In re Baby M presented a truly groundbreaking fact pattern that had not yet been adjudicated in New Jersey, and has achieved a near iconic status, in New Jersey and across the country. Its legacy is somewhat surprising, though, since the case itself did very little in terms of announcing new law. In essence, the… continue reading
Michael Moore, Mississippi State Attorney General, triumphantly proclaimed the settlement of the tobacco litigation as “the most historic public health agreement in history.” Since that moment, numerous scholars and public health advocates have lined up to debate the effectiveness of litigation in accomplishing public health policy objectives. No scholar denies the fact that litigation can have… continue reading
Animal welfare groups like the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Compassion Over Killing (COK) are diligent in their efforts to improve the lives of egg-laying hens and continue to push legislation at both the federal and state level to improve farm animal lives, but the process can be slow. What’s more, the… continue reading
In many ways, Mark A. Sargent was a textbook example of an upstanding citizen. He was educated at Wesleyan University, where he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa and went on to complete a Master of Arts in Medieval Studies at Cornell University. After completing a law degree (also from Cornell), Sargent practiced… continue reading
The American prison system has grown and expanded considerably over the past three decades. From 1977-2005, the amount of offenders entering prison increased by approximately 400 percent. Alongside the dramatic increase in the number of inmates came an increase in fiscal expenditures, totaling forty- three billion dollars spent in 2005 to maintain the imprisonment rates… continue reading
A SYMPOSIUM PRESENTED BYTHE PUBLIC INTEREST LAW CENTER OF PHILADELPHIA Thursday, October 6, 2011 View More
The role of a judge and his or her resulting discretion over a given case form a powerful and central feature of the legal system in the United States. While it is true that a case is “decided” by a jury, the judge who hears the matter still wields a substantial degree of control over… continue reading
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (“CPA”), signed on January 9, 2005, brought an end to the brutal civil war (1955-1972; 1983-2005) that engulfed Sudan since its independence in 1956. The CPA was the immediate culmination of the negotiations that ended the hostility between the National Congress Party (“NCP”) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (“SPLM/A”). It… continue reading
In light of the recent economic situation in the United States, more individuals have become unemployed, meaning that more individuals have filed for and have obtained unemployment benefits. The purpose of the Federal-State Unemployment Insurance Program is to provide unemployment benefits to workers who are unemployed “through no fault of their own” by giving temporary… continue reading
“[T]he States . . . expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.” The above quotation is from the preamble to the Bill of Rights of… continue reading
