US federal judge upholds most provisions of Arizona voting laws requiring proof of citizenship
A federal judge in Arizona upheld two state laws on Thursday that require voters to provide documentation to prove their US citizenship before registering to vote. US District Judge Susan Bolton’s decision upheld HB 2492 and 2243. After a 10-day bench trial, Bolton issued a 109-page opinion upholding the laws. However, Bolton found that the [...]
US judge approves settlement prohibiting family separation at US-Mexico border
A US federal judge prohibited the practice of separating migrant children from their families for eight years on Friday following a settlement that will allow migrant children and their families, who were separated at the US-Mexico border, to be reunited. The “Mrs. L” deal, the result of a lawsuit against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement [...]
US Supreme Court releases orders after September 'long conference'
The US Supreme Court released orders Friday and Monday after its September “long conference.” The court granted certiorari for 12 cases Friday and two cases Monday for its Winter term, to be argued in January or February. All cases listed in Friday’s order were granted certiorari. The accepted cases include: Moody v. Netchoice; Netchoice v. [...]
How a National Human Rights Act Could Change Rights Protection in Australia
Australia is the only Western democracy not to have a Human Rights Act in its legal system or constitution. Instead, Australia has a patchwork of rights, leaning on individual legislation, such as the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1977, implied rights, common law, and state-by-state legislation. As noted by the Australian Human Rights Commission, “There are five [...]
This article is the second in a series covering attacks on the rule of law. The rule of law is a political philosophy premised on the promise that all citizens, leaders, and institutions are accountable to the same laws, guaranteed through processes, practices, and norms that work together to support the equality of all citizens [...]
Author’s Note: a longer alternative version of this article with footnotes and instructions for use as an education module is available here. Law students should consider the nature of the common law and why it failed to curb the advance of slavery in America. This suggestion follows both recent discussions in higher education about how [...]
Biden administration asks Supreme Court to cancel border wall, asylum oral arguments
US President Joe Biden’s administration filed a motion on Monday asking the US Supreme Court to cancel upcoming oral arguments for two appeals filed by former president Donald Trump concerning the southern border wall and the “remain in Mexico” asylum policy. The motion follows a proclamation issued by Biden on his first day in office ordering a [...]
French Muslims are in the process of reconciling with the Fifth Republic of France, established with the 1958 Constitution, which declares France to be a secular state. In the past thirty years, secular issues have fractured social order as Muslim women, born and raised in France, wish to wear the hijab (headscarf) in schools and [...]
Since March 2020, the American legal community has been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the nation sits on the brink of financial and housing, healthcare, election, and immigration crises, state supreme courts and bar examiners insist on implementing the bar exam, further delaying the licensure of thousands of incoming attorneys. Their ostensible reason? To [...]
When we talk about defunding the police, we focus on what we can see. We imagine hiring fewer cops to flock in subway stations and wander sidewalks. We picture fewer high-priced tanks and military-grade tools of war in our communities. But today’s policing infrastructure also spends millions of dollars on an invisible, sprawling data surveillance [...]
