Immigrants as Second-Class Humans

Treatment under U.S. Immigration Law

By Mary Armistead
‪Mary Armistead, a third year law student at Albany Law School, received her undergraduate degree in psychology at Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina. She is an Executive Editor for Notes and Comments on the Albany Law Review and a research assistant for Professor Melissa Breger.
While in law school, Ms. Armistead has interned with a variety of public interest organizations and she intends to continue utilizing her legal education upon graduation to provide services to disenfranchised populations.
She prepared this paper on the human rights abuses against immigrants for Prof. Halewood's International Human Rights course, Spring 2013.

The United States is often heralded as a model for human rights standards based on the protections granted to its own citizens. At the same time, it fails to protect the human rights of immigrants.

The current United States immigration scheme systematically treats immigrants as unentitled to basic human rights. This system-wide failing must be identified, understood, and eradicated from our immigration law so that immigrants' basic human rights are protected.

During the impending immigration reform process, Congress should ensure that immigrants are no longer treated as second-class humans and, instead, are afforded the dignity inherent in all human people. This paper examines various ways that current U.S. immigration law results in human rights violations against the immigrant population within our border.
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To read the paper, open HERE.

Islamic Philosophy in Just War Theory and International Law

Whatever Happened to the Faith of Peace?

By Patrick M. Domery
Patrick Domery is a 2013 graduate of Albany Law School. He is currently an Excelsior Fellow at the Higher Education Services Corporation.  Writing this paper was an educational experience for Patrick who, despite having studied philosophy as an undergraduate, had relatively little exposure to Islamic philosophy.  Patrick built upon previous work on just war in the West to learn about Islamic philosophy and draw parallels and distinctions from Christian and Greek traditions. 
Patrick's essay, "The Just War Philosophy," was previously published on ILS.
This paper was prepared for the International Law of War & Crime Seminar, Fall 2012.


In the United States, the Islamic world is often portrayed negatively in the media and popular culture as a region of terror and bloodshed. Contrast this with the repeated claim that Islam is a faith of peace.

By looking at the philosophical underpinnings of Western just war theory and Islamic philosophy, this paper attempts to show the major similarities and differences between the two. Ultimately, this paper attempts to determine whether Islamic philosophy is compatible with the current system of international law.
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To read the paper, open HERE.

India’s New Stock Exchange: MCX-SX

By Brittiny B. Razzano

Brittiny Razzano is a third-year law student at Albany Law School, concentrating in Business Law, Estate Planning, and Tax Law.  She graduated from Union Graduate College in 2011 with a Master's in Business Administration and was inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma International Honor Society.  She graduated magna cum laude from Bentley University in 2008 with a Bachelor’s in Finance and was inducted into the Financial Management Association National Honor Society.  Prior to law school, she worked in the financial services industry.  
Ms. Razzano serves in multiple leadership roles at the law school including: Pro Bono Project Director for the Elder Law Project, Lead Articles Editor for the Albany Law School Journal of Science and Technology, President of the Business and Tax Law Society, Director of Finance for the Pro Bono Society, and Vice President and Pro Bono Liaison of the Albany Law School Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.
Ms. Razzano interned with the Low Income Taxpayer Clinic at Albany Law School, as well as the NYS Department of Financial Services and the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance. She also clerked at the Pierro Law Group, L.L.C. and the Timothy S. Hart Law Group, P.C.  She is currently a law clerk at the Herzog Law Firm, P.C .
Ms. Razzano prepared this paper for Professor Alexandra Harrington’s course in International Business Transactions, Spring 2013.

India’s new stock exchange, the MCX-SX, commenced trading earlier this year. The first section of this paper begins with a review of some of the history of India's stock markets as well as its economy. It then examines securities, regulation, settlement information, funds and Global Depository Receipts (GDRs), some background on Indian and foreign investors, and taxes It also reviews the two current competing stock exchanges.

The second section provides information on the MCX-SX itself, including a background, a discussion of its index, SX40, and the perceived advantages and challenges of the exchange.

The final section provides a discussion of where others in the industry believe the MCX-SX is headed, as well as what are the important aspects of an exchange to an individual investor.

The main purpose of this paper is to provide a survey. As such, many topics that could each be the subject of an extensive paper are only touched upon briefly.    
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To read the paper, open HERE.