By: Emily Gill ‘26
Volume IX – Issue I – Fall 2023

Introduction

The death penalty in the United States dates back to colonial times and places its origins in the British criminal justice system. The first recorded execution in the United States (or rather, the Thirteen Colonies), was the 1608 execution of Captain George Kendall for treason. [1] Since 1608, it is estimated that over 15,000 individuals have been executed in the United States for capital offenses. [2] As the criminal justice system in the United States has been increasingly criticized, so has the death penalty. Those who call for the abolition of the death penalty, call into question if it accomplishes its stated goals of retribution and deterrence, as well as if it is humane. While these questions are valid, proving these points wrong may not be the most successful way of abolishing the death penalty.

By: Owen Finn ‘25
Volume IX – Issue I – Fall 2023

Introduction to Crypto, Ripple, and XRP

In December 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed an action against Ripple Labs, Inc. and two of its executives: Brad Garlinghouse, an officer, and Chris Larson, a director. The Commission alleged they raised over $1.3 billion through XRP, a non-SEC registered digital asset offering. The SEC argues they sold XRP as a security, more specifically an investment contract, but did not file a registration statement. [1] Ripple conceded they sold XRP without registering with the SEC, but argued they did not need to because the crypto-asset is not a security. [2]

By: Max Fattal ‘25
Volume IX – Issue I – Fall 2023

Introduction

There’s a certain futility in the process of examining what has gone so wrong for workers over the past half-century. On the one hand, essentialist explanations blaming an intertwined trifecta of neoliberalism, globalization, and flexibilization are fundamentally adequate but lack the substantive rigor of a full explanation. On the other hand, diving into specific causes, observing ossification in the United States, new anti-union authoritarianism in Britain, and a host of other individual policy and corporate shifts across the world lack the sweeping narrative to make the argument click. This essay attempts to reflect the dilemma and propose a novel explanation for labor degradation, differentiating between the process of labor degradation as a practical policy project and as a rhetorical one. Identifying the well-documented reality that unions and collective bargaining agreements elevate labor standards and strengthen workplaces (even beyond the workplaces they cover), this essay draws a link between rhetorical concessions made by employers or corporations and reductions in unionization (or degraded labor standards tied to reduced unionization). [1]

By: Elizabeth Esterow ‘25
Volume IX – Issue I – Fall 2023

Introduction

Social media is a tool that has been tactfully used to blur the lines between work and home life. While in theory, an employee should be able to leave their life at work and act however they decide out-of-office, social media has begun to give employers the ability to pass judgment on what is acceptable off the clock behavior. Over seventy percent of employers look at candidates' social media profiles before making hiring decisions. [1] This is a significant breach of the line that separates a person’s work and personal life. However, as many employers would argue, social media is a distinct way to judge a person’s character and how that character may affect the workplace. When evaluating social media in this light, the questions arise: Who is judging the social media accounts of those who do not have direct bosses and managers? Who is responsible for evaluating the social media accounts of public officers?

By: David Epega ‘26

Volume IX – Issue I – Fall 2023

The United The United States has never employed a universal standard regarding foreign policy. It has shifted between ideologies with an isolationist mentality prioritizing domestic issues and more proactive mindsets such as 20th-century “Wilsonism”.

These shifts in ideologies have not only impacted the outcomes and philosophies of the United States itself but have also defined entire generations of people across the globe. The importance of United States foreign policy has increased since the end of World War II and the collapse of the Soviet Union, where the United States would find itself as the undisputed global superpower. The impact of this can be seen in Iraq as well as Afghanistan, where the actions of the United States after the September 11th Attacks completely altered the trajectory of the Middle East, and the ramifications of the conflict are still felt today.

By: Kaitlyn de Armas ‘25
Volume IX – Issue I – Fall 2023

“Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? So help you God.” [1] More than simply a required component of a trial, this oath sets the precedent for the foundation of justice—the truth. This statement, requiring witnesses to verify the validity of their assertion, can be boiled down to the deceivingly simple principle of not lying. Although this precondition seems rather rudimentary to abide by, considering the complexities of defining falseness convolutes the difference between the truth, the untruth, and a lie. Understanding the distinction between these conditions is critical in the courtroom setting, where a fallacy is more than just immoral; it is a crime. The offense of breaking this oath, known as perjury, is defined by Cornell Law School as when a witness “knowingly and intentionally lie(s) about a material issue.” [2]

By: Marisa Cefola ‘26

Volume IX – Issue I – Fall 2023

Introduction

Hollywood and the entertainment industry have fallen since the COVID-19 pandemic and the ultimate rise of streaming services. As a result, studios need help to meet financial obligations, such as compensating screenwriters an adequate amount for their work. Besides receiving insufficient pay, an increase in artificial intelligence technologies threatening screenwriters’ jobs prompted 97.9 percent of the Writer’s Guild of America (WGA) to call for a strike to fight for fair protection and treatment in the industry [1]. On May 2, 2023, the strike shut down Hollywood industry-wide for 148 days, forcing late-night shows to air reruns and halting multiple productions such as “Stranger Things.” The WGA reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) on Sept. 25, 2023, which has set a precedent for the future of both writer payments in a streaming service-dominated industry and AI regulation in entertainment industries that stem beyond Hollywood.

By: Lorenzo Blanco ‘27
Volume IX – Issue I – Fall 2023

Introduction

For decades, people have regarded Southern California’s Salton Sea as something of a wasteland; the Salton Sea’s increasing hypersalinity as a result of toxic agricultural runoff and an ever-shrinking water supply has put a heavy ecological strain on birds dependent on the sea for vital migratory stops as well as on fish and other aquatic life. Once planned as a glamorous resort destination for Southern Californians, the Salton Sea’s hypersalinity issue has also taken its toll on Salton City, a community of people dependent on the promised bountiful influx of cash from the hospitality and tourism industries. With the Salton Sea’s once beautiful waters turned into a fermenting mix of chemical waste, the town’s economy began to collapse as swimmers and boaters began to find mass fish die-offs, tourists began to avoid the sea’s shoreline stench, and property owners began to sell whatever they could to move away from the disaster. However, it has recently been discovered that below the Salton Sea lies bountiful deposits of lithium. In fact, experts think that the Salton Sea has enough lithium below it to meet nearly 40% of the global demand. [1]

By: Saatvik Amravathi ‘24

Volume IX – Issue I – Fall 2023

Introduction

The Inflation Reduction Act coupled with the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has been touted as the largest green energy investment in United States history, a laudable achievement considering the often delayed and feeble responses associated with Congress and the American legislative system. [1] While the Act's passage is in its own right a significant achievement in the battle against climate change, the success of the legislation hinges on its implementation which, according to supporters, needs to occur in a rapid fashion. Understanding the scale of what the White House and climate advocates seek to achieve is a rather difficult feat since the response to climate change has largely been understood as a personal one, penciled out in the form of actions such as pushing consumers to adopt existing “green” technology such as electric cars, heat pumps, and solar panels. However, as Ruhl and Saltzman point out in the Emory Law Journal, meeting even the most lukewarm climate targets requires the United States to rapidly build out a large amount of energy infrastructure. [2]

By: Nicolas V. Torres ‘26

Introduction and Background

Following exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Roger Williams and five followers established North America’s first secular colony, known today as Rhode Island [1]. From this site, Williams ingrained the preliminary notions of separation of church and state in America’s history; in a letter to Reverend John Cotton, he writes, “when they have opened a gap in the hedge or wall of separation between the garden of the church and the wilderness of the world, God hath ever broke down the wall itself, removed the candlestick, and made His garden a wilderness” [2]. William’s metaphor supports the idea that erasing the distinction between the church and the material world could compromise the integrity of the church’s purity and therefore advocates the need for a secular state. His contributions resonated with scholars most salient to the United States’ founding, such as Locke, Madison, and Jefferson, culminating in the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” [3, 4]. This clause creates a basis for a secular nation but leaves its ambiguity for the judicial system to interpret.

By: Sam Jacobson ‘26

Background on Trademarks 

A trademark is a type of intellectual property utilized by individuals, companies, or legal entities. It is defined by the United States Patent and Trademark Office as a word, phrase, design or a combination that “identifies your goods or services”, “distinguishes them from the goods or services of others”, and “indicates the source of your goods or services” [1].  Unlike more temporary types of intellectual property such as patents and copyrights, a trademark will persist in perpetuity until the owner ceases usage of the trademark. If the trademark is registered through federal registration, then federal protection will protect the trademark nationwide from being registered by others without permission

By: Cameron Hines ‘25

INTRODUCTION

In November 2018, approximately twenty thousand Google employees participated in a company-wide walkout to oppose the tech firm’s use of mandatory arbitration for sexual misconduct allegations. One of American history's most noteworthy protests against forced arbitration, this event was more significant than employees merely disagreeing with a company policy—it marked the peak of a decades-long battle between labor and management regarding disgruntled workers’ right to take their complaints to court.

By: Evan Hammer ‘24 

Introductions to Antitrust Law and Big Tech 

In 1890, Congress adopted the Sherman Antitrust Act, the first antitrust legislation in the United States outlawing restraint of trade and monopolization of industries involving interstate commerce. The Sherman Act prevents competing businesses from fixing market prices, segmenting markets, or rigging bids, which are all ‘per se’ violations of the act. In 1911, the Supreme Court decided in Standard Oil Company of New Jersey v. US  that the language used in the act doesn’t prohibit all attempts to restrain trade or monopolize, only those that are “unreasonable.1  This standard is known as the Rule of Reason and was the dominant governing principle in antitrust legislation for most of the 20th century.

By: Pranathi Charasala  ‘25

Introduction 

If the Suez Canal blockage of March 2021 reminded us of anything, it’s that the shipping industry is vital to global trade supply chain maintenance. Although the ship, Ever Given, was only stuck in the canal for six days, the effects of the event could be felt for weeks afterward, exposing the interconnectedness and vulnerability of the shipping industry to operations worldwide.1 However, even as the shipping industry proves its importance to the global economy, seafarers, dockworkers, and other maritime employees are often shoved out of sight through business practices such as flying a “Flag of Convenience” (FOC). 

By: Jacqueline Bickford ‘26
Since their invention 190 years ago, railroads have been instrumental to the growth of America. In decreasing cross-country travel time from months to weeks and cutting its cost to $150 from $1,000, it's hard to see the downfalls of rail travel at a time when it brought national unity and a flourishing economy. This rose-colored view towards railroads would continue until the 1960s, but it didn’t come without a price; millions of hectares of forests disappeared, previously untouched water and soil became contaminated, and undisturbed wildlife faced never-before-seen dangers. While it is true that railroads and their creation are destructive by nature, their alternatives– cars and planes– aren’t any better. With domestic flights and single passenger cars emitting 133 and 171 grams of CO2 per kilometer traveled, respectively, the 41 grams emitted from domestic rail seems like an eco-friendly alternative2. But a caveat to this seemingly sustainable mode of transportation is the rate at which these trains derail; in just 2022, 1,164 trains derailed across the country. This averages out to about three derailments per day3. Since rail transport is here to stay, the challenge lies in finding the cause of these derailments, which don’t always lie in structural or mechanical issues but rather in the enforcement of laws (or lack thereof) surrounding railways. Current environmental rail law is not doing enough to hold companies accountable, and thus hazardous chemicals continue to be transported irresponsibly, leading to derailments that have come at a massive cost to our environment with spillover effects on human health. 

By: Ram Orfanel ‘25

In May 2016, Rodrigo Roa Duterte was elected as the 16th President of the Philippines after promising to curb the spread of illegal drugs within the country. Claiming that the war “...would be bloody” [1] and that change would be felt within six months, Duterte won the 2016 Philippine National Elections with more than 16 million votes. Since Duterte’s inauguration in June 2016, casualties of the government’s war on drugs are estimated at  “...over 12,000 Filipinos…[majority of which are] urban poor” [2]. As a result, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda initiated a preliminary investigation in 2018 into the country’s war on drugs. This culminated in September 2021 when the ICC pre-trial chamber affirmed that sufficient evidence exists for a full investigation into potential crimes against humanity. Since then, high-ranking members of the Duterte administration have questioned the jurisdiction of the ICC, grounded on the principle of complementarity that governs admissible cases for the court.  

By: Kevin Kim ‘25

Introduction

As is the case with any industry, the pharmaceutical industry is regulated by laws seeking to balance rewarding producers for innovation and encouraging other producers to engage in competition with the original innovator. In this particular industry however, the nature of pharmaceutical products require an painstakingly extensive examination of more than 6 months by the Food & Drug Administration to ensure the safety of the new product for consumers upon entry into markets. This feature creates complications and an enormous amount of time required for those seeking to enter the market with similar products after the original producers’ patent expires. 

By: Derek Jiang ‘25

As Justice Harlan once wrote, the “constitutional right of free expression is powerful medicine in a society as diverse and populous as ours” and produces “a more capable citizenry and more perfect polity.” Grounded in the First Amendment, the freedom of speech is a cornerstone of our country and allows society to engage in robust debate over important issues in the great experiment that is democracy. However, no freedom is absolute, and this includes the freedom of speech. From the incitement of “imminent lawless action” to “falsely shouting fire in a theater,” the Court has long recognized that the First Amendment does not protect certain classes of unprotected speech., While it is generally agreed upon that there are some situations where speech can and must be curtailed, the precise limits of the First Amendment are not always so well-defined. One such case in the First Amendment’s “gray area”—⁠testing the limits of freedom of speech—is Snyder v. Phelps (2011). 

By: Evan Hammer ‘24

Millions of people watch professional sports every day, and most take for granted the immense impact that antitrust legislation has had on each league. This paper will explore how various court decisions have altered the MLB, NFL, and NBA, as well as examine the ways in which labor disputes have played a role in progressing leagues into the modern era. But before examining the legislation that has taken place in each league, I am going to briefly cover the rich history of antitrust and labor law in the United States. Antitrust law is analogous to anti-competition law, designed to preserve economic liberty by promoting competition among firms. Within a market, more competition generally leads to lower prices for consumers, and Congress has passed three acts that prevent firms from conspiring to raise prices.