Volume 17, Issue 1 (Fall 2019)

Posted in Issues Archives

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A CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE UNRESOLVED LEGACY ISSUE

Edward M. Neafsey

In his First Inaugural Address, President Abraham Lincoln said: “Wherever [the people] shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember and overthrow it.”  These insightful words provide an apt description of a tumultuous period (1968-72) in Northern Ireland’s history.  It was the start of “the Troubles.”  This four-year period began with the Northern Ireland nonviolent civil rights movement calling for government reform.  It ended with the rise of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Northern Ireland on the verge of civil war. Read more.

SORTING SOLUTIONS: THE FIX TO THE INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORK ON CYBERWARFARE AND CYBERTERRORISM IS A DECISION TREE, NOT A MAGIC BULLET

E. Claire Newsome

The internet is an international wild west.  Cyberattacks, such as the Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee (“DCC”) and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (“DCCC”) private servers, are becoming more prevalent and easier to implement.  Arising with the prevalence of cyberattack are concerns that international law is not apt to defend against them or punish them.  Defining the new problems presented by cyberattacks and finding a solution to address them has become a preeminent goal of international legal scholars.  Typically, the scholarship defines problems individually and then addresses why a single solution will help one or all of those problems. Read more.

WHY NEW JERSEY SHOULD ABANDON WINNER-TAKE-ALL ELECTORAL ALLOCATION

Joseph Isola

In the fight for American independence and for the birth of democracy, New Jersey served as the “Crossroad of the Revolution”.  Countless Americans died in the over one hundred revolutionary battles that took place in New Jersey.  After serving as the heartland of the battle for American independence, New Jersey proudly played a major role in the creation of the American democracy.  Yet, today, when it comes to one of the most fundamental democratic values – voting – New Jersey is not the leader that it once strived to be.  New Jersey, through the usage of the winner-take-all method of electoral allocation, does not promote representative results, participation in election, or electoral choice.  New Jersey has become an unattractive campaign destination for presidential candidates and has left the State unable to influence the presidential selection process.  Additionally, this has placed New Jersey in a difficult position to influence national policy in a favorable way for the people of New Jersey.  “Presidential candidates spend relatively little time in New Jersey, except to fly in for fundraisers and leave the same day.  They really know nothing about [the] state’s issues.”  However, by abandoning the winner-take-all method, in favor of the congressional district method, New Jersey can reclaim its position as a leader in promoting democracy and influencing the national political stage. Read more.

REVAMPING THE MEGAN’S LAW REGISTRANT RISK ASSESSMENT SCALE: RANKING REGISTRANTS FAIRLY AND ACCURATELY WHILE EFFECTIVELY PROTECTING THE COMMUNITY

Joseph C. Antonakakis

Pursuant to most state registration statutes, sex offenders convicted of certain sex offenses must register with authorities and are oftentimes subject to strict community notification depending on the facts of the offender’s offense. A uniform tool was created to ensure the fair and accurate ranking of sex offender community notification requirements.  The Registrant Risk Assessment Scale (“RRAS”) is predominantly used by courts and prosecutors as a uniform scale to ensure the fair and accurate ranking of sex offenders.  The RRAS was drafted by a team of prosecutors, psychological experts, and legal scholars, who had experience working in with Megan’s law and with individuals who had committed sex offenses. However, the RRAS and sex offender registration procedures as a whole have recently come under fire as being too stringent.  Psychological experts cite new studies on sex offender recidivism, which allegedly affect the practical and monetary efficacy of Megan’s Law statutes.  Read more.