France wins 'France.com' trademark dispute in US federal appeals court
The US Fourth Circuit held on Thursday that France is immune from US trademark infringement claims brought by the former owner of “France.com.” Circuit Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, joined by Judges Henry Floyd and Allison Jones Rushing, said the French government did not engage in commercial activity that would negate its sovereign immunity when it [...]
A Miscarriage of Justice: The Pleaing of Tony DeDolph and the Elusion of Accountability
On January 23, 2021, Chief Petty Officer Tony DeDolph of the U.S. Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) was sentenced to ten years in prison for the involuntary manslaughter of Staff Sergeant Logan Melgar of the U.S. Army Green Berets. DeDolph, “pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit assault, involuntary manslaughter, hazing, and obstruction of justice,” [...]
I. Introduction Much of U.S. governance is held together by goodwill, unwritten norms, and the ideals that “that would never happen” and “no one would ever do that.” Every hope of continued reliance on these norms was “shattered” on January 6, 2021, when armed insurrectionists invaded the U.S. Capitol. Under the direction of the President, [...]
The History of Territorial Occupation by China and Its Relationship to COVID-19
The entire world is grappling with the COVID-19 catastrophe which according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine has affected the lives of at least 13.4 million people and the demise of more than 581,000 people across the globe. Due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous countries were forced to implement nationwide lockdowns resulting [...]
“I can’t breathe”, “please, please, please”. These words are still fresh in the mind of netizens all around the world and will continue to ring shock and anger in their hearts for a long time to come. These were the last words of African-American George Floyd before he was consciously murdered by a group of [...]
When we talk about defunding the police, we focus on what we can see. We imagine hiring fewer cops to flock in subway stations and wander sidewalks. We picture fewer high-priced tanks and military-grade tools of war in our communities. But today’s policing infrastructure also spends millions of dollars on an invisible, sprawling data surveillance [...]
I, as a white woman, have bit by bit come to understand how racism is at the heart of much of our legislation and has been for all of our history. As a young person in the late 60’s I thought that changing our laws could create equality. As a Catholic Sister dedicated to social [...]
See No Evil: Sotomayor highlights the Roberts Court’s blind eye to discrimination
Today, the U.S. legal system faces a public that is becoming increasingly impatient with systemic unequal protection of the law. As the peaceful arbiter of disputes in a democratic society, the judiciary cannot stray too far from that public, lest its legitimacy be lost. However, recent Supreme Court jurisprudence has pulled that judiciary further from [...]
On May 22, 2020 Bombay High Court said that the Right to a Decent Burial is a facet of the Right to Life. This decision was based on a plea which contested burial of COVID-19 patients in burial grounds surrounding the residential areas. The court dismissed the petitions and quoted from Oscar Wilde: “Death must [...]
Mandamus and the Proper Role of Amicus Curiae in the Michael Flynn Case
On Monday, Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia filed his response to the petition for mandamus brought by General Michael Flynn in the D.C. Circuit regarding Sullivan’s handling of the Justice Department (DOJ) Motion to Dismiss the false statement charges against Flynn. Flynn had pleaded guilty to [...]
