Posts by auwcl
Spring 2018 Symposium: Archive
Church and State: A Symposium on Religion and Individual Rights When: March 30th, 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM Where: Washington College of Law, Warren Building Room NT08 What: This symposium discussed the legal issues surrounding religion and individual rights through two panels. The first panel, God in the Classroom, discussed legal issues surrounding religion in the context of…
Read MoreLegacies of Police Brutality and New Hope
By William Mabry IV Police brutality and other violent police misconduct disproportionately affect communities of color, and in particular, Black communities.[1] An appalling example of police brutality occurred in 1991 when four police officers stopped Rodney King for driving under the influence, forced King to exit his car, tasered him, and then continuously beat him before…
Read MoreLighting a “Fyre” Under Instagram Influencers
Teagan Sebba The infamous “Fyre Festival” has sparked outrage again through the release of both a Netflix and a Hulu documentary that highlight the epic failure of Billy MacFarland’s fantasy festival in the Bahamas.[1] The Fyre Festival would have been one of the first of its kind, as it promised huge headlining acts, luxury accommodations, and…
Read MoreInvoluntary Manslaughter Conviction from Text Messages and the “Virtually Present” Defendant
By Fae Patton Content Warning: Suicide In the days leading up to her boyfriend’s suicide, seventeen-year-old Michelle Carter texted him four times urging him, “You just [have] to do it.”[1] Recently, a Massachusetts judge ordered Carter, now twenty-two, to begin serving a fifteen-month sentence for involuntary manslaughter because of those text messages and phone call conversations…
Read MoreRight to Choose—Death by a Thousand Cuts
By Andy Ball On June 28, two Louisiana doctors asked the Supreme Court of the United States to stay a law that would restrict access to abortions across the state.[1] The law, known as The Unsafe Abortion Protection Act or Act 620, requires abortion providers to obtain admitting privileges at a hospital within thirty miles of…
Read More“Thinking Out Loud” v. “Let’s Get it On” and The Dangers in the Latest Music Copyright Case Trend
By Taylor Sweet “Thank you… to my parents [who] have flown for the past four years to come to the Grammy’s . . ., and every single year and every time I lose they go ‘maybe next year.’”[1] Ed Sheeran, who had just won a 2016 Grammy for Best Song for his song “Thinking Out…
Read MoreWill Bey take on the ADA? Examining the Classification of Websites as a Place of Public Accommodation under Title III
By Rohan Parekh Beyoncé Knowles-Carter famously sings, “[I] don’t know much about fighting, but I, I know I will fight for you,” in her hit song “1+1.”[1] But will she fight for the 8.1 million visually impaired individuals in the United States, two million of whom are blind, who are being denied access to her…
Read MoreCultural Exchange Visitors Settle with Sponsor Agencies for $65.5 Million
By Alice Browning In March 2015, several au pairs visiting the United States through the J-1 visa cultural exchange program filed a class action representing almost 100,000 migrant workers.[1] The au pairs alleged that sponsor agencies[2] engaged in a wage-fixing conspiracy to artificially depress earnings in violation of antitrust laws, and wage and hour laws.[3]…
Read MoreInhumane Conditions in Border Detention Centers Violate U.S. Flores Settlement Agreement and Endanger Children
By Nicole Gregory By Nicole Gregory On December 25, 2018, an eight-year-old boy from Guatemala, Felipe Gómez Alonzo, died in U.S. custody while being detained at the southwest U.S. border.[1] Alonzo’s death follows the death of another Guatemalan child, seven-year-old Jakelin Caal Maquin, who was also in custody of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection…
Read MoreVolume 27.1
Volume 27, Issue 1 The following articles and comments were published in Volume 27, Issue 1 of The American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law. For subscription information, please check out our Subscription page. ARTICLES Bridging the Enforcement Gap? Evaluating the Inquiry Procedure of the CEDAW Optional ProtocolCatherine O’Rourke Overcoming Institutional and…
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