By Natalia Holliday, Staff Writer In Twin Falls, Idaho, 19-year-old Cody Duane Scott Herrera pleaded guilty to raping a 14-year-old girl in March 2015.[1] In lieu of 5-15 years of imprisonment, Fifth District Judge Randy Stoker ordered Herrera to complete a yearlong therapeutic program with a hitch: If he […]
Posts
The Not So-Quiet Conversation About Suppressors
By Kyle Steenland, Staff Writer One of the nation’s largest gun control acts, the National Firearms Act of 1968, is facing legislation that would remove one of its most regulated items: suppressors. House Bill 367, named the Hearing Protection Act of 2017, was introduced in the House of Representatives, […]
Challenging the Ban: Legal Arguments by Attorney Generals of Wash., Minn., Against Trump Executive Order
By David Zvirman, Staff Writer On February 9, 2017, the Ninth Circuit upheld the suspension of President Donald Trump’s executive order concerning the oft-called “travel ban.”[4] The actual title of this order is Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, and it was executed on […]
The Legalities Behind President Trump’s Executive Order to Ban Immigration
By Drew Rummel, Staff Writer Arguably, the hottest topic in political news in the past two weeks has been the executive order that President Donald Trump issued, which temporarily banned immigration into the United States from seven overseas countries. The ban, if allowed, would halt immigration from those countries […]
Amazon Echo Voice Recordings: Potential Problems in Privacy
By Kady Enright, Staff Writer Law enforcement in Bentonville, Arkansas, served a warrant on Amazon requesting voice recordings from the Echo device of James Andrew Bates.[1] Bates is accused of murdering Victor Collins in November 2015.[2] Echo is a voice-activated, home personal assistant; it can perform various tasks — […]
The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary v. Katy Perry
By Matt DeSantis, Staff Writer Religious institutions enjoy a variety of privileges in the United States, guaranteed and defended by the First Amendment’s separation of church and state. These privileges range from their tax exempt status to the right to follow their own codes of law — to the […]
The New Protest
By Amber McGee, Staff Writer With several polarizing issues making headlines today, there seem to be protests everywhere. The right to free speech is something so central to what it means to be an American that, often, groups seeking to exercise it do not fully understand that there are limitations […]
State Senators Push to Preempt City Labor Laws
By Susan Pickup, Staff Writer A Pennsylvania bill proposed in the 2017-2018 legislative session would attempt to preempt cities and towns from enacting mandatory paid sick leave for employees.[1] This senate bill seems to have one city law in mind. It would preempt the city of Philadelphia’s “Promoting Healthy […]
President Trump’s Numerous Fiscal Allies in Pittsburgh
By Katherine Mannion, Staff Writer The actions taken in the early days of President Donald Trump’s administration already has numerous Pittsburgh connections. Pennsylvania residents have a unique knowledge of Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. DeVos, who worked for the American Federation for Children prior to her nomination, […]
Real ID Requirements Present Real Problems for PA Residents
By Phil Raymond, Staff Writer Pennsylvania residents may have to use another form of ID to enter a federal building or even fly domestically due to the Real ID law. The Real ID law, signed by Congress in 2005, requires states to develop driver’s licenses with certain security features […]
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