Alexander Barouch

By Alexandra Nathe.Fresh water is the Earth’s most precious commodity, and its scarcity has been asserted to be the root of every major social challenge. Drought conditions are consistently prevalent in the deserts of the Southwest and are becoming worse with climate change. Consequently, desert residents, including Arizonans, are constantly working to conserve the little water they have access to. In February, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed a bill that should work to aid these conservation efforts.Modifying “Use It or Lose It”Arizona water law is exceedingly complex, and this bill only touches on a small portion of it.Regardless, this bill creates significant change in Arizona water law by modifying the traditional “use it or lose it” clause. A major benefit of water rights is that once an individual has them, they have…

By Lindsay Ficklin. In recent weeks, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has begun releasing asylum-seekers into Yuma, Arizona, a small town on the United States–Mexico border. The releases follow a surge in border apprehensions coupled with detention centers reaching capacity due to social distancing guidelines. According to one CBP Public Affairs Officer, these migrants are “processed for removal, provided a Notice to Appear, and released into the U.S. to await a future immigration hearing.” The release of these migrants into the small town of Yuma has raised concerns for some, including Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls. Specifically, the Mayor has expressed concerns that the small community lacks the resources to address the situation. For example, the town has no permanent migrant shelters or non-profits to house, feed, and support…

By Anna Boerwinkle. In 2017, Arizona state prisoner Walter Jordan called his daughter and told her he had severe skin cancer. In a Notice of Impending Death that he filed with the court, he claimed that he was being given insufficient healthcare and was suffering from pain and memory loss. As treatment, a prison dermatologist burned off a large section of Jordan’s scalp, leaving him open to infection. A doctor who later analyzed Jordan’s prison medical records claimed that Jordan likely “suffered excruciating needless pain . . . that was not appropriately managed.” An oncologist who later saw Jordan’s scalp called his wound “horrific,” stating that “immediate action” was needed because the patient was being exposed to dirt, heat, and flies. By the time Jordan finally got radiation therapy, the…

By Danika Marzillier. INTRODUCTION Early in 2021, the Arizona legislature was set to hear several bills that would impose regulations on groundwater pumping in rural areas. However, these bills never made it out of committee, or were lost on a vote in the House. The intent of this proposed legislation was to help begin to manage groundwater pumping in rural Arizona in light of the hot and dry years predicted to face the Southwest. In Arizona’s metropolitan areas, the Groundwater Management Act governs the pumping and use of groundwater and is largely considered one of the most comprehensive and extensive groundwater management plans. However, rural areas are subject to much less strict rules. Without management of these areas, small farmers, dependent on groundwater pumping to support their livelihood, are worried…

By Mitchell AntalisA series of four federal appellate court decisions in 2020 created a new circuit split regarding the legality of a Trump-era immigration rule adopted by the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) that altered the grounds for “public charge” inadmissibility determinations for noncitizens. The circuit split set the stage for a Supreme Court showdown early in 2021 in an appeal from a Second Circuit case, but it was recently dismissed upon joint request from all parties as the government lost interest in pursuing the appeal following policy changes instituted by the Biden administration. However, eleven states recently filed a motion to intervene in a Ninth Circuit appeal, so the issue is far from resolved.What Is the Public Charge Rule?TheImmigration and Nationality Act (INA), enacted in 1952, governs U.S. immigration…

By Elyse Pendergrass.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit created shockwaves when it ruled in October 2019 that administrative patent judges are unconstitutional as currently appointed. On March 1, 2021, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in United States v. Arthrex, Inc., and will soon decide whether or not the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s structure should be dismantled. America Invents Act (AIA) Restructures the Patent and Trademark OfficeIn 2011, Congress passed the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) to modernize the U.S. patent system. Among other reforms, the AIA established the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) as an adjudicatory body within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. PTAB is composed of over 200 administrative patent judges appointed by the Secretary of Commerce. The AIA grants PTAB the authority…

By Brie Alford. At the close of 2020, Congress enacted the long-awaited No Surprises Act, a bill providing federal protections against surprise medical bills. The Act will fill gaps in protection caused by states’ patchwork legislation and help prevent American families from incurring crippling medical debt. For the past decade, medical debt has been the leading cause of U.S. bankruptcies. This is largely due to surprise medical bills, which occur when a provider bills a patient for the difference between their fee for a service and the amount covered by the patient’s health insurance. Health insurance plans, most notably HMO’s, have a network of covered providers and facilities. When a patient visits an “in-network” physician or healthcare facility, the insurance company will cover the majority of the cost, and the…

By Catherine Swett.On February 26, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would protect nearly 3 million acres of public lands in the West. The Protecting America’s Wilderness and Public Lands Act is a collection of eight different public lands bills, which together would designate 1.5 million acres of public lands as wilderness, as well as add 1,000 miles of river to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The bill passed mostly along party lines with a 227 to 200 vote, with Democrats making up 219 of the affirmative votes.Conserving U.S. LandsIn an executive order signed in January, President Joe Biden committed to conserving at least 30% of the country’s lands and waters by 2030. This is an ambitious goal, as only 12% of U.S. lands are…

By Sarah Brunswick.Climatechange has had a rough few years. Last year, California saw a historic fire season, and Arizona had its hottest summer on record. Texas was recently devastated by an extreme winter storm that left millions without power or running water, and the aftermath quickly turned political.Rewinding a few years, disdain for climate change was a hallmark of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. He proudly exited the Paris Agreement early in his presidency, pushed for fossil fuel development across the country, and opened federal lands for oil leases. Responding to Trump’s actions and growing concerns about climate change, House members introduced a sweeping climate change bill in early 2019, dubbed the Green New Deal.Then-President Trump was openly hostile to the plan, and now-President Biden was a vocal skeptic during primary…

By Sydney Finley. Brief Background on Transgender Discrimination in the U.S.About 1.4 million transgender individuals live in the U.S., which is less than 1% of the total population. Despite these seemingly low numbers, however, transgender individuals face significant amounts of prejudice and discrimination, often starting in early education environments and continuing throughout their lives. The unfortunate stigma that continues to surround transgenderism and gender nonconformity can lead to significant mental health concerns and increased rates of suicide in transgender individuals (especially in transgender youth). Although progress often seems slight, federal courts over the last two decades have slowly and systematically begun to chip away at transgender discrimination. For example, numerous federal courts have held that national sex discrimination laws such as Title VII, Title IX, the Fair Housing Act, and the…