Ms. Bunce uses the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decisions in United States v. Kincade to illustrate the pitfalls of Fourth Amendment jurisprudence as applied to the DNA Act searches, and to address the issues at work in the struggle between individual rights under the Fourth Amendment and the use of DNA in the criminal justice system. She argues the Ninth Circuit misapplied the balancing test required in the analysis of warrantless searches under the Fourth Amendment in its en banc rehearing. Ms. Bunce concludes that when the Fourth Amendment test is properly applied, the DNA collection and analysis authorized under the DNA Act represent an unconstitutional seizure under the Fourth Amendment.

In Bridgeport Music, Inc. v. Dimension Films, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals announced a bright-line rule making any unlicensed copying of a sound recording - regardless of the amount - a per se infringement of the sound recording copyright. In this comment, Mr. Brodin examines the court's decision in respect to the language and purpose of the Copyright Act of 1976 and the relevant digital sampling case law. He concludes that the language and purpose of the Copyright Act do not support the per se rule announced by the Sixth Circuit. Instead, the court should have upheld the district court.s application of the substantial similarity test, which is consistent with the language of the Copyright Act and the existing digital sampling case law from other federal circuits.

The gray wolf has made substantial progress towards recovery since receiving protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1978. But the wolf faces a new and unlikely threat to its survival in the northeastern United States. This threat comes from molecular genetics research suggesting that the wolf has hybridized with coyotes and may not deserve full protection under the ESA. In 2002, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a rule listing three .distinct population segments. (DPSs) of gray wolves: Southwestern, Western, and Eastern. The FWS had earlier proposed to recognize a Northeastern DPS, but ultimately rejected the proposal based on .substantial uncertainty. about the genetic identity of wolves in the northeastern United States. Between the proposed and final rule, scientists published molecular genetics research suggesting that it was not the gray wolf that historically occupied the region. Moreover, genetic analysis of individual wolves killed in the region in the last decade showed evidence of hybridization with coyotes. This research has undermined protection for the wolf in the northeastern United States. Without a Northeastern DPS, wolves in that region will lose all federal protection when the Eastern DPS is removed from the list of endangered species. Technology is far ahead of policy on endangered species hybrids. Molecular markers can now be used identify hybrids, but the FWS has no policy to guide decisions concerning the proper protection for hybrids under the ESA. Currently pending lawsuits challenging the FWS.s reclassification of the wolf are likely to shape future uses of genetics research to evaluate listings under the ESA.