their predictions for future housing law and policy needs and make recommendations for how to move forward. (more…)
Connecticut Law Review has been ranked as the 50th flagship law review in the United States, according to the 2024 Law Journal Meta-Rankings. Connecticut Law Review improved 8 spots from its ranking in 2023 in order to break into the top-50 flagship journals in the nation in 2024. Professor Bryce Clayton Newell publishes Meta-Rankings of approximately 200 different flagship law reviews across the country, determining their rank based on the Washington & Lee Law Journal ranking, Google Scholar Metrics ranking, U.S. News Peer Reputation score, and U.S. News average 10-year overall school ranking. For more information and to see the full ranking, visit the Law Journal Meta-Ranking, 2024 Edition.
Announcements
Connecticut Law Review will host its first Proof Day for Volume 57 on August 24, 2024, at 8:30 AM in the Starr Reading Room. All members of CLR are required to attend unless previously excused.
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