Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday that President Donald Trump has “drifted away” from the Constitution. Powell, a Republican who served in George W. Bush’s administration, endorsed presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the interview. “We have a Constitution. And we have to follow that Constitution. And the President has drifted away from [...]

The US Supreme Court rejected an argument Monday that would have expanded a prisoner’s ability to file lawsuit without paying a filing fee. Prisoner litigants often bring lawsuits in forma pauperis (IFP), or without a filing fee. The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) declares that prisoners are not able to acquire this status if they [...]

On May 29, 2020, the Ninth Circuit continued the trend of courts more closely scrutinizing the plaintiff’s compliance with registration formalities in copyright infringement lawsuits. Registration formalities have received more attention since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation v. Wall-Street.com, LLC. There, the Supreme Court resolved a split in the Circuit [...]

Over the past year, and increasingly in the last few months, the people of Hong Kong have taken to the streets as China has been on a spree of introducing draconian laws, targeting individual civil liberties and constantly threatening Hong Kong’s autonomy, with a new security law being the latest addition. China seeks to bypass [...]

As a result of national protests sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, Democratic lawmakers in Congress introduced legislation on Monday aimed at ending excessive use of force by police forces. The Justice in Policing Act was introduced and sponsored by Representatives Karen Bass (D-CA) and Jerrold Nadler [...]

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Monday that New Zealand will lift almost all COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday. New Zealand has no active cases currently, and no one has tested positive in the past 17 days. Further, no one has been hospitalized for COVID-19 in 12 days. It has been 40 days since the [...]

The US Supreme Court granted certiorari Monday in Niz-Chavez v. Barr to consider the type of notice the government must provide to trigger the “stop-time rule.” Essentially, immigrants who have a continuous physical presence in the US for a certain amount of time may be eligible for relief from removal. However, the government is able [...]

Many have noted the role of America’s original sin of slavery, and the sad legacy of racism that survived Appomattox, in explaining what appears to be the uniquely abusive treatment of black men by police. Another part of our history though – Prohibition – explains why the law has failed to adequately address our recurring [...]

In a historic development concerning women’s rights, the Sudanese transitional government recently criminalized the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) and made it punishable by up to three years in prison. FGM is a deeply discriminatory practice which results in the partial or total removal of external female genitalia without any medical reasons. It violates [...]

A Burundi court on Friday rejected the appeal of four journalists convicted of undermining state security. In October 2019 Burundi police arrested four Iwacu journalists: Christine Kamikazi, Agnès Ndirubusa, Egide Harerimana and Térence Mpozenzi. Each journalist is facing a fine of $530 and two years and six months imprisonment. Their driver, arrested with them, was [...]