Journal of Civil Rights & Economic Development
JCRED Announces New Editorial Board for the ...

JCRED ALUMNI FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

The Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development Alumni Faculty Spotlight:

We’re excited to feature Ayanna Yasmin Thomas (JCRED ’15) as a new Alumni Advisor for the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development!

Ayanna currently serves as General Counsel for Democracy Prep Public Schools, a multi-state charter school management organization that provides support to underserved schools in New York, Texas, and Nevada. In this role, she provides counsel to all three regions and advises on strategic planning.

Prior to joining Democracy Prep, she served as outside counsel for K-12 public, charter, and private schools, as well as higher education institutions.

Beyond her professional achievements, Ayanna enjoys traveling and spending time with her family and friends.

We are so grateful to have her guidance as our 2L Staff begin their note-writing journey this year.

JCRED Announces its 2025 Best Notes Award Winners

Monse Perez wins first place and Juliet Tomaro wins runner up!

The Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development is pleased to announce Monse Perez as the 2025 Best Notes winner and Juliet Tomaro as runner up.

Monse Perez’s Note, “Threading the Needle: How State Legislatures Can Regulate Restrictive Covenants in the Absence of Federal Regulation.”

Juliet Tomaro’s Note, “After the Storm: Human Trafficking in the Shadows of Natural Disasters in the United States.”

We will be celebrating our winners at our Best Note Ceremony on November 3rd, 2025 where the winners will give a presentation on their note topics.

Special Thanks for our Spring Symposium

On Thursday JCRED hosted our Spring Symposium - "Speech on College Campuses in the 21st Century: The Legal System's Role in Determining Who Can Speak and What Can Be Said." We are grateful to our wonderful panelists, Eli Wald, Gene Policinski, Adam Goldstein, Mark Tushnet, and Christine Emeran, our amazing moderators, Catherine Baylin Duryea and Tyler Rose Clemons, and our eloquent opening speakers Dean Jelani Jefferson Exum and Professor Catherine Ross. Finally, a huge thanks to our JCRED staff, our faculty advisors, Professor Elaine Chiu and Dean Rosa Castello, and Symposium Director Fiona Donovan, for all their work at making this Symposium come to life.

JCRED Spring Symposium

JCRED is proud to announce our Spring Symposium, "Speech on College Campuses in the 21st Century: The Legal System's Role in Determining Who Can Speak and What Can Be Said." The Symposium will be next Thursday, April 3rd, at 10am. The order of events can be found down below. In order to attend in person or remotely please RSVP at this link (RSVP Symposium Link). We hope to see many of you there and are excited for a great discussion!

Order of Events:

10-10:20am - Introduction & Opening Remarks. Welcome by Dean Jelani Jefferson Exum (St. John’s University School of Law) and Opening Remarks by Professor Catherine Ross (George Washington University Law School).

10:20-11:30am - Panel 1: History of Political Protest. Moderated by Professor Catherine Baylin Duryea. Speakers/Authors: Professor Eli Wald (University of Denver Sturm College of Law) & Gene Policinski (Freedom Forum).

11:30-12:30pm - Break

12:30-2pm - Panel 2: Discrimination on College Campuses. Moderated by Professor Tyler Rose Clemons (St. John’s University School of Law). Speakers/Authors: Adam Goldstein, JD (Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression), Professor Mark Tushnet (Harvard Law School), and Christine Emeran, PhD (National Coalition Against Censorship).

2-3pm - Closing & Networking Festivities.

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development presents our spring symposium - “Speech on College Campuses in the 21st Century: The Legal System’s Role in Determining Who Can Speak and What Can Be Said.” The Symposium will be hosted in the Moot Court room on April 3rd from 10am until 2pm.