Does Father Know Best When It Comes to Abortion?

SHERRY F. COLB

Cornell law professor Sherry F. Colb comments on a “father knows best” bill that the Tennessee state legislature is currently considering, which would allow the father of a pregnancy to obtain an injunction against the mother’s having an abortion. Professor Colb notes that while requiring consent of the pregnancy’s father might make intuitive sense and most abortion decisions do include the father, she points out that “father knows best” (and father notification) laws disregard the interests of the embryo/fetus (by giving a father a say in whether to proceed with an abortion) and redistribute control of reproduction from women to men. Professor Colb argues that for these reasons, the Tennessee bill is even more objectionable than an outright ban on the procedure would have been.

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Krislov v. Yarbrough

Docket: 20-1928

Opinion Date: February 22, 2021

Judge: Frank Hoover Easterbrook

Areas of Law: Civil Procedure, Election Law

In 2020 Krislov sought to run in the Democratic primary for a position on the Illinois Supreme Court. To get on the ballot he needed 5,050 valid signatures, 0.4% of the votes cast in the same district for the same party’s candidate in the most recent gubernatorial election. He submitted about 9,500 signatures, but many were ruled invalid and his total fell about 100 short. Instead of protesting that decision in state court, Krislov sued in federal court, arguing that falling 100 signatures short of 5,050 is within the margin of error for document examiners. The district court dismissed the case as a state-law challenge to a state-law requirement, which Krislov had forfeited by not using his state remedies and stating that “close enough for government work” is not an available doctrine in Illinois. The Seventh Circuit vacated and remanded with instructions to dismiss for lack of a justiciable controversy. The U.S. Constitution does not require states to ensure that their laws are accurately administered. Accurate adjudication always is in the public interest—as is accurate administration of state law—but federal courts cannot proceed if the plaintiff lacks standing or the proposed remedy would not redress the plaintiff’s injury. The election is over and Krislov cannot establish that the same problem is likely to recur for him, personally; if it does, Krislov is entitled to prompt review in state court. There is no “public interest” exception to the justiciability rules.

United States v. Ford

Docket: 19-3486

Opinion Date: February 22, 2021

Judge: HAMILTON

Areas of Law: Criminal Law

In August 2018, Ford, Johnson, and Foster committed several Milwaukee armed robberies, in different combinations. On August 22, Johnson provided a handgun; Foster and Ford assaulted a taxi driver, then fled with Johnson, to split the proceeds. On August 23, officers located the getaway car near a Petro Mart where Johnson and Foster had committed an armed robbery that morning. The car contained driver’s licenses of three taxi driver victims; a pair of flip-flops consistent with those worn by Foster during the Petro Mart robbery; and identification cards and a prescription belonging to Johnson. On August 25, surveillance cameras recorded Johnson and Ford entering a B.P. station., Johnson approached the cashier, who stood behind ballistic-proof glass, pointed the handgun, and demanded cash. The cashier refused. Ford had exited the store. The cashier activated the door lock. Ford, unable to re-enter, fled. Johnson eventually escaped by another exit. Johnson was arrested after a high-speed chase. Officers recovered a loaded handgun from her pocket, with distinctive characteristics matching those of the handgun seen in surveillance camera recordings featuring the three. Ford pleaded guilty to two counts of Hobbs Act robbery, 18 U.S.C. 1951(a) and one count of brandishing a firearm to further a crime of violence, section 924(c)(1)(A)(ii) for the attempted armed robbery of the B.P. The court sentenced Ford to 114 months' imprisonment: 30 months (a 35 percent downward departure from the guideline range) for the Hobbs Act counts, and a mandatory minimum consecutive sentence of 84 months for brandishing a firearm to further a crime of violence. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. The district court did not err by inferring that Ford was accountable for Johnson’s use of the firearm and imposing a six-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. 2B3.1(b)(2)(B).