When Interstate Federalism and Environmental Protection Converge

California: the Vanguard of Environmental Protection California remains the forerunner for environmental protection.  The Golden State has been in the forefront of efforts to protect the environment from transportation and air quality greenhouse (“GHG”) emissions.  When Congress began implementing federal regulations, the legislature, consciously chose to permit California to blaze its own trail with a… Read More When Interstate Federalism and Environmental Protection Converge

“Star” Wars 2016: Analysis of Celestial Property Rights Under H.R. 2262, and the International Opposition to the U.S. SPACE Act

By: John Brainard   In passing the recent Spurring Private Aerospace Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship Act of 2015 (“U.S. SPACE Act”), Congress allows U.S. companies to boldly drill where no man has drilled before. On November 25, 2015, President Obama signed the U.S. SPACE Act into law after being adapted from a piece of similar legislation known… Read More “Star” Wars 2016: Analysis of Celestial Property Rights Under H.R. 2262, and the International Opposition to the U.S. SPACE Act

“Obamatrade”—The DMCA, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the Impact Here in America

Since 1998, digital works in the U.S. have been protected by law under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), a broad policy which aims to prohibit the unlawful dissemination of copyrighted material over the internet.  Despite its purported benefits, it has frustrated both content owners and users alike.  Owners, who claim that the law fails… Read More “Obamatrade”—The DMCA, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the Impact Here in America

Obama Allots $4 Billion into Technology Education

By: Courtney Nicole Fears Computer science and technology are now considered requirements of a public school education.  According to the Obama Administration, technology education should be a part of a core curriculum for children from Kindergarten through twelfth grade.  In January, the Obama Administration announced the allotment of $4 Billion in funding for states to ensure… Read More Obama Allots $4 Billion into Technology Education

Proposed Legislation will Benefit Passengers of Ride-Sharing Services

By: Devin Woolf   On September 15, 2015 the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Financial Services heard four different proposed bills regarding Transportation Network Companies. The proposed bills all had one objective in mind, to regulate the commonly used ride-sharing services in Massachusetts such as Uber and Lyft.   The proposed legislation seeks to protect passenger… Read More Proposed Legislation will Benefit Passengers of Ride-Sharing Services

Social Media Could Cause Some Journalists to be Labeled as ‘Belligerents’ by Military

By: Christopher Sawin   Over 2 billion people use social media everyday to express their ideas, feelings, emotions, and even their view on the War on Terror. Additionally, over 67% of journalists use social media as a platform to report their work.  But, what happens when the First Amendment clashes with the new Department of… Read More Social Media Could Cause Some Journalists to be Labeled as ‘Belligerents’ by Military

Laws of War: The Legality of Creating an Army of Super Soldiers

By: Christopher E. Sawin   Whether reading books or watching movies, such as RoboCop, The Terminator, and even X-Men, super soldiers have universally been considered somewhere between science-fiction and fantasy-fiction.  However, until recently, the idea of creating an army of super soldiers, as war fighting killing machines may become a reality sooner than you may… Read More Laws of War: The Legality of Creating an Army of Super Soldiers

No "Sexts” for You

By: Doug Mondell It’s the oldest story in the book: sixteen-year-old girl “sexts” sixteen-year-old boy explicit pictures of herself, and boy “sexts” girl back. Well, maybe it’s not the oldest story, but it seems like pretty normal teenage activity, right? What’s not normal is that both teens were charged with distributing explicit material to minors.… Read More No "Sexts” for You

Cyber-Security is a Must to Protect American’s Electronic Privacy

By: Sam Syska Imagine you are a high-level executive with extremely sensitive and personally identifiable information stored on your desktop. You then have your desktop linked to your laptop, which is linked to your iPad and finally, your phone. Now assume that none of your devices are properly encrypted and a group of hackers are… Read More Cyber-Security is a Must to Protect American’s Electronic Privacy

Car Trouble: Taxi Service App “Lyft” Penalized for Forcing Users to Accept Unsolicited Ads

By: Philip Kachajian   It is no understatement to suggest that phone-based taxi service apps such as Uber and Lyft have fundamentally altered what for so long had been an industry completely dominated by traditional taxi companies. As with so many other fields, the world of taxi’s, courtesy cars, hotel and airport shuttles, and limos, once… Read More Car Trouble: Taxi Service App “Lyft” Penalized for Forcing Users to Accept Unsolicited Ads

Police Body Cameras and the Violation of Privacy in One’s Home

By: Angelica Diaz Within the last year, the amount of news coverage on police brutality has increased tremendously.  Unfortunately, it has become a part of society to see social media postings regarding different types of brutality and unlawful escalation of the use of force by law enforcement officials while on duty.  As a result of… Read More Police Body Cameras and the Violation of Privacy in One’s Home

New Congressional Bill Answers Whether U.S. Has Authority to Access Email Servers Located in Ireland

By: Daniel Larson A federal investigation into a drug trafficking operation has unexpectedly sparked a highly controversial debate over Internet privacy and the boundaries of search warrants. The stage was set when The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) obtained a warrant and demanded access to Microsoft’s email servers located outside of the U.S. in Dublin, Ireland.… Read More New Congressional Bill Answers Whether U.S. Has Authority to Access Email Servers Located in Ireland