Do Not Access – Is Law Enforcement Access to Commercial DNA Databases a Substantial Privacy Concern?

(Source) The use of forensic genetic genealogy (FGG) as an investigative tool for law enforcement has become, “if not exactly routine, very much normalized.” The normalization is in large part due to law enforcement’s use of FGG to identify and arrest the Golden State Killer. The April 2018 arrest gained national recognition, and subsequently, so

Student Loans: An Evolving Balancing Act of Public and Private Lenders

(Source)   As the political circuit heats up, politicians have acknowledged the public’s growing concern for the student debt crisis. The issue has taken center stage, especially among millennial voters, as collective student debt in the United States has hit $1.5 trillion—becoming one of the largest consumer debt categories. The rise of student debt parallels

An Examination of Compensation Following Wrongful Convictions

(Source) As mass incarceration continues to plague the United States criminal justice system, improved technology and evidence-gathering techniques seek to identify and exonerate the wrongfully convicted. Those accused of a crime may be wrongfully convicted for a variety of reasons such as eyewitness misidentifications, coerced false confessions, faulty forensics science, incompetent public defenders, and suppression

Policy Reflection: Should We Affirm Affirmative Action?

(Source)   “Life is a marathon, but minority runners often start the race from further back than do whites.” Do you agree or disagree with this quote? How about in the context of higher education? It is no secret that increasing diversity in higher education is a goal for many educational institutions. Affirmative action is

Leaving the Kids Table: Giving Labor a More Prominent Place at the Bargaining Table

(Source)   Since the late 1950’s the National Labor Relations Act has not seen any significant changes, allowing laws that were meant to govern a very different time period to remain as the bedrock of collective bargaining. Today, unionization rates demonstrate the challenges that unions are facing, with only 10.5% of the American workforce being

National Labor Relations Board Gives Graduate Student Unions Whiplash

(Source)   As the unionization rate in America continues to decline, union leadership has been searching for new industries, groups, and workplaces in which they might have success with unionization campaigns.  One sector of employees that unions have been exploring is graduate students.  While the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) has swapped positions on allowing

Student-Athletes Getting #Sponsored?: A Look at the NCAA’s Vote to Modernize Name, Image, and Likeness Bylaws

(Source)   On Tuesday, October 29, the governing board of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) voted unanimously to begin the process of “modernizing” their bylaws to allow student-athletes the opportunity to benefit monetarily from the use of their name, image, and likeness. The decision comes after years of discussion by NCAA officials and the

Proposed New York Legislation Could Be A Novel Way To Address The Decline In Local Journalism

(Source)   More than 1,300 communities in the US have totally lost local news coverage, according to a University of North Carolina School of Media and Journalism study from late 2018. This nationwide decline in local journalism hit two New York State legislators close to home when Verizon announced that it was closing the doors

Bailing Out: How Bail Reform Can Change the Mass Incarceration Landscape

(Source)   Every year, millions of people presumed innocent are held in prison awaiting trial. For some, this may mean days. For others, years. Khalief Browder, for instance, was a sixteen-year-old held on bail for three years. Two years after his release, he committed suicide. Khalief never stood trial, nor was he ever found guilty

Over A Year Without Net Neutrality: Do We Really Need It?

(Source)   July marked one full year since net neutrality regulations were repealed. Net neutrality is often defined as “the idea, principle, or requirement that internet service providers should or must treat all internet data as the same regardless of its kind, source, or destination.” Internet service providers (“ISPs”) are companies that provide internet access

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