Online Journal — Columbia Undergraduate Law Review

Assessing the Legality of Juliana v. United States

In recent months, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal has captured the nation’s attention, as it presents the first comprehensive legislative effort to combat global warming. However, in the discussion of the government’s responsibility to mitigate the effects of climate change, a certain case has been lost in the noise. Juliana v. United States is a class action lawsuit in which twenty-one plaintiffs (all undergraduates at various colleges and universities across the country) are suing United States executive agencies, including the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency, for a violation of their constitutional rights.

The Intellectual Property Implications of Star Athletica v. Varsity Brands

While most recent advancements in copyright law focus on mainstream technological or media-based infringements, intellectual property scholars were dealt a landmark decision in a more unconventional facet of the law: fashion. Star Athletica, LLC v. Varsity Brands, Inc (2017) [1], decided after 8 months of deliberation in the U.S. Supreme Court, examined a lawsuit brought forth by Varsity Brands when Star Athletica began to produce cheerleading uniforms with chevrons, zigzags, and other aesthetic elements similar in design to those produced by Varsity Brands, but at a far lower price [2].

Itsy, Bitsy, and Vulnerable? The Need for Greater Jurisprudence in the World of Fashion

In June 2013, Ipek Irgit debuted her bikini line Kiini. Fun and flirty, the crocheted, triangle bikini soon became all the rage among Instagram models and stylists. By 2014, the swimsuit was featured in Vogue.com, Women’s Health Magazine, and even named “the hottest bikini this summer” by People magazine. [1] While the designer’s business was booming, she was also facing significant obstacles. Irgit’s biggest hurdle? The hundreds of counterfeit Kiinis that swarmed the Internet and were creating profit for others off of her work.

Legal Framework of Offshore Wind Energy

As the push from both the public and private sectors to invest in renewable energy has intensified in recent years, new methods of energy production continue to emerge in the market. In the United States, a combination of hydropower, biofuels, and wind power produce most of the country’s clean energy. [1] Since renewable energy has only recently become a priority in the energy market, new and innovative technologies continue to be implemented, transforming the legal landscape along with them.

Forced Off His Land by a Frog

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.

Locked Away for Life: Juvenile Life Without Parole in the American Criminal Justice System

While 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

Tanya ReynaJanuary 9, 2019criminal justice, supreme court, eighth amendment, juvenile, criminalComment

The Role of the Judiciary in American Elections

Although 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.

Jodi LessnerJanuary 7, 2019elections, first amendment, supreme court, voting rightsComment

Keystone XL in Court: The Tumultuous Journey of Changing Environmental Law

The 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.

Implications of Lochner v. New York

The 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.