By Marianne Aguilar President Donald Trump has endorsed a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill called the First Step Act.[1] According to the New York Times, the Act, among other goals, “would eliminate the so-called stacking regulation that makes it a federal crime to possess a firearm while committing another crime, like a drug offense; expand […]
“Fake News” or Just Bad Press: The State of Journalism in Trump’s America
By Hillary Hyduke On November 7, 2018, President Donald Trump revoked the White House credentials of CNN’s chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, because Acosta “failed to ‘treat the White House with respect’ at a White House press briefing.”[1] The revocation raises questions regarding Trump’s strategy in dealing with press coverage with which he disagrees, […]
Birthright Citizenship: A Fourteenth Amendment Guarantee
By Kelly Harmon Over the week of October 29, 2018, President Donald Trump insisted that he was going to find a way to end birthright citizenship, likely in an attempt to incite his supporters prior to the midterm elections on November 6.[1] In addition to an HBO interview on the topic, President Trump wrote on […]
Protecting Residents of Unpermitted Housing: How the Exigent Circumstances Standard Applies to Code Enforcement
By Chelsea Lalancette Following a deadly fire at the Ghost Ship live-work warehouse in Oakland, California in December 2016, the local government has been tasked with balancing an affordable housing crisis with a need for safe residences. Ghost Ship was an arts collective that also served as an unofficial residence and event space, providing affordable, albeit […]
#MeToo Comes to Tech and Raises Questions About Mandatory Arbitration
By Stephanie Tait On November 1, 2018, Google workers across the globe coordinated a massive walkout to protest the company’s handling of sexual harassment claims.[1] Frustrated with the executive leadership’s perceived support for abusers and lack of meaningful action to address claims of harassment, Google employees and contract workers walked out of their offices […]
Dear Canada, Enter at Your Own Risk: Legally Smoking Weed in Your Country Can Bar You from Entry into the United States
By Matthew Itzkowitz Just last month, our friendly neighbor to the north, Canada, officially legalized recreational use of cannabis.[1] While Canadian citizens were celebrating this momentous occasion, President Donald Trump’s administration internally discussed its policy regarding Canadian citizens who try to enter the United States and admit to having legally ingested cannabis or invested in […]
Although Moving Forward for Now, Juliana Still Has a Long Way to Go
By Hunter Grolman In 2015, several young plaintiffs filed a unique suit against the United States government in federal district court.[1] The complaint in Juliana v. United States alleges that the United States’ policies toward climate change have led to violations of the plaintiffs’ rights to life, liberty, and property under the Constitution.[2] Because the […]
How does payday lending exist in a post Williams world?
By Rebecca Coy On its face, lending money to people in need seems to be an honorable pursuit. The law, however, must look beyond the false pretense of a practice and look at the its effects. Payday loans trap people in need in a perpetual cycle of debt.[1] However, the decision in Williams v. Walker-Thomas […]
Paved With Good Intentions: The Harm of Mandatory Reporting on College Campuses
By Jessica Ochoa Content Warning: Discussion of sexual assault Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing brought the topic of sexual assault to the national stage.[1] In protest to his confirmation, many women began to speak up about their own sexual assaults or negative interactions with Kavanaugh; however, many still questioned why Dr. Christine Blasey Ford had […]
Increasing Racial and Gender Diversity in the Federal Government’s Senior Executive Service
By Alicia Martinez DISCLAIMER: The author is an employee of the U.S. General Services Administration. The content and views expressed in the article are the author’s alone and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. General Services Administration or the U.S. government. The Senior Executive Service (“SES”) is the executive management […]