From the Executive Online Editor
Welcome to the new home for FULR’s online Notes! We’re excited to feature the exceptional work of our staff writers in a dedicated, still more readily accessible space. The culmination of countless hours of meticulous research, careful drafting, and painstaking revisions at all levels of this journal, these Notes embody the standards of excellence and rigor to which FULR holds its members. Whether you’re reading recreationally or conducting pre-legal research of your own, we hope you will depart with some novel insights about the American legal tradition and its contemporary manifestations. Don’t forget to check back regularly as we upload Notes from the latest FULR issue.
– Eli Salomón
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The Dignity Not Detention Act: Ending Profit From Immigration Detention
Molly Ewing* I. Introduction As home to Ellis Island and the diverse descendants of the migrants who passed through its doors, New York has long been considered one of the most welcoming cultural centers in the United States. Immigrants comprise more than twenty-two percent of the state’s population and more than one quarter of its…
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Misconduct and the Metaverse: Legal Prevention and Prosecution of Virtual Sexual Harassment
Sophia Staniunas* I. Introduction Sexual assault under any circumstance is considered a serious offense, both amongst the parties involved and in the eyes of the law. However, new forms of sexual assault, harassment, and depravities of the like have arisen with the introduction of the “metaverse.” A more recent understanding of the metaverse, now known…
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Catalysts of Change: The Case for the Pro-LGBTQ+ Legislation Spurred by the War in Ukraine
Amy Herd* I. Introduction The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, 2022 triggered a vicious conflict that quickly morphed into a grinding war of attrition. With civilian casualties totaling 16,150 on October 24, 2022, soldiers and citizens alike have been forced to grapple with the reality that they and their loved ones’ lives are…
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AB-1663: Reforming California Probate Conservatorship Law
Danielle Barber* I. Introduction “I’ve been in shock. I am traumatized. . . . I’m not lying. I just want my life back.” In recent years, under the microscope of social media, conservatorship law has become a popular point of public discourse. Probate conservatorship laws have been facing greater scrutiny, with many questioning present loopholes…
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Harvard’s Race-Conscious Admissions Practices: Constitutional and Pursuant to Supreme Court Precedent
Nicole Lowe* I. Introduction Since 1961, affirmative action has been seen as one way to rectify the damage done by slavery and its lingering effects. It was first officially introduced into United States law with President Kennedy’s Executive Order 10925 which directed government contractors to “take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and…
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Family Channels: Violators of Child Privacy
Aphrodite Stamboulos* I. Introduction As of 2021, roughly seven-in-ten Americans say they use social media. The most popular of these social media sites among Americans is YouTube; eighty-one percent of American adults alone report using the platform. On this free site, people can upload original content to share with the world, which has led to…
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An End to Unregulated Solitary Confinement: The Need for a Second Chance
Eli Salomon* I. Introduction In 2016, President Barack Obama issued an executive order banning solitary confinement of juveniles in all federal prisons. He asserted that “[t]he United States is a nation of second chances, but the experience of solitary confinement often undercuts that second chance.” Solitary confinement is the practice of removing a prisoner from…
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Shurtleff v. Boston: Balancing the Establishment Clause and Freedom of Speech
John Schneider* I. Introduction When first writing the Bill of Rights, the Framers recognized the need for the protection of religious freedom. To accomplish this, there needed to be a separation of church and state. The Establishment Clause (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion”) achieves this goal. Justice Hugo Black noted…
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A Taxonomy of Free Expression in Public Schools
Emma Kim* I. Introduction When delivering the opinion in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969), Justice Abe Fortas said, “It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” Since the First Amendment was ratified in 1791, its…
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The Impact of Trigger Laws: Arkansas’ Attempt at Challenging Roe v. Wade
Ahan Dhar* I. Introduction The right to abortion has always been a polarizing and divisive issue in the United States. State laws restricting access to abortions have existed since the 1900s, and it was not until the 1960s that a number of states began to legalize abortion, but only under specific cases including rape, incest,…
