To be capable of surveilling, preventing, and managing disease outbreaks, public health systems require trustworthy, community-embedded public health workers who are empowered to undertake their tasks as professionals. The world has not invested in this cadre of health workers, despite the lessons from Ebola. In a new paper, my co-authors and I discuss why, and…

In the futuristic 2002 film “Minority Report,” law enforcement uses a predictive technology that includes artificial intelligence (AI) for risk assessments to arrest possible murderers before they commit crimes. However, a police officer is now one of the accused future murderers and is on the run from the Department of Justice to prove that the…

The COVID-19 outbreak worldwide is affecting not just crime as I explained last week, but also law enforcement: How are police responding to COVID-19 and its knock-on effects on crime? What effects does the pandemic have on criminal groups and the policing they do? Where have all the coppers gone? Globally, police forces are predominantly…

More than six years after the September 11 attacks, America is losing a crucial front in the ongoing war on terror—not to al Qaeda but to its own failure to construct a set of laws that will protect the American people and govern the American side of a conflict unlike any it has faced in…

The following is part of the Series on Counterterrorism and American Statutory Law, a joint project of the Brookings Institution, the Georgetown University Law Center, and the Hoover Institution Introduction The worldwide scandal spurred by the abuse of prisoners in Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo, Afghanistan and secret CIA prisons during the Bush Administration has been a…

Artificial intelligence is not the first technology to concern consumers. Over time, many innovations have frightened users and led to calls for major regulation or restrictions. Inventions such as the telegraph, television, and robots have generated everything from skepticism to outright fear. As AI technology advances, how should we evaluate AI? What measures should be…

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a transformative technology that will have a profound impact on manufacturing, robotics, transportation, agriculture, modeling and forecasting, education, cybersecurity, and many other applications. The positive benefits of AI are enormous. For example, AI-based systems can lead to improved safety by reducing the risks of injuries arising from human error. AI-based systems…

In 2019, an innocent man was jailed in New York City after the complaining witness showed police screenshots of harassing text messages and recordings of threatening voicemails that the man allegedly sent in violation of a protective order. The man’s Legal Aid Society defense attorney subpoenaed records from SpoofCard, a company that lets people send…

Tens of billions of consumer dollars are lost to the legal profession due to industry standards and regulations that have created a lawyer monopoly, write Clifford Winston and Robert Crandall. Winston and Crandall propose opening up the legal field and utilizing innovative IT and online services to alleviate demand for routine law work.

Not many Americans think of the legal profession as a monopoly, but it is. Abraham Lincoln, who practiced law for nearly twenty-five years, would likely not have been allowed to practice today. Without a law degree from an American Bar Association–sanctioned institution, a would-be lawyer is allowed to practice law in only a few states. […]

Clifford Winston and Robert Crandall argue that occupational licensing for lawyers creates a monopoly in the legal field. They write that deregulating the industry would give consumers more responsive service while lowering costs.

Clifford Winston and Robert Crandall say that the bankruptcies of major, long-standing law firms signal a change in how businesses and the public are choosing to find legal services. Winston and Crandall argue that deregulation would revitalize the industry, bringing new ideas, technologies, talents and operating procedures into the practice of law.

Cliff Winston and Robert Crandall explain why, despite major declines in law school applications, new legal PhD programs can reduce the drag on economic growth that the legal industry may contribute to. Winston and Crandall argue that new doctorates in law may develop new findings that fill gaps in our understanding of the implementation of public policies, creating opportunities for streamlining and reform.

Anyone paying attention to major events of the day in the United States and around the world would know that the basic social fabric is fraying from a toxic mix of ills — inequality, dislocation, polarization, environmental distress, scarce resources, and more. Signs abound that after decades of uneven but steady human progress, we are…

The following is part of the Series on Counterterrorism and American Statutory Law, a joint project of the Brookings Institution, the Georgetown University Law Center, and the Hoover Institution Introduction It is a slight exaggeration to say that Barack Obama is the first president in American history to have run in part on a political…

A certain Commander in Chief says that wildfires are being made 'so much worse by the bad environmental laws.' Here's what's really happening.

According to CNN, a 66 year-old man was beaten to death on his front lawn by his 36 year-old neighbor for watering it yesterday in Sydney, Australia. Apparently, the pair started arguing over his water usage, and the victim sprayed his neighbor with

It may have also been done under falsely obtained consent...

Because the iron dumped in the ocean off British Columbia wasn't dumped as waste, it didn't violate international law.

Would you let corporations decide how climate science gets taught in your kids' classroom? That's what's happening in Tennessee.

Woops.

Backyard chickens may be trendy, but in some cities they are still illegal. But that doesn't stop some would-be chicken keepers.

A "moot court" will be held over Twitter for the first time ever, and students from 5 major Canadian law schools will argue an environmental law.

The road to mandatory labels is still long, with a 5-state trigger before the requirement goes into effect.

After a week of recounts, the proposed law to label genetically modified foods loses by 4 percent of votes.

A bill requiring all foods containing genetically engineered ingredients is just one step away from becoming law in Vermont.

In a lawsuit settlement today, General Mills agreed to remove the “100% Natural” from more than 20 of its products.

But cyclists all run stop signs and red lights! Don't they?

Remember the story of Ohio's Bay Shore coal-fired power plant, the one that (perfectly legally) kills at least 46 million fish a year? Well that's still happening, but not without some legal challenges. A coalition of

Are solar-powered trash cans a fuel-saving, money-saving way to keep the streets clean? Or are they worse than regular trash cans?

There are all kinds of distracted and compromised people in our roads. Some of them cannot help it. So why are phones a problem?

This is, in fact, one of the things that e-bikes are really good at. Another dumb move.

It is the battle of the M&Ms; vs the L&Ls; the Munk debate in Toronto about the statement "Climate change is mankind's defining crisis, and demands a commensurate international response" with Bjorn Lomberg and Nigel Lawson duking it out

By 2030, 70% of the country's electricity could come from renewables.

Fiji, probably the least favorite in an already disliked industry, is the target of a class action lawsuit alleging the company has profited from greenwashing. Specifically, from greenwashing claims that its products are

It may be decades before AVs are good enough, so in the meantime everyone will have to keep out of their way.

Lawns use up way too much water.

Proposed bill would make burning tires and other industrial solid waste count towards the state’s mandate of generating 10 percent of its energy from renewables.

Cut the grass will you?...Are you done edging?....Time to water the

It's catching on: homeowners letting lawns go fallow during the summer without wasting resources on watering. When I lived in Seattle it was a common practice. After the grass turns brown, come fall,

For all those of you who insist on green lawns, for your kids to play on or your dogs to roll in, you still don't have to lay down a carpet of thirsty bluegrass, which 95% of American lawns

The university brings the outdoors in to help students relax and focus on studying.

Could this be the lawnmower we've all been waiting for?

Addicted to a lush green yard? It’s time to change the paradigm and kick the grass to the curb.

The age of vehicular cycling is coming to an end; cyclists want equity, not equality

Big Auto is increasingly coming up against Big Tech.