Recent Faculty Works: Matthew Kugler, Daniel B. Rodriguez, Stephanie Holmes Didwania, Jill R. Horwitz, Ajay K. Mehrotra

Northwestern Pritzker School of Law is home to an incredible group of faculty members working at the intersections of law and many other disciplines. Their research and scholarship has helped advance the understanding of law and legal institutions in a diverse array of fields. Learn more in our “Recent Faculty Works” series about the latest publications and innovations of our faculty.

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Fairness and Excess in Asset Forfeiture

 104 Washington University Law Review__ (forthcoming 2026), Northwestern Public Law Research Paper No. 26-22, Northwestern Law & Econ Research Paper No. 26-07

By Stephanie Holmes Didwania, Professor of Law, and Matthew Kugler, Professor of Law

Every year, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies take ownership of billions of dollars’ worth of property that is thought to be connected to criminal activity. This legal process is known as asset forfeiture and often proceeds with little adversarial process and few checks. The Excessive Fines Clause of the Eighth Amendment, however, prohibits asset forfeitures that are grossly disproportionate to the gravity of the alleged criminal activity. But this constitutional restriction has only recently been applied to the states, and courts have struggled to define what makes a forfeiture “excessive.” This Article provides the first survey evidence showing how ordinary people view the fairness and excessiveness of asset forfeitures. This evidence is doctrinally and practically relevant. Read More

Keywords:
asset forfeiture, Excessive Fines Clause, Eighth Amendment, law enforcement, property law

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The New Economic Liberties

121 Northwestern University Law Review __ (forthcoming 2026), Northwestern Public Law Research Paper No. 26-15

By Daniel B. Rodriguez, Harold Washington Professor of Law

Despite the lack of serious interrogation at the federal constitutional level of economic regulations, there continues to be a fairly robust, energetic attention at the level of state constitutional law to so-called economic liberties. In a number of key cases, including, for example, matters involving occupational licensing, state courts have looked to unique features of their respective state constitutions to assess whether and to what extent regulations undertaken under the police power go too far. The rationales for evaluating and, in some cases, invalidating regulations under economic liberties principles are creative, and also controversial. The development of new interpretive approaches at the state constitutional level are worth continuing attention, especially given the stark contrast with contemporary federal constitutional law. Read More

Keywords:
constitutional law, state constitutional law, Public Law and Legal Theory

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Tort Immunity and Nursing Home Staffing

7 JAMA Health Forum e261534 (2026)

By Jill R. Horwitz, Trobman Innovation Professor of Law, Professor of Emergency Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine (co-authored with Neil S. Wenger, David P. Powell, Jose J. Escarce, Lee A. Jennings, Li-Jung Liang, Punam Parikh & David S. Zingmond)

A central goal of medical malpractice law is to ensure quality of care by deterring negligent treatment. Although previous research has produced mixed results, much of it finds no clear association between liability exposure and medical treatment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many states adopted immunity from tort liability for harms to nursing home residents, creating a natural experiment. This article examines the association between immunity from tort liability and nursing home staffing. Read More

Keywords:
tort immunity, nursing home staffing, COVID-19, nursing homes, tort liability

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The “Bamboo Ceiling” in Law: Asian American Perceptions of Inequality in the Legal Profession

12 Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 211 (2026)

By Ajay K. Mehrotra, Stanford Clinton Sr. and Zylpha Kilbride Clinton Research Professor of Law (co-authored with Shih-Chun “Steven” Chien & Goodwin Liu)

Asian Americans are the fastest growing racial minority groups in law schools and the American legal profession. Yet, they remain underrepresented in leadership positions compared with their overall numbers within the profession. This article explores this disparity by building on the existing literature on the “bamboo ceiling.” Using survey data and focus group interviews, we examine Asian American perceptions of inequality in the legal workplace. Our findings show that while Asian American lawyers perceive some leadership barriers that are similar to those faced by other racial minorities, they also report that pervasive social stereotypes perpetuate beliefs that Asian Americans lack the traits typically associated with leadership. Read More

Keywords:
diversity, Asian Americans, American legal profession, race, gender, workplace inequality