Dru Stevenson, Professor of Law

Webinar Overview: Implementation Science in Practice On April 29, 2026, I attended the live webinar hosted by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Gun Violence Research and Education titled "It’s Not Just What You Do – It’s How You Do It: Implementation Science for Firearm Violence Prevention." The session featured experts from The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI) and Lutheran Settlement House , including Lianne Fuino Estefan , Jessica Palardy , and Tom Simon as moderator. (Sydney Rolle-Stern was unable to join the webinar as planned). Sharing the live webinar presentation via LinkedIn to engage with the professional community on firearm violence prevention research. The discussion centered on implementation science —the study of methods to promote the systematic uptake of research findings into routine practice. The panelists examined why certain interventions succeed in controlled environments but face significant friction when scaled to diverse real-world s...

IRS Form 990 Filing Requirements for 501(c)(3) Nonprofits Introductory slide from my overview lecture explaining the Form 990 filing obligations for tax‑exempt nonprofit organizations, including annual reporting, compliance duties, and transparency requirement. This post highlights my latest short lecture video on the annual IRS filing requirements for tax‑exempt 501(c)(3) organizations , including the Form 990 series, public‑inspection rules, thresholds, exceptions, penalties, and automatic‑revocation risks. The video provides a concise overview for law students, nonprofit managers, and compliance professionals. Video: https://youtu.be/N-4sZLWfyBk Key Topics Covered in the Video Annual reporting obligations for tax‑exempt charities Form 990, Form 990‑EZ, Form 990‑N (e‑Postcard), and Form 990‑PF Filing thresholds based on gross receipts and assets Public‑inspection and transparency requirements Exceptions for churches and integrated auxiliaries Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) and...

This post provides a technical summary and metadata for the article Siding with Goliath: NRA v. Vullo ,  published in the Brooklyn Law Review , Volume 91, Issue 2 (2026). Siding with Goliath: NRA v. Vullo , Dru Stevenson, Brooklyn Law Review , Vol. 91 (2026). Read the full article (brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu in Bing) . Abstract and Research Objectives The Supreme Court's 2024 decision in NRA v. Vullo addressed whether a state regulator’s communications with private entities constituted unconstitutional coercion. This research argues that the Court’s application of First Amendment precedent was misguided due to a failure to distinguish the specific oversight responsibilities of financial sector regulators. The article provides evidence-based analysis on: Governmental Chilling Effects: Evaluating the impact of personal liability on civil servant performance. Marginal Deterrence: Applying constitutional deterrence theory to administrative oversight. Corporate Reputational Risk: An...

On April 22, 2026, I participated in a virtual discourse hosted by Jennifer Mascia of The Trace , featuring Mark Barden (Co‑Founder of Sandy Hook Promise) and filmmaker Josh Seftel . The session focused on Seftel’s documentary All the Empty Rooms and the broader sociological impact of firearm‑related trauma in the United States. It was especially valuable to hear Seftel describe how he selected this project and approached its development and production. Mark Barden’s perspective—as a parent who lost a child in a school shooting—added a level of moral clarity and lived experience that is often missing from policy debates. His discussion of Sandy Hook Promise’s most impactful initiatives underscored the importance of sustained, evidence‑informed advocacy. Narrative evidence of the kind presented in the film provides a qualitative counterweight to the quantitative data typically used in administrative rulemaking or legislative testimony on firearm policy. It also serves as a rea...

  Executive Summary & Research Scope This entry serves as a digital index for the article "Restoration of Federal Firearms Rights: The DOJ’s Administrative Revival of § 925(c)" by Drury D. Stevenson (Vinson & Elkins Research Professor, South Texas College of Law Houston). The research provides a 64-page comprehensive analysis of the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) 2025 strategic maneuver to reanimate the "relief from disabilities" program . Core Legal Subject : 18 U.S.C. § 925(c) and its intersection with the felon-in-possession ban under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) . Institutional Context : Analysis of the Office of the Pardon Attorney (OPA) assuming functions previously sub-delegated to the ATF . Primary Legal Thesis : An administrative remedy offers a superior, data-driven alternative to the unpredictability of judicial "as-applied" Second Amendment challenges following the Bruen and Rahimi decisions . Key Data Entities & Thematic Domains Machi...

Source: Jiru, G. B., & Worrall, J. L. (2026). Disaggregating enforcement: Evidence on certainty, severity, and firearm homicide under the ATF zero tolerance policy. Journal of Criminal Justice, 104, 102643. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2026.102643 Which violence-prevention policies actually "work," or are most effective for reducing gun violence? Here is a fascinating new study about the Biden-era crackdown on gun dealers. Warning letters and expectation of inspections reduced gun violence; severe sanctions like FFL revocation, not so much. For those of us advocating for safer gun laws, a new study in the Journal of Criminal Justice (Jiru & Worrall, 2026) offers a critical piece of evidence-based strategy. The researchers analyzed the impact of federal enforcement on firearm homicides, and the results are revelatory for our policy agendas. The article is  Disaggregating Enforcement: Evidence on Certainty, Severity, and Firearm Homicide Under the ATF Zero Toler...