Isaac Cui PO ‘20 Introduction On January 25, 2017, Donald Trump issued two sweeping executive orders which removed many of the previous administration’s policies regarding immigration enforcement in favor of a stringent, restrictionist approach. More specifically, one[1] punishes so-called sanctuary policies for causing “immeasurable harm to the American people and to the very fabric of our...
Lindsey Mattila (CMC ’17) In 1984, the Supreme Court established one of the most influential principles in administrative law in the Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. A few years prior, Congress passed the Clean Air Act, requiring states that had not yet met the lower pollution rate to use a permit system for more intensive regulation. The Environmental...
James Dail (CM ’20) Immigration is currently at the forefront of US political discourse, and it is an issue that provokes passionate responses from both sides of the aisle. On January 25th, President Trump issued an executive order entitled Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States (EPSIUS), which, among other things, called for the application and enforcement of the...
By Alex Kleinman (PO ’20) Four years ago, Dutch scientist Mark Post created the first lab-grown hamburger. Following Post’s groundbreaking innovation, companies across Silicon Valley began developing milk without cows, eggs without chickens, and meat without animals. Studies have shown that plant-based and cultured animal products significantly reduce greenhouse gases, health risks, and...
By Desiree Santos (SCR ‘19) Abortion is perhaps the most divisive issue within the United States. Its deep roots in personal ideology and religious morality make it a fighting cause for many. The 2016 Supreme Court case Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the most significant US abortion case in over twenty years, pushed the issue of abortion even further to the forefront of the nation’s...
By Kyla Eastling (CMC ’18) On December 6th, the Supreme Court ruled on Samsung Electronics Co v. Apple Inc., finding in a unanimous ruling that a previous ruling awarding Apple $399 million in monetary damages from Samsung’s design patent infringement was incorrectly calculated. This was the first time that the Supreme Court heard a case regarding design patents in years, and it is a continuation...
By Lindsey Mattila (CMC ’17) The Supreme Court announced last Friday that it will be examining a case this term on whether or not a transgender boy, Gavin Grimm, may use the boys’ restroom in a public high school in Virginia. For some time, the school allowed Gavin Grimm to use the boys’ restroom, but the school later reversed its opinion after the school board adopted a policy that required...
By Lindsey Mattila (CMC ’17) Presidential nominations to the Supreme Court are heavily scrutinized given a justice’s direct role in influencing the nation’s legal precedent. Given that there is currently an open seat and three justices are in their late 70s or beyond, the next president could be nominating up to three potential judges. Donald Trump has released names of 21 judges...
By: Jerry Yan (PO ’18) and Zachariah Oquenda (CMC ’16) FOREWORD It seems obvious that every citizen in the United States is entitled to an equally-weighted vote, regardless of age, race, sex, or socioeconomic status. But, as far as the courts are concerned, the concept of an equally-weighted vote did not emerge until relatively recently. In the early 1960s, the Supreme Court held in...
Written by: Martin Sicilian, PO ’17 Former Justice Antonin Scalia’s death has sent the United States political scene into a frenzy, with public figures in each major party hurrying to posture in ways that they think will leave their party in a better position for the 2016 election as well as help it control the Court. Senate Republicans and Presidential hopefuls claim that Obama should not...
