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Gen Y More Black Corporate Directors, Chaz Brooks

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Corporate diversity has been in the spotlight for decades. Recent efforts have followed years of legal scholarship, arguments on the business rationale for greater diversity, and more recently, the racial unrest during the summer of 2020. Called by some, a “racial reckoning,” the summer of 2020 catalyzed many corporate declarations on the importance of diversity, and more to the point of this article, the necessity of righting the economic disadvantages of Black Americans. This article looks specifically at one intervention by a corporate player following summer 2020, Nasdaq’s volley to increase corporate diversity through required disclosure. This article reviews the …

Gender Pay Equity: An Analysis Of The United States Women’S National Team Soccer Settlement, Joni Hersch, Delaney M. Beck

Utah Law Review

Even though the United States Women’s National Team (“WNT”) has been far more successful than the United States Men’s National Team (“MNT”), the team members have experienced unequal treatment from the United States Soccer Federation (“USSF”) since its inception. In March 2019, members of the WNT filed suit against USSF, alleging that it had violated the Equal Pay Act (“EPA”) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The complaint alleged that USSF had a policy of discriminating against the WNT due to their players’ gender by paying them less than the MNT and providing them with lesser …

Break Their Lineage, Break Their Roots: Investigating The Chinese Government’S Relationship With The Uyghur Population To Determine The Potential For Terrorism And Genocide, Anya Veinberg

Helm's School of Government Conference - American Revival: Citizenship & Virtue

History is wrought with war, crime, and persecution. After nearly every conflict, world leaders vow to never let something similar happen again. Yet, history seems to repeat itself, and so do its conflicts. The Holocaust claimed the lives of millions of Jews and seemed to set a precedent of a modern threshold of evil. How many people would argue that an event strikingly similar to the Holocaust is happening right now in China?

The Chinese government is currently committing acts of violence and faith and race-based discrimination against the Uyghur population.

This work analyzes the interaction between the Chinese government …

With Pride: Lgbtq+ Rights & Advocacy In Legal Education Summit, Center For Civil & Human Rights, School Of Law, Gonzaga University

Gonzaga School of Law With Pride Summit

Event program for the 2024 With Pride Summit held by the Center for Civil & Human Rights at Gonzaga Law.

The program includes the summit schedule and bios for panelists and moderators, including the keynote speaker, Kellye Testy. Featured speakers include:

• Luke Boso
• Stewart Chang
• Ashlyn Hannus
• Sarah Harmon
• Heather L. Johnson
• Courtney Joslin
• Sheldon Lyke
• Dallas Martinez
• Ikál Nico Quintana
• Brad Sears
• Sarah Steadman
• Kyle Velte
• Danaya C. Wright
• Mary Yu

Racial Targets, Atinuke O. Adediran

Northwestern University Law Review

It is common scholarly and popular wisdom that racial quotas are illegal. However, the reality is that since 2020’s racial reckoning, many of the largest companies have been touting specific, albeit voluntary, goals to hire or promote people of color, which this Article refers to as “racial targets.” The Article addresses this phenomenon and shows that companies can defend racial targets as distinct from racial quotas, which involve a rigid number or proportion of opportunities reserved exclusively for minority groups. The political implications of the legal defensibility of racial targets are significant in this moment in American history, where race …

Preliminary Injunctions Prevail Through The Winter Of Buckhannon, Kaitlan Donahue

Northwestern University Law Review

The Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Awards Act of 1976 allows courts to award attorneys’ fees to the “prevailing party” in any “action or proceeding” enforcing several civil rights-related statutes. Yet, this statute fails to define the term “prevailing party,” leaving the courts to define it over time. The Supreme Court’s piecemeal, vague definitions of “prevailing party” have only complicated the legal landscape and caused more uncertainty for potential plaintiffs and their prospective attorneys. Without the relief offered by recovery of attorneys’ fees, private litigants may be dissuaded from pursuing meritorious litigation due to overwhelming costs of representation, and attorneys may …

Toward Accessing Hiv-Preventative Medication In Prisons, Scott Shimizu

Northwestern University Law Review

The Eighth Amendment is meant to protect incarcerated individuals against harm from the state, including state inaction in the face of a known risk of harm. While the Eighth Amendment’s protection prohibits certain prison disciplinary measures and conditions of confinement, the constitutional ambit should arguably encompass protection from the serious risk of harm of sexual assault, as well as a corollary to sexual violence: the likelihood of contracting a deadly sexually transmitted infection like HIV. Yet Eighth Amendment scholars frequently question the degree to which the constitutional provision actually protects incarcerated individuals.

This Note draws on previous scholarship on cruel …

Shots Fired, Shots Refused: Scientific, Ethical & Legal Challenges Surrounding The U.S. Military's Covid-19 Vaccine Mandate, Shawn Mckelvy, L. William Uhl, Armand Balboni

St. Mary's Law Journal

The COVID-19 pandemic provided uncertain and challenging circumstances under which to lead a nation and the military that protects it. Those in charge and in command faced unique challenges—scientific, ethical, and legal—at our various levels of government to both keep people safe while keeping government and society functioning. While there were many successes to celebrate, there are also many criticisms for how this “whole-of-government approach” may have degraded some of our most cherished liberties along the way. The authors focus on the U.S. military’s vaccine mandate and propose military leaders may have failed to fully consider the evolving science, weigh …

Amdip Annual Meeting Of Law School Diversity Professionals: Hosted By Roger Williams University School Of Law: April 23-25, 2024, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

The Misguided Use Of The Harvard/Unc Ruling To Thwart Law Firm And Other Private Employer Dei Efforts, Ronald A. Norwood

SLU Law Journal Online

This article explores the Harvard/UNC ruling and what, in the author’s view, is the misguided efforts by certain political and well-financed private actors to use that ruling to justify the eradication of private employers and law firm DEI efforts. It is the author’s firm belief that because the Supreme Court’s holding is limited to an analysis of the Constitution’s Equal Protection clause (limited to state actors) and Title VI (covering private actions receiving federal funding), that ruling should not be used by courts to quash DEI programs designed to level the employment playing field for minorities, women and other protected …

The Right To Violence, Sean Hill

Utah Law Review

Scholars have long contended that the state has a monopoly on the use of violence. This monopoly is considered essential for the state to assure the safety and security of its citizens. Whereas public officers have the broadest authority to deploy violence, in order to make arrests or to inflict punishment, private citizens allegedly have severe restrictions on their use of force. Specifically, the state is said to only authorize private violence when civilians face an imminent threat of unlawful force or when civilians are attempting to prevent a crime.

Yet the state explicitly authorized private violence against enslaved people …

The Antidote Of Free Speech: Censorship During The Pandemic, Christopher Keleher

Catholic University Law Review

Free speech in America stands at a precipice. The nation must decide if the First Amendment protects controversial, unconventional, and unpopular speech, or only that which is mainstream, fashionable, and government-approved. This debate is one of many legal battles brought to the fore during Covid-19. But the fallout of the free speech question will transcend Covid-19.

During the pandemic, the federal government took unprecedented steps to pressure private entities to push messages it approved and squelch those it did not. The Supreme Court will soon grapple with the issue of censorship during the pandemic. This article examines this litigation, along …

Labor Pains: The Inadequacies Of Current Federal Pregnancy Laws And The Alternative Routes To Accommodation, Sara Alexander

Mississippi College Law Review

Although many women are able to work through their pregnancies without employer accommodations, some pregnant workers who require accommodations "are forced out of their jobs unnecessarily when minor adjustments would enable them to keep working." In 2003, a hardware assembler in Ohio was terminated after her doctor limited her weight-lifting to twenty pounds and ordered that she work no more than eight hours at a time. In 2009, a retail worker in Kansas was fired because she needed to keep a water bottle with her in order to stay hydrated and prevent bladder infections. In 2011, an activity director at …

The Work-Rule Doctrine Doesn't Work After Reeves V. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Grafton Bragg

Mississippi College Law Review

This Note is about an existing plague on employment-law jurisprudence in the Fifth Circuit. Small and big companies alike can terminate an employee for no discriminatory reason but then be tagged with a lawsuit that has a fair chance of success, just because the disgruntled former employee is willing to lie or the parties disagree over the facts. This is true even though no evidence of actual discrimination exists. The work-rule doctrine changes at-will employment to good-will employment under the guise of federal employment discrimination statutes. Whatever your position is on the longstanding at-will employment regimes, there can be no …

Protecting "Sincerely Held Religious Beliefs": Lessons From Mississippi Hb 1523, Lindsay Krout Roberts

Mississippi College Law Review

The United States Supreme Court's revolutionary ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which guaranteed marriage equality for homosexual couples in every state, gave life to a new challenge in the area of free exercise of religion: to what extent should persons with religious objections to same-sex marriages be forced to participate in them? Should a Christian baker be legally required to bake a wedding cake for a homosexual marriage to which he or she objects? Must a county clerk with religious objections to homosexual marriage sign a marriage license for a same-sex couple?

In an attempt to pre-empt these types of …

Rwu Law Alumni Newsletter April 2024, Roger Williams University School Of Law

RWU Law

No abstract provided.

Public Health Consequences Of Appellate Standards For Hostile Work Environment Claims, Lauren Krumholz

Washington Journal of Social & Environmental Justice

No abstract provided.

Forced To Bear The Burden And Now The Children: The Dobbs Decision And Environmental Justice Communities, Mia Petrucci

Washington Journal of Social & Environmental Justice

No abstract provided.

The California Supreme Court Replaces Gingles Prong One, Bruce A. Wessel, Jason D. D'Andrea

Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum

No abstract provided.

Fraudulent Vote Dilution, Jason Marisam

Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum

In recent years, the Republican Party and conservative groups have brought lawsuits that advance a novel type of voting claim, which this Article calls fraudulent vote dilution. This claim asserts that an election rule is unconstitutional because it makes it too easy to cast fraudulent ballots that, when tabulated, will dilute the strength of valid and honest ballots. With the 2024 election nearing, the Republican Party may again test fraudulent vote dilution claims in court, as it seeks injunctions to make liberal election rules stricter in ways that make it harder for Democratic voters to cast ballots. This Article advances …

Spies, Trolls, And Bots: Combating Foreign Election Interference In The Marketplace Of Ideas, Nahal Kazemi

Fordham Law Voting Rights and Democracy Forum

Foreign disinformation operations on social media pose a significant and rapidly evolving risk, particularly when aimed at American elections. We must urgently and effectively address this form of election interference. This Article examines potential responses to those risks, through a review of the unique characteristics, both practical and legal, of political advertising on social media platforms. This Article analyzes proposed legislative responses to foreign disinformation, noting that no single proposed law to date adequately addresses the threats and challenges posed by foreign disinformation. This Article considers the election law landscape in which the proposed laws would operate. It evaluates the …

Law School News: Rwu School Of Law Launches Institute For Race And The Law And Celebrates Champions For Justice 3-22-2022, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Cardozo’S Civil Rights Clinic Wins Fifth Circuit Appeal For Client In Police Misconduct Case, Cardozo Civil Rights Clinic

Cardozo News 2024

Civil Rights Clinic students Zoe Burke ’23 and 3L Rahni Stewart recently won an appeal for their client in a police misconduct case in Kenner, LA.

Then They Came For Us: Access To Justice Harm And Opportunity For Our Transgender And Nonbinary Youth, Sarah Steadman

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Transgender and nonbinary youth are under legislative and political siege as the latest victims in our nation’s culture wars. They are acutely aware of the hostility towards their existence and best interests, damaging their often already precarious well-being. There is a concerning risk they will associate biased and antagonistic lawmakers with our entire legal system, including legal service providers. Fear of encountering discrimination and bias leads targeted individuals to avoid accessing services. I fear that means too many among this generation transgender and nonbinary youth may avoid addressing their legal health needs as they age.

Consequently, the legal profession must …

Closing The Door On Human Dignity: How The Supreme Court Blocked The Path To Relief For Victims Of Title Ix Discrimination, Bailey Wylie

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

This comment exposes the far-reaching consequences of Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller and scrutinizes the Supreme Court’s reliance on contract law principles to deny victims of discrimination recovery of non-economic damages.

For almost 50 years, courts have awarded emotional distress damages to victims of discrimination. Consequently, the Court’s lack of notice argument within Cummings falls flat through a cursory analysis of precedent. In the context of Title IX discrimination, school districts are undeniably aware of the possibility of sexual harassment liability at the time they accept federal funding. Mandated Codes of Conduct explicitly prohibit sexual harassment and outline ramifications for …

The Persistence Of Separate And Unequal: Debunking Myths Of The Market In Bargaining For Faculty Gender Salary Equity, Johanna E. Foster, Jen Mcgovern

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

The Persistence of Separate and Unequal:

Debunking Myths of the Market in Bargaining for Faculty Gender Salary Equity

ABSTRACT

For over a century, feminists have challenged occupational gender segregation as a mechanism to rationalize the devaluing of work assigned to women. The social movement momentum in the second half of the twentieth century helped narrow gender pay gaps both within and across occupations. Recently, apologists for gender discrimination have gained ground in obfuscating the role of gender segregation in reproducing salary inequity, pointing to a black box of “market forces” that presumably account for the devaluing of feminized fields, inside …

The Supreme Court And Children, Aaron Tang

Northwestern University Law Review

How do children fare at the Supreme Court? Empirical research on the question is sparse, but existing accounts suggest a disheartening answer. A 1996 study found that children lost more than half of their cases in the Court, and a pair of prominent scholars lamented twenty years later that “the losses in children’s rights cases” had “outpace[d] and overwhelm[ed] the victories.”

In this Article, I present evidence that complicates this understanding. Based on an original dataset comprising 262 Supreme Court decisions between 1953 and 2023, I find that children have prevailed in 62.6% of their cases. This win rate is …

Worthless Checks? Clemency, Compassionate Release, And The Finality Of Life Without Parole, Daniel Pascoe

Northwestern University Law Review

Life without parole (LWOP) sentences are politically popular in the United States because, on their face, they claim to hold prisoners incarcerated until they die, with zero prospect of release via the regularized channel of parole. However, this view is procedurally shortsighted. After parole there is generally another remedial option for lessening or abrogating punishment: executive clemency via pardons and commutations. Increasingly, U.S. legal jurisdictions also provide for the possibility of compassionate release for lifers, usually granted by a parole board.

On paper, pardon, commutation, and compassionate release are thus direct challenges to the claim that an LWOP sentence will …

Once Is Enough: Why Title Ix's Pervasive Requirement Necessitates Adopting The Totality Inquiry, Evan S. Thompson

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

A New Private Law Of Policing, Cristina Carmody Tilley

Brooklyn Law Review

American law and American life are asymmetrical. Law divides neatly in two: public and private. But life is lived in three distinct spaces: pure public, pure private, and hybrid middle spaces that are neither state nor home. Which body of law governs the shops, gyms, and workplaces that are formally accessible to all, but functionally hostile to Black, female, poor, and other marginalized Americans? From the liberal midcentury onward, social justice advocates have treated these spaces as fundamentally public and fully remediable via public law equity commands. This article takes a broader view. It urges a tort law revival in …