Barrett on Constitutional Interpretation Falco Anthony Muscante II On September 26, President Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to fill the vacancy on the United States Supreme Court resulting from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death.[1] Justice Ginsburg served as an Associate Justice […]
Photo provided courtesy of Pixabay.com By: Samantha Thompson, Staff Writer On October 7th, 2019, the first day of the 2019-2020 Supreme Court term, the Court heard the arguments for Kahler v. Kansas, to determine whether the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments permit a state to abolish the insanity defense.[1] The insanity […]
By Karissa Murphy, Executive Editor The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides, in relevant part, that “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated[.]”[1] As far back as 1886, the Supreme Court […]
By Kyle Steenland, Associate Editor Good news for religious organizations hoping to utilize state offered grants and subsidies; not so good news for those opposed to the potential of taxpayer dollars going to religious institutions. A recent Supreme Court decision, with seven justices for and two against, ruled that […]
By Karissa Murphy, Executive Editor In 2002, Lester Packingham, a 21-year-old college student, became a registered sex offender after pleading guilty to taking indecent liberties with a child — having sex with a 13-year-old girl.[1] In 2010, Packingham logged onto his personal Facebook account and posted a statement celebrating […]
By Susan Pickup, Staff Writer In the 8-0 decision Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, the U.S. Supreme Court held in favor of a student with autism and attention deficit disorder (ADD), a small victory for students with disabilities everywhere.[1] The issue dealt with the federal Individual with […]
By Amy Kerlin, Staff Writer[1] Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972[2] is most commonly known as the regulation that requires schools and universities to provide equal athletic opportunities for females in order to receive funds from the federal government. Not commonly known, however, is that Title IX […]
By Kyle Steenland, Staff Writer Within our criminal justice system, the mental capacity of the offender, and its role in the commission of a crime, is paramount for the judiciary in arriving at a sentencing verdict that benefits both society and the offender. In a situation where someone lacks […]
By Kaitlyn Burns, Staff Writer “It’s a sad commentary that minorities, Hispanics and black people, are over represented in the [c]riminal [j]ustice system.”[1] In a country now steeped in controversy over the systemic violence and discriminatory practices against racial minorities,[2] uttering this statement in open court would normally be […]
