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Full-Text Articles in Law
Subverting Symbolism: The Matthew Shepard And James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act And Cooperative Federalism, Kami Chavis Simmons
Subverting Symbolism: The Matthew Shepard And James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act And Cooperative Federalism, Kami Chavis Simmons
Faculty Publications
Hate crimes continue to persist in the United States and undermine the traditions and values to which the country aspires. Until recently, however, the stringent jurisdictional limitations of existing federal legislation made it difficult for the federal government to prosecute these crimes. In October 2009, President Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard James Byrd Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act (the "HCPA"). The HCPA significantly expands the federal government's authority to prosecute defendants accused of hate crimes because it dispenses with a previous jurisdictional requirement that made it difficult to prosecute many such crimes. The HCPA also represents an expansion …
The Long And Winding Road From Monroe To Connick, Sheldon Nahmod
The Long And Winding Road From Monroe To Connick, Sheldon Nahmod
All Faculty Scholarship
In this article, I address the historical and doctrinal development of § 1983 local government liability, beginning with Monroe v. Pape in 1961 and culminating in the Supreme Court’s controversial 2011 failure to train decision in Connick v. Thompson. Connick has made it exceptionally difficult for § 1983 plaintiffs to prevail against local governments in failure to train cases. In the course of my analysis, I also consider the oral argument and opinions in Connick as well as various aspects of § 1983 doctrine. I ultimately situate Connick in the Court’s federalism jurisprudence which doubles back to Justice Frankfurter’s view …