Alexander Barouch

By Joanna Jandali. In 2013, two Arizona parents’ lives were shattered when they learned that ISIS had taken their daughter hostage in Syria. Kayla Mueller grew up in Prescott, Arizona, attending Northern Arizona University where she received a bachelor’s degree in political science. From a young age, Kayla dedicated herself to helping others. In high school, she won awards for her volunteer efforts; in adulthood, she worked around the world, advocating for human rights issues and providing humanitarian assistance. Kayla’s selflessness is what ultimately brought her to Syria in 2013. On August 3, 2013, Kayla and a friend traveled to Aleppo to help fix the internet at a Doctors Without Borders compound. ISIS fighters abducted her one day later. In 2015, after two horrifying years trying to secure Kayla’s release,…

By Sydney Plaskett. On March 30, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey enacted a wave of controversial bills, one of which mandates documentary proof of US citizenship (DPOC) to vote in elections. While the law will likely be shut down in the courts, it could potentially cut off voting for at least 31,500 Arizona voters in the interim. Even more concerning is the risk that the facially unconstitutional bill will survive the impending legal challenges, given the conservative makeup of the Supreme Court. If the law remains, its impact on Arizona voters could be disastrous. A Closer Look at the Law House Bill 2492 requires all Arizona voters to provide documentary proof of US citizenship. It also requires voters to provide a home address on their registration forms. Arizona is the only…

By Sarah Doberneck. On March 1, 2022, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Kahn v. United States, which involves an Arizona doctor convicted of unlawfully prescribing controlled substances. Specifically, the doctor was convicted for an opioid pill peddling scheme. The case highlights the conflict between the government’s need to control the opioid epidemic and a doctor’s responsibility to treat patients for their pain. Overprescribing of Opioids and the Resulting Epidemic In the 1990s, health care providers began prescribing opioid pain relievers at higher rates than ever before. This was largely due to pharmaceutical companies’ assurances that opioids were not addictive and thus could safely treat patients’ pain. The increase in opioid prescriptions led to widespread misuse of both prescribed and non-prescribed opioids before it became…

By Noah Goldenberg. Reauthorization of VAWA On March 15, 2022, President Joe Biden reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act (“VAWA”). VAWA’s reauthorization clarifies the limits of a debilitatingly narrow view of tribal criminal jurisdiction. Passed with bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress, VAWA recognizes Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction (“STCJ”) over non-Indians who commit “covered crimes” against Indian women and children within Indian country, including child violence, domestic violence, stalking, dating violence, and violations of protective orders. Like the U.S. and  its states, tribal nations are recognized sovereigns, so it may come as a surprise to many that, until VAWA’s 2013 reauthorization, federal Indian law limited tribal criminal authority over non-Indians. Before 2013, federal courts limited tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians because of a particularly unfortunate Supreme Court holding in…

By Luke Sower. On March 15, the U.S. Senate passed by unanimous consent the Sunshine Protection Act. This bill—if it passes the House and receives the signature of President Biden—would make Daylight Savings Time (DST) permanent across the United States. History of Daylight Savings Time Despite the story told to many American schoolchildren, modern Daylight Savings Time was almost certainly not an invention of Benjamin Franklin. Rather, the modern iteration of the practice grew out of Europe, when Germany adopted Daylight Savings Time in 1916 to conserve fuel during World War I. The rest of Europe followed suit, and the United States adopted the Standard Time Act in 1918. This act confirmed the existing standard time zone system and implemented Daylight Savings Time. After the war, Congress abolished Daylight Savings…

By Natalie Packard. Gas prices across the nation have been at a record high for the past several weeks. Inflation has been sharply rising for months, spiking as the U.S. cut off Russian oil imports after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In response to taxpayers’ frustration about the $4.33 gas price average, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly introduced the Gas Prices Relief Act of 2022 on February 9th to temporarily suspend the federal gas tax until January 1, 2023. Arizona Representative Tom O’Halleran introduced companion legislation to the House of Representatives. Gas Prices Relief Act The federal gas tax is currently 18.4 cents per gallon. The revenue goes to the Highway Trust Fund and pays for much of the federal transportation spending. Senator Kelly’s bill would require the cuts to go directly…

By Matthew Adler. A High-Profile Case As many Arizonans have probably heard, the Supreme Court of Arizona recently invalidated a large and highly publicized piece of legislation known as Senate Bill 1819. The case, Arizona School Boards Association v. State, made waves in both the legal and non-legal communities and is notable for several reasons. First, the invalidated legislation was politically controversial, addressing hot-button subjects such as mask mandates and voter fraud. Second, the Court was unanimous in holding the Republican-passed bill unconstitutional, which is significant given that all seven justices of the Supreme Court of Arizona were appointed by Republican governors. Third, the Court’s holding relied on a long-dormant constitutional provision, potentially heralding a revolution in the Court’s judicial-review jurisprudence. The Single-Subject Rule Although the Court’s opinion covered a…

By Stefan Oakley. In Puente v. Arizona State Legislature, the Arizona Court of Appeals considered whether a group of non-profit organizations and Arizona residents (together, the Appellants) could hold the state legislature accountable, in court, for an alleged breach of Arizona’s Open Meeting Law (the “OML”). Appellants alleged that 26 members of the Arizona state legislature planned to attend a three-day summit hosted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Once there, the legislators would meet with lobbyists and other state lawmakers to draft model bills. Appellants asserted that this was an issue because the legislators said to be in attendance constituted a quorum of certain legislative committees and were thus potentially in violation of the OML. Under Arizona law, a meeting is “the gathering, in person or through technological…

By Emily Tegley. When does a single criminal offense end and another begin? The Supreme Court addressed this issue in the recent opinion Wooden v. United States. THE ARMED CAREER CRIMINAL ACT In 1984, Congress passed the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”) to address repeat offenders. The ACCA applies to individuals who have three or more prior convictions for: (1) a violent felony; and/or (2) a serious drug offense. To be sentenced under the ACCA, the offenses must have been “committed on occasions different from one another.” If the ACCA applies, then the individual faces a minimum of fifteen years in prison. WOODEN AND THE ARMED CAREER CRIMINAL ACT In 1997, William Dale Wooden and three other individuals entered a storage facility in Dalton, Georgia. The individuals gained access to…