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Indian Farmers Lead the Largest Protest in World History

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By Kiman Kaur

Tens of thousands of Indian farmers have marched to India’s capital, New Delhi, demanding that the government repeal three agricultural reforms: (1) the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce Act; (2) the Farmers (Empower and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act; and (3) the Essential Commodities Act. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced these three bills to the Parliament of India in September 2020 in efforts to push forward the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party’s (“BJP”) deregulatory agenda. All three agricultural bills were passed by the lower house of parliament (“Lok Sabha”) and the upper house of parliament (“Rajya Sabha”) and then approved by President Ram Nath Kovind . . .

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Yes, On Our Campus: Why Police Divestment Efforts Must Include Universities

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By Christine Farolan and Chase Childress

The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Rayshard Brooks during the pandemic have forced a reckoning in America about racism and racial justice. The failure of police reforms to curb the rampant killing of unarmed Black people by police has led to widespread protests against police violence—protests that were met with startling displays of force by the police. As demonstrations continued through the end of the summer, activists of color brought nuance to our national conversations of policing. Persistent efforts on the part of community advocates have fundamentally shifted our conversations, locating the roots of American policing in the protection of property and maintenance of the slave economy and identifying its modern management function: a catch-all for social issues our government has failed to solve. Frustration, not just with the actions of individual officers but the institution of policing itself, has led to calls to abolish, disband, or #defund the police . . .

The Deadly Effect of Green Energy on Marine Life

By Colin Kennedy

Offshore wind farms, tidal power, and wave power have tremendous momentum in the push for green energy and may also pose serious threats to marine life. For all three sources, the best place to harness that energy is in the most critical space for marine life: the coast. The wind, waves, and tide are more abundant, stronger, and easier to capture on the coast than if placed elsewhere. Marine life peaks on the coast; many species of fish and mammals spend their lives on the coast as they naturally rely on it to eat, procreate, and give birth. Not only do green energy initiatives need to be placed in a critical area in the marine ecosystem to best harness and harvest the energy, the long-term problems that come from these projects could also have a lasting impact . . .

The Anti-Terrorism Act and its Effect on the Philippine Diaspora

The Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, Human Rights Caucus, and the author of the article (who opted to remain anonymous due to the ambiguity of the Anti-Terrorism Act) would like to note that their only intent is to raise awareness and spread information.

In light of momentous historic events and current issues that affect Filipino Americans, the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS) announced this year’s Filipino American History Month’s theme as “The History of Filipino American Activism.” FANHS chose this theme to highlight “the myriad ways Filipino Americans have participated in social justice movements.” While it is important to honor the past bravery and activism of Filipino Americans, it is imperative that this Filipino American History Month, we acknowledge the challenges of activism the Philippines and its diaspora are currently facing . . .

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Day 1: Building Community and Confidence in a Required, Skills-Based Class

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By Prof. Sarah J. Schendel

Each fall I teach Legal Analysis and Methods (“Methods”), a required class for students who have been placed on academic probation or warning. When planning the class, I try to pause and reflect about what the last few months have been like for these students. They came to a new school, entered a new learning environment, worked hard for months, paid a lot of money, sacrificed time with friends and family, and at the end of the year were told (in the form of low grades) that they needed to do better, to do more, to do something differently. That’s tough! . . .

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Is the Public Interest Lawyer Antiracist?

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By Bavani Sridhar

Over the last century, public interest law has taken shape as advocating on behalf of “the people” over economic interests. In the present day, there still exists some ambiguity and controversy as to the definition of public interest law and all it encompasses. Who are the “people” that public interest lawyers advocate for? What is the “public interest” and who defines it? Lawyers have argued that “the people” who are the subject of public interest law are historically underrepresented and disadvantaged groups. These groups—while also ill defined—are often comprised of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) minorities. On the other hand, organizations and legislative bodies, influenced by their political, moral, and religious beliefs, regularly determine what the public interest is . . .

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Open Letters to Prison Administrators: Do Black Lives Matter to the Department of Corrections?

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By Mac Hudson

Am I any less human because I happen to be Black and in prison? Are Massachusetts prisons the only place on Earth that racism does not exist? There isn’t anyone in America that hasn’t heard the name George Floyd and the many names of Black and Brown lives prematurely extinguished at the hands of police. It has created a difficult national conversation that has brought society full circle to confront one of America’s ugly realities of racial oppression and racial inequity. Our society has had to face a few hard truths that have given way to the idea that no citizen is privileged to sit idly by and permit such inhumane treatment without suffering a collective consequence to their own moral decadence. Booker T. Washington said, “one man cannot hold another down in the ditch without staying down in the ditch with him.” Morally speaking, racism has generationally kept all of us, people of all races, down. It has become so ingrained in society that it is as American as apple pie! So much so, that when someone attacks racism, some white people think you are attacking America herself or her ideals instead of challenging Americans to live up to her ideals . . .

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Warp Speed: Does the Rapid Development of a COVID-19 Vaccine Create a Public Safety Concern?

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By Matthew Gallotto

Politicization of a COVID-19 vaccine may be causing a long-term safety issue for the U.S. public health. A poll administered by the Kaiser Family Foundation indicates that Americans are fearful of political influence on the development of a COVID-19 vaccine which may jeopardize the safety of any vaccine brought to market. More than half of poll participants said they would not be willing to take a free COVID-19 vaccine if it were available before the November presidential election. Another poll from Gallop similarly showed that more than one-third of poll participants would be unwilling to take a free FDA-approved vaccine if it were currently available . . .

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The Continued Crash of the Legal Industry

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By Antonio Coronado

“What was the holding of the case?” A harsh silence filled the space as students nervously waited for the cold call to end. They flipped between the 30-some assigned pages of their casebook in discomfort, desperate to pass the time. Only clicks of pens and the occasional cough dared cut the tense air. But the professor was unresponsive to the silence. Like the laws they represented, they remained steadfast and unflinching in repetition of their routine: “What was the holding of the case?” . . .

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Reasonability and the Case Outside the Courtroom

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By Richard Raya

“The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House.” This quote, evocative as it is on its own, is the title of an entire essay by Audre Lorde, a self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet.” I was introduced to her work in my Black Feminist Thought class as I worked toward an American Studies degree . . .

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Let’s Play Ball (…or not)

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By Allie Band

Around 9:30 pm on March 11th, the NBA suspended its season seconds before tipoff of the Utah Jazz-Oklahoma City Thunder game. At the arena, fans were told the game was postponed due to “unforeseen circumstances.” As it turned out, the reason for the postponement was that a Jazz player, who made it a point to touch every mic in the media room to show his “fearlessness” of COVID-19 just days prior, tested positive for the virus. The next day would be remembered as the day the sports world stood still. Like a domino effect, most professional and college sports seasons were suspended or cancelled within days . . .

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What Do We Want? Justice! When Do We Want It? Now! So, Why Is It Taking So Long To Receive Justice?

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By Asantewaah Ofosuhene

“Justice delayed is justice denied.” We have all heard this saying, but what does it really mean? This legal maxim means, when there is equitable relief available to an injured party, but that relief is not given in a timely manner, then it is as if there is no remedy at all. Why is delayed justice, leading to no justice, normalized within the United States criminal justice system? . . .

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Continued Push for Diploma Privilege Plus: Recent Law Graduates Advocate for a More Fair and Equitable Licensure Process in 2020

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As our country grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the resulting economic collapse, and a nationwide reckoning regarding systemic racism, states are confronted with the unique challenge of licensing new lawyers for professional practice in 2020 . . .

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Breonna Taylor and the Erasure of Black Women from Movements Addressing State Violence Against Black People

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By Sarah Nawab

Trigger warning/content warning: This blog post contains descriptions of state violence against Black people, including killing, brutalization, and sexual assault and harassment, as well as descriptions of physical and sexual brutalization of Black women during the chattel slavery era.

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Sex in the Time of COVID-19

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By Mackenzie Darling

During a public health crisis, the public is thinking about their health and the safety of their loved ones. However, while society is focused on protecting people from COVID-19, the sexual health and wellbeing of individuals is under major threat. This forum discusses three major concerns about the current state of sexual and reproductive health: (1) the impact the COVID-19 pandemic may have on people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); (2) how state executive orders are preventing access to abortions; and (3) how the closures of doctor’s offices, Planned Parenthood health clinics, and non-essential stores pose a major threat to access to contraception and sexually transmitted infection (STI) healthcare . . .

Fortifying the Rule of Law: Filling the Gaps Revealed by the Mueller Report and Impeachment Proceedings

By Professor Deborah Ramirez and Greer Clem

The investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and subsequent impeachment of Donald Trump laid bare threats to the rule of law and weaknesses in our separation of powers doctrine. As President Trump continues to flex almost unrestricted executive authority, the question as to how we protect the rule of law and fortify the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers is one that begs answering . . .

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Blueprints of a Black New Deal

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By Elijah Miller

Drop a pin on any threadbare of our crises and you will find a thousand shifting layers of history folding in to form our social architecture. Over [100,000][1] U.S. residents and counting have now been snuffed out by a deadly combination of COVID-19 and an unrestrained dominance of racialized Neoliberal capitalism. Like so many diseases, Coronavirus is a threat, but it is the pre-existing conditions that make it so deadly. With blotted eyes and broken shoulders, rotted lungs, minds strung out of our gaslit sons, every organ in our social body aches in self-immolating class, gender, race . . .

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The Limitations of Privacy Reform Rooted in Interest Convergence

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By Margaret Foster

A year and a half ago, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the California Consumer Protection Act, which went into effect on January 1, 2020. Though the bill was simultaneously hailed as a “groundbreaking,” “extremely powerful,” “landmark law,” and criticized as a “punitive . . . mistake,” there’s no dispute that it is currently the strongest privacy law in America, garnering comparisons to the European Union’s sweeping General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Kari Paul, California’s Groundbreaking Privacy Law Takes Effect in January. What Does It Do?, The Guardian (Dec. 30, 2019); Zack Whittaker, Silicon Valley Is Terrified of California’s Privacy Law. Good., TechCrunch (Sept. 19, 2019); Natasha Singer, Group Behind California Privacy Law Aims to Strengthen It, The New York Times (Sept. 24, 2019) . . .

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Data Privacy & Corporate Governance

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By Nimesha Perera

It is 2020 and the new California Consumer Privacy Act has gone into effect. John Stephens, California Consumer Privacy Act, American Bar Association (Fe. 14, 2019), https://www.americanbar.org/groups/business_law/publications/committee_newsletters/bcl/2019/201902/fa_9/. Facebook is publicly dealing with its groundbreaking $5 billion fine from the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) over data privacy concerns. See Brian Fung, Facebook will pay an unprecedented $5 billion penalty over privacy breaches, CNN (July 25, 2019); Michael Nunez, FTC Slaps Facebook With $5 Billion Fine, Forces New Privacy Controls, Forbes (July 24, 2019). Amazon is fiercely promoting its creatively titled facial recognition program “Amazon Rekognition” in the face of criticisms . . .

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Following the 2018 Supreme Court Decision Striking Down a Federal Ban on Sports Gambling: Should States Look to Bet and Cash In?

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By Matthew Netti

As Justice Alito expressed in his majority opinion in a 2018 Supreme Court decision, “[t]he legalization of sports gambling is a controversial subject.” Murphy v. Nat’l Collegiate Athletic Ass’n, 138 S. Ct. 1461, 1484 (2018). Not only is the subject controversial; the effect it has on the country moving forward is unpredictable . . .