THE PRESIDENTIAL CLEMENCY POWER AND CHELSEA MANNING: AN ORIGINALIST PERSPECTIVE By: Caitlin Opperman, Volume 101 Staff Member On his last day in office, President Obama commuted the sentences of 330 people serving time for drug offenses, bringing the total number of commutations issued throughout his presidency to 1,715.[1] Issued mostly throughout his second term, President…

UNPRECEDENTED: PRESIDENT TRUMP’S DIVIDED LOYALTIES By: Emily Atmore, Volume 101 Staff Member Donald Trump’s prominence as an international businessman has raised widespread concerns about conflicts of interest in his newest venture: as President of the United States.[1] Legal experts have relied on a little known section of the Constitution, the Emoluments Clause, in calling on…

READING THE TEA LEAVES OF PRETEXTUAL PROTECTIONISM: THE FUTURE OF THE U.S.-CUBA RELATIONSHIP By: Charles Barrera Moore, Volume 101 Lead Online Editor In the wake of the death of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, both President Obama and President Trump acknowledged that the United States is faced with a crucial moment in its relationship with the…

WHEN FOOD TURNS DEADLY: CRIMINAL LIABILITY FOR RESTAURATEURS THAT DISREGARD PATRONS FOOD ALLERGIES By: Taylor Gess, Volume 101 Staff Member On January 28, 2016, the mother of a five-year-old girl used Panera’s online ordering system to purchase a grilled cheese sandwich for her peanut-allergic daughter.[1] The order’s special instructions section stated “peanut allergy is having…

ELON TAKE THE WHEEL: MAJOR CHALLENGES THAT AUTONOMOUS CARS WILL PRESENT TO THE LEGAL SYSTEM By: Stephen Maier, Volume 101 Staff Member In May 2016, 40-year-old Joshua Brown was driving a Tesla Model S in “Autopilot mode” when a semi turned in front of him.[1] The self-driving computer did not recognize the truck against the…

RE-INTRODUCING “STOP AND FRISK” OR REVISITING IT? By: Anabel Cassady, Volume 101 Staff Member On the evening of August 20, 2008, Leroy Downs was stopped by two plainclothes officers outside his home while making a phone call to a friend.[1] Downs was a black male in his mid-thirties living in Staten Island and working as…

DACA ON THE DOCKET By: Nicholas R. Bednar, Volume 100 Lead Articles Editor [1] On December 9, 2016, Senators Lindsey Graham and Dick Durbin introduced the Bridge Act, which would provide temporary protection for undocumented children and young adults who have received immigration benefits under President Obama’s 2012 directive, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).[2] Under…

FROZEN EMBRYO FORUM SHOPPING: HOW CONFLICTS OF LAW INHIBIT THE LAWSUIT AGAINST SOFIA VERGARA By: Joseph T. Janochoski, Volume 101 Staff Member In December 2016, actress Sofía Vergara[1] was named as the sole defendant in a Louisiana lawsuit filed by her own frozen embryos.[2] The embryos “Emma” and “Isabella” sought to “remedy the prevention of…

INCLUSIVE COMMUNITIES AND THE QUESTION OF IMPACT: PRO-PLAINTIFF? By: Lauren Clatch, Volume 101 Staff Member In the summer of 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in Texas Dep’t of Housing & Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. regarding the viability of disparate impact claims under the Fair Housing Act (FHA).[1] Many have heralded the Court’s…

PHASING OUT PRIVATE PRISONS IS AN IMPORTANT SYMBOLIC GESTURE By: Claire Williams, Volume 101 Staff Member On August 18th, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it would begin to phase out its use of private prisons, “either declin[ing] to renew that contract or substantially reduc[ing] its scope in a manner consistent with law and…