By Jessalyn Schwartz

By the time children and adolescents reach the foster care system, they have experienced myriad challenges which may cause compound mental health and behavioral issues. Accordingly, foster care youth often have trouble understanding their situations, managing their emotions, communicating their needs, and advocating for their own well-being. These children are being prescribed medications too often, too young, and far too much. Approximately thirty-seven percent of children in the foster care system take at least one psychotropic medication, with approximately twenty percent of these children taking two or more medications at any given time. In many states, the percentages are much higher and the use of medication increases with the age of the child.

By Eliza Lockhart-Jenks

In June 2012, the United States Supreme Court acknowledged that adults and juveniles—even those convicted of major offenses—are fundamentally different and entitled to different sentencing standards.  In Miller v. Alabama , the Supreme Court decreed that courts must consider mitigating factors in a juvenile’s life when the juvenile faces a possible sentence of life without parole (LWOP); in other words, mandatory LWOP sentences will no longer apply to minors.  Before this decision, state legislatures could and, in many cases, did mandate LWOP sentences for certain crimes, regardless of the offender’s age.  In Miller, the Supreme Court held that the failure to consider mitigating factors, including age, when sentencing a juvenile to LWOP constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. 

By Michael J. Cullen

Sports fans are well-accustomed to their franchises relocating. In the National Basketball Association, it is why a city with no lakes - Los Angeles, California - has a team called the Lakers, and a city not known for its jazz scene - Salt Lake City, Utah - has a team called the Jazz. In the 1990s, the National Football League (NFL) saw a huge upswing in relocations. In particular, 1995 was a significant year for NFL franchise relocation: the Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens, the Houston Oilers moved to Nashville and became the Titans, and the Raiders returned to their original home in Oakland. Most NFL fans are aware of Los Angeles’ attempts to be the destination of the next franchise relocation. While relocating to Los Angeles would undoubtedly increase a team’s profits, franchise relocation negatively affects fans and the city losing its team. “This is the picture of the current NFL: the owners make demands upon their cities for public subsidies, and if their demands are not met, they flee to another city willing to offer them favorable terms and unlimited control.”

By Clark Wheeler

This article seeks to supplement the ongoing debate concerning reclaimed wastewater programs. Highlighting a series of legal challenges to a snow-making program in Arizona using reclaimed water, I argue that widespread reclaimed water usage is problematic, both as a potential environmental calamity and as a support mechanism for irrational urban development. Reclaimed water may ultimately serve as a supplemental resource that, when combined with subsidized water programs, allows municipalities to continue to grow without recognizing the true cost of water resources. If the summer drought of 2012 is a forecast of future events, then challenging decisions lie ahead concerning the growth of cities as their fresh water sources evaporate. Legal challenges against reclaimed water systems will allow municipalities and states to begin stricter regulation of water usage in arid climates, and may address the impending reality of long-term drought conditions in a rational manner.

By Ariella N. Sparr

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, state and federal governments are creating plans to protect coastlines from future devastation with uncertain outcomes for homeowners. The Governors of two of the hardest hit states, New York and New Jersey, have announced two different plans for the devastated property on their shores. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie proposed that homeowners either spend tens of thousands of dollars to elevate their homes, or pay up to $31,000 per year for federally-funded flood insurance. In lieu of federal flood insurance, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed a buyout program for certain coastal areas destroyed by the storm. Under this plan, Governor Cuomo proposes to offer the pre-devastation market value of the property to homeowners, and re-purpose the land as dunes, wetlands, natural buffers or public parkland to protect the coast. While homeowners could benefit from both plans, the question arises, which of these programs offers better remedies to homeowners?

By Jess Cochrane

Despite the federal Controlled Substances Act’s wholesale prohibition of cannabis—classifying marijuana as a Schedule I substance with no potential medical use—twenty states and Washington D.C. have approved medicinal marijuana programs, and 17 have “decriminalized” possession of small amounts of the plant for personal use. In 2008 and 2012, Massachusetts voters approved marijuana reform ballot initiatives in recognition of marijuana’s potential medicinal value and the unnecessarily harsh consequences for petty possession of the substance. Both laws carve out certain circumstances under which an adult may use and possess limited amounts of marijuana, subject to minimal oversight from state agencies.

In this article, I analyze the protections which both laws offer to pregnant women, parents, and caretakers of minor children, who, compared with non-parenting individuals, face an added layer of possible state sanctions for marijuana possession in the form of child protective services (“CPS”) actions.