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\u3cem\u3eSanchez v. Mayorkas\u3c/em\u3e: Is This the End of Green Cards for Temporary Protected Status Holders?
Get PDFThis Note was inspired by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Sanchez v. Mayorkas. This decision put an end to the decade-long circuit split over whether a Temporary Protected Status (“TPS”) recipient, who entered the United States unlawfully, could still become a Lawful Permanent Resident (“LPR”). Since its inception, TPS holders have been denied an avenue to adjust their status despite their socioeconomic impact on the United States and every TPS-designated country. This Note will break down and analyze the decision in Sanchez v. Mayorkas through (1) the examination of the circuit split cases, (2) the analysis of TPS holder’s impact on the United States and abroad, and (3) the effects of the pending bills in Congress on future TPS holders
What The United States Could Learn from Norway: Training Police Officers to Be Social Workers, Not Warriors
Get PDFThis note compares the training of police officers and its consequential effects in the United States versus that of Norway. In the United States, the lack of national training standards, in conjunction with an emphasis on technical skills and weaponry, has further perpetuated the “Warrior mindset.” The “Warrior mindset” reflects the rhetoric that officers are akin to combatants in a war, in which they have a duty to safeguard the rest of civilization against criminals that can strike at any moment. Contrastingly, the training programs for police officers in Norway include a consolidated and robust three-year education program that emphasizes a service-oriented philosophy. This has helped garner public engagement and lasting community partnerships. While by no means is the Norwegian police system one without faults, this Note explores why over one thousand people were killed by police shootings in the United States in 2021, and during that same year in Norway, police shootings of civilians did not seem to be an issue. Further, this Note will contemplate what the United States can learn from Norway to successfully foster a better relationship between police officers and civilians and to better support the general welfare of the public. This note was completed in 2022 and the data and figures cited in this article reflect the information available at the time of writing
Making Small Claims Work for Copyright Law: Why the Decisions of an Unprecedented Judicial Authority Should Hold Precedential Weight
Get PDFIndividual creators increasingly struggle to protect their copyrights, especially in the digital age. It is already often difficult for many creators to make a living, and more often than not, they cannot afford to pay thousands in court and legal fees to bring a copyright infringement claim. With the passing of the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2019 (the “CASE Act”) in December of 2020, Congress and the United States Copyright Office formed a federal small claims court for creators in such positions to be able to enforce their copyrights.
The CASE Act seeks to give small copyright owners a procedurally streamlined and economically feasible forum in which to bring their small copyright claims and avoid full-fledged federal litigation. But substantive complexities that the new legislation failed to address may very well continue to keep small copyright claimants out of court.
This note will first give background of the legislative history leading to the enactment of the CASE Act, as well as an overview of how the Copyright Claims Board (“CCB”) operates. Second, it will discuss the difficulties and deterrents for creators of modest means in enforcing their copyrights and the largely procedural ways in which the CASE Act aims to address those barriers. Third, it will point out substantive elements which the CASE Act overlooks—namely, that the decisions of the CCB will be binding to the parties to any particular claim and will have no precedential value for other proceedings in the copyright small claims court, nor within any other court of the United States. Finally, this note will contend that the features of this new copyright small claims court set the stage well for determinations of the CCB to hold precedential weight—or, in the alternative, for the future development of a specialized copyright court akin to the Federal Circuit. Such a narrowly focused court whose determinations are precedential would not only assist small claimants assert their rights against copyright infringement but would also go a long way toward reducing the daunting complexity of the United States’ body of copyright law
Copyright and Political Campaigns: How Much Control Should a Copyright Owner Have Over the Use of Their Musical Work in a Political Campaign
Get PDFMusic often tells a powerful story, driving emotional connections. As a result, politicians rely on music in every aspect of their political campaigns from political advertisements to campaign rallies. There is a long history of such political uses of music, often without an artist’s permission. While most disputes over such uses have ended in either settlement or the campaign stopping use of the infringed work, former President Donald Trump’s unauthorized use of music on the campaign trail sparked countless artist complaints. The complaining musicians feared any implication that they endorsed Trump and did not want any association with a political figure who they did not support. Politicians and campaigns argue their right to use copyrighted works for political purposes is fair use, they are protected by the First Amendment, or that they are the owner of a valid license in a particular work through a blanket license. Recently, in Grant v. Trump, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied Trump’s motion to dismiss copyright infringement, finding Trump’s use of a song in his campaign advertisement did not constitute fair use. Politician’s use of a song must not constitute fair use when no change is made to the work, and politicians must ask for permission when using a copyrighted work. This comment will analyze the recent ruling in Grant v. Trump declining dismissal of a copyright infringement claim based on fair use, consider constitutional rights in copyright, discuss the role music has played in political campaigns and recent suits on the matter, and examine ways to protect copyright owners
On Liberty: From Due Process to Equal Protection—Dobbs’ Impact on the Transgender Community
Get PDFLiberty has been a bedrock principle of American democracy from the time of our nation’s founding and is the norm that charters our nation’s existence. Liberty was the motivation driving the colonists’ rebellion against tyranny in order to establish a nation that would preserve liberty, at all costs. The preamble of the Constitution explicitly classifies every subsequent article’s purpose, to secure the blessings of liberty.
This note will touch on the concepts of personal liberty in the context of abortion in the landmark case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org, and the implications of this case on the transgender community. Part A will discuss the impact of Dobbs on substantive due process within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. Part B of this note will address the remaining avenue for advancing the rights of transgender individuals, under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Part C will examine the existing legal scholarship on how constitutional law intersects with the rights of transgender people. Finally, Part D will examine various state laws and executive orders targeting the trans community, and how they can be combatted under a due process or equal protection analysis.
Part A will be broken into three parts. Part I of this section will discuss substantive due process jurisprudence, Roe and Casey, the lead-up to Dobbs, and an examination of Dobbs itself. Part II will analyze what Dobbs means for the continued liberty of women in the modern world, while also incorporating the views of Blackstone and the philosopher John Stuart Mill. Part III will analyze the impact of the Dobbs decision as it relates to substantive due process and the transgender community, with a focus on the right to self-determination and bodily autonomy in the context of the need for hormones and other transition-related procedures necessary for trans Americans to secure the blessings of liberty.
Part B will include an initial discussion of the history and precedents of the Supreme Court that utilize equal protection analyses. Part I will discuss equal protection in the context of race. Part II will discuss recent case law from the Supreme Court and other Federal Courts using the equal protection analysis including Obergefell v. Hodges. Part III will analyze the three Circuit Courts that have taken up the issue of hormone bans for transgender youth.
Part C will examine law review articles and other scholarship that examines where transgender rights stand under the Fourteenth amendment. This section will also discuss articles that analyze how Dobbs impacts constitutional law.
Part D will compare the substantive due process arguments with that of equal protection, with a focus on cases and issues yet to be decided. Seven types of anti-transgender legislation, bills, and executive orders will be examined through a substantive due process analysis compared with that of equal protection.
This is an exceedingly fast-moving area of law, with two new Circuit Court opinions regarding bans on gender-affirming care for transgender youth coming out in the months preceding the publication of this note. During the initial drafting of the note, only one Circuit had ruled on the issue of hormone bans for trans youth, and this ruling was for the transgender plaintiffs. In the months since initial drafting, two more Circuits, the Sixth and Eleventh, have ruled against transgender youth on both equal protection and due process grounds.
Research for this note was completed on September 7th, 2023 and any cases or articles published after that date were not taken into consideration
Haiti: Confronting an Immense Challenge
Get PDFThis article analyzes the history of Haiti, from its origins as a slave colony of France, which was the richest colony in the Americas, to its war of independence leading to the first Black independent nation in the Americas, to its economic re-enslavement under the power of France and then the United States. The article discusses the great harm the French caused the Haitian people by imposing through force a ransom of billions of dollars that has led Haiti to its present position of being on the brink of becoming a failed state, with all of the disastrous consequences for the millions of Haitians that term implies. The article then discusses and analyzes several issues that Haitians must face to move from an authoritarian state to a more democratic one. These issues include corporatism, violations of the rule of law, and a general sense of anomie that has led to despair and abject poverty
Unleashing the Beast: Confronting Animal Trafficking as Organized Crime in the Americas
Get PDFWildlife trafficking is a serious yet often overlooked issue across the Americas. This Note examines wildlife trafficking across the Americas, analyzing the legal frameworks and challenges facing countries like the United States, Guatemala, Argentina, Peru, Mexico, and Brazil. Three key obstacles emerge: the lack of recognition of trafficking as organized crime, limited resources for enforcement, and deficient penalties. Though the United States has laws like the Lacey Act to address importation of illegally traded wildlife, weak foreign laws constrain efficacy. Many Latin American nations do not categorize wildlife trafficking as organized crime, despite its intricate parallels with activities like drug trafficking. Resources for enforcement are inadequate, exemplified by the Petén region of Guatemala, which has just five prosecutors for 36,000 sq. km. Penalties are also often negligible and fail to deter wildlife crime rings. However, recent developments like Peru’s Law 31.622 formally recognizing wildlife trafficking as organized crime, provide hope. The pivotal solution is addressing trafficking as organized crime, encompassing enhanced penalties, resources, and global cooperation. With animal trafficking profits rivaling arms and drug trades, it is imperative for nations across the Americas to collectively tackle this issue through a harmonized, stringent legal framework before countless more species are lost