Arizona State Law Journal Blog

By Kelsey Weinman. On May 19, 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 8 (S.B. 8), also known as the Texas Heartbeat Act. SB 8 effectively bans abortion in Texas as it prevents abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, often before a woman even knows she is pregnant. The current Supreme Court precedent, Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, holds that women have a constitutional right to pre-viability abortions. On September 1, 2021, the Supreme Court signaled that it may be prepared to overturn Roe and Casey by letting S.B. 8 go into effect. How did we get here?  In 1973, the Supreme Court decided the seminal abortion case Roe v. Wade. In Roe, the Court held that a state could not regulate abortion…

By Kaylee Racs. In November 2020, citizens of Arizona voted to pass Proposition 207, otherwise known as the Smart and Safe Arizona Act (SSAA). In addition to legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults 21 and older, the SSAA contained a provision (now codified as A.R.S. 36-2862) allowing certain individuals to petition the court for an expungement order sealing past marijuana-related convictions. Who Is Eligible to Have Their Past Convictions Expunged? Beginning July 12, 2021, those who were arrested for, charged with, or convicted of any of the following three offenses are eligible to apply for expungement: Possessing, consuming, or transporting two and one-half ounces or less of marijuana, of which not more than twelve and one-half grams was in the form of marijuana concentrate. Possessing, transporting, cultivating, or processing not…

By Luke Sower. Say goodbye to dinner and a show, and say hello to dinner and a check for $300. On August 23, the National Park Service (NPS) announced a two-month long increase in the bonus payments for participation in its Brown Trout Incentivized Harvest program in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The increase comes as NPS hopes to increase public participation in managing the population of the non-native trout species. Anglers who take advantage of the program have an opportunity to earn sizable bounty payments while simultaneously contributing to the protection and preservation of endangered and threatened fish species in Arizona. Background In October 2020, NPS and the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) announced a joint initiative aimed at managing the population of brown trout within a…

By Kylie McNamara. Over the past few weeks, the world has watched chaos unfold in Afghanistan. The Taliban has taken control of the country, causing Afghan men, women, and children to flee. The media shared images of desperate scenes at Kabul’s airport where an explosion killed many, including thirteen United States servicemembers. As of September 8, more than 124,000 individuals have been evacuated from Afghanistan—a number that is expected to grow. At least one report has identified Phoenix as the most ideal American city for Afghans’ resettlement. On August 29, Arizona received its first group of this new wave of Afghan refugees. Their arrival naturally leads to the question—what is next? A Survey of the Options After experiencing a tumultuous exit from their home country, likely leaving with few belongings,…

By Miranda Martinez. Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford at the age of 19 to start Theranos, a startup that promised to revolutionize blood testing forever. Theranos sought to reinvent the blood-testing industry by creating a technology that could test for dozens of health conditions with the mere prick of a finger. At one point, Theranos was valued at more than $9 billion. Subsequently, however, Theranos endured a very bumpy road and was ultimately dissolved after it was discovered that the company’s technology didn’t work. Elizabeth Holmes is now charged with defrauding patients and investors by lying about the accuracy of Theranos’ blood-testing technology. What is Theranos? Theranos was expected to be the next big Silicon Valley startup, touting fast and accurate blood tests for a variety of health conditions.…

By Kylie Horne. A taking is when the government seizes private property for a public use. On July 26, 2021, the Supreme Court decided Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid that addressed the question: Is there a Fifth Amendment “taking” when a state regulation allows union workers access to agricultural worksites for a few hours on certain days of the year?. The Supreme Court’s decision overturned decades of precedent, leaving the future of “takings” litigation full of new possibilities coupled with uncertainty from unanswered questions. THE FACTS: In 1975, California enacted the Agricultural Labor Relations Act (ALRA) which in turn led to the creation of the Agricultural Labor Relations Board (the “Board”). Shortly after its formation, the Board enacted a regulation that allowed union organizers access to agricultural worksites. Under the…

By Emilio Giuliani III. For nearly a decade, Expo2020 has been the anticipated event in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Since 2013, billboards at Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest international airport, have welcomed tourists to a global get-together years in the making. As a UAE resident for half a decade, during this period I was inundated with references in my professional life from Expo-themed project proposals to the inclusion of the Expo2020 logo in every email signature. Despite the extensive preparation, the unprecedented pandemic threw a tremendous wrench into the World Expo that has surprisingly accelerated sweeping legal changes across the country. Shifting Sands for the Future For well over a decade, the UAE has been strategically investing its oil profits to diversify and modernize its economy. As a…

By Maria McCabe. At the end of last month, the United States’ 20-year war in Afghanistan ended with the chaotic evacuation of over 120,000 people from the Kabul airport, including U.S. citizens, Afghans, and citizens of other countries. What happens next presents intertwined logistical and policy challenges. Logistically, the Biden administration plans to resettle at least 60,000 evacuated Afghan nationals in the U.S. in the near future. Some have already landed in the U.S., where they are being housed at military sites until refugee resettlement agencies confirm their placements. Others have been taken to emergency processing centers in countries like Germany and Qatar before coming to the U.S. All will be, or have been, thoroughly vetted. But once the government completes the gargantuan challenge of processing that many individuals, what…

By Nicholas A. Traver. On August 26, in Alabama Association of Realtors v. Department of Health and Human Services, the United States Supreme Court vacated the Center for Disease Control’s (“CDC”) eviction moratorium. The Court held that the CDC’s reliance on section 361 of the Public Health and Service Act (“PHSA”) (found at 42 U.S.C. 264) for authority to create and enforce the moratorium was an overstep of power. For such broad power to be exercised, Congress would have had to explicitly address the issue. To best understand the Court’s decision and its reasoning, it is important to review the events of 2020 and 2021 that  led to  the ban on evictions. Brief Summary of the Moratorium Timelines THE CARES ACT: Two weeks after declaring COVID-19 a national emergency, Congress…

By Emily Tegley. Serving as a juror and jury selection are common plots in popular media. The legal thriller Runaway Jury, CBS television show Bull, and true crime anthology The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, all dramatize jury selection and feature jury consultants who carefully assist lawyers in choosing jurors who will look favorably upon the lawyer’s case. The reality of jury selection from a potential juror’s point of view is less exciting. A typical jury selection experience involves receiving a notice to appear, arriving and joining a crowded group of potential jurors, undergoing jury selections, likely disqualification and dismissal. There are generally two methods through which potential jurors can be disqualified from serving on a jury. First, jurors can be dismissed for cause. This occurs when a…