There are two things that are always certain in life: death and taxes. But in Vegas, certainty becomes a trinity of death, taxes, and gambling. Contrary to the age-old saying, what happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas, and some visitors are surprised when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reaches out after a fun trip. When considering the taxation of gaming, particularly in Nevada, the factors of game type, residency, and risk aptitude all play into the odds of being properly taxed after gambling in Las Vegas…

In light of the recent controversy surrounding the Presidential Election of 2020 regarding compromised election integrity, states have begun to draft their own bills attempting to address concerns of voter fraud. One such state is Texas, whose congress recently introduced Senate Bill 1 (SB1). This bill is not only the most comprehensive of the new bills, but it has also been met with the most disapproval. The subsequent backlash of SB1 has resulted in several groups suing the state, citing that the bill introduces discriminatory provisions that unfairly restrict certain demographics from voting. While Americans wait for the deliberation of the bill amidst a foggy cloud of partisan narratives, it is important to delve into the content of the bill itself to determine what is really written inside SB1 and see if the lawsuits’ claims hold any merit…

Thanksgiving festivities may be over for now, but the US government’s gruesome history towards Indigenous people remains. From disrespecting numerous treaties signed with Indigenous communities to forced assimilation via residential schools, US-Indigenous relations have been tumultuous to say the least. Due to these actions, the US government could possibly face consequences for violating international law. In order to see if that is the case, a few questions must be answered first. Do the US government’s actions towards Indigenous communities fit the UN Convention’s definition of genocide for any crimes committed after 1948? And what happens if the US government is found guilty of committing genocide against Indigenous peoples?…

In the state of Illinois, a third DUI violation is a Class 2 felony. But, under Illinois law, even if a defendant gets a DUI charge dismissed after successfully completing a sentence of supervision, that sentence can be used as one of the three violations to upgrade a DUI to a Class 2 felony. This understanding, while accepted by a majority of the Illinois Supreme Court, violates basic principles of statutory construction and contradicts the common public understanding of the words of the statute…

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the way children learn in school. Public K-12 school districts have begun to impose mask mandates, which has angered some groups of parents. These parents have argued that school districts are infringing on their parental rights to determine how they medically take care of their children. As a response to this, some governors in states such as Florida, Texas, and South Carolina have created mask mandate bans to allow parents to have more freedom over their children's well-being in schools. There are three main groups that believe they have the legal authority to protect minors in schools: parents, school districts, and governors. Ultimately, this raises the question of which group has the legal power to make health decisions in public schools?…

Privacy and surveillance have evolved tremendously throughout the history of America. The fine line between individual privacy and protection is thinning at an incredible rate. While the right to privacy is deemed as a fundamental right protected by the government, it has been breached by third parties who are not under the same expectation. In this way, tech giants are stomping on our rights to privacy by selling our information to the government. While this civil liberty is protected by the government, it does not mean our protection will not be attacked by other entities. Privacy has seen severe changes through the evolution of technology and will most likely continue to see changes. Unfortunately, the issue of privacy is not something private companies are obligated to protect…

Capital punishment is currently legal in 27 states in the U.S., but there have been many efforts in some of these states to ban it altogether. The most recent state to ban the death penalty was Virginia, which replaced capital punishment with a sentence of life without parole in 2021. Then, on April 13th, 2021, the Nevada State Assembly attempted to follow in their footsteps and passed the death penalty repeal bill with a vote of 26-16. All Democrats voted in favor of the bill, and all Republicans voted against it. The death penalty repeal bill (AB 395) would have abolished capital punishment in Nevada and changed 70 current death row inmates’ sentences to life without parole. Once the bill advanced to the Senate, however, it became a less expansive bill (SB 228) that would abolish the death penalty for all future offenses but keep the same sentences for those already on death row in Nevada. Nonetheless, the bill failed when legislators could not reach a consensus on possible amendments, and this halted any possible efforts to reform the bill before the legislative deadline. Realizing that the Senate was having trouble on agreeing to amendments for the bill, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak said “there is no path forward” to ban the death penalty in Nevada…

As a childhood Disney actor that grew up to be an iconic pop star, Britney Spears has always been in the public eye. Unfortunately, Britney’s fame has recently been relegated to courtroom appearances. On June 24, 2021, Britney Spears spoke to a judge publicly about her life under a probate conservatorship, bringing the elusive entity of conservatorships into the spotlight. Conservatorship legislature varies by state and locality and is typically applied within probate courts. Britney Spears’ conservatorship of the estate and conservatorship of the person were created by the Superior Court of California in 2008. Conservatorships are widely misunderstood, but current public outrage is accurate in identifying that Britney Spears' conservators may have violated the law…

The work from prison labor could be seen everywhere. From constructing clothing to creating license plates to making coffee, prison labor is the foundation of many of the products Americans use every day. However, these products are often created in unsafe environments that can result in serious injury, which may be a constitutional violation. Despite operating like employees, prisoners are often denied the same protections that typical employees get. When inmates are treated as “employees,” they are compensated to remedy injuries sustained while working, similar to typical employees. When they aren’t treated as “employees,” courts rule that they are not guaranteed to be protected from negligence on the part of prison officials…