Legal Momentum Blog

The White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault releases its model memorandum of understanding for colleges and law enforcement.

Good news: Last week the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault issued its long-awaited model memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) on how universities and colleges should work together to handle campus sexual assault.

On January 22nd, the House of Representatives marked the 42nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that gave women the right to choose whether to carry a pregnancy to term, by passing a bill that permanently restricts federal funding for abortion. The only reason the bill was not even more draconian is that women GOP lawmakers revolted against the bill’s more severe provisions at the last minute. If there was ever any reason to doubt the importance of electing female legislators, the GOP congresswomen dispelled it with this action.

How many city officials does it take to figure out a reasonable accommodation for a pregnant police officer who is scheduled to take her promotional exam on the same day as her due date? In the case of Akema Thompson, who has been a police officer with the New York City Police Department for five years, the entire New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services ("DCAS") was apparently not enough.

What do Detroit, Cleveland and Milwaukee have in common? In this case, the answer has nothing to do with their geographic location or their size. Instead, it has to do with the fact that, in recent years, each has seen fit to enact nuisance ordinances with severely negative effects on domestic violence victims.