Law Commons^™

Consequences Of Seeking Environmental Justice: The Lawyer Who Took On Chevron And Paid The Price, Simran Kaur

ERSJ Blog

In February 2011, the environmental and human rights lawyer, Steven Donziger, won a landmark judgment against Chevron Corporation, on behalf of 30,000 Indigenous people residing in the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador. Chevron was found liable for causing toxic oil pollution that destroyed Indigenous lands and rivers. The said pollution destroyed rivers and streams used by the Indigenous people of Lago Agrio to drink water. The water contamination by Chevron contained illegal levels of metals that are known to damage the immune and reproductive systems in humans, thereby leaving some of the world’s poorest people with generations of birth defects and …

Abolishing The Corporal Punishment Exception To Child Abuse In New York, Julia Patz

ERSJ Blog

Do you condone child abuse? Upon hearing the question, the presumably immediate answer is an unequivocal “no.” This presumption would further flow into the expected answers of the general public. This is a firm notion that we expect most people to hold: Child abuse is bad. Yet, according to a 2021 American Family Survey, fort seven percent of the United States population supports child abuse in some circumstances. While it is true that the child abuse described in the survey had a different name, it is nonetheless child abuse. This “other name” is corporal punishment, which consists of using physical …

The Use Of Solitary Confinement As A Form Of Covid-19 Quarantine In Prisons, Danielle Bluth

ERSJ Blog

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven deadly and extremely challenging to control, making the need for rigid guidelines vital in maintaining a healthy community. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has implemented specific guidelines which prisons and detention centers must follow in attempting to combat the COVID-19 virus. While it is essential to stop the spread, the differences between an individual quarantining at home and those doing so behind bars is palpable. The CDC requires that an incarcerated individual who has been exposed to the virus and or has tested positive must quarantine for fourteen days, keeping that “individual’s movement outside …

Rap Lyrics And Evidence Of Guilt: The Racial Impact Of The Weaponization Of Evidence Rules, Brooke Hodgins

ERSJ Blog

Many who study the Unites States criminal justice system are quick to note that racial discrimination in the specific contexts of policing and incarceration leads to disproportionate outcomes for Black and Hispanic Americans. As these aspects of our justice system are riddled with racially disproportionate impacts, their prominence in the advocacy for criminal justice reform and legislative attention is undeniably warranted. However, there is also an area less prominent in the public conversation that has shown to play a substantial role in contributing to the racial disparity we see within our system today: state and federal rules of evidence. Specifically, …

Nyc’S Immunocompromised Children Forgotten As City’S Children Return To School, Hannah Kramer

ERSJ Blog

New York City’s public schools reopened their doors in mid-September 2021, welcoming back many students to in-person learning for the first time since March 2020. For many teachers, students, and their families, the return to school signaled the return to pre-pandemic life. But some families were forced to choose between their children’s health and their education.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and Social Justice website on November 15, 2021. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

Coercive Control: Crucial Legal Changes And Police Training, Bailey Appel

ERSJ Blog

The disappearance of Gabby Petito in late August of 2021 received nationwide coverage, so much so that it led some to wonder why she was getting so much more attention than prior missing persons had. Almost a month after her family reported her missing, medical examiners revealed the grim result of her autopsy: strangulation. Petito’s fiancé, Brian Laundrie, became the prime suspect. Soon enough, stories behind their seemingly pictureperfect relationship shed light on what else may have been going on behind closed doors. One of Gabby’s friends reported that Brian was extremely jealous and at times controlling over her. She …

The Prejudicial Impact Of Federal Rule Of Evidence 609 On Black Defendants, Niara Morrison

ERSJ Blog

Federal Rule of Evidence 609, Impeachment by Evidence of a Criminal Conviction, allows the litigating parties to attack a witness’s “character for truthfulness” by evidence of a criminal conviction at trial. The rule allows a witness’s prior felony conviction or any conviction that involved a dishonest act or false statement to be admitted by a trial judge for impeachment purposes. Often defendant-witnesses are the most affected by this rule because it allows jurors to make a propensity inference about the defendant’s (un)truthful character, although it may not actually be representative of their character or probative of the crime at hand. …

Breaking Bond: How Ice Uses Bond Money To Fund Detention Centers, Bill Seguin

ERSJ Blog

The number of noncitizens arriving at the border has skyrocketed as socioeconomic conditions in South and Central America–like the Haitian political crisis, and violence in the Northern triangle–have added to this wave of people arriving at the U.S. border. The rate of detention during encounters at the southwestern U.S. border has increased by more than five times between July 2020 and July 2021. Between Biden’s inauguration day on January 21, 2021 and October 1, 2021, the number of noncitizens detained by ICE or CPB has increased 56% from around 14,000 to over 22,000.

This post was originally published on the …

H.R. 2590: Finally Conditioning U.S. Aid To Israel, Heidi Sandomir

ERSJ Blog

Since 1948, when Israel was declared a sovereign nation, Israel has had a significant relationship with the United States. There are many reasons why this relationship is so strong; some attribute this to the strong proIsrael lobby, powered by both American Jews and Evangelical Christians, and others focusing on Israel's reputation as “the only democracy in the Middle East.” Regardless of the reason, the U.S.- Israel relationship is and remains a strong allyship.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and Social Justice website on October 26, 2021. The original post can be accessed via …

Student Loan Debt Forgiveness In A Pandemic, Samantha Berger

ERSJ Blog

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the lives of Americans across the country negatively impacting the health and livelihoods of millions. Student loan debt statistics for 2021 show U.S. student loan debt is the second highest consumer debt in the United States--crippling 45 million borrowers who collectively owe nearly $1.7 trillion. As part of the CARES Act, passed in March of 2020 in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, student loans were paused; meaning, no federal student loan payments were owed, no interest accrued, and no student loans in default would be collected.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal …

Approaching The Hiv Epidemic And Covid-19 Pandemic With Incarcerated People, Olivia Nevola

ERSJ Blog

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light structural inequalities that disproportionately affect marginalized populations, especially those targeted by America’s mass incarceration system. There are several parallels between the responses to public health issues that stem from the COVID-19 pandemic and HIV/AIDS epidemic in mass incarceration facilities. Our system of mass incarceration must be reformed to properly address not only the current pandemics across the nation, but also future impending health crises. This kind of reform involves addressing the social and structural determinants of health both inside and outside of correctional facilities.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal …

Welcoming Shelters Into Every Neighborhood: The New York City Homeless Shelter System And What Must Change, Emily Silverman

ERSJ Blog

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the importance of keeping unhoused people safe and helping to provide for their general needs. In New York City there was a daily average of 52,410 unhoused persons living in homeless shelters in the past year. Thus, not only is it necessary for the city to maintain shelters, but also to ensure that these shelters are continuously functioning with proper care and safety mechanisms.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and Social Justice website on October 12, 2021. The original post can be accessed via the Archived …

Remote Work As An Accommodation Under The Ada In A Post-Covid World, Sean Murphy

ERSJ Blog

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised the issue of what role remote work is to play in the future, and how we should use it to ensure fairness and productivity for both employers and employees. This is especially important for people with certain disabilities for whom remote work may be a helpful and flexible option. Even as society gradually returns to in-person work, disability advocates and others will ensure that remote work will remain a topic of discussion as it has proven over the last 18 months to have immense benefits both for people with disabilities and those without disabilities. Remote …

Title 42 And The Haitian Border Crisis: Is The American Asylum System Irreparably Broken?, Steven Kaufman

ERSJ Blog

The images of mounted Border Patrol agents “pushing back Haitian migrants crossing the Rio Grande to try to reach U.S. soil, [has] prompted outrage among Democrats and called into question President Biden’s decision to swiftly deport thousands who had been arriving en masse at a small Texas Border town.” This horrific encounter took place upon the arrival at the U.S. border of thousands of Haitians seeking refuge from a litany of crises. Since its origins as a country, Haiti and its citizens have been saddled with a substantial debt that was not settled until 1947 because of voluntary contributions by …