DENVER LAW REVIEW
Volume 103
2025–2026
Issue 1
Articles
The Paradox of Federal Oversight in Police Misconduct Investigations
Ilana M. Friedman
Drawing on over fifty interviews with state and federal prosecutors, this Article examines how police misconduct cases are investigated and prosecuted across jurisdictions. While the federal Civil Rights Division's involvement is intended to to strenghthen accountability, the study reveals that experienced police misconduct prosecutors may view exogenous oversight as intrusive to their autonomy.
The Misconceived Personal-Benefit Requirement of Insider Trading Law: About the Insecurities Markets
Kenneth R. Davis
Analyzing Dirk v. SEC and Salman v. United States, this Article identifies a mistaken premise embedded in the classical theory of insider trading and its personal-benefit requirement for tipper/tippee liability. This Article argues that the Supreme Court has misconceived the nature of insider trading, contending that the wrong act is unauthorized trade itself, not the benefit of the trade itself.
Zachary R. Cormier
Through an examination of recent cases involving warrantless seizures of cell phones during protest or police activity, this Article identifies three problematic trends that undermine First and Fourth Amendment rights: overt reliance on exigent circumstances, confusion over probable cause standards, and a circuit split regarding extended seizures. This Article explores these trends and offers an approach for future courts to ensure First and Fourth Amendment protections.
The Protection Illusion: Sexual Harassment Policies and Low-Wage Workers
Sherley Cruz
This Article argues that workplace sexual harassment policies provide only illusory protection while actively creating significant barriers to sexual harassment reporting. This review of reporting protocols demonstrates how limited accessibility, burdensome procedures, and "good faith" reporting requirements deter rather than encourage employees from coming forward. It calls for courts to more rigorously review workplace policy before granting an employers affirmative defense.
"Fixing" the Classical Legal Tradition
Jamie G. McWilliam
Recognizing the criticisms of originalism as being morally empty jurisprudence, this article argues that certain core originalist theses can deepen the classical legal tradition's understanding of how positive law fullfills its moral role. It contends that discrete commitments such as fixation, constrains and lawful changes should be accepted by classical legalists and viewed as part of the jurisprudential framework that is grounded in reason and common good.
