* Jessica Rotondo

In the fall of 2018, 50.7 million children in the United States will be attending public schools.  Fast Facts: Back to School Statistics, Inst. Educ. Sci.: Nat’l Ctr. for Educ. Stat., https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372 (last visited Nov. 8, 2018).  Experiences of public school students can vary widely as a result of the amount of funds and resources expended per student, depending on their geographic location.  See Stephen Q. Cornman et al., U.S. Dep’t Educ.: Nat’l Ctr. For Educ. Stat., Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2014-15 (Fiscal Year 2015) 2 (2018), https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018301.pdf.  The average revenue spent per pupil in the United States during fiscal year 2015 was $12,903.  Id. at 2.  During that same year, the spending per pupil varied in each state, ranging from $7,858 in Idaho, to $27,810 in the District of Columbia.  Id. at 6.  Spending per pupil is also different in each school district within a state.  Id. at A-2.  Given this financial disparity, some public schools can provide a better education than others.  See id.  What level of financial support do we consider enough to prepare the next generation for their future?  And is a certain level of educational funding a fundamental right?Continue reading “Educating the Next Generation: Is Education a Fundamental Right?”

* Yitzchak Besser

Major pharmaceutical companies, like their peers in other industries, are often presumed to zealously guard their patents; in fact, patent litigation in the pharmaceutical industry rose nearly 30% in 2017 .  Mike Botta, Report: Pharmaceutical Patent Litigation Increased Nearly 30 Percent in 2017, R&D (May 8, 2018, 7:00 AM), https://www.rdmag.com/news/2018/05/report-pharmaceutical-patent-litigation-increased-nearly-30-percent-2017. However, Allergan, Inc., has recently found itself in court for attempting to implement a novel approach toward safeguarding intellectual property: transferring ownership of their patents to a Native American tribe, and then filing for exemption from review under a theory of tribal sovereign immunity.  Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe v. Mylan Pharms. Inc., 896 F.3d 1322, 1325 (Fed. Cir. 2018).Continue reading “Allergan’s Tribal Troubles: Sovereign Immunity and Patent Protection Measures in Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals”

* Christina Araviakis

The Baltimore Orioles and Ravens have some competition because there is a new Bird in town–the electric scooter.  Bill King, Is Bird for the Birds?: Scooter Company’s Presence in Baltimore Raises Eyebrows and Questions, Balt. Sun, July 31, 2018, at A11.  A California-based company, Bird Rides Inc. (hereinafter “Bird”), recently brought over sixty electric scooters to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore.  Id.  Riders simply use an app to unlock any scooter that is available on the street after entering their credit card and driver’s license information.  Id.  Bird hopes to reduce carbon emissions, get people out of their cars, and offer an alternative to sitting in traffic or a sweaty walk to Baltimore residents.  Morgan Eichensehr, Bird Brings Fleet of Rentable Electric Scooters to Baltimore, Balt. Bus. J., (June 28, 2018, 2:31 PM), https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2018/06/28/bird-brings-fleet-of-rentable-electric-scooters.html.  Costing only one dollar to start the scooter and then fifteen cents per minute, the scooters have become a quick and efficient way for many to avoid city traffic in Baltimore; however, city regulation of the scooters has become a problem.  King, supra. Continue reading “Birds Take Flight in Baltimore: The City’s Attempt to Regulate the New Electric Scooters”

*Rebekah Nickerson

Support among the American public for stricter gun laws has steadily increased over the last few years in the wake of mass shootings.  Steven Shepard, Gun Control Support Surges in Polls, Politico (Feb. 28, 2018, 07:27 AM), https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/28/gun-control-polling-parkland-430099.  In 2016, support for more restrictive gun laws climbed to fifty-eight percent among Americans following the Pulse nightclub shooting.  Id.  Support rose again to sixty-four percent following the Las Vegas country-music festival shooting and climbed higher yet to sixty-eight percent after the horrific Parkland school shooting earlier this year.  Id. Continue reading “DIY Weapons: The War on 3D Printed Firearms”

Bridget Mentzer*

 United States District Court for the District of Maryland Judge Peter J. Messitte permitted a lawsuit filed by the District of Columbia and Maryland against President Trump to proceed, contrary to the wishes of the Department of Justice.  District of Columbia v. Trump, 315 F.Supp.3d 875, 907 (2018); Peter Overby, Federal Lawsuit Against President Trump’s Business Interests Allowed to Proceed, Nat’l Pub. Radio (July 25, 2018, 5:00 PM), https://www.npr.org/2018/07/25/632300960/federal-lawsuit-against-president-trumps-business-interests-allowed-to-proceed.  The suit claims that President Trump, through his and the Trump Organization’s ownership of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., violated the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses of the Constitution by either directly or indirectly accepting payments from foreign and domestic governments.  Trump, 315 F.Supp.3d at 877, 907.Continue reading “Corrupt Trump? Possible Violations of the Foreign and Domestic Emoluments Clauses”