The Kentucky Law Journal
Volume 115 with Faculty Advisor Professor Zachary Bray
Founded in 1913, the Kentucky Law Journal is the national’s tenth-oldest continually published law review. We publish four print issues each year, plus timely scholarship online.
Edited by students with guidance from a faculty advisor, KLJ features work from leading scholars and original student work on a wide range of legal topics. Our mission is to advance legal thought, train the next generation of attorneys, and spark meaningful debate.
Online Originals
University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law Student, Matthew W. Givens, details the inadequacies of the current MLB salary arbitration system and pitches alternative approaches, such as utilizing advanced statistics or independent baseball writers, to accurately determine player compensation.
University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law Student, Casey Parker-Bell, proposes a three-tier election contest system that incorporates the State Board of Elections and the Kentucky Supreme Court to mitigate partisan influence by the General Assembly.
University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law Student, Ben Whatley, argues that Alford pleas frustrate the administration of justice and erode public confidence, advocating for Kentucky prosecutors to actively limit their use.
Authors Tobias Huber and Steven G. Dabney, Jr., highlight the distinct differences in judicial tenure, court calendars, and dissenting opinions between two of the world's highest courts, ultimately arguing that the Austrian model's simple constitutional framework makes it far more adaptable for modern emerging democracies than the U.S. system.
University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law Student, Emma P. Collins, argues for a return to the Sherbert balancing test for free exercise claims in response to the burden Indigenous religions face in trying to protect their constitutional right to freely exercise their religion.
Student Blogs
Recent advances in artificial intelligence continue to present significant concerns in law and public policy. The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recent decision in United States v. Anderegg shows how the justice system has struggled to adapt to new technologies when it held that possession of AI generated child sexual abuse material is protected under the First Amendment. KLJ Volume 115, Staff Editor, Jacob Levy examines how the Seventh Circuit's decision fails to conform with existing precedent and creates significant public policy concerns for child safety by enabling internet predators.
Unbelievably, Kentucky’s constitution still allows slavery as a punishment for a crime. Despite multiple attempts by state legislators to amend this clause, proposed legislation has failed and prisoners remain overworked and underpaid. In this piece, KLJ Vol. 115 Staff Editor Madeline Jordan explores the impact Kentucky’s slavery exception clause has on inmates, as well as the lengths state legislators will have to go to amend Kentucky’s Constitution.
The actual malice standard has been a distinctive feature of First Amendment jurisprudence since its introduction in New York Times v. Sullivan, but it has recently come under attack. Volume 116 Staff Editor, Ethan J. Huffaker, explains that ensuring a proper balance between the harms wrought on private plaintiffs and the values underlying the First Amendment, the court should consider what a more objective standard could do to further the standard’s goal of encouraging productive speech.
Medicaid cuts threaten more than just healthcare in Kentucky. As rural communities already face significant healthcare shortages and limited medical resources, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) introduces substantial Medicaid cuts that could further strain rural hospitals and limit access to essential healthcare services. KLJ Vol. 115 Staff Editor Brianna Blake examines the ripple effects and broader implications of federal Medicaid cuts for rural healthcare access, particularly the challenges they create for patients managing chronic conditions.
Each state is allowed to choose how its vacant U.S. Senate seats are filled. Kentucky is one of only five states that fill these vacancies solely through special election. KLJ Vol. 115 Staff Editor Caitlyn E. Bell explains that this newest method greater aligns with the Seventeenth Amendment’s directive to let “the people fill the vacancies by election.”