Law Commons^™

Essay: New Political And Legal Strategies For African-Americans: Dreaming Big, Dreaming Creatively, Maxim Thorne

ExpressO

Maxim Thorne, a Yale Law School Graduate of 1992, writes an essay derived from his address delivered on October 1, 2004 at the thirty-fifth anniversary of the African-American Cultural Center at Yale University, entitled "New Political and Legal Strategies For African-Americans: Dreaming Big, Dreaming Creatively." He presents Seven Strategies that African Americans should use to secure power and justice in America: 1) Go Home, 2) Public Schools Aren’t Our Only Option and other paradigm shifting legal arguments 3) Draw On the Power of Older Women of Color, 4) Network Your Heart Out, Giving Time, Advice, and Money, 5) Honor Our …

A State's Power To Enter Into A Consent Decree That Violates State Law Provisions: What "Findings" Of A Federal Violation Are Sufficient To Justify A Consent Decree That Trumps State Law?, David W. Swift

ExpressO

In the last forty years federal courts have played a prominent role in reshaping our public institutions. And while some scholars question the efficacy of these structural injuctions, the authority of federal courts to order such relief is generally unquestioned. What is open to debate, however, is whether state officials can agree to a remedy they would not have had the authority to order themselves; and if so, to what extent must an underlying constitutional violation be proved so as to justify the remedy?

This article discusses the competing theories and concludes that a remedy that violates state law may …