Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons^™

Life And Death Decision-Making: Judges V. Legislators As Sources Of Law In Bioethics, Charles Baron

Charles H. Baron

In some situations, courts may be better sources of new law than legislatures. Some support for this proposition is provided by the performance of American courts in the development of law regarding the “right to die.” When confronted with the problems presented by mid-Twentieth Century technological advances in prolonging human life, American legislators were slow to act. It was the state common law courts, beginning with Quinlan in 1976, that took primary responsibility for gradually crafting new legal principles that excepted withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment from the application of general laws dealing with homicide and suicide. These courts, like the …

Medical Paternalism And The Rule Of Law: A Reply To Dr. Relman, Charles Baron

Charles H. Baron

In this Article, Professor Baron challenges the position taken recently by Dr. Arnold Relman in this journal that the 1977 Saikewicz decision of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts was incorrect in calling for routine judicial resolution of decisions whether to provide life-prolonging treatment to terminally ill incompetent patients. First, Professor Baron argues that Dr. Relman's position that doctors should make such decisions is based upon an outmoded, paternalistic view of the doctor-patient relationship. Second, he points out the importance of guaranteeing to such decisions the special qualities of process which characterize decision making by courts and which are not …

Assuring "Detached But Passionate Investigation And Decision": The Role Of Guardians Ad Litem In Saikewicz-Type Cases, Charles Baron

Charles H. Baron

The author focuses this Article upon the aspect of the Saikewicz decision which determines that the kind of "proxy consent" question involved in that case required for its decision "the process of detached but passionate investigation and decision that forms the ideal on which the judicial branch of government was created." This aspect of the decision has drawn much criticism from the medical community on the ground that it embroils what doctors believe to be a medical question in the adversarial processes of the court system. The author criticizes the decision from an entirely opposite perspective, arguing that the court's …

Making Detention Reform Work For Girls: A Guide To Juvenile Detention Reform, Francine Sherman, Richard Mendel, Angela Irvine

Francine T. Sherman

Throughout the nation, court-involved girls frequently pose minimal risk to public safety but suffer with significant social service needs. Data on detention utilization show that girls are being disproportionately detained for misdemeanors, status offenses and technical violations of probation and parole. In short, many girls enter detention for the wrong reasons and many remain in detention for extended periods harmful to them and contrary to best practice.

This practice guide responds to a call from both mature and new sites from within the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) network, which continue to find that effectively serving and supervising girls is …

Board President, Artistic Noise, Inc. (2009-Present), Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

No abstract provided.

The System Response To The Commercial Sexual Exploitation Of Girls, Francine Sherman, Lisa Grace

Francine T. Sherman

This chapter, which is written from the perspectives of law, public health, and social work, examines the system’s response to the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), focusing on girls. It describes the issue and then examine the range of international, federal, state, and local laws and policies, aimed at aiding and enhancing prosecution of perpetrators of CSEC (i.e., pimps, johns), and at providing protection and services to its victims. The chapter argues that, as state and local authorities implement practice and policy for this population, the two central goals—law enforcement and victim protection—may conflict, creating practices that serve neither …

Children's Rights And Relationships: A Legal Framework, Francine Sherman, Hon. Jay Blitzman

Francine T. Sherman

This chapter provides an overview of United States children’s law, framed both in terms of autonomy-based and needs-based rights, and by the legal dynamic among child, parent, and state. The chapter highlights the law of juvenile justice and child welfare systems, and also examines law relevant to education and health care, two central institutions for children. The chapter proceeds ecologically, acknowledging that children’s lives, including their legal lives, are related to their families, communities, and the social institutions surrounding them. As such the chapter provides a readable introduction to children’s relationship with the law for both lawyers and non-lawyers.

The Role Of Gender In Youth Systems: Grace's Story, Francine Sherman, Jessica Greenstone

Francine T. Sherman

This chapter —written from a legal and developmental perspective —describes the experiences of ‘‘Grace,’’ a teenage girl involved with multiple public systems, including juvenile justice. Through detailed analysis of primary interview data with Grace and others responsible for her care and supervision, and of court case material. The chapter sheds light on how Grace’s actions were interpreted and the responses they evoked. The case study includes recommendations for implementing gender-responsive principles across these systems.

Juvenile Justice: Advancing Research, Policy, And Practice, Francine Sherman, Francine Jacobs

Francine T. Sherman

This accessible, edited volume reflects the multiplisciplinary, multisectoral nature of juvenile justice, including chapters by leaders in the fields of child development, law, public health, education, advocacy, and public administration. The voices of scholars, parents, administrators, and youth are woven into its fabric; it offers several complementary theoretical lenses through which to understand the behavior of youth involved with the juvenile justice system, and provides a range of promising and proven practical approaches to juvenile justice policy, programming, and evaluation.

The book is organized ecologically into four sections: Framing the Issues, Understanding Individual Youth, Understanding Youth in Context, and Working …

Did The Founding Fathers Do "A Heckuva Job"? Constitutional Authorization For The Use Of Federal Troops To Prevent The Loss Of A Major American City, Michael Greenberger

Michael Greenberger

As the one year anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast passed, the highly critical reports of the Bush Administration's mismanagement of the response to that catastrophe continued to mount. Central to the criticism of the Administration was its indecisiveness in deploying military assets to rescue and protect Gulf Coast citizens overwhelmed by one of the country's worst natural disasters. The President failed to act because of a perceived lack of statutory and constitutional authority to override the Louisiana Governor's refusal to allow the Federal government to have ultimate control over the deployment of Federal troops …

Rights-In-Data Policies Affecting Department Of Defense Acquisition Of Computer Software And Related Products, Michael Greenberger, Michael Kane

Michael Greenberger

No abstract provided.

Massachusetts Health Passport Project Evaluation Final Report, Francine Jacobs, Rachel Oliveri, Jesica Greenston, Claudia Miranda-Julian

Francine T. Sherman

Prepared for Francine Sherman, Esq., Director, Juvenile Rights Advocacy Project at Boston College Law School. Adapted from the Executive Summary: The Massachusetts Health Passport Project (MHPP) began in April 2004, as a pilot program of the Juvenile Rights Advocacy Project at Boston College Law School under the direction of Francine Sherman, Esq. The program was originally called the Girls’ Health Passport Project (GHPP) and was designed to address the unmet health needs and gaps in health care services for girls committed to the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (DYS) and re-entering their communities from DYS assessment and treatment facilities. An …

The Irrational Woman: Informed Consent And Abortion Decision-Making, Maya Manian

Maya Manian

In Gonzales v. Carhart, the Supreme Court upheld a federal ban on a type of second-trimester abortion that many physicians believe is safer for their patients. Carhart presented a watershed moment in abortion law, because it marks the Supreme Court’s first use of the anti-abortion movement’s “woman-protective” rationale to uphold a ban on abortion and the first time since Roe v. Wade that the Court denied women a health exception to an abortion restriction. The woman-protective rationale asserts that banning abortion promotes women’s mental health. According to Carhart, the State should make the final decisions about pregnant women’s healthcare, because …

Taking On The Challenge: Phase I Of The Hyams Foundation Girls' Initiative, Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

This report describes Phase I of The Hyams Foundation’s funding initiative for eight programs providing direct services to girls in Boston and Chelsea, Massachusetts. Although the programs varied in their sophistication and experience with gender-responsive approaches, in each case the programs served girls who were court involved and worked with the state social services or juvenile justice systems. The monograph describes the work of the initiative’s Learning Community, participation in which was a requirement of funding, and findings from the Learning Community’s participatory action research. Notably, the report describes nine lessons learned from the funding initiative, which are useful for …

Life And Death Decision-Making: Judges V. Legislators As Sources Of Law In Bioethics, Charles Baron

Charles H. Baron

In some situations, courts may be better sources of new law than legislatures. Some support for this proposition is provided by the performance of American courts in the development of law regarding the “right to die.” When confronted with the problems presented by mid-Twentieth Century technological advances in prolonging human life, American legislators were slow to act. It was the state common law courts, beginning with Quinlan in 1976, that took primary responsibility for gradually crafting new legal principles that excepted withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment from the application of general laws dealing with homicide and suicide. These courts, like the …

Girls In The Juvenile Justice System: Perspectives On Services And Conditions Of Confinement, Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

This report details the results of original survey and interview research on perceptions of Judges, Attorneys and girls in the juvenile justice system on conditions of confinement for girls in detention and post-disposition confinement.

Contributor, Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

No abstract provided.

Co-Founder, Artistic Noise, Inc., Francine Sherman

Francine T. Sherman

No abstract provided.

Transforming Social Inquiry, Transforming Social Action: New Paradigms For Crossing The Theory/Practice Divide In Universities And Communities, Francine Sherman,, William Torbet,

Francine T. Sherman

This edited volume describes models of interdisciplinary collaboration in which universities and communities work together on participatory action research and social action. The university and community partnerships described in this volume are in the areas of education, law, psychology and organizational development and all share a vision of universities engaged collaboratively with communities. The volume is a resource for foundations, government and college and university administrators interested in exploring approaches to teaching and research that take students and faculty into communities for action research and ethical reflection.

Medical Paternalism And The Rule Of Law: A Reply To Dr. Relman, Charles Baron

Charles H. Baron

In this Article, Professor Baron challenges the position taken recently by Dr. Arnold Relman in this journal that the 1977 Saikewicz decision of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts was incorrect in calling for routine judicial resolution of decisions whether to provide life-prolonging treatment to terminally ill incompetent patients. First, Professor Baron argues that Dr. Relman's position that doctors should make such decisions is based upon an outmoded, paternalistic view of the doctor-patient relationship. Second, he points out the importance of guaranteeing to such decisions the special qualities of process which characterize decision making by courts and which are not …

Assuring "Detached But Passionate Investigation And Decision": The Role Of Guardians Ad Litem In Saikewicz-Type Cases, Charles Baron

Charles H. Baron

The author focuses this Article upon the aspect of the Saikewicz decision which determines that the kind of "proxy consent" question involved in that case required for its decision "the process of detached but passionate investigation and decision that forms the ideal on which the judicial branch of government was created." This aspect of the decision has drawn much criticism from the medical community on the ground that it embroils what doctors believe to be a medical question in the adversarial processes of the court system. The author criticizes the decision from an entirely opposite perspective, arguing that the court's …

Equality And Health, Michael Meltsner

Michael Meltsner

This article describes civil rights litigation over discrimination in health care in the 1960's. As a consequence of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 enforcement shifted to federal regulators whose performance is measured and evaluated.