Miscellaneous

Covering some of the most interesting topics of the CLO, this section highlights diverse areas of law, including sports and entertainment.

A Break in Tradition

April 14, 2019

In a historic moment in North Carolina’s judicial history, Justice Cheri Beasley was sworn in as the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of North Carolina on March 7th, 2019. Her appointment is historic in two ways: (1) upon her appointment, Chief Justice Beasley has become the first African-American woman to hold the position in the State’s history; and (2) her appointment breaks the long-held state tradition of appointing the senior associate justice to the position. THE FIRST [...]

Judge Strikes Down State Constitutional Amendment

April 14, 2019

Judge Collins of the Third Division of the Superior Court ruled two amendments to the North Carolina Constitution, effectuated by N.C. Session Laws 2018-117 and 2018-128are now void. Judge Collins wrote in his opinion, “an illegally constituted General Assembly does not represent the people of North Carolina and is therefore not empowered to pass legislation that would amend the state’s constitution.” Judge Collins is referring to when the General Assembly redrew the [...]

It’s Not A Heart Issue: A look into the recent abortion war in Iowa

April 14, 2019

When it comes to a woman’s right to an abortion, the spotlight has recently been focused on New York. However, recently there has been an abortion war in Iowa where two battles that took place that ended in a victory for the pro-abortion activists. The first battle that took place was the fight in the Iowa legislature to stop a new restrictive abortion law from being passed. The second battle consisted of the fight that ensued in the Iowa courts after the bill was signed into law. The [...]

Cell phones and the 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination

April 7, 2019

Data security technologies, like those used on both Apple and Samsung cell phones, continue to provide consumers with features aimed at increasing their data security. Apple says iPhone users unlock their phones an average 80 times a day. Samsung’s newest device allows users to unlock their phones with an on-screen fingerprint scanner. Apple has included fingerprint technology (Touch ID) on their phones since 2013 and now offers Face ID, which allows users to unlock certain iPhones by [...]

International legal rights of children living with disabilities: The realizations behind country-level implementation

April 1, 2019

International guidelines paint a relatively clear picture of the legal rights that all children living with disabilities share across the globe. These rights apply regardless of the region in which the child lives. The rights are inherently fundamental. These international human rights standards serve as excellent guidelines for countries looking to adopt and modernize their disability laws. However, country-level implementation of these international laws on an individual country basis can [...]

A guide to Canada’s recent legalization of recreational marijuana

April 1, 2019

With the passage of the Cannabis Act, Canada just became the first G7 nation to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults on a federal level. Under the new policy, Canadian adults may legally possess up to 30 grams of marijuana in public. On October 17, 2018, Canada passed the Cannabis Act, legalizing the recreational use of marijuana for adults. According to the Canadian Department of Justice, the Cannabis Act “creates a strict legal framework for controlling the [...]

A divided court and a controversial travel ban: Trump v. Hawaii

March 23, 2019

Those following American politics will have heard of President Donald Trump’sProclamation No. 9645, a travel ban on nationals from eight foreign countries, including Chad, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. On June 26, 2018, the controversial travel ban was fortified in a 5-4 decision by the Supreme Court in Trump v. Hawaii. (2018). President Trump’s Executive Orders On January 27, 2017, immediately after taking office, President Trump issued Executive [...]

Real Estate Transactions: where efficiency and consumer protection collide

March 22, 2019

Buying and owning land has been an important aspect of society throughout history. The transaction will likely be the biggest investment a person will ever make throughout their life; however, states have been changing their laws to favor efficiency over consumer protections of homebuyers. [...]

Better than Resilience: Getting Ahead of the Struggle

March 22, 2019

A critical analysis of the tension between psychological resilience and the typical characteristics of law students and lawyers suggests that a more proactive approach is needed to resolve the pervasive mental health problems we are reluctant to admit. [...]

The dilemma behind autonomous vehicles: Creating morality laws to regulate self-driving cars

March 19, 2019

Cutting-edge vehicles like the popular Tesla Model S come equipped with autonomous driving features granting them the ability to control themselves. Artificial intelligence enables the car to manage speed, direction, and adapt to traffic patterns—eliminating the need for a human driver. However, are these machines capable of everything that a human driver can do? The answer is no; there is one important thing that these supercomputers cannot do—perform ethical decision making. [...]