Amicus Blog
Census 2020: Race, Self-Determination, & Voter Suppression
In late April 2019, the Supreme Court heard oral argument for the Department of Commerce v. New York, 139 S.Ct. 1316 (2019), a case which asks whether the Secretary of Commerce’s decision to add a question to the Decennial Census about responders’ citizenship status...
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The Real Crisis at the Nexus of Education and Incarceration
Conversations among the political left have increasingly centered on student loan debt as the amount of loan debt, and the number of Americans saddled by it, has ballooned in recent years. The student loan debt crisis, which first gained traction as a mainstream...
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This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties: May 6, 2019
Welcome to This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. At the federal level, the Trump administration announced this week that medical professionals will be allowed to invoke religious and conscientious objections to rendering certain services and procedures,...
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This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties: April 29, 2019
This week, the Redacted Mueller report was released, Supreme Court experts warned of a potentially devastating decision on the citizenship question for the 2020 Census, multiple states imposed new aggressive regulations on voter registration efforts, and a US Attorney indicted two Massachusetts state court officials for allegedly allowing an undocumented person to avoid ICE enforcers at a state courthouse.
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Where the Confrontation Clause Gets it Wrong: Police Brutality Cases
As police officers continue to shoot and kill unarmed civilians, we must examine the disparity between police brutality and police accountability. Too many officers kill unarmed Black people with little to no consequences. One barrier to accountability is gathering witnesses, as witnesses are required to present themselves for trial to testify against accused officers.
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Border Flooding, the Wall, and a Failure of Government Accountability
Guest post by Victoria Ochoa. Victoria is a 1L at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Victoria is a Harry S. Truman Scholar, and was a Schedule C Presidential Appointee in the Obama Administration, where she worked as an assistant in the Secretary of Commerce’s...
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Corporate Criminal Responsibility: Banning Criminal Corporations from Lobbying Should Be Investigator’s #1 Tool
If there is a problem with corporate power undermining regulation and fomenting corruption, lawmakers should consider temporary incapacitation of the corporation’s political spending or lobbying activities. This practical tool addresses a corporation’s ability to skirt rules and regulations through artful use of their financial resources.
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Masterpiece Cakeshop: A Hostile Interpretation of the Colorado Civil Rights Commission
In Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colo. Civil Rights Comm'n, 138 S. Ct. 1719 (2018), the Supreme Court’s seven-member majority claimed that the Colorado Civil Rights Commission had exhibited “hostility” toward a Colorado baker’s religious beliefs.[1] But upon closer...
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Book Review: Charged: The New Movement to Transform American Prosecution and End Mass Incarceration, by Emily Bazelon
“Numbingly normal.” It’s how Emily Bazelon describes the outcome in Connick v. Thompson, a 2011 Supreme Court case that shielded prosecutors’ offices from liability for Brady violations resulting from the offices’ failure to train their attorneys. This immunity from...
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This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties: April 8, 2019
Welcome to This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. This week, Donald Trump visited the U.S.-Mexico border, arson attacks destroyed black churches, and uncertainty continued to surround the Mueller Report. President Trump Visits the U.S.-Mexico Border. On...
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Abuse of Power by ICE and CBP: Perspective from an Immigration Attorney and Water Drop Volunteer
Guest post by Kirsten Zittlau. Ms. Zittlau is an immigration attorney living in San Diego, California. She has volunteered dropping water in the California desert near the Mexico border for over two and half years. Ms. Zittlau has been an attorney since 2002 but made the switch to immigration law last year in order to advocate for immigrants and fight against the abuses of power by the current administration.
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Criminalizing Humanitarian Aid
Guest post by Justine Orlovsky-Schnitzler. Justine is the Media Coordinator for No More Deaths/No Más Muertes, a humanitarian organization in Southern Arizona.
The volunteers’ trial was not predicated on the prosecution proving guilt—our volunteers proudly hiked lifesaving supplies into the Cabeza Prieta Wilderness in August of 2017. This case was based on deeper questions of morality in the law, as federal immigration policy does not account for the reality of lives being lost along our border.
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New @HarvardCRCL post about Trump adding an immigration question to #2020Census. Trump's legal arguments and rationales are invalid. This is an effort to suppress the self-determination of black&brown communities & keep his white majority. @votolatino
https://t.co/OouN0uak9f
This episode of Taking Liberties, hosts Mahroh Jahangiri and Elizabeth Ross interview Angel Sanchez about his article on prison abolition. Also featuring Rund Khayyat and Melanie Fontes in conversation with Dr. Cynthia Boyer https://t.co/CYzsE5S8cC
Dope article by @DemisseSelassie on @HarvardCRCL "
@NipseyHussle was, as many now have understood, 'buying back his hood' – prudently redistributing wealth through job creation before speculative and irresponsibly profit-driven outsiders could arrive. #NipseyHussle https://t.co/cU0pok6xsF
The issues that most affect our brown communities deserve to be acknowledged on all platforms. Thanks for using yours @DemisseSelassie to share the reality of gentrification and the power of reinvesting in our brown communities. Check out the full piece on @HarvardCRCL ✨✨✨ https://t.co/pJJlwqiyCy
Agreed. Also reminds me of when @HarvardCRCL published this piece by Thomas C. O'Bryant on his experiences litigating pro se while incarcerated: https://t.co/4tUGWS8Kdx https://t.co/PhudU2czf2
So proud of my former student Nate Reisinger, whom I had the privilege of teaching during his 1L year at Carolina, for having his Note published in @HarvardCRCL. Congress enacted many of Nate’s specific recommendations weeks after the issue went to print. https://t.co/1E7Xte3CrA
Check out my new post in the @HarvardCRCL Amicus blog about why we should allow anonymous witness testimony in police brutality cases.
You can read it here:
https://t.co/FhUexZ7mdV