By Owen Giordano With filing season just around the corner, many Americans are currently getting ready to fill out their tax forms. With the filing process often characterized as a tedious and nerve-wracking process, there have been multiple calls to make the system more user-friendly.[1] Most recently, representative Brad Sherman (D-CA-30) (re)introduced the Tax Filing Simplification Act (“the Act”) to the House of Representatives in … Continue reading Making Taxes Less Taxing: A Short Primer on the Tax Filing Simplification Act’s Viability

By Tanmay Gupta When one thinks of Cuba in a legal sense, the most notable thing that comes to mind is the Cuban Embargo.[1] But there is a particularly American issue related to Cuba: Guantanamo Bay.[2] Guantanamo Bay has technically been American soil since 1903 and is now the home of a military prison camp that houses “enemy combatants” as a result of the War … Continue reading The Forgotten and Ongoing Saga: Guantanamo Bay

By Danni Bian   Education is significant to our democratic society because it builds a foundation for people to practice effectively in the political system with freedom and independence.[1] However, an unequal education deprives lower income individuals access to minimum welfare.[2] For a long time, the legal profession has been exclusive to the elites in society, who set the rules and decide admission standards for … Continue reading Equality and Democracy in Legal Education

By Laney Flanagan Failure to protect laws, which are enactedq in virtually every state, charge a parent for failing to report abuse against their children if the parent knows or suspects a child is being abused or neglected.[1] Many states include witnessing abuse as a form of child neglect. The goal of these laws is to encourage parents to remove their children from abusive households … Continue reading How Failure to Protect Laws Often Fail to Protect

By Kaitlyn Grant Sexual assaults have and continue to be a problem within the military today. [1] In fact, twenty thousand service members experience sexual assault every year.[2] Of the 20,000 service members, less than 8,000 report those sexual assaults. [3] Only a few of these sexual assaults result in any kind of action taken within the military justice system. [4] One of the reasons … Continue reading The Continued Problem of Sexual Assault in the Military Today

By Sarah DeLoach Artificial reproductive technologies (“ART”) have brought millions of families together and provided opportunities for parentage which were once considered impossible.[1] Since its inception in 1976, the ART of surrogacy, though, has caused increasing concern.[2] The legal implications of international commercial surrogacy and the exploitation of women in third-world countries are particularly troubling. Commercial surrogacy has boomed in the United States within the … Continue reading International Commercial Surrogacy and the Exploitation of Women in India

By Laney Flanagan Social media has made it possible to constantly stay in touch with friends, family, and even strangers. The onset of social media has also created yet another platform for stalkers, harassers, and abusers to contact their victims. The law has tried to keep up with this danger, especially helping those who have preexisting protective orders against abusers, but several loopholes still exist[1]. … Continue reading When the “Block” Button isn’t Enough: The Interplay of Social Media and Protective Orders

By Courtney Mason The U.S. maternal mortality rate is consistently growing, and certain demographics are suffering the most.[1] Each year, 50,000 women in the United States experience severe pregnancy-related complications and 700 women die.[2] Black women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.[3] This number is even higher when including non-cisgender Black women. Black birthing persons, which … Continue reading Race Discrepancies in Medical Treatment of Pregnant People

By Marley Manjarrez On a cloudy October evening, a friend and I arrive at a park in Richmond’s Woodland Heights neighborhood. Upon arrival, Devin Jefferson, the Science Museum of Virginia’s Community Science Catalyst hands us each a mobile air quality monitor. We then stroll through winding streets talking about community projects and how the city has changed over the years. We met that evening as … Continue reading Protecting The Data Usability In Community Air Quality Monitoring Networks

By Laura Youngquist Employers in Virginia will now have the option to offer a wonderful benefit for their workers. Virginia is among the first states in the country to enact an insurance program aimed at securing paid family leave.[1] Paid family leave, while normal in all other high-income countries, has struggled to gain steam in the American political atmosphere until the last decade.[2] Virginia Governor … Continue reading Virginia’s Innovative Expansion on Family Leave