By Kimberly Tuttle (CMC’19) Starting in the 1960s, the American government began to implement policies to deinstitutionalize the mentally ill. The deinstitutionalization movement was spurred by public outcry as a result of the exposure of the shortcomings of state-run “insane asylums” at the time. In 1955, the number of institutionalized mentally ill patients peaked at 558,000, or 0.03...
By Kimberly Tuttle (CMC’19) Many debates surrounding the legality of Julian Assange’s controversial organization, WikiLeaks, resurfaced this week in light of Assange’s recent release from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he has lived under diplomatic protection since 2012. In particular, news regarding the U.S. government’s indictment of Assange have concerned the American public...
By Kimberly Tuttle (CMC’19) On November 4, 2014, California voters passed Proposition 47, “The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.” The initiative reduces certain drug possession felonies to misdemeanors. It also requires misdemeanor sentencing for petty theft, receiving stolen property and forging bad checks when the amount involved is $950 or less. It was intended to “ensure that prison...
By Kimberly Tuttle (CMC’19) Birth tourism, or birth immigration, is a phenomenon that occurs all over the world; it is the practice of traveling to another country for the purpose of giving birth in that place. The main motivation behind this practice is for the parents and children involved to obtain citizen status in a country with birthright citizenship. Canada, Hong Kong, and the U.S...
By Kimberly Tuttle (CMC’19) On average, 130 Americans die every day from opioid-related overdoses. America’s opioid epidemic is a severe national crisis that affects not only public health, but social and economic welfare as well. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that opioid misuse alone costs the United States over $78 billion a year, including costs accrued to healthcare...
By Kimberly Tuttle (CMC’19) The average woman spends over six years of her life on her period. Though it varies for each woman, nearly 70 percent of women use tampons. This means that nearly 115 million women in the United States buy tampons regularly. Yet, tampons and other feminine hygiene products, like sanitary napkins, are taxed in 39 states. Taxation on menstrual supplies is not only...
By Kimberly Tuttle (CMC’19) Corpus delicti, meaning “body of the crime” in Latin, is a principle adopted by the American legal system requiring that the requisite elements of a crime be proven before an individual can be tried for a crime. This rule provides that a confession, standing alone, is not enough evidence for a conviction. Despite the design of this rule to prevent wrongful...
By Kimberly Tuttle (CMC ’19) East Turkestan is an autonomous region of China, located in the heart of Asia. It is home to the indigenous group Uyghur, a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority, and other Central Asian groups like Tatars, Tajiks, and Kazaks. According to a Chinese consensus, the present Muslim population in East Turkestan exceeds 11 million people, with Uyghur making up eight and a...
By Kimberly Tuttle (CMC ’19) In 1950, the Supreme Court decided in Feres v. the United Statesthat the federal government could not be held liable for injuries to members of the armed forces that arise from military service. The Feres Doctrine was created as a result of the case. It grants military entities and personnel immunity within the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), a law that allows...
By Kimberly Tuttle (CMC ’19) Central European University (CEU), one of the leading American accredited universities in Central Europe, is being forced out of Budapest, Hungary. In April 2017, the Hungarian Parliament changed the country’s higher education laws, making it illegal for some independent universities to operate. The new law requires universities registered outside of Hungary...
