“Error: Website Inaccessible.”

Adrianne C. Blake*

When President George H. W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law in 1990, its purpose was to ban employment discrimination and to “eliminate[] unnecessary physical barriers to commercial and government buildings.”  Mark Pulliam, Is Your Company’s Website Accessible to the Disabled? You’d Better Hope So, L.A. Times (June 11, 2017, 4:00 AM), http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-pulliam-ada-websites-20170611-story.html.  The ADA was “the nation’s first comprehensive civil rights law addressing the needs of people with disabilities, prohibiting discrimination in employment, public services, public accommodations, and telecommunications.”  Continue reading ““Error: Website Inaccessible.””

Protecting Domestic Violence Victims: Expanding the Court’s Interpretation of Grave Risk

                                                                                                                        Emily Schmidt*

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is a multilateral treaty that provides the procedure for returning children to their home countries following abduction out of the country.  Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction art. 1, Oct. 25, 1980, 1343 U.N.T.S. 98.  The intentions behind the drafting of the treaty were both to “secure the prompt return of children wrongfully removed to or retained” in any State that is a signatory, and to “ensure that rights of custody and of access under the law” in one State are recognized in other States.  Id.  In other words, the treaty promotes returning children to their homes and works to prevent venue shopping in custody cases.  In order to return a child to their home country, the left behind parent petitions for their return.Continue reading “Protecting Domestic Violence Victims: Expanding the Court’s Interpretation of Grave Risk”

State Laws Legalizing and Decriminalizing Possession of Marijuana and Fourth Amendment Searches

                                                                                                                        Joseph Samuels*

Across the United States, states continue to either decriminalize or legalize possession of marijuana. Marijuana Overview, Nat’l Conf. St. Legislatures (Aug. 30, 2017), http://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/marijuana-overview.aspx.  As more states change their position on the legality of marijuana, courts across the country must consider whether law enforcement officers have reasonable suspicion to conduct a search when either the officer or a police dog detects the odor of marijuana.   See, e.g., People v. McKnight, No. 16CA0050, 2017 WL 2981808, at *1 (Colo. App. July 13, 2017); Norman v. State, 156 A.3d 940, 943 (Md. 2017); Robinson v. State, 152 A.3d 661, 665 (Md. 2017); Commonwealth v. Overmyer, 11 N.E.3d 1054, 1055 (Mass. 2014).Continue reading “State Laws Legalizing and Decriminalizing Possession of Marijuana and Fourth Amendment Searches”

A New First Amendment Fight: Politicians Blocking Comments on Social Media

Katrina Smith*

It is no surprise to hear about fights brewing on social media, but this time the fight is about the First Amendment implications of social media use by politicians and, instead of being online, it is in the courtroom.  Recently, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia decided a significant First Amendment case when ruling that the Chair of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors violated resident Brian Davison’s First Amendment rights.  Davison v. Loudoun Cty. Bd. of Supervisors, No. 1:16cv932 (JCC/IDD), 2017 WL 3158389, at *11 (E.D. Va. July 25, 2017), appeal docketed sub nom. Davison v. Randall, No. 17-2002 (4th Cir. Aug. 29, 2017).Continue reading “A New First Amendment Fight: Politicians Blocking Comments on Social Media”

National Debates Surrounding Immigration and Voting to Converge at College Park City Council

                                                                                                                              Connor Smith*

The City Council of College Park, Maryland, is set to debate and vote on a controversial proposal regarding noncitizens’ right to vote in municipal elections.  Rachel Chason, College Park Postpones Decision on Allowing Noncitizens to Vote, Wash. Post (Aug. 9, 2017), https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/college-park-md-debates-whether-non-citizens-should-be-able-to-vote/2017/08/08/29bb7a64-7c54-11e7-83c7-5bd5460f0d7e_story.html?utm_term=.b6a952934a09.  The proposal would amend the city’s charter to allow noncitizens, including residents with green cards, undocumented immigrants, and student-visa holders, to vote in the November elections for the city’s mayor and city council.  See id.; see also John Fritze, Amid Immigration Battles, College Park Considers Giving Noncitizens Voting Rights, Balt. Sun (Aug. 6, 2017, 6:00 AM), http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/blog/bs-md-immigrant-voting-20170805-story.html (discussing the controversy surrounding the proposed amendment).

Continue reading “National Debates Surrounding Immigration and Voting to Converge at College Park City Council”