Category: Uncategorized

Matt Schneider The Constitution envisaged the judicial branch of the federal government as a nonpartisan arbiter of the legality of laws passed throughout the land, as a body that superseded the political winds of the time. However, with the advent of sharp political polarization in the last few decades, the judicial branch has often been … Continue reading Political Intrusion in the Judiciary: The Ninth Circuit vs. the President →

Jee Young Kim  Introduced in September 2016 by House Financial Services Committee Chair Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX5), the Financial CHOICE Act, H.R. 5983 (FCA), seeks to deregulate the country’s financial sector. It is seen as the Republican response to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank). Signed in 2010, Dodd-Frank introduced new … Continue reading Failures of the Financial CHOICE Act of 2016 →

Ava Kazerouni SFS 2019 Upon confirmation of his winning the election, questions have arisen regarding Trump’s relations to his businesses and how it will affect his role as president. In the past, most presidents were career politicians, thus the matter of maintaining business ties have been of little importance. Presidents who did have businesses in … Continue reading Conflict of Interest Laws: Business Ties Under the New Administration →

Rachel Linton SFS 2019 The Bill of Rights gives every American accused of a crime “the right to an attorney.” What that means today, as a result of 1963 Supreme Court decision Gideon v. Wainwright, is that anyone accused of a crime who cannot afford an attorney can have one appointed to them by the … Continue reading The practice of appointing any attorney at the state bar as a public defender →

Gaia Mattiace   COL 2018 In recent months issues of voter ID laws and their constitutionality have become ever more prevalent and controversial. However, laws requiring voters to bring a form of identification in order to cast their ballot have been in place since the 1950s, when South Carolina became the first state to require … Continue reading Equally Protected, but Unequally Identified: State Voter ID Laws and their Constitutionality →

Kelsey Yurek     COL 2019 On January 23, 2017, the U.S. District Court blocked the merger of Aetna and Humana, two well-known healthcare companies. [1] Both companies provide Medicare options across the country and work in conjunction with the federal government to administer these services through private corporations. The Court ultimately ruled that the acquisition … Continue reading Antitrust Laws and Blocked Mergers: Private Healthcare Amid the Obamacare Repeal →

Chad Gasman '20 Diane Watson, a former United States Representative from California’s 33rd District, argued in front of the entire House of Representatives that “the judicial branch has often been the sole protector of the rights of minority groups against the will of the popular majority” [1]. This idea is the driving force behind much … Continue reading The Democratization of Injustice: How Judicial Elections Affect the Judiciary’s Ability to Protect Minority Rights →

Sarah Hannigan SFS 2018 A recent development in Zubik v. Burwell, a case on accommodations for religious non-profits under the Affordable Care Act’s contraception mandate, has further complicated the case and is likely an effort by the Court to avoid a 4-4 tie in the ruling. Both sides of the case have been required to … Continue reading Is there the potential for a compromise in Zubik v. Burwell? →