The power of the press, a cornerstone of holding the government accountable, is considered sacred in witnessing injustice and informing the public without government limitation through censorship or exertion of influence. Throughout global history, particularly in times of war and national strife, political corruption walks hand-in-hand with the suppression of... Read More about Federal Judge Protects the Power of the Press in Portland
So far, in the indisputably turbulent year of 2020, Tennessee has already seen several controversies bring its legislators into the national spotlight. Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally posted (and subsequently deleted) a menacing “warning” to the Black Lives Matter community. The state Supreme Court made headlines when it ruled that fear... Read More about Tennessee Ratifies New Penalties Rife with Racial Disparity for Protestors
Donald Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum on September 2, 2020, ordering a review of hundreds of billions of dollars in annual federal funding for state and local governments that do not embrace his “law and order” agenda wholeheartedly. Months of ongoing protests since the death of George Floyd have put... Read More about Trump Takes Aim at “Anarchist Jurisdictions” like Portland, New York
With the majority of states currently requiring their citizens to wear masks in public, there has been pushback. People against mask mandates are saying that the government cannot make the public wear masks because there is no legal basis for it, and therefore it is not constitutional. However, is this... Read More about Can the Government Make You Wear a Mask?
With concerns regarding COVID-19, there has been discussion of giving people the option to mail in ballots instead of going in person to vote. Forty-six states are providing some form of mail-in voting. Twenty-four of these states have a Democratic governor, and 22 of these states have a Republican governor,... Read More about Mail-in Voting Pushback, but is it as Bad as Some Claim?
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, movie theaters closed down to help stop the spread. These closures have caused many movies to delay their release dates and left movie sets deserted. Some movie theaters did drive-in style movies in order to keep some type of revenue flow. Now, movie theaters are... Read More about Lights, Camera, Lysol: Opening the Movie Industry During COVID-19
The Trump Administration is currently engaged in a legal battle with the short-form video app TikTok. The popular app, which 100 million U.S. residents use, is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. The order bans TikTok if that company fails to sell to an American based company within 45 days-... Read More about TikTok Suing Trump Administration Over Executive Order
On April 20, 2020, the Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional to convict a criminal in state court without a unanimous jury in its ruling on Ramos v. Louisiana. According to the decision, the Sixth Amendment of the Bill of Rights requires trial “by an impartial jury.” Therefore, it necessitates a... Read More about It’s Unanimous, Says a Divided Court
On April 23, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 on Barton v. Barr, holding that the “stop-time rule” made Andre Barton, a Jamaican national and U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR), ineligible to apply for relief from deportation. Barton was admitted into the United States in 1989 and became a lawful... Read More about Supreme Court Ruling Impacts Immigration’s “Stay in the Country Free” Card
America is watching the lawmaking process with the same attention as would ordinarily be dedicated to the sports that have long been absent from the country under the weight of the coronavirus pandemic. On July 27, 2020, Republican Texas Senator John Cornyn introduced the newest effort to provide comprehensive federal... Read More about Can Congress Shield Businesses from Liability to Workers?
In the United States of America, citizens rest easier with the idea that the government exists for the people. Other countries are perceived as just that—other. In other countries, democracy might not be provided, human rights can run amok, and government forces may be unleashed with little or no limitations.... Read More about Hernandez v. Mesa: A Question of Immunity and the Consequence of Unaccountability
In May, President Trump threatened to deploy the U.S. military in response to protests roiling the country. However, it's not clear that he has the power to do so. American law prohibits the use of the military on domestic soil except in very specific circumstances. To order troops into a... Read More about State versus Federal Police Power
In 2013, in a motel room in Marshall, Texas, Kari Hunt was murdered by her estranged husband with her three children just a few feet away. Her oldest, Breonna Hunt, picked up the room phone to call the police in an attempt to save her mother’s life. The nine-year-old dialed... Read More about Kari’s Law and the Complexities of Dialing 911
To combat the COVID-19 pandemic raging across the country, 34 states now require face masks in public. These mandates join social distancing measures such as mandatory business closures and limitations on the number of people allowed to congregate in an area. Public response to these health regulations has been mixed.... Read More about Individual Rights and the Pandemic
Seventy-four days after George Floyd was killed by a police officer kneeling on his neck, demonstrations continue to erupt in cities across the U.S. The turbulence brings police officers, lawmakers, and protesters into conflict. What right, if any, does the government have to regulate civil dissent? The First Amendment protects... Read More about Individual right to protest