April - 2018

Apr 30, 2018
3 min

Evidence That Shouldn’t Be Forgotten About: The Rape Kit Backlog in Our Country Has Become a Serious

Imagine being told that your case is irrelevant. Imagine the evidence that could put your offender away is completely disregarded. Imagine certain evidence can get an innocent individual who is currently in prison exonerated. When a rape kit goes untested an individual constantly lives in fear because their offender has not been caught. Wouldn’t one think that testing evidence, especially in rape cases would never be forgotten about? Individuals in our country have finally de

Much Ado About Nothing: #MeToo Movement Falls Short on Prosecutions

Stefanie Steinberg

Apr 23, 2018
4 min

Much Ado About Nothing: #MeToo Movement Falls Short on Prosecutions

From October 2017 to now we have seen a litany of high profile men brought before the court of public opinion: Harvey Weinstein, Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly, Roy Moore, Al Franken, Louis C.K., Kevin Spacey, Morgan Spurlock, Matt Lauer, Former President George H.W. Bush, not to mention our current “Grab ‘em by the pussy” President Donald J. Trump. Lamentably this list seems to go on ad infinitum. While each of these men has committed sexual harassment and some have even commit

Critiques of FOSTA: Combating Sex Trafficking or Redirecting the Problem?

Samantha Fournier

Apr 22, 2018
3 min

Critiques of FOSTA: Combating Sex Trafficking or Redirecting the Problem?

On April 11, 2018, President Donald Trump signed the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017. The Bill explicitly distinguishes section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934, by explaining that section 230 will no longer protect websites that “promote and facilitate” sex trafficking. It amends section 230 to ensure that federal civil claims, federal criminal charges, and state criminal charges will not be limited for conduct that constitutes sex t

Sounding Strong is Making Us Weak:
A Guide to President Trump’s MS-13 Rhetoric

Samantha Dos Santos

Apr 20, 2018
4 min

Sounding Strong is Making Us Weak: A Guide to President Trump’s MS-13 Rhetoric

“Big progress being made in ridding our country of MS-13 gang members and gang members in general. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!”– President Trump via Twitter. From Tweets, to the State of the Union, and even a televised MS-13 roundtable conducted with party leaders, President Trump has engaged his political platform to campaign against purported MS-13 members. In this new era of the media, the President of the United States can communicate the intersection between his political a

Kathryn Canning

Apr 15, 2018
3 min

Limiting Police Power

Looking at the D.C. Escape Statute (D.C. Code § 22-2601(a)(2)) and the recent court decision in Davis v. United States, it is interesting to see whether fleeing from an attempted arrest violates the escape statute. The escape statute prohibits escaping from the “lawful custody” of a police officer. Throughout history, police have had a lot of power and discretion within a meaning of a term in a statute. Did Officer McHugh have sufficient physical control over Davis for him to

Innocence and Ineffective Assistance: The case of Adnan Syed, subject of hit podcast "Serial&qu

Cameron Black

Apr 10, 2018
3 min

Innocence and Ineffective Assistance: The case of Adnan Syed, subject of hit podcast "Serial&qu

A jury in Baltimore County, Maryland found Adnan Syed guilty of first degree murder, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and robbery on February 25, 2000. Syed was convicted of strangling his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee whose body was found partially buried in Leakin Park after she was missing for less than a month. This case would have been forgotten long ago had it not been for the hit podcast Serial which investigated the circumstances of Ms. Lee’s death and the subsequent pro

The Right to Remain Silent Under Jenkins

Mary Frances Richardson

Apr 9, 2018
3 min

The Right to Remain Silent Under Jenkins

During cross-examination, an attorney may challenge the credibility of the opponent’s witness via impeachment. By doing so, the attorney is signaling that the judge and/or the jury should dismiss what the witness says because the testimony is not credible. Attorneys may impeach witnesses through several means, such as showing that the witness made a prior inconsistent statement, showing that the witness is biased or has a personal interest in the matter, showing that the wit

SCOTUS Update: United States v. Microsoft Corporation

Apoorva Deshmukh

Apr 2, 2018
4 min

SCOTUS Update: United States v. Microsoft Corporation

On February 27, 2018, the Supreme Court heard oral argument for United States v. Microsoft Corporation. The case considered whether a United States provider of email services must comply with a probable cause based warrant issued under 18 U.S.C. § 2703, even if the provider has decided to store the material abroad. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2703(a), the government may require disclosure by a provider of email services of wire or electronic communications stored in an electronic comm

KNOWLEDGE • PRACTICE • JUSTICE

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