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Full-Text Articles in Law

Researching The Legal History Of Santa Claus, Kurt Metzmeier Dec 2019

Researching The Legal History Of Santa Claus, Kurt Metzmeier

Faculty Scholarship

For most lawyers, the figure of Santa Claus in the law is an unpleasant memory of an establishment clause essay question on a Constitutional Law exam where they had to decide what combination of Christmas trees, electric menorahs and inflatable Santas a city-owned mall could display without being reprimanded by the U.S. Supreme Court. Alas, Lynch v. Donnelly (1984) and Allegheny County v. Greater Pittsburgh ACLU (1989) have been a lump of coal in the fall semester grades stocking of many a law student.But the white-bearded one made his first appearance in the law reports a hundred years before Justice …


Third Time's The Charm: The History Of The Merger Between The University Of Louisville And Jefferson Schools Of Law, Marcus Walker Oct 2019

Third Time's The Charm: The History Of The Merger Between The University Of Louisville And Jefferson Schools Of Law, Marcus Walker

Faculty Scholarship

The daytime University of Louisville School of Law and evening Jefferson School of Law existed as separate programs from the latter school's founding in 1905 until their merger in 1950. This article highlights two earlier attempts at combining the legal programs and highlights some perhaps lesser-known details of the successful attempt that extend the history of the "Ben Washer School" a bit farther than it might otherwise seem.


A Primer On Disability Discrimination In Higher Education, Laura Rothstein Sep 2019

A Primer On Disability Discrimination In Higher Education, Laura Rothstein

Brandeis School of Law Faculty Scholarship

This article provides an overview of key issues and a focus on some of the most significant and important recent developments that should be given a high priority by university attorneys and higher education administrators and policymakers. It emphasizes the role that administrators responsible for facilitating or coordinating disability services on campus can play in ensuring that faculty members, staff members, and other administrators have the knowledge and tools to ensure access and also to avoid liability to the institution. Major changes in the Trump administration and Congress may signal changes that could affect disability discrimination issues on campus. These …


Non-English Materials For The English Speaker : European Languages, Erin Gow Jun 2019

Non-English Materials For The English Speaker : European Languages, Erin Gow

Faculty Scholarship

So many legal materials are in languages other than English worldwide, that it is inevitable that most of us will need to find or access one of these documents at some point. Foreign, comparative, and international law (FCIL) librarians often work with materials in languages in which they are not fluent, and can provide useful ideas and insight for the non-FCIL specialist faced with this type of research. This portion of a 2019 AALL webinar titled "Non-English Materials for the English Speaker" focuses on European languages, and provides practical guidance in finding English translations of European laws, tips and techniques …


Would The Ada Pass Today?: Disability Rights In An Age Of Partisan Polarization, Laura Rothstein Jan 2019

Would The Ada Pass Today?: Disability Rights In An Age Of Partisan Polarization, Laura Rothstein

Brandeis School of Law Faculty Scholarship

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was the most significant civil rights legislation enacted since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It provided comprehensive protection against discrimination for individuals with disabilities in employment, public accommodations, and public services. It built on § 504 of the Rehabilitation Act that provided these protections only to programs receiving federal financial assistance. It afforded broad access to those individuals who had benefitted from the 1975 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This complex and far-reaching legislation was made possible by a confluence of timing and the right people at the right place at …


A New Look At Contract Mistake Doctrine And Personal Injury Releases, Grace M. Giesel Jan 2019

A New Look At Contract Mistake Doctrine And Personal Injury Releases, Grace M. Giesel

Brandeis School of Law Faculty Scholarship

One might expect a court to look very skeptically when a party to a personal injury release asks a court to set aside the release. But many courts have reacted atypically when injured parties who have settled their claims have sought to have those releases set aside on the basis of a lack of understanding or knowledge about the injury. Absent facts supporting a claim of fraud or duress, injured parties have turned to the mistake doctrine for relief.


The Structural Dimensions Of Race: Lock Ups, Systemic Chokeholds, And Binary Disruptions, Cedric Merlin Powell Jan 2019

The Structural Dimensions Of Race: Lock Ups, Systemic Chokeholds, And Binary Disruptions, Cedric Merlin Powell

Faculty Scholarship

Disrupting traditional conceptions of structural inequality, state decision making power, and the presumption of Black criminality, this Essay explores the doctrinal and policy implications of James Forman, Jr.’s Pulitzer Prize winning book, Locking Up Our Own, and Paul Butler’s evocative and transformative book, Chokehold. While both books grapple with how to dismantle the structural components of mass incarceration, state legitimized police violence against Black bodies, and how policy functions to reify oppressive state power, the approaches espoused by Forman and Butler are analytically distinct. Forman locates his analysis in the dynamics of decision-making power when African American officials wield power …


Dismantling Structural Inequality: Lock Ups, Systemic Chokeholds, And Race-Based Policing - A Symposium Summary, Cedric Merlin Powell, Laura R. Mcneal Jan 2019

Dismantling Structural Inequality: Lock Ups, Systemic Chokeholds, And Race-Based Policing - A Symposium Summary, Cedric Merlin Powell, Laura R. Mcneal

Faculty Scholarship

The prominence of the carceral state in American society serves to undermine basic principles of democracy and justice, disproportionately displacing people of color and excluding them from all viable avenues of citizenship.


Opposition To Abortion, Then And Now: How Amicus Briefs Use Policy Frames In Abortion Litigation, Laura Moyer, Alyson Hendricks-Benton, Megan Balcom Jan 2019

Opposition To Abortion, Then And Now: How Amicus Briefs Use Policy Frames In Abortion Litigation, Laura Moyer, Alyson Hendricks-Benton, Megan Balcom

Faculty Scholarship

Early in the debate over abortion, opposition to the procedure was primarily described in terms that reflected moral concerns about the protection of “the unborn.” Indeed, much of the media coverage and public discourse describing opposition to abortion since the time of Roe characterizes the movement as focused on securing rights for all human beings from the moment of conception (Huff 2014, 39). However, interviews with activists and movement leaders suggest that antiabortion groups have employed an array of public outreach strategies over time. As seen above, the former director of the antiabortion group National Right to Life …