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ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities

Cecelia Tecu — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 15:50:11 +0000

ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities Cecelia Tecu Mon, 03/09/2026 - 09:50

Widely recognized for its intellectual diversity and originality, the faculty at Colorado Law encompasses an array of prominent legal scholars who are widely cited, both in academia and throughout the national media landscape. We invite you to catch up on the latest faculty publications and media mentions with this weekly roundup.

Faculty Publications

Andrew Schwartz, Finite Ventures, 2025 Colum. Bus. L. Rev. 655 (2026).

Bryan Choi, Open Source AI, Open Liability AI (SSRN.com, forthcoming 8 Journal of Law & Innovation __ (2026)).

Media Mentions

[Chris Winter], Caitlyn Kim, The Trump Administration is Weakening Regulations for Public Land Development, CPR (Mar. 2, 2026).

[Ann Lipton], Mike Leonard, Delaware High Court Seals Musk-Induced Corporate Law Power Shift, Bloomberg Law (Mar. 2, 2026).

[Deep Gulasekaram], Eleanor Bennett, Law Firm Sends Cease-and-Desist Letter to Garfield County Sheriff Over Alleged Unlawful Immigration Enforcement, Aspen Journalism & Aspen Public Radio (Feb. 26, 2026).

[Jonathon Booth], Natalie Chuck, 'Legally Illiterate': DHS Responds to Denver Mayor Banning ICE From City Property, Legal Experts Weigh In, Denver7 (Feb. 27, 2026).

Faculty and Staff Activities

Chris Winter (moderator), The Supply Side of Big Data, Silicon Flatirons Center Artificial Intelligence Initative Conference (Mar. 6, 2026).

Harry Surden (keynote speaker & moderator), Silicon Flatirons Center Artificial Intelligence Initative Conference (Mar. 6, 2026).

Sloan Speck, TaxProf Blog posts available here.

Scott Skinner-Thompson (panelist), Maryland Law Review’s Annual Symposium on Legal Innovations for Trans Rights: The Fight for Justice Within an Unjust System (Mar. 6, 2026).

[Andrew Schwartz], Professor Andrew Schwartz's Ghosting the Crowd Selected as Top 10 Securities Law Article, Colorado Law (Mar. 6, 2026).

Matt Schmit (SFC)(welcome & framing remarks), Silicon Flatirons Center Artificial Intelligence Initative Conference (Mar. 6, 2026).

Ann Lipton, Business Law Prof Blog posts available here.

Melanie Kay (moderator), Powering AI: Data Centers, Energy Demand, and the Public Interest (Daniels Fund Initiative & Silicon Flatirons Center, Mar. 5, 2026).

Paul Campos, Lawyers, Guns, & Money, blog posts available here.

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Professor Andrew Schwartz’s Ghosting the Crowd Selected as Top 10 Securities Law Article

Emily Battaglia — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 16:54:09 +0000

Professor Andrew Schwartz’s Ghosting the Crowd Selected as Top 10 Securities Law Article Emily Battaglia Fri, 03/06/2026 - 09:54

Colorado Law is proud to share that Professor Andrew A. Schwartz’s article, Ghosting the Crowd, was recently selected for inclusion in the Securities Law Review as one of the top 10 most notable securities law articles of the year, chosen by its editors.

The Securities Law Review is updated annually and is published by Thomson Reuters. This law review seeks to keep readers up to date regarding changes in securities law through choosing the best related research over the past year. Selected academic works are compiled into a single volume for publication.

Ghosting the Crowd was originally published in the Washington and Lee Law Review last year. The article reports that more than half of companies that raise capital through Regulation Crowdfunding fail to file the single annual report required by federal securities law—thereby “ghosting” their investors. The article proposes that the SEC amend its regulations to require platforms to withhold one percent of the funds raised, releasing them only once the company files its mandatory annual report.

"It is a deep honor to have Ghosting the Crowd recognized among the top securities law articles of the year," said Professor Schwartz. "To have my work selected by fellow scholars whose judgment I deeply respect makes this recognition especially meaningful. Investment crowdfunding holds great promise as a way for everyday Americans to invest in startups, and I hope this article helps strengthen the regulatory framework so that investors receive the transparency they deserve."

Andrew A. Schwartz is the Laurence W. DeMuth Chair of Business Law at the University of Colorado Law School and was recently elected to the American Law Institute. He is an internationally recognized expert on investment crowdfunding and the author of Investment Crowdfunding (Oxford University Press, 2023). His research is widely cited by courts and commentators, including numerous citations by the Delaware Court of Chancery.

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STUDENT ORG SPOTLIGHT – Environmental Law Society

Cecelia Tecu — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 17:28:54 +0000

STUDENT ORG SPOTLIGHT – Environmental Law Society Cecelia Tecu Wed, 03/04/2026 - 10:28

Cecelia Tecu

Colorado Law is home to nearly 50 active student organizations. These organizations empower law students to increase their knowledge, gain leadership experience, network, and collaborate with the legal community—all while building connections with classmates that will last throughout their careers and beyond.

In this series, we are highlighting extraordinary organizations run by Colorado Law students.

Meet the Environmental Law Society (ELS) at Colorado Law.

The association is run by President Celeste Baro ’27; Vice-President Jonah Dixon ’27; Treasurer Meryl Compton ’27; Events Director Corinne Griffin ’27; Community Outreach Director Ella Reichard ’27; Networking & Alumni Coordinator Piper Lacy ’27; GWC Liaison Sydney Stellato ’27; and Bar Association Liaison Stephen Hayes ’27. Professor Michael Pappas is the Faculty Advisor.

The goal of ELS is to create opportunities for law students to connect with lawyers working in Boulder; and the greater Denver area. This is done by hosting attorneys at lunch panels, holding annual networking events, or through the ELS mentorship program. Baro clarified that the main purpose of these programs is to establish networking and job opportunities. Specifically, the mentorship program allows students to be paired with attorneys in Denver and Boulder in a practice area of environmental law that they are interested in.

“Because Colorado is such a small legal bubble, current practicing attorneys are so willing to help students and future lawyers in Colorado,” said Baro. “Whether you're working in environmental conservation or compliance, everybody's ultimately trying to protect something. I think because everyone's on the same page, we're also willing to share knowledge and information and give opportunities”

ELS collaborates with a variety of organizations and causes both at Colorado Law, and elsewhere, including the Getches-Wilkinson Center.

“The Getches-Wilkinson Center is awesome because of things like their fellowship, research assistants, and scholarship opportunities. We're always trying to work in conjunction with them to plug any of the opportunities they offer,” said Baro.

Annual Hike with Professor event from September 2025.

The Project Team, led by Lacy, allows students to share their comments and implement changes on larger environmental projects across the state.

“When government agencies want to [make changes], they're required to open for public comment. If you develop a significant comment, then those agencies are actually required to respond to it. So, we are tasking our students and dividing them up. We're trying to affect change and make the government respond to the thoughts and opinions of the people here,” said Dixon.

The Campus Initiatives Team, led by Reichard, is responsible for creating opportunities for the organization to engage with Boulder and greater environmental legal community. Currently, Reichard and ELS are working with Green Amendments for the Generations and a variety of nonprofit groups, to help pass a Green Amendment for the state of Colorado.

“It’s a really cool opportunity to involve the students in something that could impact the history of the state of Colorado and the way that we protect the environment,” said Baro.

“We want every interaction the students have with the club to bring them outside of the books, more into the real world, and connect with what it would actually be like to practice and implement change through environmental law,” said Dixon.

Additionally, the Communications Team is currently working towards publishing the first ELS newsletter, which will highlight the successes and initiatives pursued by this student organization.

“I don't think I would have grown into the person I am today without ELS. I wouldn't have had all the opportunities for leadership, networking, and exposure to different areas of law,” said Baro.

To get involved with ELS, students can email ELS@colorado.edu.

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ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities

Cecelia Tecu — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 17:10:47 +0000

ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities Cecelia Tecu Mon, 03/02/2026 - 10:10

Faculty Publications

Sloan Speck, Structural Tax Reform and the Next REIT Revolution, 27 U. Pa. J. Bus. L. 988 (2025).

Blake Reid & Jessica L. Roberts, Rulifying Disability Law, SSRN (Feb. 2026)

Rabea Benhalim, Religious Freedom and the Fertilized Egg, UC L. SF L.J. 166 (2025).

Media Mentions

[Chris Winter], Hannah Northey & Scott Streater, Interior Claws Back NEPA Regs, E&E News (Feb. 23, 2026).

[Sloan Speck], Holly Barker, Goldstein's Mixed Verdict Destined for Post-Conviction Attacks, Bloomberg Law (Feb. 26, 2026).

[Adam Sopko], Melissa Henry, Right to Sue ICE Agents Proposal Clears Colorado Senate, KKTV (Feb. 24, 2026).

[Anne Castle, GWC], Marianne Eppig, Colorado River Negotiations Put Western Land Use and Real Estate at a Crossroads, Urban Land (Feb. 26, 2026).

Faculty and Staff Activities

Sloan Speck, TaxProf Blog posts available here.

Scott Skinner-Thompson testified before Judiciary Committee of Colorado’s House of Representatives in support of HB26-1037: Ban Government Purchase of Personal Data from Third Party (Feb. 25, 2026)(testimony available here from 5:37pm mark to 6:05pm).

Panelist, Emerging Constitutional Rights Issues, Including Prisoner Rights, in Trans Rights Work, Legal Innovations for Trans Rights: The Fight for Justice Within an Unjust System (Maryland Law Review Annual Symposium, upcoming, March 6, 2026).

Ann Lipton, Business Law Prof Blog posts available here.

Musk Securities Fraud, State Regulation of Proxy Advisors (Feb. 25, 2026), Shareholder Primacy (with Mike Levin, Apple podcasts link).

Lakshman Guruswamy (speaker), Global Food for Thought: International Environmental Law Speaker Series (University of Hawaii Richardson School of Law, Feb. 26, 2026).

Paul Campos, Lawyers, Guns, & Money, blog posts available here.

[Colorado Law adjunct faculty & alumna Susan Blanco], Emily Battaglia, Hon. Susan Blanco '03 Named to Colorado Supreme Court, Colorado Law (Feb. 23, 2026).

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Hon. Susan Blanco ’03 named to Colorado Supreme Court

Cecelia Tecu — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 17:00:07 +0000

Hon. Susan Blanco ’03 named to Colorado Supreme Court Cecelia Tecu Mon, 02/23/2026 - 10:00

Emily Battaglia

Governor Jared Polis named the Hon. Susan J. Blanco ’03 to the Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday, Feb. 17.

Blanco will fill the vacancy left by Justice Melissa Hart this past December. Also named as finalists were 1st Judicial District Court Judge Christopher Zenisek and Solicitor General Andrea Wang.

Hon. Susan Blanco ’03

Blanco, who currently serves as the first female Chief Judge of the 8th Judicial District (Jackson and Larimer counties), will be the first Iranian-American female to serve on the Colorado Supreme Court.

“My journey to the Colorado Supreme Court reflects the enduring promise of our Constitution — that opportunity, justice, and equal protection under law belong to all,” said Blanco. “As an Iranian American, I am especially mindful of the freedoms and constitutional rights that define this nation. I am honored to uphold the rule of law and to serve the people of Colorado with independence, humility, and respect for our constitutional framework.”

Justice Blanco was appointed to the bench by John Hickenlooper in January 2017, where she presided over criminal, civil, probate, domestic relations, adoptions, and appeals. Prior to the bench, she served as a Deputy District Attorney, followed by over a decade in private practice as a solo practitioner.

During her time as a judicial officer, Justice Blanco was dedicated to the advancement of access and inclusivity for those served by the courts. Through her community engagement and leadership, she pioneered the first Competency Court in Colorado. This court is the 2022 recipient of the City of Fort Collins Human Relations award because of the impact of diverting citizens with behavioral health challenges from jail to care. Justice Blanco also developed the 8th Judicial District's Latinx Task Force which led her to receive the 2022 CHBA Community Service Award. She has served as a Commissioner on the Colorado Access to Justice Commission since 2020.

Justice Blanco graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Colorado State University in 2000 and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Colorado School of Law in 2003. In May 2025, she earned a Latin Legum Magister from Duke University focused on Judicial Studies. She has previously taught in the School of Social Work at Colorado State University, and has been an adjunct faculty member at Colorado Law since 2024.

“Judge Blanco’s legal leadership has profoundly shaped not only our students here at Colorado Law, but the broader Colorado community,” said Lolita Buckner Inniss, Colorado Law Dean and Provost’s Professor of Law. “We are honored to count her among our distinguished alumni and extend our heartfelt congratulations on this remarkable achievement.”

Outside of her work for the Judicial Branch, Justice Blanco has served on the Colorado Women's Bar Association's Board of Directors, the Colorado Bar Association's Executive Council, and the Colorado Bar Association's Criminal Law Executive Council. Through her collaboration, the CWBA's "Lawyer's Teaching for Change" program was developed. She was also a founding board member of the Colorado Bar Association's Diverse Attorney Community Circle. Justice Blanco is also co-chair of the CBA's leadership training program, COBALT, and a founding member of Colorado’s Middle Eastern North African Bar Association.

Her other honors include speaking nationally for the American Bar Association and for the Iranian Bar Association. She is a Ted Speaker on the importance of community collaboration and is the recipient of the 2023 CWBA Judicial Excellence Award.

Governor Jared Polis named the Hon. Susan J. Blanco ’03 to the Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday, Feb. 17.

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ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities

Cecelia Tecu — Mon, 23 Feb 2026 16:53:07 +0000

ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities Cecelia Tecu Mon, 02/23/2026 - 09:53

Faculty Publications

Jonathan Skinner-Thompson, The Idea of Air, 2026 Utah L. Rev. 69.

Blake Reid, Moody v. Netchoice and Telecom Law's First Amendment, 59 UC Davis L. Rev. 1185 (2026).

Jawbreaking and Counterboning, SSRN.com (forthcoming 58 Conn. l. Rev.).

Vivek Krishnamurthy, Communications Interceptions and Digital Searches in an Age of Encryption and Spyware: Are Canada's Law Fit for Purpose?, A Report for the National Security Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians of the Parliament of Canada (publically released 2025, French translation available here).

Deep Gulasekaram, Dangerousness & the Undocumented, 114 Geo. L. J. 1 (2025).

Daniel Anderson (GWC Water Law Fellow), The Good Samaritan Act: EPA Pilot Program to Clean the West's Abandoned Hardrock Mines, The Water Report 9 (Feb. 2026).

Media Mentions

[Chris Winter], Ishan Thakore, Dirtier Air, Higher Prices: Colorado Groups Decry Trump Administration's Decisions to Limit Climate Regulations, CPR News (Feb. 18, 2026).

[Wadie Said], Brandy Zadrozny, Trump Wants to Prosecute Anti-fascists as Terrorists. This Texas Trial Will Test His Power, MS Now (Feb. 17, 2026).

[Ann Lipton], Jennifer Kay, Blue Bell Trial is Landmark Test for Corporate Oversight Claims, Bloomberg Law (Feb. 20, 2026).

[Jonathon Booth], Shannon Ogden, Palantir, Colorado's Largest Public Company, Leaving for Florida, Denver 7 (Feb. 18, 2026).

[Colorado Law adjunct faculty & alumna Susan J. Blanco], Rachel Konieczny, Colo. Governor Names High Court Justice to Fill Vacancy, Law360 (Feb. 17, 2026); Jesse Paul, Jared Polis Taps Judge Susan Blanco to Serve on Colorado Supreme Court, Colorado Sun (Feb. 17, 2026).

[Korey Wise Innocence Project], Austen Erblat, Former Colorado DNA Analyst Accused of Maniupalting Data Pleads Not Guilty, Trial Date Set, MSN (Feb. 12, 2026).

Faculty and Staff Activities

Harry Surden (keynote speaker), Using AI Well (Silicon Flatirons Center Artificial Intelligence Initative Conference, upcoming, March 6, 2026).

Sloan Speck, TaxProf Blog posts available here.

Scott Skinner-Thompson (speaker), Trans Rights with Professor Scott Skinner-Thompson (ACS University of Wyoming, Feb. 18, 2026).

Ann Lipton, Business Law Prof Blog posts available here.

Musk Securities Fraud, Warner Brothers Discovery Update (Feb. 18, 2026), Shareholder Primacy (with Mike Levin, Apple podcasts link).

Melanie Kay (moderator), Powering AI: Data Centers, Energy Demand, and the Public Interest (Daniels Fund Initiative & Silicon Flatirons Center, upcoming, March 5, 2026).

Violeta Chapin (panelist), What Does the Law Say About Minneapolis?: A Big 12 Law Discussion (Feb. 18, 2026).

Paul Campos, Lawyers, Guns, & Money, blog posts available here.

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Lizzie Bird ’23 Earns 2026 Skadden Fellowship

Cecelia Tecu — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 16:53:02 +0000

Lizzie Bird ’23 Earns 2026 Skadden Fellowship Cecelia Tecu Wed, 02/18/2026 - 09:53

Cecelia Tecu

Colorado Law is proud to share that Lizzie Bird ’23 has been selected for the Skadden Fellowship Foundation’s 38th Class. Announced in December 2025, Bird is one of 34 fellows in the program.

The Skadden Foundation Fellowship aims to support work in public interest careers to address a range of civil legal issues affecting individuals in poverty in the United States. These two-year fellowships allow recent graduates to pursue and practice public interest law full-time.

Bird will be working as a fellow for the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), which provides legal services for thousands of immigrants in Washington State. Specifically, their work focuses on navigating the complexities of the United States immigration system.

In applying for the fellowship, Bird developed a project proposal that matched the needs of the NWIRP, as well as reflected her own experiences. Following submission to the Skadden Foundation, Bird was selected for an interview, before being chosen for this year's fellowship.

“I wanted to work in immigrants' rights advocacy, and this fellowship offers one of the few ways to get into public interest work straight out of law school, or after clerking,” said Bird.

Bird’s project will establish a habeas initiative for individuals detained in Washington. Such work will see her file habeas petitions, expand habeas advocacy, and support NWIRP's ongoing class habeas litigation.

In reflecting on how her time at Colorado Law helped prepare her for this opportunity, Bird shared that working with clients in the immigration clinic was the most helpful experience.

“More broadly, all my classes at Colorado Law helped prepare me for my clerkships, which, in turn, have given me an understanding of the federal court system. That foundation will prepare me to litigate--and hopefully win--habeas cases in federal court.”

Through this fellowship, Bird hopes to help address an urgent need facing immigrants in the state of Washington, while also learning from a team of excellent lawyers with extensive experience challenging unjust laws and policies.

Colorado Law is proud to share that Lizzie Bird ’23 has been selected for the Skadden Fellowship Foundation’s 38th Class. Announced in December 2025, Bird is one of 34 fellows in the program.

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ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities

Cecelia Tecu — Mon, 16 Feb 2026 16:56:23 +0000

ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities Cecelia Tecu Mon, 02/16/2026 - 09:56

Faculty Publications

Blake Reid, Separation of Copyright Powers, SSRN.com (article now available, Feb. 11, 2026).

Michael Pappas, Climate Last Resorts, 16 U.C. Irvine L. Rev. 229 (2026).

Media Mentions

Scott Skinner-Thompson, Observing ICE is Legal. Killing Observers is Not. ACS Expert Forum (Feb. 11, 2026).

[Blake Reid], Silicon Flatirons Speaker: AI Bubble Looks Like Telecom Bubble, Daily Communications (Feb. 3, 2026) (Lexis login required).

[Jonathon Booth], Abaigal Ankeney, Louisville Pair Charged with Helping Woman Kill Herself Made No Attempt to Follow Aid-in-Dying Law, Denver Post (Feb. 11, 2026).

[Silicon Flatirons Center Conference], Panel Advocates for Using BEAD Non-Deployment Funds to Reach Missed Locations, Communications Daily (Feb.3, 2026); Gomez Has 'Strong Concerns' About FCC Proposal to Allow Prison Jamming, Communications Daily (Feb. 3, 2026); Silicon Flatirons Speaker:AI Bubble Looks Like Telecom Bubble, Daily Communications (Feb. 3, 2026)(Lexis logins required).

Faculty and Staff Activities

Sloan Speck, TaxProf Blog posts available here, including Speck Reviews Gribnau's Developing Sustainable Corporate Tax Governance , TaxProf Blog (Feb. 6, 2026).

Scott Skinner-Thompson (panelist), Theorizing New Visions of Gender Justice, Harvard Journal of Gender & the Law’s Annual Symposium (Feb. 12, 2026).

Amanda Parsons (Colloquium speaker), The UCLA Colloquium on Tax Policy and Public Finance (Feb. 12, 2026).

Sloan Speck, Lindsay & Mathew, eds.: Fairness in International Taxation, TaxProf Blog (Feb. 7, 2026) (highlighting her book chapter "The Shifting Economic Allegiance of Capital Gains").

Gregor MacGregor & Ann Castle (panelists), Negotiating the Future of the Colorado River, 2026 Colorado Water Fellows Convening (upcoming, Feb. 14, 2026 at the Colorado Water Center, CSU).

Ann Lipton, Business Law Prof Blog posts available here.

[Vivek Krishnamurthy], Lawrence Solum, Krishnamurthy on AI and Sovereignty, Legal Theory Blog (Feb. 10, 2026)("highly recommended.")

[Vivek Krishnamurthy, Margot Kaminski, Colorado Law adjunct faculty Julia Martinez & Thomas Ward], Chancellor Justin Schwartz Delivers State of the Campus 2026, 91��ý Office of the Chancellor (Feb. 10, 2026)(recognizing Kaminski & Krishnamurthy's appointments to Colorado's AI Impact Task Force and Kaminski, Martinez, and Ward's appointments to the Colorado Supreme Court's new Legal Technology Advisory Committee).

[Sarah Krakoff], 2026-2027 Phi Beta Kappa Visting Scholars Announced , Phi Beta Kappa Society (Feb. 11, 2026).

Paul Campos, Lawyers, Guns, & Money, blog posts available here.

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ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities

Cecelia Tecu — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 17:14:46 +0000

ICYMI: Faculty Publications, Media Mentions, and Faculty & Staff Activities Cecelia Tecu Mon, 02/09/2026 - 10:14

Faculty Publications

Helen Norton, Can the Law of Democracy Save Democracy?, JOTWELL (Dec. 5, 2025) (reviewing Guy-Uriel Charles, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, & Farris Peale, Reconstructing (The Law of) Democracy.

Vivek Krishnamurthy, The Sovereign AI Myth (SSRN.com, Feb. 1, 2026).

Kristen Carpenter, Indigenous Peoples’ Religious Freedoms and International Law, in The Oxford Handbook of Indigenous Peoples and International Law (M. Åhrén et al., eds.) (2026).

Media Mentions

[Chris Winter, GWC], Alex Heard, A Monumental Mess: The Antiquities Act is at Risk , Re:Public (Feb. 2, 2026).

Bobby Magill, Group Seeks Court Order Halting Road Paving in Utah Monument, Bloomberg Law (Feb. 6, 2026).

[Blake Reid], Janko Roettgers, Everyone is Stealing TV, The Verge (Feb. 4, 2026).

[Ann Lipton], Jeff Montgomery, The Message from Delaware Courts: Change is Coming, Law360 (Jan. 30, 2026).

Andrew J. Hawkins, Will Elon Musk's Emails with Jeffrey Epstein Derail His Very Important Year?, The Verge (Feb. 2, 2026).

Gillian R. Brassil, J&J Seeks to Limit Investors' Class Pathway at Supreme Court, Bloomberg Law (Feb. 5, 2026).

[Zahra Takhsid, Mark Gyure, & Vivek Krishnamurthy], Quantum Sensing Will Test Legal Frameworks for Privacy, Tech Policy Press (Feb. 2, 2026).

[Douglas Kenney, GWC], Christa Swanson, Western Governors Hold Historic Meeting in Washington, D.C. Over Management of Colorado River, CBS News (Jan. 31, 2026).

[Deep Gulasekaram], Marco Poggio, Pretti Killing Highlights Free Speech and Gun Rights Tension, Law360 (Feb. 3, 2026).

Carla Baranauckas, 2 Killings are Reshaping ICE Strategy. States Also Have Plans, Law360 (Feb. 4, 2026).

[Anne Castle, GWC], Jake Bolster & Wyatt Myskow, Colorado River Negotiators are Nearly Out of Time and Snowpack, Inside Climate News (Feb. 4, 2026).

Ian James, How Failing Negotiations Could Spiral into a Bitter Fight Over the Colorado River, LA Times (Feb. 5, 2026).

[Jonathon Booth], Micah Smith, Concerns Grow Over Federal Agencies Use of Facial Recognition Technology on Protesters, Denver 7 (Feb. 2, 2026).

Brad Reed, Trump DOJ Plotting to Parachute in Prosecutors Across US to Bring Cases Against Anti-ICE Protesters, Common Dreams (Feb. 3, 2026).

[Silicon Flations Center Conference], Speakers Discuss Spectrum, Other Issues at Silicon Flatirons Conference, TR Daily (Feb. 2, 2026); Gomez Cites 'Inflection Point' in Wireless Security, TR Daily (Feb. 2, 2026)(Lexis login required).

Faculty and Staff Activities

Sloan Speck, TaxProf Blog posts available here.

[Jonathan Skinner-Thompson & Gregor MacGregor], Spike Center for Sustainability Education Education Welcomes 13 New Faculty Fellows, 91��ý Today (Jan. 22, 2026).

Nicole Netkin-Collins & Amy Bauer (presenters), Exploring Alternative Paths, Mini Law School, Colorado Law (upcoming, Feb. 11, 2026).

[Sarah Matsumoto], Announcing the Buckley Curriculum Ambassadors, SPIKE Center for Sustainability Education, (Dec. 16, 2026).

Gregor MacGregor returns as Acequia Assistance Program Director.

Ann Lipton, Business Law Prof Blog posts available here.

Lakshman Guruswamy (Prof. Emeritus)(speaker), The Demise of Treaties, Richardson College of Law at the University of Hawaii (Feb. 2026).

(presenter), The Annual Conference of Sustainable Development Educators (upcoming, May 14-16, 2026, Phoenix AZ).

Deep Gulasekaram (panelist), Will American Higher Education Remain Global? International Scholars , International Students, and the Federal Government, 91��ý's Federal Governance and Higher Education Series (upcoming Feb. 19, 2026).

Paul Campos, Lawyers, Guns, & Money, blog posts available here.

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Rescheduling marijuana would be a big tax break for legal cannabis businesses – and a quiet form of deregulation

Cecelia Tecu — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 18:50:52 +0000

Rescheduling marijuana would be a big tax break for legal cannabis businesses – and a quiet form of deregulation Cecelia Tecu Mon, 02/02/2026 - 11:50

Sloan Speck

This piece was published in in The Conversation on January 29, 2026. View the original article here.

Under the move, medical and recreational marijuana would still remain illegal at the federal level. At the state level, medical use is currently legal in 40 states and the District of Columbia, and recreational use is permitted in 24 states and Washington, D.C. While the administration touted the medical research benefits of rescheduling, the medical and recreational marijuana industry lauded it for an entirely different reason: income tax savings.

Indeed, one of rescheduling’s most significant – and most immediate – effects would be tax relief for all legal marijuana businesses in the states that host them.

But business taxes do more than raise revenue – they also create incentives that shape how companies organize and operate. For legal marijuana businesses – both medical and recreational dispensaries alike – rescheduling marijuana would relax these implicit restrictions, serving as a quiet form of deregulation that removes tax pressures that currently shape the industry’s financing, structure and compliance. From this perspective, rescheduling would cut taxes but also remove one of the federal government’s levers over an industry principally regulated by the states.

I study how tax rules shape what businesses do and the social effects of changing those rules. In my view, the tax implications of rescheduling marijuana alone are likely to have consequences that go far beyond the tax bill that businesses pay.

Why marijuana businesses are taxed differently

Under federal law, state-legal marijuana businesses face unique tax burdens.

Most businesses can deduct, or write off, ordinary and necessary expenses. For example, businesses generally can subtract the costs of rent and utilities from the income they earn. But that’s not the case for businesses that deal in Schedule I and II controlled substances, including marijuana.

In effect, legal marijuana businesses pay federal income tax on their gross income rather than their net income like other companies.

Imagine a business with US$100,000 of income before expenses and $80,000 of otherwise deductible expenses. Ordinarily, the business would pay $4,200 in tax on $20,000 of net income, assuming a 21% tax rate. The business’s cash profits would be $15,800 for the year – a healthy net profit margin.

If this hypothetical business legally sold marijuana, Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code would deny any income tax deductions for the business’s $80,000 in expenses. This rule applies even though the business’s expenses are real costs, and even though the business is legal under state law. In this scenario, the business would owe $21,000 in tax on $100,000 of gross income. This would put the business in the red for the year, with a negative cash flow of $1,000 and a negative net profit margin.

For many legal marijuana businesses, making the math work isn’t a hypothetical challenge. Indeed, some enterprises have reported real-world effective tax rates as high as 80% – more than twice the top statutory rate for individuals.

This state of affairs traces to two court decisions handed down more than five decades apart. In 1927, the Supreme Court held that income from illegal activities remained subject to tax – a decision later leveraged in mob boss Al Capone’s 1931 conviction on criminal tax evasion charges. Then, in 1981, the U.S. Tax Court affirmed that illegal activities were taxable on their net income after deductions, like legal businesses. Lawmakers objected, and Congress enacted Section 280E the following year in response.

Essentially, the move gave drug traffickers a Hobson’s choice: face civil or criminal penalties for failing to properly report their income, or pay punishingly high effective tax rates. Just as Treasury Department enforcers used tax law to combat organized crime during Prohibition, tax law’s dual disincentives expressly discouraged illicit drug sales.

Because Section 280E applies only to Schedule I and II substances, rescheduling to Schedule III would tax legal marijuana businesses like other businesses. According to advocates, this would better align federal tax law with widespread state-level legalization of marijuana. In effect, rescheduling could equate to a tax break of around $2.3 billion dollars for the marijuana industry, according to one estimate.

How the tax code quietly regulates marijuana

A cannabis store in New York City. Zamek/VIEWpress/Corbis via Getty Images

Despite these high effective tax rates, the state-legal marijuana industry has more than tripled in revenue over the past decade and supports more than 400,000 jobs. Tax law, however, has shaped how this industry operates.

In this way, tax law serves as a form of quiet regulation – not directly, by setting licensing standards or policing potency, but indirectly. If marijuana were rescheduled, the federal government would give up this mechanism for indirect regulation.

As it currently stands, Section 280E has three important regulatory effects:

First, Section 280E limits businesses’ financing options. Like other enterprises, legal marijuana businesses need capital to grow. By constraining after-tax profits and cash flow, the status quo makes it harder for these marijuana businesses to finance growth internally using their own money from operations, known as “retained earnings.” This tax-induced capital scarcity may help explain mature legal marijuana industries’ relatively low rates of year-over-year growth. After taxes, there’s simply very little cash to reinvest.

This constraint pushes legal marijuana businesses to finance growth through external – and often unconventional – funding sources. Because marijuana businesses remain illegal under federal law, commercial banks and public capital markets may treat otherwise legal businesses as off-limits or high-risk. These businesses often turn to private capital for loans, specialized leasing arrangements and equity investments. Given the federal restrictions on marijuana, private investors tend to scrutinize these transactions closely, often insisting on protective covenants and operational restrictions.

Second, Section 280E encourages legal marijuana businesses to isolate activities that “don’t touch the plant” from marijuana production and sales. If the nonmarijuana activities are truly separate – legally, spatially and operationally – they may be able to claim business expense deductions that direct marijuana-related activities cannot.

Legal marijuana businesses have implemented these separate structures for activities from back-office support and real estate management to licensing for branding and merchandise. In addition to affecting tax burdens, these structures require ongoing operational oversight by outside parties – lawyers, accountants and other providers – and enforce the siloing of marijuana-touching activities away from other activities.

Finally, Section 280E raises the stakes of accurately accounting for the marijuana sold by these businesses. Courts have affirmed that legal marijuana businesses can reduce their gross income by the “cost of goods sold” – the direct production and acquisition costs of inventory. Even under Section 280E, these businesses can subtract the costs to grow, process and package marijuana from their sales revenue. As a result, these businesses meticulously monitor direct production costs throughout their supply chains.

This supply chain management offers another pathway for indirect regulation. Many state regulatory regimes already require inventory tracking. But Section 280E adds a financial reward for rigorous documentation, controls and auditing. Although some of this tax compliance work is mere paper-shuffling, public policy may favor multiple forms of regulation by multiple stakeholders – a diversity of oversight for an industry where lapses or inconsistencies can have serious social costs.

Federal tax rules for state-legal marijuana businesses operate as a form of indirect, or quiet, regulation: a national overlay that complements – and amplifies – state regulatory regimes. Rescheduling would remove this federal overlay by taking marijuana out of Section 280E’s reach.

From this perspective, the debate over rescheduling is about more than just tax normalization versus public health risks. Rescheduling raises bigger questions of institutional design: whether the federal government should yield one of its most practical points of leverage over the legal marijuana industry – and, if so, whether another regulatory mechanism should replace it.

In December 2025, the Trump administration accelerated the process of reclassifying marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act – a shift that would reduce restrictions and penalties associated with the drug. Indeed, one of rescheduling’s most significant – and most immediate – effects would be tax relief for all legal marijuana businesses in the states that host them.

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