Search

The author addresses the originalist jurisprudence of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. Topics discussed include reason for the disagreement about Justice Alito's jurisprudence, two of the most significant dangers originalism faces in the coming years that Justice Alito is uniquely positioned to address, and factors that are the cause of Justice Alito's tendency to make non-originalist arguments more often than Justice Clarence Thomas.

This Essay examines the ways in which the Supreme Court's October 2021 Term challenges core theoretical commitments of progressive constitutional theory. Progressive constitutional theory originated in the progressive political theory of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Accordingly, progressive constitutional theory shares progressive political theory's commitments to two propositions: rationalism and individualism. These commitments lead to an understanding of history as moving in a particular direction--one that is generally in line with progressive ideology. The originalist and traditionalist approaches of the Court's October 2021 decisions call into question the progressive confidence in the direction of history while simultaneously rejecting the rationalistic and individualistic premises of progressivism. This helps explain why many progressive constitutional theorists have found the Court's decisions so disorienting and confounding. The October 2021 Term challenged--even though it did not definitively refute--the progressive narrative of constitutional redemption through history. The implications of the Court's decisions will reverberate through American constitutional theory for decades to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mailed outreach promoting colorectal cancer (CRC) screening with a stool blood test kit may increase participation, but magnitude and consistency of benefit of this intervention strategy is uncertain. Our aim was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing mailed outreach offering stool tests to usual care, clinic-based screening offers on CRC screening uptake in the USA. We performed a systematic literature search of five databases for RCTs of mailed outreach from January 1980 through June 2017. Primary outcome was screening completion, summarized using random-effects meta-analysis as pooled differences in proportion completing the screening and relative risk of achieving screening compared to control. Subgroup analyses by test type offered-fecal immunochemical test (FIT) or guaiac fecal occult blood test (gFOBT), the presence of telephone reminders, and the presence of predominant underserved/minority population within study were performed. Quality of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE framework. Seven RCTs which enrolled 12,501 subjects were included (n = 5703 assigned mailed outreach and n = 6798 usual care). Mailed outreach resulted in a 28% absolute (95% CI 25-30%; I2 = 47%) and a 2.8-fold relative (RR 2.65, 95% CI 2.03-3.45; I2 = 92%) increase in screening completion compared to usual care, with a number needed to invite estimated to be 3.6. Similar outcomes were observed across subgroups. Overall body of evidence was at moderate quality. Mailed outreach offering a gFOBT or FIT is associated with a large and consistent increase in CRC screening completion and should be considered for more widespread implementation for improving screening rates nationwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine behavioural intention to reduce soda consumption after exposure to the Choose Health LA 'Sugar Pack' campaign in Los Angeles County, California, USA.Design: A cross-sectional street-intercept survey was conducted to assess knowledge, attitudes, health behaviours and behavioural intentions after exposure to the 'Sugar Pack' campaign. A multivariable regression analysis was performed to examine the relationships between the amount of soda consumed and self-reported intention to reduce consumption of non-diet soda among adults who saw the campaign.Setting: Three pre-selected Los Angeles County Metro bus shelters and/or rail stops with the highest number of 'Sugar Pack' campaign advertisement placements.Subjects: Riders of the region's Metro buses and railways who were the intended audience of the campaign advertisements.Results: The overall survey response rate was 56 % (resulting n 1041). Almost 60 % of respondents were exposed to the advertisements (619/1041). The multivariable logistic regression analysis suggested that the odds of reporting intention to reduce soda consumption among moderate consumers (1-6 sodas/week) were 1·95 times greater than among heavy consumers (≥1 soda/d), after controlling for clustering and covariates. Respondents with less than a high-school education and who perceived sugary beverage consumption as harmful also had higher odds; in contrast, respondents aged ≥65 years had lower odds.Conclusions: Results suggest that future campaigns should be tailored differently for moderate v. heavy consumers of soda. Similar tailoring strategies are likely needed for younger groups, for those with less educational attainment and for those who do not perceive consumption of soda as harmful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To assess whether crowdsourcing is a viable option for conducting surveillance of point of sale (POS) tobacco marketing practices. Methods We posted jobs to an online crowdsourcing platform to audit 194 Florida licensed tobacco retailers over a 3-week period. During the same period, trained data collectors conducted audits at the same retail locations. Data were collected on cigarette advertising, cigarette promotions and product availability (electronic cigarettes, snus and dissolvables). We compared data collected by crowdsourced workers and trained staff and computed frequencies, percent agreement and inter-rater reliability. Photographs of e-cigarettes and exterior cigarette advertisements submitted by crowdsourced workers were used to validate responses. Results Inter-rater reliability between crowdsourced and trained data collectors was moderate to high for coding exterior cigarette advertisements, product availability and some tobacco promotions, but poor to fair when coding presence of sales and interior cigarette advertisements. Photos submitted by crowdsourced workers confirmed e-cigarette availability that was missed by trained data collectors in three stores. Conclusions Crowdsourcing may be a promising form of data collection for some POS tobacco measures. Future studies should examine the cost-effectiveness of crowdsourcing compared with traditional trained data collectors and assess which POS measures are most amenable to crowdsourcing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]