JURIST - Commentary

Student Commentary

New Technology Offers Pretrial Release for Indigent Accused

October 13, 2017 09:35:50 am

JURIST Guest Columnist Leigha A. Weiss, a 3L at St. John's School of Law, discusses new technology that could help with pretrial release of the indigent defendant ... Johnathon Sacks, a renowned British Rabbi, philosopher and scholar, said: "technology gives...

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Commentary

Avoiding the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Loreal Lingdad

September 23, 2017 12:00:17 pm

JURIST Guest Columnist Loreal Lingad of the St. John's University School of Law discusses the connection between disciplinary actions in schools and incarceration... Out of all of my cousins in the tri-state area, I am the only one who has...

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Commentary

A Digital World: Why Law Enforcement Needs to Obey the Fourth Amendment

Victoria Drake

September 23, 2017 11:25:47 am

JURIST Guest Columnist Victoria Drake of the St. John's University School of Law discusses Fourth Amendment rights amidst advancements in cloud technology...I am a millennial, and technology is a major part of my life. When I discovered "the cloud," it...

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Commentary

Giving a Voice to the 32,000: Why Immigrant Detainees Must Have First Amendment Rights

Samantha Chasworth

September 15, 2017 12:47:29 pm

JURIST Guest Columnist Samantha Chasworth of the St. John's University School of Law discusses the harsh punishments inflicted upon immigrants in detention facilities... In Pineda Cruz v. Thompson, the women of Karnes County Civil Detention Center in Texas protested the...

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Commentary

Comparing the Federalist vs. Intergovernmentalist View of the EU

Sedef Asli Topal

September 7, 2017 04:13:04 pm

JURIST Guest Columnist Sedef Asli Topal of the University of Szeged discusses the EU's institutional framework using two popular approaches...The transformation of the European Union into "an ever closer union" in terms of political space is a topic of which...

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Commentary

The NFL: Tough but not Tough Enough (On Domestic Violence)

Shannon Riordan

September 1, 2017 03:45:18 pm

JURIST Guest Columnist Shannon Riordan of St. John's University, discusses domestic violence in the NFL ... On February 15, 2014, Ray Rice, a top National Football League (NFL) player for the Baltimore Ravens, was arrested on assault charges, after he...

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Commentary

Giving Serial Rapists a Permanent Mark on Campus

Sarah Silverhardt

August 30, 2017 12:54:47 pm

JURIST Guest Columnist Sarah Silverhardt of St. John's University discusses the implications of continued ignorance of serial rapists on college campuses... Unlike your Sunday marathon of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, this heinous crime was real. Two Virginia students...

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Commentary

The Need for Remedies to Combat Fraud in Ballot Initiatives

Jessica George

August 23, 2017 10:23:02 am

JURIST Guest Columnist Jessica George of St. John's University discusses the need for a cause of action to remedy fraudulent voting processes ... Equal opportunity initiatives will always remain a hotly contested issue that incites passionate political action - so...

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Commentary

Revisiting India's Non-Ratification of the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions: Do They Hold Up Today?

Md Tabish Eqbal

August 20, 2017 03:31:24 pm

JURIST Guest Columnist Md Tabish Eqbal of South Asia University discusses why India should reconsider its initial objections to ratifying the 1977 Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions... Like many other branches of international law, International Humanitarian Law (IHL) grew...

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Commentary

Amazon, "Kill Quill," and the Two Bills

Matt Belenky

August 1, 2017 09:33:34 am

JURIST Guest Columnist Matt Belenky of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law discusses Amazon's sales tax policy... As of April 1, 2017, Amazon, once a leader in pushing for online purchases to be tax free, announced it would collect...

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Reichstag Fire Decree issued in Germany

On February 28, 1933, German President Paul von Hindenburg issued the Presidential Decree for the Protection of People and State in response to the burning of the Reichstag (the German Parliament building) on the previous day. More commonly known as the Reichstag Fire Decree, the law suspended many key civil liberties, such as free press, habeas corpus, and warrant requirements. Blaming Communists for the attack on the Reichstag, the Nazi party and newly-appointed Chancellor Adolf Hitler pressed the law through as a first step in establishing absolute control over Germany. On March 23, the German Parliament passed the Enabling Act, which empowered Adolf Hitler to become the dictator of Germany. Four months later on July 14, the Nazis solidified their control over Germany with the passage of the Law Against the Establishment of Parties eliminated all political parties in Germany other than the Nazi Party.

Congress ratified Manypenny Agreement on the Black Hills

On February 28, 1877, the US Congress ratified the Manypenny Agreement with the Lakota Sioux, under which the United States took control of 900,000 acres of the Black Hills. Read the ratification act, which includes the terms of the Agreement. The Lakota argue to this day that the agreement is illegal, was obtained by coercion associated with starvation, and that the Black Hills should be returned to them.