By Meredith Reynolds Associate Editor, Vol. 24 In December 2018, Belgium’s Royal Museum for Central Africa re-opened after a five-year renovation project.[1] The Royal Museum was originally created by Belgium’s King Leopold II in 1897 as a place for him to show off his colonial exploits.[2] The recent renovation aimed to transform the Royal Museum’s […]
From Our Editors
An Overlooked Consequence of the Government Shutdown: The Expiration of the Violence Against Women Act
By Mackenzie Walz Associate Editor, Vol. 24 On December 22nd, 2018, the United States government entered a partial shutdown after Congress and the White House failed to reach an agreement over the amount of funding to appropriate for the construction of a wall at our southern border. Since that moment, the national conversation has focused […]
Does it Hurt to Ask? Citizenship Question Proposed for 2020 Census Faces Legal Challenges
By Rose Lapp Associate Editor, Vol. 24 Congress is granted the power to carry out the census by Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution, which reads: “The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years, […]
Is Gang Membership a Crime? How RICO Laws Turn Groups into Gangs
By Kerry Martin Associate Editor, Vol. 24 On June 18, 2018, in a courtroom at the Theodore Levin U.S. Courthouse in downtown Detroit, at the end of a long pretrial argument on a matter of evidence, defendant Corey Bailey stood up. The courtroom was nearly full: this was preparation for the blockbuster trial of the […]
Arbitrary Paternalism and the SEC Accredited-Investor Standard
By Leah Duncan Associate Editor, Vol. 24 In developing the current accredited investor requirements to balance competing considerations of investor protection and capital formation, the Securities and Exchange Commission has used proxies that give rise to discrimination against communities of color.[1] While this problem is on its face economic in nature, I will approach it […]
What the Passage of Michigan’s Proposal One Means for Black and Latinx People
By Elizabeth Morales-Saucedo Associate Editor, Vol. 24 On November 6, 2018, 56% of Michigan voters supported the passage of Proposal One approving the legalization of recreational use and possession of marijuana by persons 21 and older.[1] Michigan is the tenth state in the United States, and the first state in the Midwest, to legalize the […]
California’s Efforts to Reform Bail Leaves Much to be Desired
By Jules Hayer Associate Editor, Vol. 24 Despite recent developments in California to overhaul the bail system, the state still has a long way to go in order to create effective change. In January of this year the California Court of Appeals ruled that, before setting bail, judges must take into account the financial situation […]
How Jeff Sessions is Quietly Transforming Immigration Law to Promote His Anti-Immigrant Agenda
By Samantha Kulhanek Associate Editor, Vol. 24 The Attorney General’s authority to refer Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) decisions to himself for review was established via regulation in 1940,[1] and yet this power appears to be receiving more attention today than it ever has.[2] The appointment of Jeff Sessions as Attorney General prompted a string […]
Countering Violent Extremism Under the Trump Administration: The True Focus is Minority Communities, Not Domestic Extremism
By Mackenzie Walz Associate Editor, Vol. 24 Through the Homeland Security Act of 2002, Congress established the prevention of domestic terrorist attacks as one of the Department of Homeland Security’s primary missions and appropriated ten million dollars “for a countering violent extremism (CVE) initiative to help states and local communities” combat these threats.[1] Pursuant to […]
Department of Education Reopens Anti-Discrimination Case, Sparks Controversy
By Rose Lapp Associate Editor, Volume 24 In 2011, The Zionist Organization of America filed a religious discrimination claim against Rutgers University with the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”). The complaint had three claims. One of these claims, the one being addressed by the Department of Education and by this piece, arose […]
