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Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Civil Rights and Discrimination

Religious Exemptions As Rational Social Policy, Justin W. Aimonetti, M. Christian Talley Jan 2021

Religious Exemptions As Rational Social Policy, Justin W. Aimonetti, M. Christian Talley

University of Richmond Law Review

In its 1963 decision Sherbert v. Verner, the Supreme Court interpreted the Free Exercise Clause to permit religious exemptions from general laws that incidentally burdened religious practice. Sherbert, in theory, provided stringent protections for religious freedom. But those protections came at a price. Religious adherents could secure exemptions even if they had no evidence the laws they challenged unfairly targeted their religious conduct. And they could thereby undermine the policy objectives those laws sought to achieve. Because of such policy concerns, the Court progressively restricted the availability of religious exemptions. In its 1990 decision Employment Division v. Smith …


The Bivens "Special Factors" And Qualified Immunity: Duplicative Barriers To The Vindication Of Constitutional Rights, Amelia G. Collins Jan 2021

The Bivens "Special Factors" And Qualified Immunity: Duplicative Barriers To The Vindication Of Constitutional Rights, Amelia G. Collins

University of Richmond Law Review

Part I of this note traces the history of the Bivens cause of action and analyzes the original “special factors” that concerned the Supreme Court. Part I also outlines the purpose behind implying a Bivens cause of action for plaintiffs bringing constitutional claims. Part II includes the same analysis of the qualified immunity defense, both to its history and purpose. Part III demonstrates how the Supreme Court has incorporated the concerns addressed by qualified immunity into the “special factors” analysis, rather than acknowledging the mitigating nature of immunity defenses when examining if any “special factors” exist. Finally, Part IV argues …


The People's Lawyer: The Role Of Attorney General In The Twenty-First Century, Mark J. Herring Nov 2018

The People's Lawyer: The Role Of Attorney General In The Twenty-First Century, Mark J. Herring

University of Richmond Law Review

For the last five years, it has been my privilege to serve the people as their attorney general. The origin of the position of attorney general can be traced back centuries, but in a world that has become more interconnected, complex, and fast-paced, what does the role of a state attorney general entail in the twenty-first century and beyond? Is the proper role as a diligent but reactive defender of statutes and state agencies, or is there a deeper responsibility that calls for a more proactive and engaged use of its tools and authority? I have found that the job …


Race, Speech, And Sports, Matthew J. Parlow May 2018

Race, Speech, And Sports, Matthew J. Parlow

University of Richmond Law Review

Race, sports, and free speech rights intersected in a very controversial and public way during the 2016 and 2017 National Football League (“NFL”) seasons. On August 26, 2016, Colin Kaepernick spurred a national debate when he refused to stand during the playing of the national anthem before the NFL preseason game between the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers, Kaepernick’s team at the time.


Non-Contact Excessive Force By Police: Is That Really A Thing?, Michael J. Jacobsma May 2018

Non-Contact Excessive Force By Police: Is That Really A Thing?, Michael J. Jacobsma

University of Richmond Law Review

When people hear the words “police” and “excessive force,” they usually associate those words with an unjustified assault and battery, or lethal force made against suspects by law enforcement officers during an arrest or investigation. When such acts occur, the victim of the excessive force has the right to pursue a civil action against the police officer pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 if committed by state or local police, or a Bivens action if committed by federal agents. But can a police officer be sued for excessive force without making any physical contact with the plaintiff? The answer to …


Enforcing The Rights Of Due Process: The Original Relationship Between The Fourteenth Amendment And The 1866 Civil Rights Act, Kurt T. Lash Jan 2018

Enforcing The Rights Of Due Process: The Original Relationship Between The Fourteenth Amendment And The 1866 Civil Rights Act, Kurt T. Lash

Law Faculty Publications

For more than a century, legal scholars have looked to the 1866 Civil Rights Act for clues regarding the original meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. Because the 1866 version of the Act protected only citizens of the United States, most scholars believe that the Act should be used as a guide to understanding the Fourteenth Amendment’s citizenship-based Privileges or Immunities Clause. A close look at the original sources, however, reveals that the 1866 Civil Rights Act protected rights then associated with the requirements of due process. The man who drafted Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment, John Bingham, expressly described …


Lincoln, The Emancipation Proclamation And Executive Power, Henry L. Chambers, Jr. Jan 2013

Lincoln, The Emancipation Proclamation And Executive Power, Henry L. Chambers, Jr.

Law Faculty Publications

This Essay explores whether President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves held in areas designated by the President to be under rebellion onJanuary 1, 1863, could be justified as an exercise of his power under the Take Care Clause. Part I of this Essay discusses the legislation that preceded the Emancipation Proclamation. Part II discusses the Emancipation Proclamation. Part III discusses the Take Care Clause and how it might authorize significant parts of the Emancipation Proclamation, if not the entire document.


Watching The Watchers, Ronald J. Bacigal Jan 2013

Watching The Watchers, Ronald J. Bacigal

Law Faculty Publications

This article focuses on the threat that increasingly sophisticated technology can pose to individual privacy. However, the author would like to provide the “yin to the yang” and point out the obvious: technology itself is not the culprit, because it is a double-edged sword, a tool that can be used to protect as well as invade privacy. We need not endorse the single-minded approach of WikiLeaks to recognize the benefits that occur when technology discloses government cover-ups or simply provides accurate information where none previously existed.


The False Promise Of The Converse-1983 Action, John F. Preis Jan 2012

The False Promise Of The Converse-1983 Action, John F. Preis

Law Faculty Publications

The federal government is out of control. At least that's what many states will tell you. Not only is the federal government passing patently unconstitutional legislation, but its street-level officers are ignoring citizens' constitutional rights. How can states stop this federal juggernaut? Many are advocating a "repeal amendment, " whereby two-thirds of the states could vote to repeal federal legislation. But the repeal amendment will only address unconstitutional legislation, not unconstitutional actions. States can't repeal a stop-and-frisk that occurred last Thursday. States might, however, enact a so-called "converse-1983" action. The idea for converse-1983 laws has been around for some time …


A Brave New World Of Stop And Frisk, Ronald J. Bacigal Oct 2011

A Brave New World Of Stop And Frisk, Ronald J. Bacigal

Law Faculty Publications

In this article, the author Ron Bacigal discusses the editorials, The Shame of New York by Bob Herbert and Fighting Crime Where the Criminals Are by Heather MacDonald. These editorials were prompted by the New York City Police Department's release of figures regarding "stop and frisk" incidents within New York City.' MacDonald and Herbert reacted to the same statistical report by putting two very different spins on the raw data. While it's always helpful to compile empirical evidence, Bacigal suggests that we also need to look beyond the mere numbers. If you put aside anecdotal versions of encounters between minorities …


Resurrecting The Promise Of Brown: Understanding And Remedying How The Supreme Court Reconstitutionalized Segregated Schools, Kimberly J. Robinson Jan 2010

Resurrecting The Promise Of Brown: Understanding And Remedying How The Supreme Court Reconstitutionalized Segregated Schools, Kimberly J. Robinson

Law Faculty Publications

The Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education held that separate educational facilities were "inherently unequal." After tolerating substantial delay and evasion of the requirements of Brown, the Court eventually required school districts to dismantle the dual systems by eliminating all traces of separate schools and creating integrated schools. In contrast to numerous scholars that have contended that many of the Court's later school desegregation decisions withdrew from or grew weary of school desegregation, this Article argues that the effect of many of the Court's leading school desegregation decisions was to reconstitutionalize segregated schools. Furthermore, the Court's …


Constitutional Enforcement By Proxy, John F. Preis Jan 2009

Constitutional Enforcement By Proxy, John F. Preis

Law Faculty Publications

Americans love their Constitution. But love, as we all know, is blind. This may explain why we often look to constitutional law to vindicate our civil rights while ignoring the potential of sub-constitutional law. Federal courts have not ignored this possibility, however, and have increasingly forced civil rights plaintiffs to seek relief using sub-constitutional law where it is available. A victim of discrimination, for example, might be denied the chance to invoke the Equal Protection Clause and told instead to rely on a federal antidiscrimination statute. In this and other cases, courts seem to believe that constitutional rights can be …


The Constitutional Future Of Race-Neutral Efforts To Promote Diversity And Avoid Racial Isolation In Our Elementary And Secondary Schools, Kimberly J. Robinson Jan 2009

The Constitutional Future Of Race-Neutral Efforts To Promote Diversity And Avoid Racial Isolation In Our Elementary And Secondary Schools, Kimberly J. Robinson

Law Faculty Publications

In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 that the racial classifications used by school districts in Seattle and Louisville to create diverse schools were unconstitutional. Justice Kennedy provided the deciding vote but also noted that school districts could pursue diversity and avoid racial isolation through race-neutral alternatives. He asserted that it was unlikely that race-neutral alternatives would be subject to strict scrutiny but articulated no rationale for this assertion. This Article argues that, after Parents Involved, school districts will focus on race-neutral efforts to create diverse schools …


Alternative State Remedies In Constitutional Torts, John F. Preis Jan 2008

Alternative State Remedies In Constitutional Torts, John F. Preis

Law Faculty Publications

In recent years, a subtle shift in constitutional tort doctrine has quietly begun to take root. In Bivens actions, the Supreme Court has recently implied that constitutional tort plaintiffs must seek relief under state law when it is available, rather than invoke their federal constitutional rights. This marks a dramatic change from past practices. For much of the twentieth century, a central premise in the constitutional tort field has been that the federal remedy is "supplementary" to the state remedy; constitutional tort plaintiffs have therefore been permitted to seek a remedy under federal law without regard to the availability of …


Brown And The Desegregation Of Virginia Law Schools, Carl W. Tobias Nov 2004

Brown And The Desegregation Of Virginia Law Schools, Carl W. Tobias

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


A Call To Leadership: The Future Of Race Relations In Virginia, Rodney A. Smolla Nov 2004

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

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


Virginia's Next Challenge: Economic And Educational Opportunity, Mark R. Warner Nov 2004

Virginia's Next Challenge: Economic And Educational Opportunity, Mark R. Warner

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.


Due Process In Death Penalty Commutations: Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Clemency, Daniel T. Kobil Jan 1993

Due Process In Death Penalty Commutations: Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Clemency, Daniel T. Kobil

University of Richmond Law Review

The idea of the last-minute reprieve granted by a distant, unknowable dispenser of mercy to a man condemned to death has a powerful hold on our imaginations. Fyodor Dostoevsky's eleventh hour pardon by the czar in many ways shaped his literary career. The scene of the haunted Death Row prisoner who awaits word from the governor as a ticking clock punctuates his final hours is a stock vignette of Hollywood crime films. Anyone who has ever seized on the slimmest hope, whose fate has been committed to the hands of another - virtually all of us - can identify with …


Unborn Child: Can You Be Protected?, Heather M. White Jan 1988

Unborn Child: Can You Be Protected?, Heather M. White

University of Richmond Law Review

Continuing medical advancement in the area of prenatal care' raises the question of when, if ever, the state may intervene in the life of a pregnant woman to protect her unborn child from abuse and neglect. This issue, though troublesome, can no longer be ignored. Since the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, giving the pregnant woman the constitutional right to decide whether or not to terminate her pregnancy, there has been abundant controversy over the allowance of state intervention to protect the human fetus. This controversy necessarily entails a discussion as to when and in what manner the …


Broadening Access To The Courts And Clarifying Judicial Standards: Sex Discrimination Cases In The 1978-1979 Supreme Court Term, Janice M. Hamilton, Janine S. Hiller, Joyce Ann Naumann, Barbara H. Vann Jan 1980

Broadening Access To The Courts And Clarifying Judicial Standards: Sex Discrimination Cases In The 1978-1979 Supreme Court Term, Janice M. Hamilton, Janine S. Hiller, Joyce Ann Naumann, Barbara H. Vann

University of Richmond Law Review

During the 1978-79 Term of the Supreme Court, sex discrimination continued to be an area of active judicial concern, with the Court deciding eight cases alleging unlawful sex discrimination. The purpose of this note is to present the Court's holdings and its rationale in these decisions, to analyze the significance of the decisions in view of the Court's past rulings, and to suggest possible implications for future sex discrimination cases.


Constitutional Law-Civil Rights-Standard For Relief In Racial Discrimination Cases Requires A Showing Of Discriminatory Intent, T. Keith Fogg Jan 1976

Constitutional Law-Civil Rights-Standard For Relief In Racial Discrimination Cases Requires A Showing Of Discriminatory Intent, T. Keith Fogg

University of Richmond Law Review

When Congress passed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it did not extend the coverage of the Act to public employers. Consequently, the Griggs v. Duke Power Co. decision in 1971 created the anomalous situation that private employers were held to a tougher standard of scrutiny with respect to racial considerations in their hiring procedures under Title VII than were public employers under the Constitution. This curious development in the relationship between public employment and Title VII caused many courts to alter their standards for equal protection violations in the early 1970's. In the realm of public …


Constitutional Law- Civil Rights- Private Schools Prohibited From Excluding Qualified Children Solely Because They Are Black, Craig S. Cooley Jan 1976

Constitutional Law- Civil Rights- Private Schools Prohibited From Excluding Qualified Children Solely Because They Are Black, Craig S. Cooley

University of Richmond Law Review

All major school desegregation decisions through 1975 involved "public" schools, and were based on provisions of the fourteenth amendment. This constitutional remedy, however, requires the presence of "state action" before being triggered. Commencing with the Supreme Court's earliest public school desegregation decisions, and accelerating with the finding of affirmative duties of southern school districts to desegregate, private educational institutions following racially exclusionary admittance policies were founded. Such private discrimination generally has been considered to be beyond the scope of the fourteenth amendment. Moreover, parents that patronize such institutions have sought support in Supreme Court cases which confer constitutional protection upon …


Constitutional Law-Civil Rights-Absent State Involvement, Right Of Association Not Protected By 42 Usc § 1985(3) Jan 1975

Constitutional Law-Civil Rights-Absent State Involvement, Right Of Association Not Protected By 42 Usc § 1985(3)

University of Richmond Law Review

42 U.S.C. § 1985(3) was enacted' to curtail the Ku Klux Klan's terrorist activities in the South by prohibiting conspiracies to deprive any person "of the equal protection of the laws, or of equal privileges and immunities under the laws. . . ." From its inception, the major controversy has concerned whether the statute requires an element of state action. The first judicial statement construed the statute as reaching only conspiracies carried out under color of state law. Twenty years later, a unanimous Supreme Court found the statute to "fully encompass the conduct of private persons" attempting to deprive an …


School Desegregation In Richmoad: A Case History, Gary C. Leedes, James M. O'Fallon Jan 1975

School Desegregation In Richmoad: A Case History, Gary C. Leedes, James M. O'Fallon

University of Richmond Law Review

The story of judicially administered school desegregation in Richmond is the story of Bradley v. School Board of the City of Richmond. It began modestly with a district court decree which granted the individual claims of ten named plaintiffs but denied injunctive relief to the class. Eleven years later it approached landmark status, with a district court decree directing consolidation of the Richmond schools with those of surrounding Henrico and Chesterfield counties. However, the landmark was not to be. The Fourth Circuit reversed the district court's decree, and an evenly divided Supreme Court affirmed by default. Richmond was left in …


Busing To Desegregate Schools: The Perspective From Congress, Hugh Scott Jan 1974

Busing To Desegregate Schools: The Perspective From Congress, Hugh Scott

University of Richmond Law Review

The controversy over transporting pupils to desegregate schools or "busing" as the issue popularly is known, is the narrowest and perhaps most limited aspect of school desegregation. Yet, it threatens to undo school desegregation completely unless the issue is re- solved in a way which will permit continued desegregation of schools accompanied by the understanding and support of the majority of people of all races.