By: Manisha Bhau (National Law University Delhi ’21) Guest Contributor Introduction: Preventive detention simply refers to the detention of a person without trial. It is based solely on the suspicion of the executive, as distinguished from punitive detention which is based on a judicial process and trial. It was through colonial hands that preventive detention…
By Lauren Rodriguez (PO’22) The U.S.-Mexico border is one of the hottest topics, yet perhaps one of the least understood, of today’s political discussion. Most Americans have heard by now that if the border is to be closed, we’re at risk of running out of avocados. But perhaps more pressingly, what are the constitutional implications…
By Hutchinson Fann (PO ’21) As Democratic presidential candidates emerge for a chance to battle President Trump in 2020, it is strange to remember that under our original Constitution, one of these people could instead become the next Vice President. Before the 12th Amendment was passed in 1804, electors cast votes for two candidates, and…
By Francis Northwood (PO ’21) Two new Gerrymandering cases have just been heard by the Supreme Court: Rucho v. Common Cause, a case in North Carolina, and Lamone v. Benisek in Maryland. The topic of Gerrymandering has become popular for the Supreme Court, with these two new cases appearing just a year after the court…
By Alex Simard (PO’22) Content Warning: This article, as it centers on the death penalty and a man condemned to it, contains depictions of gun violence, murder, and domestic and sexual violence, including rape. It also contains graphic depictions of petitioner’s medical condition and brief depictions of 17th- and 18th-century modes of punishment, including torture.…
By Musa Kamara (PO’22) The Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution conveys three major provisions, one of which is perhaps one of the most recognizable constitutional tenets in popular culture. The Amendment guarantees protection from excessive bail, protection from fines, and – most notably– protection from cruel and unusual punishment. The idea of cruel and…
By Musa Kamara (PO’22) Before, during, and most likely after his tenure as President of the United States, Donald Trump has not hesitated and will not hesitate to make his opinions known, via his personal Twitter account @realDonaldTrump. Trump’s usage of Twitter as a president is not unusual: President Barack Obama notably utilized Twitter as…
By Francis Northwood (PO ’21) On March 15th, Governor Jared Polis of Colorado signed onto the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC), making the state the 12th member-state of the compact, and the first “purple” member (that is, a state not solidly Democrat or Republican). Proponents of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact argue that…
By Rafael Santa Maria (PO ’20) Most petitions to the Supreme Court never receive a writ of certiorari, and thus are never adjudicated by the nation’s highest legal authority. With thousands of cases to consider, the Court must exercise extreme selectivity. However, when a petition is backed by amicus briefs from critically-acclaimed rappers and think…
By Musa Kamara (PO’22) On February 19, the Supreme Court refused to hear a defamation suit filed by Kathy McKee, an actress active in the 1970s who appeared in The Bill Cosby Show, Saturday Night Live, and Sanford and Son. The suit McKee filed was particularly notable in that it was filed against Bill Cosby,…