Law Commons^™

Evaluating The Sex Discrimination Argument For Lesbian And Gay Rights, Edward Stein

Articles

The sex discrimination argument for lesbian and gay rights analyzes laws that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in terms of sex discrimination. For example, sodomy laws that prohibit only same-sex sexual activities are analyzed as discriminating on the basis of sex because they prohibit women from doing something men are permitted to do, that is, have sex with women. This argument has been championed by some scholars and litigators, and it has persuaded some judges. Edward Stein shows that there are sociological, theoretical, moral, and practical problems facing the sex discrimination argument. He suggests that there are better …

The Law Of White Spaces: Race, Culture, And Legal Education, Peter Goodrich, Linda G. Mills

Articles

The scene, drawn from memory, is a first-year law school classroom. It is the early 1980s and the class is on civil procedure. The teacher is a white woman. She is nervous, and the class is dominated by students who provide standard right answers to formulaic law school questions. Other points of view, particularly those of a critical or feminist nature, are either passed over quickly or ignored. Questions of color are never mentioned. More than that, the teacher never calls on any African-American students. Students of color are either ignored completely or told, when they have questions, “We are …

Representational Standing: U.S. Ex Rel. Stevens And The Future Of Public Law Litigation, Myriam E. Gilles

Articles

In May 2000, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Vermont Agency of Natural Resources v. U.S. ex rel. Stevens, a seemingly predictable 11th Amendment case. In upholding the plaintiff's Article III standing to bring that case, however, the Court suggested a theory of "representational standing" that holds the potential to radically transform the entire body of law governing the ability of private citizens to seek, through the federal courts, the vindication of broadly-held public interests.

Over the past 30 years, the Court's increasingly restrictive standing jurisprudence has effectively precluded private citizens from playing a meaningful role in public …