THE EYE IN THE SKY: BALTIMORE’S TOP SECRET SURVEILLANCE PROJECT THAT HAS BEEN WATCHING YOU ALL YEAR

The Eye in the Sky: Baltimore’s Top Secret Surveillance Project That Has Been Watching You All Year

*Morgan Dilks

            George Orwell wrote his seminal novel 1984 about a world in which citizens were under constant surveillance. The ominous “Big Brother” was always watching, and citizens could be observed anytime, anywhere, including inside their own homes. What has been happening in Baltimore since the beginning of 2016 is not quite the Orwellian loss of privacy described in 1984; however, the citizens of Baltimore have been under surveillance regularly and without their knowledge. News of this top secret surveillance project broke on August 23, 2016. Monte Reel, Secret Cameras Record Baltimore’s Every Move from Above, Bloomberg Businessweek (Aug. 23, 2016), https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-baltimore-secret-surveillance/. This project raises an important question: Is it constitutional to conduct constant, unwarranted, undisclosed surveillance on an entire city?

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SEXUAL HARASSMENT: THE LATEST SCANDAL IN A SOCIAL AND LEGAL ISSUE PERMEATING THE ENTERTAINMENT AND MEDIA INDUSTRIES

Sexual Harassment: The Latest Scandal in a Social and Legal Issue Permeating the Entertainment and Media Industries

Victoria Lucido*

The summer of 2016 has placed Fox News at the center of a negative publicity storm following a number of allegations that former chairman and CEO Roger Ailes sexually harassed numerous women working within the company.  See Stephen Battaglio, Roger Ailes Has Resigned from Fox News; Rupert Murdoch Will Be Acting Chairman, L.A. Times (July 21, 2016, 5:10 PM), http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-ailes-leaves-20160721-snap-story.html.  Former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson filed suit against Ailes on July 6, 2016, alleging sexual harassment and retaliation in the workplace.  Complaint, Carlson v. Ailes, No. 2:16-cv-04138-JLL-JAD, 2016 WL 3610107 (N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. July 6, 2016).  Since filing the suit, “more than two dozen women have reportedly disclosed inappropriate conduct by Ailes, throughout his career, and by other male employees during his time at Fox.”  Jeannie Suk Gersen, The Case Against Fox News, New Yorker (Aug. 26, 2016), http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-case-against-fox-news.

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THE HOLDING THAT CAREER OFFENDERS SHOULD BE WAITING FOR: BECKLES V. UNITED STATES

The Holding That Career Offenders Should Be Waiting for: Beckles v. United States

Stephen A. Ortiz*

Defendants who are classified as career offenders and found guilty of a crime typically receive an enhanced sentence.  U.S. Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manual, § 4B1.1 (Nov. 1, 2015), http://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/guidelines-manual/2015/GLMFull.pdf.  The United States Sentencing Guidelines (USSG) state:

A defendant is a career offender if (1) the defendant was at least eighteen years old at the time the defendant committed the instant offence of conviction; (2) the instant offense of conviction is a felony that is either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offence; and (3) the defendant has at least two prior felony convictions of either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense. Id. § 4B1.1(a).

Under this definition, the term “crime of violence” has been argued to be vague and therefore unconstitutional.  Beckles v. United States, 616 F. App’x 415 (11th Cir. 2015), cert. granted, 136 S. Ct. 2510 (2016).  After agreeing to hear a case that brings this issue to the forefront, the United States Supreme Court must now decide whether the term “crime of violence” is unconstitutionally vague.  Kevin Daley, This Is One Of The Biggest Pending SCOTUS Cases You Haven’t Heard Of, Daily Caller (Aug. 23, 2016, 9:43 PM), http://dailycaller.com/2016/08/23/this-is-one-of-the-biggest-pending-scotus-case-you-havent-heard-of/.

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ARE INTERNET STREAMING SERVICES COMMUNICATIONS CHANNELS ENTITLED TO A COMPULSORY LICENSE UNDER THE 1976 COPYRIGHT ACT?

Are Internet Streaming Services Communications Channels Entitled to a Compulsory License Under the 1976 Copyright Act?

Kimberly Boyd*

In its most recent battle with major television broadcast networks, online video distributor (OVD) FilmOn X, LLC (formerly Aereokiller, LLC) argued before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that its services were analogous to cable systems and therefore should be eligible for the same compulsory licenses issued to cable providers.  John Eggerton, FilmOn X, Broadcasters Square Off in Ninth Circuit, Broadcasting & Cable (Aug. 8, 2016, 9:31 AM), http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/washington/filmon-x-broadcasters-square-ninth-circuit/158681.  At issue is whether the Internet is a “communications channel” within the context of 17 U.S.C. § 111 of the 1976 Copyright Act.  Id.  An affirmative determination would entitle FilmOn X to retransmit broadcaster’s programming to subscriber’s mobile devices through its streaming Internet service.  Colin Mann, FilmOn X Sets Out Licensing Appeal Case, Advanced Television (Aug. 8, 2016), http://advanced-television.com/2016/08/08/96178/.

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NORTH CAROLINA’S VOTER ID LAW: A BURDEN ON THE RIGHT TO VOTE

North Carolina’s Voter ID Law: A Burden on the Right to Vote

Ashley Triplett*

Amidst an already controversial and historic election cycle, federal courts have stepped in to strike down or modify states’ voter identification (ID) laws.  On July 29, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit unanimously overturned a decision by the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina and struck down provisions of North Carolina’s voter ID law.  N.C. State Conference of the NAACP v. McCrory, No. 16-1468, No. 16-1469, No. 16-1474, No. 16-1529, 2016 WL 4053033 (4th Cir. July 29, 2016).  In its opinion, the Fourth Circuit recognized the “disproportionate [negative] impact” that North Carolina’s voter ID law, SL 2013-381, had on African Americans attempting to vote in the state.  See id. at *15.  Considering the history of voting discrimination in North Carolina and the inexorable link between race and party lines, the Fourth Circuit struck down certain provisions of SL 2013-381, finding that they were motivated by “discriminatory racial intent” in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  Id. at *17.

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