Articles

8th Circuit endorses extreme deference to the government

January 11, 2018 | By CALEB TROTTER

A year ago, I wrote about the occupational licensing case of two African-style hair braiders in Missouri. In that case, even though neither the state-mandated exam or the cosmetology curriculum covers African-style hair braiding, the braiders face the prospect of having their livelihoods taken away unless they spend thousands of dollars and hundred ...

Articles

Braiding hair is not a crime

May 15, 2018 | By CALEB TROTTER

Earlier this year, I noted that the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals endorsed extreme deference to the government when it rejected a challenge by hair braiders in Missouri to the state's requirement that braiders be licensed as a cosmetologist or barber. In Niang v. Tomblinson, the Supreme Court of the United States has the opportunity to clarify th ...