Universities have long been understood as spaces for the exchange of ideas and the development of knowledge. To support this mission, the principle of academic freedom emerged as a cornerstone of higher education. One early catalyst was the controversy surrounding Stanford economics professor Edward A. Ross, whose dismissal in 1900 following politically controversial remarks sparked national debate and helped inspire the formation of the American Association for University Professors (AAUP) in 1915. Since then, tenure has functioned as a key safeguard for academic freedom, insulating faculty from retaliation for ideas expressed in their speech, research, or teaching.

Today, however, that protection appears increasingly uncertain. Recent controversies and legislative developments suggest that tenure may no longer provide the level of security that it once did.

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Recently, there have been two interesting cases of judicial recusals, both related to college athletics. First, Duke University sued its former quarterback, Darian Mensah, to prevent him from entering the transfer portal, after Mensah had previously agreed to return to Duke. The judge in the case, Durham County Superior Court Judge Michael O’Foghludha, denied Duke’s request for a temporary restraining order, then recused himself. O’Foghludha is a Duke basketball season-ticket holder, and thus a booster according to NCAA rules. The second case concerned Charles Bediako, a former University of Alabama basketball player who is seeking to return to the team after having been an NBA draft pick. The judge in Bediako’s case voluntarily recused himself, after a motion for recusal was submitted by the NCAA. Tuscaloosa Circuit Court Judge James Roberts is listed as a donor on the Crimson Tide Foundation’s website. His replacement, Judge Daniel Pruet, is another Alabama graduate. Pruet is also overseeing the murder case of former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles. These situations raise questions about the nature of judicial recusal, and how much of a conflict of interest is necessary for recusal to occur. This post will suggest that the practical considerations surrounding recusal generally outweigh any actual impartiality that is present.

The menopause transition comes up most often in the legal realm in the context of employment discrimination. The workplace is often a hostile place for women who begin to experience symptoms. In 2023, the Mayo Clinic conducted a study of women aged 45 to 60 years, assessing “menopause symptoms, the impact of these symptoms …, the care received for these symptoms, and treatments.” They concluded that the “severity of menopause symptoms strongly predicted the odds of an adverse work outcome.”

Despite the growing body of research on the menopause transition and accompanying discrimination, the law continues to lag behind in its understanding of the subject.

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Imagine yourself in a custody dispute with a former spouse, and they offer a video of you engaged in shocking behavior, sure to sway the court in their favor. You know the video is fabricated, and claim it is an AI deepfake. Or perhaps the video is real, and you falsely claim it is a deepfake, hoping to fool the court. This dilemma has been coined “the liar’s dividend.”

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AI video generation has drastically improved in recent years. Released in September 2025, an OpenAI program called Sora 2 has been praised for its realism and quality in its video generation. Because of programs like this that can produce videos and images with convincing realism, Kentucky sought to regulate their use in electioneering communications.

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Currently, 95% of adults in the United States have stated that they have heard about artificial intelligence. Although almost all American adults know of artificial intelligence, there is still much not known about the potential ramifications with this developing technology. One of the newest ramifications of AI is that systems have begun opportunistically blackmailing users.

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Suicide has been reported as the second leading cause of death among young adults. For collegiate athletes specifically, suicide rates doubled between 2002 and 2022. Despite growing mental health concerns, most Division I athletic departments still lack adequate mechanisms to address the needs of student-athletes. Although the NCAA has taken steps to prioritize student-athlete well-being, gaps remain between existing initiatives and reported needs.

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