The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act or COPPA was passed in 1998 and amended in 2012. “The primary goal of COPPA,” wrote the FTC in the FAQ, “is to place parents in control over what information is collected from their young children (under ... [Read more...]
Advance Health Care Directives (“Living Wills”) and Powers of Attorney for Health Care Decisions
The old saw warns us that there is nothing certain but death and taxes, yet we may fail to plan for either. We can prepare for taxes through careful record-keeping and allocation of our finances and, with some forethought, we can plan for end-of-life ... [Read more...]
The Policy and Law of Supervised Drug Injection Sites
The opioid epidemic has sent doctors and legislators scrambling for solutions. The federal government has attempted to both block access to opioids and improve treatment options for those who are already addicted. The medical community has looked to ... [Read more...]
The Shape of a District: Gerrymandering and Political Power
With a little over two months remaining until the November midterm elections, three federal judges of the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that North Carolina’s map of congressional districts had been drawn to offer a deliberate and ... [Read more...]
He Said, She Said, Then They Agreed: Mediating Divorce and Custody
If you are in the midst of a divorce or separation and looking for a way to resolve custody issues with as little hostility and expense as possible, you might want to consider mediation. Mediation may give you more control over the process: you ... [Read more...]
Charting Change of Venue
Recently, attorneys for President Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, informed the judge in Manafort’s pending D.C. trial that they would seek a change of venue, although they did not yet know where they wanted the trial to be held. Such ... [Read more...]
The Transformation of ICE
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) has become a flashpoint for political disagreement; some Democrats have been calling for its abolition, while the House of Representatives passed a Republican-backed resolution in support of the ... [Read more...]
Arbitration Clause Pros and Cons
If you’ve read through a contract lately, you may have noticed language that states, “Any claims arising out of this contract shall be settled by arbitration.” You may wonder what this provision means and what advantages or disadvantages it ... [Read more...]
The Dangerous Politics of Revoking John Brennan’s Security Clearance
The topic of national security clearances has been in the news lately; however, confusion persists about what a national security clearance is and when (typically) it can be revoked. National security clearances became the focus of ... [Read more...]
Understanding Claims of Voter Fraud
Over the past few years, the news has been full of claims of voter fraud: vague and terrifying allegations that the American electoral process has been undermined by deliberate efforts to subvert the system. “Voter fraud” evokes the image of people ... [Read more...]