Fourteenth Amendment Commons^™

Let Us Not Be Intimidated: Past And Present Applications Of Section 11(B) Of The Voting Rights Act, Carly E. Zipper

Washington Law Review

As John Lewis said, “[the] vote is precious. Almost sacred. It is the most powerful non-violent tool we have to create a more perfect union.” The Voting Rights Act (VRA), likewise, is a powerful tool. This Comment seeks to empower voters and embolden their advocates to better use that tool with an improved understanding of its little-known protection against voter intimidation, section 11(b).

Although the term “voter intimidation” may connote armed confrontations at polling places, some forms of intimidation are much more subtle and insidious—dissuading voters from heading to the polls on election day rather than confronting them outright when …

Police Or Pirates? Reforming Washington's Civil Asset Forfeiture System, Jasmin Chigbrow

Washington Law Review

Civil asset forfeiture laws permit police officers to seize property they suspect is connected to criminal activity and sell or retain the property for the police department’s use. In many states, including Washington, civil forfeiture occurs independent of any criminal case—many property owners are never charged with the offense police allege occurred. Because the government is not required to file criminal charges, property owners facing civil forfeiture lack the constitutional safeguards normally guaranteed to defendants in the criminal justice system: the right to an attorney, the presumption of innocence, the government’s burden to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, …

Due Process—Administrative Law—Public Assistance: Applicant's Right To A Fair Hearing—Davis V. Toledo Metropolitan Housing Authority, 311 F. Supp. 795 (N.D. Ohio 1970), Anon

Washington Law Review

Plaintiff applied for admission to a low income housing program administered by the Toledo Metropolitan Housing Authority. The Authority's regulation concerning admission to the program provided several standards for determining an applicant's character eligibility. The regulations required that applicants of unqualified character be declared ineligible on the general grounds of "non-desirability." Plaintiff was denied a place on the waiting list for housing program vacancies on those grounds. Her request for the specific facts supporting the Housing Authority's decision was denied, and her appeal for a "fair hearing" to contest the decision was refused. Plaintiff brought suit to enjoin the Housing …