Category: Notes
Light and Dark: Dazzled Americans Seek Illumination
About the Author: Randy Nandlall is a current 2L at Cornell Law. He graduated from Hunter College where he majored in Political Science with a minor in Accounting, Law and Tax Track. In his spare time, Randy enjoys traveling and finding innovative local spots to eat. He is an associate for The Issue Spotter, the…
Feb 2022
360 Music Contracts, COVID-19, and the Future of the Music Industry
About the Author: Jonathan Gonzalez is a 2L at Cornell Law School and Co-President of the California Law Students Association. He obtained a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis in French and Political Science – Public Service and worked previously at Cornell’s Legal Information Institute.
May 2021
One Person, No Vote: How Gerrymandering Will Steal Our Elections if We Don’t Stop It
(Source) “I propose that we draw the maps to give a partisan advantage to 10 Republicans and 3 Democrats… I think electing Republicans is better than electing Democrats… so I drew this map to help foster what I think is better for the country.” This is an actual, real-life statement made by Representative David…
Oct 2020
It’s Time to Break Up Big Tech
(Source) Introduction Amazon obtained a place in the popular psyche that has far surpassed its principal market function as an online retailer and entertainment provider. The conventional wisdom was that Amazon operated much like the major industrial powerhouses at the turn of the last century—standard oil, railroads, and steel—and thus warranted the same basic…
Oct 2020
Violations Without Vindication: How the Supreme Court’s Decision in Nieves v. Bartlett Permits Retaliatory Arrests and Threatens to Undermine the Fight For Racial Equality
(Source) In May 2019, the Supreme Court handed down its decisions in Nieves v. Bartlett. For the most part, the decision flew under the radar, garnering little media attention (with some exceptions). However, this seemingly innocuous Supreme Court decision now threatens to undermine what has been described as “a defining moment in the future of…
Aug 2020
“Nothing About Us, Without Us” Means Police Reform, Too
(Source) Being Black and disabled is not a crime. We need to stop treating it like one. Thanks to Evita Nwosu-Sylvester for sources and further reading, and to Amanda Cirillo for review. Disability remains the “missing word in media coverage of police violence.” Far from anecdotal episodes, the connection between disability and policing harm…
Jul 2020
The Machinery of Death: The Federal Death Penalty’s Reinstatement is Arbitrary, Capricious, Illegal, and Cruel
(Source) Introduction In the early hours of July 14th, 2020, while most people were asleep or just starting their days, the Federal Government executed Daniel Lee Lewis, jumpstarting the return of federal executions. The federal government executed Mr. Lee despite myriad procedural and legal deficiencies. Mr. Lee was executed without a new warrant allowing…
Jul 2020
How Reparations Could Have Ebbed The Disproportionate COVID-19 Deaths of Black People in Detroit
(Source) Reparations are a form of compensatory justice that governments have instituted when aiming to make amends for prior wrongs. Historically, in order for a group to receive reparations from the government, an affected party must show harm, must prove that the government is the cause of that harm, and must show that the…
Jul 2020
Policing Property
(Source) I. Property and Criminality In the first week after Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd in Minneapolis, the New York City Police Department arrested more than two thousand protesters in New York City. At least a quarter of those arrested were charged with burglary. Mayor Bill de Blasio distinguished between protesters and perceived opportunists, “doing…
Jul 2020
Diagnostic Methods as a Category of Patent-Ineligible Subject Matter
(Source) The authority to grant to patents arises from Article Eight of the United States Constitution. Specifically, Clause Eight grants Congress the power to “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” Through this clause, Congress is…
Jun 2020