Category: Arizona State Law Journal Blog

By Kole Lyons.In January 2021, a coalition of Idaho legislators introduced H.R. 320, The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judgeship and Reorganization Act of 2021. This proposal would leave the Ninth Circuit covering California, Guam, Hawaii, and the Northern Mariana…

By Stephanie Deskins.  Call for COVID-19 Vaccine Passports As the pandemic rages on, lawmakers across the country are desperate to reopen their communities and their economies. New York State introduced the digital “Excelsior Pass” in March, allowing individuals to regain…

By Brianna Pachuilo. After seventeen years without a single federal execution, the federal government resumed executing death-row inmates last summer in the midst of a global pandemic. This timing was curious with declining national approval of the death penalty and…

By Gideon Cionelo. “No one is above the law.” Presidents, protestors, and prosecutors often repeat this talking point because it emphasizes fairness and equal justice—integral parts of any legal system. But is it true? Well, not always. If you’re ultra-wealthy,…

By Hanna Reinke. Introduction COVID-19 has upended seemingly every aspect of life as we previously knew it. With all fifty states issuing independent emergency declarations and the federal government invoking emergency measures of its own, a large portion of life…

By Eric Wilkins. Arizona officials recently announced that they have acquired a supply of pentobarbital, a difficult-to-obtain lethal injection drug. Plans to resume executions will end the current period of nearly seven years without state-administered capital punishment. The ending of…

By Andrew KudlinskiOn March 22, a gunman opened fire at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, killing ten people. The shooting occurred soon after another gunman killed eight people at three different spas in Atlanta, Georgia. The horrifying attacks have…

By Joel TruettAt the beginning of this year Arizona Ethics Rule 5.4 formally ended. The Arizona Supreme Court announced the elimination of the rule last year, and has since gone into effect on January 1, 2021. The rule prohibited partnerships…

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…

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…