by: Thomas Cocchi, Staff Writer The government shutdown, and the impending debt ceiling hit on October 17th, has come with renewed challenges from the Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate to the Affordable Care Act (“the Act”), commonly known as “Obamacare,” and, more specifically, to its individual […]
Juris Blog
October 2013 Term Preview: U.S. Supreme Court to Reevaluate Precedents
by: Lauren Gailey, Associate Editor The United States Supreme Court kicked off its October 2013 term last week despite the government shutdown, which has not yet affected the Court’s argument schedule. This term’s docket includes cases dealing with a wide range of important and divisive issues such as affirmative […]
Yahoo, Google Sued for Violating Federal Wiretap Law
by: Eric Donato, Executive Editor Google and Yahoo, titans of the internet search engine and email industries, have recently been sued in federal court for violating federal wiretap laws. Complaints filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California allege that the businesses broke the law by […]
Can You be Liable for Texting a Driver Right Before the Driver is Involved in an Accident?
by: Brittany Kriebel, Staff Writer According to the New Jersey Court of Appeals, the answer could be yes. In New Jersey, texting while driving is prohibited and it is illegal to use a cell phone that is not “hands free.” Even though texting and driving is illegal, a recent case […]
The NCAA is the Last Defendant Left in the O’Bannon Suit
by: Kevin Lorello, 2L Contributor The NCAA is determined to preserve amateurism in college athletics, and is now the lone defendant in the fight to do so. Last Thursday, video game publisher Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) and licensing company Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) agreed to pay a reported $40 million […]
The Gambler Who Beat the House, and Lost it All
By: Amy Coleman, Staff Writer There was a time when Tom “The Hammer” DeLay was on top of the world; he was House Majority Leader, second only to the Speaker of the House, from 2003-2006[i] and he was on Dancing with the Stars.[ii] However, his luck soon ran out. Thomas […]
Montgomery County Opposes Pennsylvania Gay Marriage Ban
by: Ravi Marfatia, Staff Writer Gay marriage has always been a hot-button issue in America. The United States Supreme Court recently struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in U.S. v. Windsor, which federally defined marriage “as a union between one man and one woman as […]
Human Trafficking in Pennsylvania, Part I: Problem Statement
by: Judy Hale Reed, Staff Writer I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves. ~ Harriet Tubman Human trafficking is slavery, and slavery continues in the U.S. We have it in the North as well as the South, and […]
Organizers “Reinstate” Common Law Grand Juries in Pennsylvania
by: Justin Norris, Staff Writer Organizers in nineteen of Pennsylvania’s counties have gathered to “turn back the judicial clock to 1789” by reinstating common law grand juries. Most notable, meetings have sprouted up in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, and Westmoreland counties to introduce the concept of the common law grand jury […]
The Big Picture: Celebrating Katie Westbrook at the Law School
by Emily Shaffer, Staff Writer “How do you like law school?” Common answers to this inquiry usually include a head shake, a sigh or groan, an eye roll or a grumbling about how much work it is. Let’s face it; attending law school is not so much about the bigger […]