Online Journal — Columbia Undergraduate Law Review

Georgia’s Election Integrity Act of 2021: How Strict Voter ID Requirements Negatively Impact People of Color

On March 25, 2021, Georgia passed the Election Integrity Act of 2021, also known as Senate Bill 202, following the first Democratic victories in presidential and Senate elections in Georgia in a generation. The law enacted several restrictions that curtail access to absentee ballots for voters in booming urban and suburban counties. But the tightening of ID requirements will have the most harmful impact on the turnout of voters of color. President Joseph Biden went so far as to call this law “the 21st century Jim Crow,” referring to laws that effectively blocked Black men and women from voting in the American South. According to Kristen Clarke, the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, “These are laws that attempt to make it more difficult for certain kinds of voters to participate, particularly African Americans and Latinos.” Georgia’s Election Integrity Act of 2021 constitutes a form of voter suppression, as it will negatively impact minority voters due to its strict new ID requirements for absentee ballots, due to minorities disproportionately lacking access to the required documents, and possible financial and transportation burdens in attaining forms of identification.

Rebecca ReyesAugust 22, 2021voting rights, election integrity act, voter ID, Georgia, minority voters

Milieudefensie et al v. Royal Dutch Shell: Budding Legal Corporate Accountability in the Climate Change Fight

In the past fifty years, torrents of environmental regulations have washed down upon corporate activity around the world, collecting into what many have termed an ‘environmental alphabet soup.’ Indeed, over 1,300 multilateral environmental agreements, 2,200 baseline environmental assessments, 250 other environmental agreements, and 90,000 individual country actions in accordance with these assessments currently exist. Yet, because international environmental standards lack systematic means of enforcing corporate adherence, corporate heads have the leeway to continue prioritizing profit over their environmental responsibilities, and, as a consequence, the world has seen a 75 percent increase in global greenhouse gas emissions between 1970 and 2004. To remedy this lack of oversight, the corporate accountability movement aims to build an environmental standard of care: a set of responsibilities each corporate entity has to prevent any anticipatable environmental damage.

Possibilities for Constitutional Enforcement: How Compensation Cases Clarify the Role of the Chinese Constitution

The Chinese Constitution occupies a precarious position in the Chinese legal system. Though it is regarded as the supreme legal authority, it is not judicialized, meaning that its articles are not allowed to be used as legal basis in court. In recent years, Chinese President Xi JinPing’s judicial reforms have only raised further questions about the role of the Constitution. While Xi has advocated for increased enforcement of the Constitution and of law-based governance, he has also emphasized that the rule of law cannot threaten the rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). [

The Liancourt Rocks Dispute: Is Terra Nullius a Relic of Colonialism?

The two nations of South Korea and Japan have been embroiled in bitter diplomatic disputes for the past several decades. One matter of contention is the Liancourt Rocks Dispute: a question of sovereignty over a group of small islands situated between the coasts of the two countries. Early records provided by South Korea and Japan voice a common narrative. While evidence of early human activity, primarily fishing, remains, the rocky terrains rendered permanent residence on the islands nearly impossible. Currently, only ten Korean citizens are officially registered by the South Korean government as residents of the Liancourt Rocks. No further requests of residency have been accepted.

Subin KimAugust 22, 2021terra nullius, territorial dispute, international court, colonialism, international law

The Right to Safe Work: How COVID-19 Reveals Socioeconomic Gaps in Workers’ Protection Laws

As of mid-2021, the United States is struggling with a resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic amid reports that the new Delta variant of the virus can infect fully vaccinated individuals. Consequently, many nonessential workers are hesitant to return to their workplaces in person. Their concerns about workplace safety during the pandemic’s resurgence call for legal scholars and policymakers to revisit the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970 (OSH Act), which requires employers to ensure that workplaces are “free of recognized harms” and entitles employees to file a complaint to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) without retaliation from their employer.

Ilana GutAugust 22, 2021OSHA, COVID-19, Vaccines, Labor Law, Employees, Employers, Workplace Safety, Workplace Discrimination, ADA

State Limitations on Secular School Curriculum: How the Lemon Test Models Scrutiny Over State Discretion

As of July 2021, at least twenty-six states have legislated restrictions on the teaching of critical theory concepts in K-12 public schools. Of these states, seven have passed bills set to go into effect this year. Texas, Idaho, Oklahoma, Arizona, New Hampshire, Iowa, and Tennessee have enacted curriculum restrictions, district fines, and course credit stipulations in an attempt to regulate the discussion of race, gender, and sexuality in classrooms. [1] The fundamental legal question regarding these laws is whether states are entitled to such discretion in school curricula. Pressure is mounting for the U.S. Supreme Court to review these bans due to conflicting analyses in the lower courts.

The Evolution of the Legal Definition of Rape

Rape remains one of the most widespread crimes worldwide, affecting one in ten women. Rape has been criminalized in the majority of countries, yet most of the perpetrators remain unprosecuted. Under international humanitarian and criminal law, it is widely understood that rape violates several human rights such as the right to bodily integrity, the right to autonomy (including sexual autonomy), and the right to privacy. The definitions of rape that are most commonly accepted today are based on the lack of consent, rather than on the presence of physical force, and such definitions prove to be most inclusive of all rape victims and ensure the prosecution of all perpetrators. However, such definitions evolved over time, beginning with the acknowledgment of rape as a war crime, and still continues to be revised to address issues with defining marital rape as a crime.

Lika GegenavaAugust 22, 2021International Law, Legal Definitions, Sexual Assault Law, Rape, War Crimes

Sanchez v. Mayorkas and the Perilous Future of Migrant Rights in the United States

In a unanimous ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Sanchez v. Mayorkas (2021) that all immigrants who entered the country illegally cannot obtain green cards, regardless of having already held temporary protected status. This decision highlights the vague way that U.S. court systems define “legal entry” into the United States— an issue which is a major concern among immigration attorneys and migrants alike, as its definition and application has lasting effects on present and future migrant populations. It is important to inspect the potential human rights implications of the Sanchez decision on migrants. Although the Supreme Court’s decision in Sanchez v. Mayorkas does not directly contradict existing international immigration law, the dangerous legal precedent set in Sanchez highlights the United States’s critical need to take further steps towards compliance with existing human rights law as it pertains to migrants.

Muna AliAugust 22, 2021immigration, United Nations, migrant rights, humanitarian relief

Monetary Damages for Disability Discrimination: The First Step Towards Protecting the Right to Equal Access to Education

In the United States, access to a free public education is a right granted to all students, including students with disabilities. Specifically, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (1973) prevents any disabled individual from being discriminated against in federally-funded programs, including public schools. Likewise, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1990 endows disabled children with the right to a quality public education by requiring schools to provide disabled children with accommodations and support services. Although children who suffer traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are guaranteed that same right under Section 504 and IDEA, legal precedent regarding the intersection of TBI and education is scarce.

Olivia SielerAugust 22, 2021Disability, Education, IDEA, Rehabilitation Act, TBI