Law Commons^™

Biopiracy: Using New Laws And Databases To Protect Indigenous Communities, Cleo-Symone Scott

Law Student Publications

Indigenous people have a historical link to those who inhabited a country or region at the time when people of different cultures or origins arrived. Traditionally, indigenous people have a special relationship with their ancestral environments. But their way of living has long been under threat. The land that indigenous people live on is home to over 80% of our planet’s biodiversity, but it continues to be appropriated and plundered due to bioprospecting or, as some call it, biopiracy. Bioprospecting is defined as “the exploration and information gathering of genetic and biochemical material to develop commercial products.” While innovation is …

First Comes Love: Advocating For A Revival Of Pre-Obergefell Estate Planning Vigor For Lgbtq+ Couples And Families, Kimberly N. Furtado

Law Student Publications

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Beyond the obvious devastation this opinion wreaked on abortion rights nationwide, it also unleashed a fear in communities that have gained substantive rights through the Court’s decisions based on similar reasoning. News organizations and LGBTQ+ advocacy groups quickly published stories discussing the fate of same-sex marriage in a post-Dobbs society. If the Supreme Court were to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, it would be a crushing loss to the LGBTQ+ community. Not only would it signal the lack of …

Taxing The New With The Old: Capturing The Value Of Data With The Corporate Income Tax In Virginia, Coleman H. Cheeley

Law Student Publications

The Commonwealth of Virginia markets itself as “The Largest Data Center Market in the World.” In 2019, the Northern Virginia market alone was the largest in the United States by inventory, with room to grow. In 2021, data centers in Northern Virginia required an estimated 1,686 megawatts of power; that number is expected to increase by 200 megawatts in the near future, reflecting data centers currently under development. For reference, in 2022, it was estimated that more than 100 homes could be powered by one megawatt of solar power in Virginia. Historically, data centers have been located in the Commonwealth …

Venture Capital's Esg Problem, Ryan A. Ashburn

Law Student Publications

Venture capital (“VC”) is repeatedly described as one of the “crown jewels” of the U.S. economy for its role in financing startups and innovation. However, recent corporate scandals, including fraud, have exposed a darker side of the VC industry and the startups in which venture capitalists (“VCs”) invest. For example, Theranos received $686 million in VC funding yet proved to be nothing more than a “house of cards” once it came to light that Theranos falsified blood test results. When Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes was convicted of fraud, many VCs tried to distance themselves, saying Theranos was an exception and …

Duped By Dope: The Sackler Family’S Attempt To Escape Opioid Liability And The Need To Close The Non-Debtor Release Loophole, Bryson T. Strachan

Law Student Publications

The opioid epidemic continues to rage on in the United States, ravaging its rural populations. One of its main causes? OxyContin. Purdue Pharma (“Purdue”), the maker of OxyContin, aggressively marketed opioids to the American public while racking up a fortune of over $13 billion dollars for its owners,3 the Sackler family. As a result, roughly 3,000 lawsuits were filed against Purdue and members of the Sackler family. Generally, the lawsuits alleged that Purdue and members of the Sackler family knew OxyContin was highly addictive yet aggressively marketed high dosages of the drug and misrepresented the drug as nonaddictive and without …

State-Sanctioned Displacement: An Interstate Examination Of Felon Disenfranchisement, Claudia Leonor

Law Student Publications

In his dissent of New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann, Justice Louis Brandeis referred to the constituent states of the country as “laboratories for democracy.” He noted that, as sovereign entities within the United States, states are empowered to “try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.” In postbellum American society, states have grappled with Reconstruction and the concomitant dismantlement of a caste system hinging on racism. In convening constitutional assemblies, the states experimented with racism and succeeded. In Southern jurisdictions, racial animus enabled the creation of constitutional frameworks and legislation that would have …

Python Patrol: Combatting The Problem Of Evasive Non-Native Snakes In Florida, Jessica Rooke

Law Student Publications

The Florida hotspot of non-native invasive species has long been recognized as a fascinating, yet perplexing environmental issue since the late 1900s. After decades of patchwork efforts by the federal and state government, it has become clear that a more holistic approach must be taken to help eradicate the Burmese Pythons that have overtaken Southern Florida. This article highlights the prior efforts taken federally and state-wide to combat this issue and assesses the current gaps in these efforts and what must be done to achieve a more holistic approach. Other states are used as points of comparison in regard to …

Prison Housing Policies For Transgender, Non-Binary, Gender-Non-Conforming, And Intersex People: Restorative Ways To Address The Gender Binary In The United States Prison System, John G. Sims

Law Student Publications

“[I]t was the end of the last quarter of 2019 where I was able to drop the lawsuit against the correctional officer who had sexually harmed me when I knew . . . that the carceral state is not the way for me to find healing . . . . I was not going to seek my transformation and restoration through this system.”

Each year, rhetoric and legislation attacking transgender, non-binary, gender non-conforming and intersex individuals seemingly grows louder. Many political institutions in the United States perpetuate and enable the oppression of these individuals, one of which is the United …

A Call For Change: Doing More To Protect Black And Brown Victims Of Domestic Violence, Kiana Gilcrist

Law Student Publications

Domestic violence (“DV”) disproportionately affects Black and Brown women. This article examines the tense history of law enforcement engagement with minority groups, which has caused a strain on that relationship, leaving minority groups more likely to choose to stay in their DV situations than seek out law enforcement help. The divide still impacts these groups today. Additionally, the article highlights several organizations that have formed to address the needs of minority individuals. Other organizations have been around, but their ties to law enforcement create an added barrier for Black and Brown women seeking protection. The article concludes by briefly examining …

A Beginner's Guide To Cryptocurrencies: Explaining The Technologies Behind Cryptocurrencies, How The United States Taxes And Regulates Them, And Offering Changes To The Existing Taxation And Regulation Schemes, J. Merritt Francis

Law Student Publications

The United States federal government has attempted to use its existing regulatory and taxation schemes to regulate and tax cryptocurrencies, while many individuals are still unsure as to what cryptocurrency really is. The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodities Future Trading Commission have both asserted their jurisdiction over cryptocurrency, resulting in unclear guidance for developers in the cryptocurrency space and a failure to adequately protect investors. Further, the Internal Revenue Service taxes cryptocurrency like a security rather than a currency, which disincentivizes adopting cryptocurrency as a form of payment. Nevertheless, although cryptocurrencies are taxed like securities, there are tax …

“If You Build It, They Will Come”: Reverse Location Searches, Data Collection, And The Fourth Amendment, Matthew L. Brock

Law Student Publications

On January 6, 2021, the world looked on, stunned, as thousands of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on live television in support of then-President Donald Trump. In the days and weeks that followed, federal law enforcement scrambled to identify those involved in the attack, in what has become the largest criminal investigation in American history. Whereas even 20 years prior it would have been difficult to identify those involved, as of February 2023, more than 950 people have been identified and charged in relation to the January 6th Capitol attack. Many of these individuals were identified using a wide array …

Going The Extra Mile: Expanding The Promoting Affordable Housing Near Transit Act, Emily Casey

Law Student Publications

The Promoting Affordable Housing Near Transit Act (“Act”), introduced in Congress in June 2021 and signed into law six months later, proposes a goal of balancing the disproportionately-high costs of housing and transportation felt by lower-income families by combining these resources in one project: transit-oriented housing developments. Middle-income and wealthy suburbanites have ready access to cities by car, but lower-income urbanites lack access to the suburbs without a private vehicle. While the goal of the Act recognizes this disparate outcome, the Act’s failure to include expansion of mass transit into the suburbs will continue to restrict low-income minorities to urban …

When Dirty Data Leads To Dirty Policing, Madison Blevins

Law Student Publications

"On May 25th, 2020, George Floyd was tragically killed by police officers in Minneapolis. While George Floyd’s death was the shock that catapulted the Black Lives Matter (“BLM”) movement to the center of international attention, it was also just the tip of the iceberg. Floyd’s death was not the first death of a black person at the hands of the police, nor would it be the last. “A black person is killed by a police officer in America at a rate of more than one [person] every other day.” These repeated incidents across the country have ignited a mass movement …

“Fundamental Fairness”: Finding A Civil Right To Counsel In International Human Rights Law, Meredith Elliot Hollman

Law Student Publications

Every other Western democracy now recognizes a right to counsel in at least some kinds of civil cases, typically those involving basic human rights. The World Justice Project’s 2021 Rule of Law Index ranked the United States 126th of 139 countries for “People Can Access and Afford Civil Justice.” Within its regional and income categories, the United States was dead last. The United Nations and other international treaty bodies have urged the United States to improve access to justice by providing civil legal aid. How did we fall behind, and what can we learn from the rest of the world? …

Individual Funding: A Policy Solution To Family Abuse In Rural Areas Impacted By The Covid-19 Pandemic, Jessica King

Law Student Publications

Intimate partner violence is an issue in the United States experienced by more than one in three women. This article addresses the topic of intimate partner violence and the factors contributing to the perpetuation of abuse. It focuses on how these factors manifest in rural areas and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which increased isolation and economic abuse. This article explores policies currently used to combat intimate partner violence in these contexts. The current acts, including the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA), and the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), expressly …

How California's Racial Justice Act Of 2020 Protects Criminal Defendants From Racial Discrimination And Why The Equal Protection Clause Is Not Enough, Hannah Laub

Law Student Publications

The Equal Protection Clause should prevent racial discrimination in the criminal legal system, yet Black people and people of color are disproportionately arrested, prosecuted, and incarcerated in the United States. This is partially due to the heavy evidentiary burden required to demonstrate an Equal Protection violation and the failure of the Supreme Court to ease that burden in McCleskey v. Kemp. With federal law largely ineffective, states such as California have passed legislation to provide more robust civil rights protections. This article explores how the Equal Protection Clause fails to provide a remedy for criminal defendants who experience racial discrimination …

Cftc & Sec: The Wild West Of Cryptocurrency Regulation, Taylor Anne Moffett

Law Student Publications

Over the past few years, a turf war has been brewing between the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) over which agency should regulate cryptocurrencies. Both agencies have pursued numerous enforcement actions over the cryptocurrencies they believe to be within their jurisdiction. This turf war has many moving components, but the focus always comes back to one question: which cryptocurrencies are commodities, and which cryptocurrencies are securities? The distinction is important because the CFTC has statutory authority to regulate commodities, whereas the SEC has statutory authority to regulate securities. This Comment rejects the pursuit …

The Legislative Graveyard: A Review Of Virginia's 2022 Regular General Assembly Session, Kaylin Cecchini, Haley Edmonds

Law Student Publications

In 2019, Democrats won a majority in the House of Delegates and the Senate, and the Commonwealth was led by a Democratic Governor. The Democrats’ majority trifecta, which they had obtained for the first time since 1992, was once again lost on November 2, 2021, when Virginians voted to renew the Republican leadership in the Office of the Governor and in the House of Delegates. Under this once again bifurcated, yet unusually polarized, assembly, legislators on either side of the political aisle faced an uphill battle getting legislation passed, with the majority of bills ending in a stalemate. As a …

Ensuring Black Lives Matter When The Penalty Is Death, Sidney Balman

Law Student Publications

"Trayvon Martin. Michael Brown. Breonna Taylor. George Floyd. These are several of the names that come to mind when we think about the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. They are the faces of institutional oppression of Black men and women in their daily interactions with law enforcement. Thus far, the BLM movement has focused on police brutality against Black communities—the vagaries of violence perpetrated on minority communities by those whose duty is to protect them. But there is another place where Black Lives should Matter, but don’t—the death penalty." [..]

Expanding Medicaid In The Postpartum Period, Madison P. Harrell

Law Student Publications

This Comment will discuss how the current Medicaid law is insufficient to address the issue of disappointing maternal health outcomes in the United States and how the federal government should begin to remedy the problem. First, I will shed light on the maternal health crisis in the United States, before discussing the history of pregnancy and postpartum Medicaid coverage. Then, I will outline the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, the subsequent court battle over its constitutionality, and the effects of that decision on the current landscape of pregnancy and postpartum Medicaid coverage. Finally, I will detail my proposal for …

Applying Products Liability Law To Facebook’S Platform And Algorithms: Addiction, Radicalization, And Real-World Harm, Grant W. Shea

Law Student Publications

Facebook has become central to the lives of millions of Americans. As of 2021, 69% of U.S. adults use Facebook. Among those U.S. adults who use Facebook, roughly 70% visit Facebook at least once a day. Moreover, as of 2020, 36% of U.S. adults receive their news through Facebook. That means roughly 60 million U.S. adults receive their news through Facebook each day. Facebook’s impact on American society cannot be overstated when viewed through such a lens. Thus, it is important to ensure Facebook responsibly designs its products: its platform and its algorithms.

Swimming Up The Stream Of Commerce: How Plaintiffs In Products Liability Litigation Are Disadvantaged By Current Personal Jurisdiction Doctrine, Lily S. Smith

Law Student Publications

"“The Court must periodically intervene in the perpetual battle between plaintiffs and corporations over personal jurisdiction, especially when one side has secured a competitive advantage. The time for such intervention has likely arrived.”

Emma is a resident of Billings, Montana, and she ordered the “Whitten 10-in-1, 8 Blade Onion Mincer, Chopper, Slicer, Cutter, Dicer, with Container” on Amazon. The product is a multifunctional kitchen tool that can chop, slice, cut, and dice your vegetable of choice. By pushing down on the container’s lid, the vegetable is forced through blades, resulting in perfectly cut vegetables. Via Amazon Prime, Emma received the …

Copyright Takes To The Streets: Protecting Graffiti Under The Visual Artists Rights Act, Michaela S. Morrissey

Law Student Publications

Artists who choose the streets as their canvas—whether to beautify neighborhoods, spark political protest, or merely mark their territory—are faced with uncertainties when it comes to questions of copyright protection for their work. Prior to Castillo v. G&M Realty L.P., the rights granted to street artists had generally been uncharted territory. However, a verdict that pitted the rights of street artists against the rights of property owners finally gave street art the credibility many felt it long deserved. In Castillo, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit recognized graffiti as a work of visual art, thus …

Utilizing Tax Incentives To Increase Gender Parity On Corporate Boards, Mary Tursi

Law Student Publications

"Women are drastically underrepresented in positions of power and prominence in the United States. As of 2021, women hold only thirty percent of board seats on the S&P 500. The number is much smaller for private corporations. One study found that in 2020, women occupied only eleven percent of board seats for private corporations. Given these statistics, it is unsurprising that a 2021 study predicts that corporate boards will not reach gender parity until 2032." [..]

Expanding American Indian Land Stewardship: An Environmental Solution For A Country In Crisis, Haley Edmonds

Law Student Publications

Land is the central foundation around which all life is formed. Therefore, societies must have a stable connection with the land in order to be structurally sound. If this connection is weak or inflexible, every building-block of civilization laid on top of it will inevitably crumble. Some societies have established stable relationships with the land by working around and responding to nature’s rhythms in order to satisfy their needs. Whereas other societies have ignored nature’s intricacies and instead have tried to strong-arm nature into yielding to their whims. These two diametrically opposed approaches to conceiving of humans’ relationship with the …

Why Not Both Nature And Nurture: Using Behavioral Genetic Markers As Sentencing Factors, Seely Kaufmann

Law Student Publications

"On the evening of July 1, 2013, Amos Wells was upset that his pregnant girlfriend, Chanice Reed, would not answer his calls. He then drove to where she, her mother Annette, and ten-year-old brother Eddie, lived. After arguing with Chanice and yelling at the top of his voice in a “bone-chilling scream,” Wells retrieved a handgun from his Chevrolet Tahoe parked in front of the house, and shot Chanice in the front yard as she screamed, “No, no, no.” Her mother then tried to bat the gun away before he shot her too. Further shots were heard before Wells finally …

Examining The Relationship Between Environmental Justice And The Lack Of Diversity In Environmental Organizations, Haley Walter

Law Student Publications

This article highlights the ongoing lack of diversity in each of the three major types of environmental organizations—conservation and preservation organizations, governmental agencies, and environmental grantmaking foundations—and assesses how this lack of diversity has historically marginalized people of color. Assessing the history of how the environmental movement has marginalized people of color is key because from this marginalization grew the rise of the environmental justice movement and recognition from the legal system of environmental issues that disproportionately impacted people of color. Last, this article presents solutions on how environmental organizations can increase and retain diversity in their staff and leadership …

Make Some Sense Of Scent Trademarks: The United States Needs A Graphical Representation Requirement, Gabrielle E. Brill

Law Student Publications

When it comes to consumer loyalty, some businesses have decided to go beyond attracting the eyes. Why not keep customers via their nostrils? Accordingly, the scent marketing industry is booming. Jennifer Dublino, Vice President of Development at ScentWorld Events, remarks that “smell is one of the most unique of human senses. Scent enters the limbic system [of the brain] and bypasses all of the cognitive and logical thought processes and goes directly to the emotional and memory areas of the brain.” Companies like ScentAir have been created specifically to help stores design fragrances that best fit their image and objectives …

Strictly Speaking, What Needs To Change? A Review Of How Statutory Changes Could Bring Strict Products Liability To Virginia, Ryan C. Fowle

Law Student Publications

Virginia remains one of five states that refuse to adopt strict products liability. To date, the Supreme Court of Virginia has declined to follow the path Justice Traynor set out nearly a century ago, as its recent decisions confirm its resistance to strict liability. However, given the change in control of the General Assembly following the elections of 2017 and 2019, the General Assembly is in new hands and may remain that way for some time. This new legislative majority, among its plans for new policies, may soon consider establishing strict products liability by statute. In doing so, Virginia would …

How Judicial Application Of Cda § 230 And Fha § 3604 Have Created Safe Havens For Online Housing Discrimination, Sophia A. Studer

Law Student Publications

This article analyzes how the anti-discrimination language of Fair Housing Act section 3604 is currently out of reach for people being discriminated against online through the exclusionary language of Communications Decency Act section 230(c). The exclusionary language in CDA section 230(c) prevents liability from attaching to interactive computer service providers so long as the interactive computer service provider is not a creator or developer of information. Through the decisions of Zeran, Craigslist, and Roommate, the federal appellate courts created broad shield of immunity for interactive computer service providers, leading to a safe haven for discrimination online. Together the courts and …