Written by Bradford Dudley, L’26 Last summer in SEC v. Jarkesy, the Supreme Court held that the Securities and Exchange Commission violated the Seventh Amendment by adjudicating civil penalties by in-house judges, called administrative law judges, because the SEC’s antifraud provisions replicate common law fraud.[1] Instead, the Court held that defendants are entitled to a jury trial in federal court.[2] The Court also held that … Continue reading SEC v. Jarkesy: Rebalancing the Seventh Amendment and the Public Rights Doctrine

Written by Paige Hathaway, L’26 On September 17, 2024, Robert Robertson petitioned the Texas Governor and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles for commutation of his death sentence.[1] While the basis for the petition was grounded in the growing discreditation of Shaken Baby Syndrome, the originally-diagnosed cause of his daughter’s death, Robertson’s lawyers assert that his conviction was wrongful for an additional reason: Robert … Continue reading Stimming Isn’t Suspicious: How the Criminal Justice System Endangers and Prejudices Autistic Individuals, Defendants, and Lawyers and Why We Have to Talk About It

Written by Claire Pitzer, L’26 This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a landmark law which many scholars consider to be the conclusion of the classic American Civil Rights Movement.[1] 2024 is also the thirtieth anniversary of the formation of a democratic government in South Africa and the end of the Apartheid regime.[2] The convergence of … Continue reading Laws, Leadership, Liberty, and Legacy: A Comparative Analysis of the Role of Law in the American Civil Rights Movement and the South African Struggle to End Apartheid

Written by H. “Nate” Jarvis, L’26 Take a moment and think of what images spring to your mind when you hear the words “gang,” “gang member,” and “gang activity.” You may have specific markers that you use to identify individuals you come across in your daily life as potentially involved with a gang, like certain styles of clothing, tattoo content and placement, a person’s choice … Continue reading Nobody Told Me: The Consequences of Unregulated Gang Databases

Written by Sara Arora, L’26                The first Amendment is a cornerstone of the functioning of the American system of democracy. During the development and ratification of the Constitution, Anti-Federalists had concerns that without a bill of rights, the federal government would wrest liberty from the people. [1] After much debate, twelve amendments to the constitution were proposed and … Continue reading Speech and Protest Rights: Vietnam and Palestine

Written by Sarah Harker, L’26 The Supreme Court broke ground four years ago when Bostock fundamentally changed the jurisprudence regarding LGBTQ+ discrimination.[1]  . Justice Neil Gorsuch’s opinion broke down Title VII’s anti-sex discrimination mandate to its most rudimentary level and concluded that discrimination on the basis of LGBTQ+ status inherently requires an employer to treat that employee differently because of their sex.[2] The court explained … Continue reading An Overview of Recent Circuit Court Cases Analyzing Bostock in the Title IX Context