Category: Notes
Note
The Partiality Norm: Systematic Deference in the Office of Legal Counsel
Adoree Kim
The Office of Legal Counsel within the Department of Justice counsels the president on the legality and constitutionality of proposed executive action. In the early 2000s, the OLC authorized the Bush administration’s torture of foreign combatants. Scholars have deemed this an act of excessive deference and an aberration, attesting that the OLC has since reformed….
Jul 2020
Note
Using Daubert to Evaluate Evidence-Based Sentencing
Charlotte Hopkinson
Jack and Jill went up the hill,to steal a pail of water,Both were caught and sentenced to jail,But Jack came out two years later. Why? Assume that both Jack and Jill’s cases are identical in facts, procedure, jury composition, and verdict. The only relevant difference is that Jack is a man and Jill is a…
Jul 2020
Note
“Making America Safe Again”: The Proper Interpretation § 1101(A)(43)(S) of the Immigration and Nationality Act From both Immigration and Nationality Act From both a Chevron and a Public Policy Perspective
Jon Derenne
A recent Ninth Circuit decision, Valenzuela Gallardo v. Lynch, has created a three-pronged circuit split over the proper interpretation of statutory language in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). In Gallardo, the government initiated a deportation action against a Mexican alien residing in the U.S. due to his conviction as an accessory after the fact…
Jul 2020
Note
Benefit Corporations: A Proposal for Assessing Liability in Benefit Enforcement Proceedings
Jaime Lee
There has been a growing trend of more socially conscious consumption as a new generation of consumers and business leaders rises to the forefront. This trend has elicited a response from existing corporations and entrepreneurs starting new businesses such that socially-minded goals are taken into account in addition to profit-maximizing goals. Because the traditional corporation…
Jul 2020
Note
Stricken: The Need For Positive Statutory Law To Prevent Discriminatory Peremptory Strikes Of Disabled Jurors
Jordan Benson
This Note will explore the Supreme Court’s decision in Batson v. Kentucky and the gradual expansion of its protections to other categories such as gender, ethnicity, and (at the circuit level) sexual orientation. I will show that, despite recent expansions of the Batson challenge to sexual orientation in the SmithKline v. Abbott Laboratories decision, achieving…
Jul 2020
Note
A First Amendment Right to Corrupt your Politician
Eugene Temchenko
Are you dealing with state or federal agencies, to no avail? Do you need someone on top to advocate for you? You may have a right to buy your Governor’s help. It is well-established that the Constitution protects the right of political association, which includes contributions to candidates in return for ingratiation and access. Nonetheless,…
Jul 2020
Note
“Mob-Legislating”: JASTA’s Addition to the Terrorism Exception to Foreign Sovereign Immunity
Rachel E. Hancock
This Note explores the issues with the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act that JASTA attempts to address, the likelihood of JASTA’s success, and whether or not JASTA is a desirable solution. Though the relatively recent nature of this addition renders the long-term impact difficult to assess, an examination of foreign sovereign immunity doctrine’s origins, evolution, and…
Jul 2020
Note
Columbia University and Incarcerated Worker Labor Unions Under the National Labor Relations Act
Kara Goad.
On September 9, 2016, an estimated 24,000 inmates in at least twenty-nine prisons across the United States refused to work as part of a coordinated labor strike. Though the exact number of participants is difficult to confirm, a member of the committee that helped organize the strike states that this was the largest prison strike…
Jul 2020
Note
Demanding Trust in the Private Genetic Data Market
Benjamin T. Van Meter
This Note argues that to prevent the most damaging consequences of the trade in genetic data, U.S. law should impose tailored fiduciary duties on private genetic testing companies to ensure that their business practices do not harm their own customers. These testing companies rely on their customers’ genetic information to turn a profit, while all of the risk of this information’s exposure or misuse falls on customers.
Jul 2020
Note
International Cultural Heritage Law: The Link Between Cultural Nationalism, Internationalism, and the Concept of Cultural Genocide
Ashley Mullen
Part I of this Note will explain the theoretical underpinnings of what constitutes “cultural heritage,” why it deserves protection, and what obstacles stand in the way of protection. Part II will discuss the existing international legal framework aimed at protecting cultural heritage, as well as the flaws within that framework. Part III will analyze the…
Jul 2020
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