By: Tiffany Ngo COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the nation since 2020, and the nation is still slowly recovering. Landlords and tenants in Virginia were not immune to the effects of COVID-19. In Fall of 2020, the unemployment rate in Virginia was 5.8%[1] and as a result, many Virginians found themselves unable to afford their rent payments. At first, they found themselves with no … Continue reading COVID-19 and the ongoing housing crisis
By: Abbey Lahnston Intellectual Disability is characterized by “significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills. This disability originates before the age of 22.”[1] In 2002, the Supreme Court of the United States abolished the execution of the intellectually disabled in Atkins v. Virginia.[2] But in doing so, they gave great discretion to the states in … Continue reading The Supreme Court Ruled States Cannot Execute the Mentally Disabled- How are they Doing it, Anyway?
By: Max Petrie Equal protection has failed to live up to its name in sentencing jurisprudence. When it comes to the guarantee of equality under the law in drug sentencing for crack and powder cocaine, mandatory minimum sentences combined with the disparity in punishment between the two forms of the drug have created a trap of technical language that does not treat anyone equally. Looking … Continue reading Unfair Sentencing
By: Haley Edmonds The Indigenous right of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent should be implemented in U.S. environmental decision-making substituting the current, lesser standard, of tribal consultation. By empowering Native Americans with actual leveraging power, and not merely a forum to air their grievances, Indigenous peoples can effectively serve as the last line of defense against environmentally-exploitative activities, such as pipelines. What is FPIC? Free, … Continue reading Free, Prior, and Informed Consent: A Potential Last Line of Environmental Defense
By Bushra Haque The patent law world has recently been challenged with whether patent rights should be waived for the COVID-19 vaccines. It has been almost two years since the COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives, and it often feels like life will never be normal again. At the end of last week, the world was alerted to the spread of the omicron variant—yet another … Continue reading For the Sake of Normalcy, Waive the Vaccine Patent Rights!
The Fourth Amendment guarantees the people a right “to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.[1] For the most part, this appears to be a straightforward principle. But why is it also often the most controversial? As the American Civil Liberties Union notes, “this is one of our most cherished Amendments, but often our most threatened,” and it … Continue reading Racial Profiling and Illegal Searches: How the Fourth Amendment Disproportionately Harms People of Color
By Jessica Rooke Hey all you cool cats and kittens, remember Tiger King? This sensational Netflix documentary premiered in the height of the 2020 pandemic displaying Joseph Maldonado-Passage, the star known better as “Joe Exotic” and his concerning roadside zoo in Oklahoma. [1] This documentary did not only just provide entertainment for us stuck at home, it also sparked a movement. A movement of animal … Continue reading Virginia’s Own Tiger King: How the Netflix Documentary Impacted Roadside Zoos
By Caleb Thompson Virginia’s Rent Relief Program (“RRP”) is a program administered via Virginia’s Department of Housing and Community Development, and it exists to help “support and ensure housing stability across the commonwealth during the coronavirus pandemic”.[1]The assistance the program provides comes primarily in the form of financial assistance for rent payments, with an opportunity for tenants to renew these payments if further rent relief … Continue reading Raising Awareness for Virginia’s COVID Rent Relief Program
By: Abbey Lahnston In the summer of 2021, Virginia moved from its well-established institution of jury sentencing to judge sentencing.[1] Joe Morrisey, a Virginia State Senator claimed, “Jurors have no idea what a normal sentence is. That’s why it is important to have a judge sentencing who has the guidelines and can put it into context.”[2] But Joe Morrisey, and the Virginia Legislation in general, … Continue reading
By: Amanuel Mekonnen DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, is under attack again. On June 16, 2021, Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the United States District Court in Houston ordered the immediate vacatur of the memorandum that created the DACA program and remanded the program back to the Department for Homeland Security (DHS), subject to a temporary stay. [1] In a 77-page memorandum, … Continue reading
