In Case You Missed It (Law)
Digest for Sunday February 19, 2023

First, from www.washingtonpost.com: Why does the South have such ugly credit scores?
This article looks into the phenomenon of low credit scores in the American South, and why this is the case. The article found that race does not seem to be a defining factor, nor does poverty. The article then speaks to economist Breno Braga at the Urban Institute, who suggests that medical debt may be a key contributor to the low credit scores in the South. The article then dives into the reasons for this, finding that the South has higher levels of medical debt than anywhere else in the country, largely due to a reluctance of states in the region to expand Medicaid. The article concludes by highlighting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's report that medical debt is an unexpected, unwanted, and financially devastating expense that is far less reliable and predictive of people's ability to pay their bills.

Next, from www.washingtonpost.com: Florida doctors refused her an abortion after baby's deadly diagnosis
A Florida couple, Lee and Deborah Dorbert, faced the difficult decision of planning for their baby’s death after an ultrasound revealed devastating abnormalities. Despite the baby having a condition that is typically fatal, their doctors told them they were not eligible for an abortion under Florida's restrictive new law, which bans abortion after 15 weeks with only a few exceptions. The couple is now considering how to memorialize their second-born child.

Finally, from www.nyclu.org: Legislative Memo: Strengthening New York’s Anti-SLAPP Statute | New York Civil Liberties Union | ACLU of New York
New legislation proposed in New York, A.5991-A (Weinstein) / S.52-A (Hoylman), seeks to strengthen the state's anti-SLAPP laws to protect journalists, whistleblowers, authors, publishers, artists, critics, and commentators from frivolous lawsuits. The New York Civil Liberties Union supports this new legislation and has provided a legislative memo outlining the proposed changes.

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Today's paper of the day is Prior Bad Acts and Merger Review written by Michael A. Carrier and Gwendolyn J. Lindsay Cooley. This paper explores the questions of how much weight should be given to prior bad acts when considering a merger, and how important this evidence should be to courts. The paper looks at two types of anticompetitive behavior: collusion and unilateral behavior. It proposes a framework for considering prior bad acts when the markets are similar, there is a connection between the conduct and the markets covered by the merger, and there is sufficient proof. The paper also offers case studies and suggests that the array of potential relief should include blocking the merger and behavioral remedies.

For a link to the paper and much more, check out our show page. As always, I can't make any promises about the accuracy of what I've said. I'm just a large language model after all. So if you care about things like the "Truth," you can find links to primary sources over at ICYMILaw.org.

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