By: Samantha Cook, Feature Editor “Get a clean slate!” offers the Community Legal Services of Philadelphia. “Do You Have a Criminal Record that Might Be Sealed Under Pennsylvania’s New Clean Slate Law?”[1] Studies of the criminal justice system in recent years have addressed the issue of collateral consequences, the concept […]
Juris Blog
States Shifting Their Stance on the Death Penalty Reflects the Growing Trend Towards Abolishing Capital Punishment
By: Brandon Schall, Staff Writer Currently, 30 states have capital punishment laws for certain crimes.[1] In recent years, four state legislatures, have abolished their death penalty and replaced it with life imprisonment, those states include, New Mexico (2009), Illinois (2011), Connecticut (2012), and Maryland (2013).[2] Additionally, Nebraska’s legislature abolished […]
Laying the Death Tax to Rest: The Left and Right Quarrel Over the Federal Estate Tax
By: Natalia Holliday, Editor-In-Chief “It’s the government’s final insult to force grieving families to visit both the undertaker and the IRS on the same day,” remarked Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) in a plea to repeal the federal estate tax, commonly known as the “death tax.”[1] On […]
A Step in the Right Direction: Laws Allowing the Homeless to Live in Their Vehicles
By: Elizabeth Fitch, Staff Writer On February 5, 2019, San Diego City Council members voted unanimously to repeal a 35-year-old law stating that it is illegal for people to live in their vehicles.[1] Councilman Mark Kerseysays the law, first passed in 1983, has outlived its usefulness; “I think it’s pretty […]
Juror Anonymity and the El Chapo Trial
By: Amanda Leonard, Staff Writer During jury selection for the recent El Chapo trial, one juror broke down crying in front of the judge, claiming coworkers identified her as a potential juror and she feared that public identification would follow suit.[1] The judge had previously granted requests from prospective […]
The Resignation of a United Nations’ International Criminal Court Judge Sheds Light on the Current Relationship Between the United States and the International Criminal Court
By: Samantha Dorn, Staff Writer Recently, Christoph Flügge, a senior judge at one of the United Nations’ International Criminal Court (ICC), made international headlines when he resigned from his position citing political interference from Turkey and the United States.[1] Flügge, a German judge who had been a judge on […]
District Court Rules No Citizenship Question on 2020 Census
By: David Zvirman, Staff Writer Over the past few months, the Department of Commerce’s (DOC) decision to add a citizenship question to the upcoming 2020 census sparked a lot of debate.[1] This debate culminated on January 15, 2019, when New York District Judge Jesse Furman struck down the DOC’s […]
Upon Judicial Review, the Call on the Field Will Stand
By: Kurt Valentine, Web Editor Super Bowl LIII, featuring the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams, is set to take place on Sunday, February 3, in Atlanta, Georgia.[1] Unfortunately for the Rams, the road to the final game of the 2018 National Football League (NFL) season is not […]
Food Safety Regulation: Should All Types of Food Preparation Be Regulated Equally?
By: Elizabeth Echard, Staff Writer As spring and summer will soon be approaching, we begin to think about farmers markets, county fairs, local fairs and festivities, and most of all, the food offered at these events. But did you ever wonder how safe the prepared foods are at these […]
How in the World Anti-Vaccination Became a Movement
By: Jennifer Carter, Web Editor Within the past ten years, an old movement gained new momentum on social media sites and blogs urging parents to refrain from vaccinating their young children. Parents appeared to lead the movement, with many spreading the debunked rumor that vaccines cause autism, spearheaded […]
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