Category Archives: Issues to Watch

Cassandra Brumback* Four months after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested Roylan Hernandez-Diaz, he committed suicide in his Louisiana jail cell.  See Teo Armus, A Cuban Immigrant Asked for Asylum. After Months of Detention, He Killed Himself, ICE Says, Wash. Post (Oct. 17, 2019, 7:28 AM), https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/10/17/cuban-immigrant-asked-asylum-detention-killed-himself-ice/.  Hernandez-Diaz was one of approximately 590,000 asylumContinue reading “The Third-Country Rule and United States Asylum Law”

Kelsey Lear* On March 20, 2018, a 17-year-old student shot two others at Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County, Maryland before a school resource officer intervened.  See Eric Levenson, Maryland School Officer Stops Armed Student Who Shot 2 Others, CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2018/03/20/us/great-mills-high-school-shooting/index.html (last updated Mar. 20, 2018, 7:24 PM).  The shooter killed one studentContinue reading “What Is Maryland Doing to Combat Violence in Our Schools?”

 Kristin McManus* On June 16, 2019, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg formally announced the company’s plans to create a new digital cryptocurrency to be known as “Libra,” which will operate under Calibra, a subsidiary of Facebook.  See Bill Chapple, Facebook Unveils Libra Cryptocurrency, Sets Launch For 2020, Nat’l Pub. Radio (June 18, 2019, 12:12 PM), https://www.npr.org/2019/06/18/733701971/facebook-unveils-libra-cryptocurrency-sets-launch-for-2020.Continue reading “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems: Legal & Regulatory Concerns Surrounding the Announcement of Facebook’s Libra Cryptocurrency”

Aaron Sarro* Led Zeppelin is in the spotlight once again thanks to its 1971 megahit Stairway to Heaven; however, this time the legendary band finds itself in the courtroom defending the song’s true origin, rather than performing it on stage.  Ben Sisario, Original or Copied? ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Is Back in Court, N.Y. Times (Sept.Continue reading “Led Zeppelin Defends Stairway to Heaven—Navigating the Unpredictability of Music and Copyright Infringement”

Micah Millsaps* Mathena v. Malvo is the latest case to reach the Supreme Court in a series of milestone cases that have reshaped juvenile sentencing jurisprudence.  See Tom Jackman, Supreme Court to Consider Whether Sniper Lee Boyd Malvo Should Be Resentenced, Wash. Post (Oct. 14, 2019, 6:30 AM), https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2019/10/14/supreme-court-consider-whether-sniper-lee-malvo-should-be-resentenced/.  Over the past two decades, scientificContinue reading “Mathena v. Malvo: Strengthening Juvenile Sentencing Jurisprudence or Halting Its Progress?”