MARYLAND’S JUSTICE REINVESTMENT ACT: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Maryland’s Justice Reinvestment Act: What You Need to Know

Brett Smoot*

On May 19, 2016, Governor Larry Hogan signed the Justice Reinvestment Act (JRA) into law.  Proponents of the JRA believe that the Act represents a progressive and necessary step in reforming the state’s criminal justice system.  However, the JRA also represents the largest and most comprehensive criminal justice reform to pass in a generation.  This raises several questions.  What issues caused this legislation to be passed?  What exactly does the JRA do?  What are some of the potential flaws in the Act?  For anyone involved in Maryland’s criminal justice system, the answers to these questions are pertinent.

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Pokémon Go, Augmented Reality, and the Future of Mobile Gaming

Pokémon Go, Augmented Reality, and the Future of Mobile Gaming

Jakob Metz*

Pokémon Go, the latest mobile gaming craze, has taken the world by storm since its release in July 2016.  The game, created by Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, and Niantic Labs, has been downloaded millions of times by players across the world.  Tiffany Li, Pokémon Go and the Law: Privacy, Intellectual Property, and Other Legal Concerns, Freedom to Tinker (July 19, 2016), https://freedom-to-tinker.com/blog/tiffanyli/pokemon-go-and-the-law-privacy-intellectual-property-and-other-legal-concerns/.  Pokémon Go is free to download for iOS and Android devices.  Stephanie Lee, What Is Pokémon Go and Why Is Everyone Talking About It?, Lifehacker (July 11, 2016, 8:00 AM), http://lifehacker.com/what-is-pokemon-go-and-why-is-everyone-talking-about-it-1783420761.  The game does include in-game purchase options that can make playing the game easier and more enjoyable.  Id.  The game operates by accessing the GPS capabilities of any smartphone.  By locating players and placing them on a real-world map, the game allows users to navigate and interact with the environment around them.  Id.

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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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