Law Commons^™

Echoes From The Segregationist Past At Oral Argument, Mary Ellen Maatman

Mary Ellen Maatman

Measuring Merit: The Shultz-Zedeck Research On Law School Admissions, Kristen Holmquist, Marjorie Shultz, Sheldon Zedeck, David Oppenheimer

Marjorie M. Shultz

No abstract provided.

Religious Accommodations And – And Among – Civil Rights: Separation, Toleration, And Accommodation, Richard W. Garnett

Richard W Garnett

This paper expands on a presentation at a recent conference, held at Harvard Law School, on the topic of “Religious Accommodations in the Age of Civil Rights.” In it, I emphasize that the right to religious freedom is a basic civil right, the increased appreciation of which is said to characterize our “age.” Accordingly, I push back against scholars’ and commentators’ increasing tendency to regard and present religious accommodations and exemptions as obstacles to the civil-rights enterprise and ask instead if our religious-accommodation practices are all that they should be. Are accommodations and exemptions being extended prudently but generously, in …

Accessing Justice Amid Threats Of Contagion, Janet E. Mosher

Janet Mosher

Plans to prepare for a global pandemic have proliferated in recent years, and “legal preparedness” has emerged as a critical component of such plans. Commonly, the threat of disease is analogized to terrorism and recast as an issue of national security. In this framing, laws authorizing surveillance, containment, and forced treatment are understood as necessary. Law’s promise of protection against abuses in the exercise of such powers through procedural rights of review offers meagre comfort for critics concerned that individual liberties will readily yield to national security and public health in the context of an actual pandemic. An alternative framing …

The Blinding Color Of Race: Elections And Democracy In The Post-Shelby County Era, Sahar F. Aziz

Sahar F. Aziz

No abstract provided.

A Call To Leadership: The Future Of Race Relations In Virginia, Rodney A. Smolla

Rod Smolla

Not available.

Kant's Categorical Imperative: An Unspoken Factor In Constitutional Rights Balancing, Donald L. Beschle

Donald L. Beschle

No abstract provided.

Did Multicultural America Result From A Mistake? The 1965 Immigration Act And Evidence From Roll Call Votes, Gabriel Chin, Doug Spencer

Douglas M. Spencer

Between July 1964 and October 1965, Congress enacted the three most important civil rights laws since Reconstruction: The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1965. As we approach the 50th anniversary of these laws, it is clear that all three have fundamentally remade the United States; education, employment, housing, politics, and the population itself have irreversibly changed.

Arguably the least celebrated yet most consequential of these laws was the 1965 Immigration Act, which set the United States on the path to become a “majority minority” nation. In …

Postsecondary School Education Benefits For Undocumented Immigrants: Promises And Pitfalls, Victor C. Romero

Victor C. Romero

Should longtime undocumented immigrants have the same opportunity as lawful permanent residents and U.S. citizens to attend state colleges and universities? There are two typical justifications for denying them such opportunities. First, treating undocumented immigrants as in-state residents discriminates against U.S. citizen nonresidents of the state. Second, and more broadly, undocumented immigration should be discouraged as a policy matter, and therefore allowing undocumented immigrant children equal opportunities as legal residents condones and perhaps encourages "illegal" immigration. This essay responds to these two concerns by surveying state and federal solutions to this issue.

Disparate Impact, School Closures, And Parental Choice, Nicole Stelle Garnett

Nicole Stelle Garnett

We live in an era of parental choice. Today, forty-two states and the District of Columbia authorize charter schools, and twenty states and the District of Columbia permit students to use public funds to attend a private school. During the 2012-2013 school year, nearly 2 million children attended charter schools, and nearly 250,000 children received publicly funded scholarship to attend a private school. The expanding menu of publicly funded educational options is one (but by no means the only) factor contributing to the current, intensely controversial, waves of urban public school closures. In school-closure debates, proponents of traditional public schools …

Democracy Means That The People Make The Law, Gerald Torres

Gerald Torres

Gerald Torres delivered the Robert C. Wood lecture at the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at University of Massachusetts Boston in 2006. This is his talk.

Ferguson, The Rebellious Law Professor, And The Neoliberal University, Harold A. Mcdougall Iii

Harold A. McDougall III

Neoliberalism, a business-oriented ideology promoting corporatism, profit-seeking, and elite management, has found its way into the modern American university. As neoliberal ideology envelops university campuses, the idea of law professors as learned academicians and advisors to students as citizens in training, has given way to the concept of professors as brokers of marketable skills with students as consumers. In a legal setting, this concept pushes law students to view their education not as a means to contribute to society and the professional field, but rather as a means to make money. These developments are especially problematic for minority students and …

Orwell’S Vision: Video And The Future Of Civil Rights Enforcement, Howard M. Wasserman

Howard M Wasserman

No abstract provided.

Branding Identity, Kate Elengold

Kate Elengold