Category: Civil Rights
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The Unconstitutionality of Modern Plea Bargaining: Curbing Prosecutorial Vindictiveness
Ava Chen — Plea bargaining is a central fixture of the American justice system—an estimated 98% of criminal cases are resolved through guilty pleas, with only 5% of defendants exercising their right to a jury trial. According to a headnote for Bordenkircher v. Hayes, plea bargaining regards the negotiation between a prosecutor and defendant whereby…
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More Than Money: The Costs of Caretaking for People with Disabilities
By Jeannie Kim — Many states have instituted governmental programs that provide support for people with disabilities that also assist those who are low-income. One major federal provision that often intersects with these disability rights programs is the U.S. Housing Act of 1937. Section 8 of this piece of legislation includes the Housing Choice Voucher…
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Bill 96: A Violation of English-speaking Rights in Québec
By Sidney Singer — In Canada there are multiple pieces of legislation that protect the rights of citizens to live their lives in one of the two official languages, English or French. The earliest, the British North America Act in 1867, implemented French and English as official languages of the parliament, followed by the Official…
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Justice Until Death: The Necessity of Swift and Good-Faithed Capital Punishment
By Justin Murdock — There are two factions when it comes to the debate over capital punishment: one believes it is legitimate retribution for heinous criminal acts, while the other believes it is the epitome of archaic punishments which violate the principles of the Eighth Amendment. Capital punishment in the United States is limited to…
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Electronic Surveillance, the Fourth Amendment, and the NYPD’s “Muslim Surveillance Program”
By Annie Akbar — In a letter to James Madison after the French Revolution had begun, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “The earth belongs always to the living generation… Every constitution, then, and every law, naturally expires at the end of 19 years. If it be enforced longer, it is an act of force and not of…
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The Economic Impact of Prison Labor for Incarcerated Individuals and Taxpayers
By Sarah Payne — The United States’ prison population is currently the second highest globally, falling closely behind China at just over 1.5 million individuals incarcerated.[1] This means the United States accounts for approximately 25% of the world’s prison population, despite accounting for just 5% of the world’s population overall.[2] Furthermore, the average cost of…
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The Implications of New Title IX Regulations for Institutions of Higher Education
By Anna Shin — The establishment of Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools that receive federal funding, has protected students for nearly five decades by holding educational institutions accountable for cases of sexual discrimination. Notably, Title IX has played a significant role in equity in athletics, sexual harassment and violence, and protections for…