By Courtney Squires Pursuant to § 63.2-100 of the Virginia Code, “physical neglect” is defined as “the failure to provide food, clothing, shelter, necessary medical treatment, or supervision for a child to the extent that the child’s health or safety is endangered.”[1]  The child protective services (CPS) manual, authored by the Virginia Department of Social Services, elaborates on the administrative code by identifying numerous types … Continue reading False Protection: Why Some Neglect Statutes Jeopardize the Best Interests of the Child

By: Albert Gutierrez Filing for bankruptcy can be beneficial for many debtors who do not have the ability to pay off their debts and struggle to keep up with their financial obligations.[1] Some advantages of filing for bankruptcy include the automatic stoppage of debt collection activities, the cancellation of some acquired debts, the ability to exempt certain property and possessions, and a clean slate to … Continue reading Looming Risk of Healthcare Crisis Amid the Nearing End of the Pandemic Health Emergency

By: Kiana Gilcrist Research shows that black women are disproportionately impacted by domestic violence.[1] 58 percent of black females who knew their offender were killed by a current or former intimate partner.[2] Further, for women of color and their families experiencing higher rates of poverty and lower rates of financial stability, fewer options for safety exist for them when they are attempting to escape abuse.[3] … Continue reading Domestic Violence effects on African-Americans

By: Bushra Haque The pandemic is finally seeming to come to an end. The majority of the nation is vaccinated and have received their booster, and increased vaccine access will continue to keep people protected against COVID-19.[1] However, we cannot celebrate too much just yet, because there is another health crisis on the horizon— millions of people are at risk of losing healthcare coverage.[2] During … Continue reading Looming Risk of Healthcare Crisis Amid the Nearing End of the Pandemic Health Emergency

By: Katie Rose Should we, as a society, be allocating funds into safe drug use or put those funds toward rehabilitation, education, and prevention? In a sense, the logic behind providing and promoting safe drug use is to prevent harm and minimize the risk of drug related death, but the real harm is in enabling addicts and users to keep using. In the past two … Continue reading Safe Drug Use Is Not the Answer

By: Haley Edmonds Last year, President Biden debuted the “Justice40” initiative, which sets out to advance environmental justice (“EJ”) by funneling 40% of all federal environment- and climate-related funds to “disadvantaged” communities.[1] This initiative has drawn recent attention due to the contentious methodology used in the proposed EJ screening tool, which designates a given census track as  “disadvantaged” if it meets a series of socioeconomic … Continue reading “Don’t say Race:” Why is Biden Taking a Colorblind Approach to Environmental Justice?

By: Callie Keen On March 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization of 2022 into law.[1] The reauthorization of this Act extends protections and resources to victims of domestic violence across the nation.[2] In particular, the Act seeks to address an issue wherein the United States justice system has consistently failed victims of domestic violence: legal recourse for American Indian and … Continue reading Domestic Violence on Tribal Land: Increasing Access to Legal Recourse for Native American and Alaska Native Women

By: Amanuel Mekonnen With the difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing need to fashion systems to increase access to justice, there has been renewed engagement with the concept of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR). ODR is the use of information technology and online communication services to facilitate non-litigative means of settling disputes.[1] It is an outgrowth of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), and includes … Continue reading State and Local Courts Should Fully Embrace Online Dispute Resolution