Edward Poitevent, a long-time Louisiana resident and proud business-owner, could not believe his ears when he was ordered to give up some of his land so that an endangered frog might breed there. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (the Service) believes that Poitevent and his neighbors’ total of 1,600 acres of land (Unit 1) is a critical habitat of the endangered dusky gopher frog, and therefore must be designated as such. However, the frog has not been seen in Louisiana for decades, so it is probable that the evacuation of Unit 1 would have no effect on the dusky gopher frog population.
Read MoreWhile the Miller and Montgomery rulings have put the state of juvenile life without parole sentences under heavy scrutiny, their effects have not been uniform across the country. Although states such as Iowa and Kansas have deemed life without parole sentences as unconstitutional and have even limited mandatory minimum sentences for juveniles, twenty-nine states have maintained their rights to these inhumane sentences. I
Read MoreAlthough the 2018 Midterm Elections were held on November 6, not every race was called by the end of the night. Some elections had results that were too close to call, mechanical and technological issues with voting machines, or provisional ballots left uncounted. In the gubernatorial race in Georgia, the certification of election results was delayed by a federal judge after concerns about the state’s voter registration system and the counting of provisional ballots was brought to the court’s attention.
Read MoreThe Keystone Pipeline has been a politicized issue since the beginning of the Obama presidency and the many lawsuits that have come out of its controversy have begun to change the landscape of environmental law. Courts have been pushed to define and solidify the legal mechanisms to approve large, environmentally-consequential projects and multiple legal battles are being fought over presidential authority regarding the environment.
Read MoreThe Lochner Era, spanning almost three decades from 1905 to 1937, was one of the most distinctive periods of Supreme Court history. An analysis of the Court’s decision inLochner v. New York (1905), the three decades emerging after the Lochner decision, and the events surrounding the Court’s eventual reversal of the decision in 1937 can reveal important implications for workers’ rights in our modern era.
Read MoreOn October 10th, the United Kingdom Supreme Court released a decision that allowed a baker in Northern Ireland to refuse to make a cake with pro-LGBT+ messages on it. [1] This case is significant because it is set against a background of diminished LGBT+ rights in Northern Ireland. [2] The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) rates Northern Ireland as the worst place in the United Kingdom for LGBT+ individuals. [3] This is because LGBT+ rights in Northern Ireland are limited and slowly gained compared to those in the rest of the United Kingdom.
Read MoreAs numerous wildfires tore across California, approximately 1,500 inmates worked alongside professional firefighting crews to quell the flames. Typically, professional firefighters earn around $74,000 a year, excluding benefits. Prisoners working as firefighters earn about $1.45 a day for their work, roughly thirteen percent of the hourly minimum wage in California. [1] The discrepancy between the pay of salaried and incarcerated firefighters reduces firefighting costs by $100 million dollars a year for the state, and incarcerated firefighters, who must volunteer to participate, are compensated with a two-day reduction of their sentence for every day of good behavior. [2]
Read MoreIt is estimated that in 2017, nearly 809,700 children under the age of 18 were arrested in the United States for crimes including burglary, arson, drug abuse, and homicide. [1] This statistic displays an intensifying debate in America: the treatment of children in the criminal justice system. While these youths were clearly convicted for violating the law, what remains unclear in the law is how these children should be distinguished from their adult criminal counterparts.
Read MoreThe advent of American justice, in criminal proceedings, is often tied to the constitutional guarantee of the attorney. Our 6th Amendment promises that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to… have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.” [1] This is a powerful promise our Founders codified, aiming to level the playing field for criminal defendants thereafter. In many ways, this pledge continues to represent the emphasis on individual rights in the American social contract. But when we take a step backwards, we are reminded that criminal proceedings have an often-overlooked twin: civil law.
Read More