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Oct 14

UN Special Rapporteur Calls for Access to Legal Abortions

On 24th October, the Special Rapporteur for physical and mental health, Anand Grover, will present his findings. While Mr. Grover’s report addresses the broad question of sexual and reproductive rights, it focuses particularly on abortion and the harmful consequences that can follow when access is restricted. The report is particularly interesting, coming as it does when the future of abortion in this country has suddenly become so uncertain.

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Oct 13

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Topeka, Kan., Repeals its Domestic Violence Law

The City Council claimed that the District Attorney’s decision to stop prosecuting misdemeanors was a political one, given that the budget cuts he faces are not yet in effect. The District Attorney reluctantly agreed to continue prosecuting domestic violence cases. He continued to blame county leaders for failing to adequately fund prosecutors, suggesting they were impeding his office’s mission to ensure public safety.

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Oct 13

Parental Rights of “Non-Offending” Out-of-State Parents

In a recent article, Vivek Sankaran explains that the majority of states in some way restrict the parental rights of “non-offending parents” even when there is no evidence of wrongdoing or unfitness by that parent. Perhaps DC’s agency was reluctant to revise its policies on non-offending out-of-state parents because it might then have to reexamine its approach to all non-offending parents.

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Oct 12

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Youth is wasted on the young—is voting, too?

There’s a famous scene in The Breakfast Club where Anthony Michael Hall’s character, the archetypal high school nerd, is asked why he has a fake ID. His response is earnest, if not a little bit surprising: “So, I can vote,” he says, wholly unconcerned with the other opportunities for mischief that a fabricated adult identity might offer.

Like Hall’s character, many of today’s youth have decided to take the franchise into their own hands; fortunately, however, they’ve sought to do so through more lawful means.

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Oct 12

Unrest Over Occupy Wall Street

The protesters gathered with no set message, ideology, or demands for policy changes. However, Freedom of Speech is not limited to groups that especially aesthetic. Regardless of how uncoordinated it is, the Occupy Wall Street movement is not “anti-American,” but rather a central feature of what makes America great.

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Oct 12

A Personal Tribute to Prof. Derrick Bell’s Legacy, 1930-2011

Although today’s legal landscape is different, many of the problems remain the same. There are still challenges to ensuring that the voices of the most disadvantaged citizens are heard. There is still a need for legal scholarship that comes from all sectors and populations in the American experience, especially those at the margins of the American experience.

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Oct 11

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Gov. Brown Vetoes Cell Phone Protections

But how long after an arrest can the police search a cell phone? Earlier this year, California grappled with People v. Diaz, 51 Cal.4th 84 (2011) and concluded that even ninety minutes after an arrest, when the phone is safely stored far away from the suspect and the danger of destruction is effectively zero, the police could search the contents of a cell phone without a warrant.

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Oct 11

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Occupy Moves to the Right City

Instead of continuing to get mad without becoming articulate, the movement should get educated and then target the lawmakers who enabled the banks to stuff themselves on the taxpayer’s dime. It’s easy to direct anger to big corporations that pay fat bonuses but the truth is a disciplined approach would go after lawmakers who need to be re-elected. Maybe protestors don’t think that they can scare lawmakers into listening but given the no-holds-barred tactics and successes of the Tea Party, Occupy would be wise to take an aggressive stance with the left.

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Oct 11

Upcoming Guest Post

Later this week, the blog will feature a guest post from Nic Riley, a voting rights attorney in New York City. Nic recently graduated from Yale Law School, where he worked with New Haven youth to develop an advocacy campaign aimed at lowering Connecticut’s voting age.

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Oct 7

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Supreme Court to Rule on State Immigration Enforcement

A federal judge recently upheld a state law that requires police to enforce federal immigration law. The judge disagreed with a Ninth Circuit ruling enjoining Arizona’s immigration enforcement law. The Supreme Court will decide this Term how far states can go in requiring state and local police officer to enforce immigration. The Constitution grants Congress authority to regulate immigration, and the Supreme Court has noted that immigration impacts the United States’ relations with other countries. The Ninth Circuit ruled that the state laws are preempted by federal statutes establishing procedures for police participation in immigration enforcement.

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