Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 9 of 9
Full-Text Articles in Law and Race
Effectively Implementing Civilian Oversight Boards To Ensure Police Accountability And Strengthen Police-Community Relations, Kevin King
UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice
The recent killings of Michael Brown and Eric Garner have reignited the debate over curbing police misconduct. Due to United States Supreme Court jurisprudence and the quality of internal affairs investigations there continues to be a void in police oversight. Local governments are often reactive, instead of proactive, when implementing strategies for overseeing police misconduct. On several occasions civilian oversight boards have only formed in reaction to tragic death. When implemented effectively, civilian oversight boards can both help create just police practices and better the civilian complaint process. Unfortunately, some of these boards fail to develop into more than symbols …
Supporting Social Movements: A Brief Guide For Lawyers And Law Students, Jim Freeman
Supporting Social Movements: A Brief Guide For Lawyers And Law Students, Jim Freeman
UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice
In recent years, there has been a surge in grassroots organizing and activism, creating new possibilities for advancing social, racial, gender, and economic justice. As a result, lawyers now have a rare opportunity to help create powerful and sustainable social movements by supporting, strengthening, and amplifying these on-the-ground efforts. However, there is a long history of would-be "movement lawyers" who have inadvertently undermined many promising grassroots-led initiatives. This article summarizes, from a practitioner's perspective, the essential elements of effective movement lawyering and how they can help to avoid the mistakes of the past and promote transformative social change.
How Police Brutality Harms Mothers: Linking Police Violence To The Reproductive Justice Movement, Arneta Rogers
How Police Brutality Harms Mothers: Linking Police Violence To The Reproductive Justice Movement, Arneta Rogers
UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice
The recent and highly publicized killing of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old African American and the subsequent grand jury decision not to indict Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Missouri police officer who killed him, evoked mass social protest, and highly emotional and politically charged social commentary on the racialized effects of police brutality. While the crisis of systemic police violence has historically centered on the harm inflicted on victims of police brutality and, more generally, on the communities where they are from, an agitated group of feminist scholars and reproductive justice advocates have offered a more nuanced appraisal of the harm …
Ferguson To Geneva: Using The Human Rights Framework To Push Forward A Vision For Racial Justice In The United States After Ferguson, Justin Hansford, Meena Jagannath
Ferguson To Geneva: Using The Human Rights Framework To Push Forward A Vision For Racial Justice In The United States After Ferguson, Justin Hansford, Meena Jagannath
UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice
As demonstrations under the banner of #BlackLivesMatter continue to erupt around the United States against state-sponsored violence, and as state, local, and federal officials continue to eschew fundamental social change, families and protesters have begun to explore alternative international forums in the search for justice. The Ferguson to Geneva delegation represents a significant event in this internationalist turn. The delegation, consisting of the parents of Mike Brown, Jr. and young Black leaders from Ferguson, chose to air their grievances before the United Nations Committee Against Torture in the fall of 2014. This article reproduces the delegation's "shadow report," which laid …
Exonerated, But Not Free: The Prolonged Struggle For A Second Chance At A Stolen Life, Newton N. Knowles
Exonerated, But Not Free: The Prolonged Struggle For A Second Chance At A Stolen Life, Newton N. Knowles
UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice
It is impossible to imagine being accused of a crime you did not commit. Worse, it is even harder to imagine a jury sentencing you to death or to life in prison when you know you are innocent. Since the rise of DNA evidence, the criminal justice system has been stunned by the newly exposed cases of wrongful conviction. Sadly, in most cases innocent exonerees are released with nothing more than an apology, if even that. Postexoneration compensation varies drastically among the several states and reentry resources are even more scarce or unavailable. Each compensation scheme on its own, however, …
After The Hurricane: The Legacy Of The Rubin Carter Case, Judith L. Ritter
After The Hurricane: The Legacy Of The Rubin Carter Case, Judith L. Ritter
UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter died in the spring of 2014 at the age of seventy-six. He was a top middleweight boxing contender in the early 1960s, twice convicted of a triple homicide, but then freed by a federal court in 1985 after he served nineteen years in prison. This Article recalls his life, the homicide trials, and the constitutional issues that led to his release. The Article makes the point that had Rubin Carter's federal habeas corpus petition been adjudicated under current law, he would have remained behind bars. Congress enacted the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act in 1996. The …
Equal Protection: Immigrants' Access To Healthcare And Welfare Benefits, Mel Cousins
Equal Protection: Immigrants' Access To Healthcare And Welfare Benefits, Mel Cousins
UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice
The introduction of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 has led to considerable litigation on the rights of immigrants to healthcare and welfare benefits. There is significant divergence between the approaches adopted by different courts (both federal and state). This divergence is based, in part, on the different statutory schemes involved, as well as different approaches to Equal Protection. However, none of the cases have reached the United States Supreme Court, so the "correct" approach remains unclear. Following the fiscal crisis of 2008, several states moved for increased exclusion of certain immigrants, residing in the country …
Can Local Governments Provide Protection To Vulnerable Communities In California A State Which Has Legalized Predatory Payday Lending And Failed To Pass Reform, Krista R. Granen
Can Local Governments Provide Protection To Vulnerable Communities In California A State Which Has Legalized Predatory Payday Lending And Failed To Pass Reform, Krista R. Granen
UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice
The payday lending industry provides small dollar loans to persons across the United States. Although their product is marketed as temporary, the majority of borrowers cannot repay the underlying amount and exorbitant interest rates within the deceptively advertised time period. As a result, most borrowers remain indebted to payday lenders for approximately half of the year and must forgo basic necessities in order to extricate themselves from payday debt. This Note seeks to clarify the mechanics of payday lending, provide the surrounding historical and legal context, and explain the industry's especially negative impact on low-income and minority communities in California. …
Talking Israel And Palestine On Campus: How The U.S. Department Of Education Can Uphold The Civil Rights Act And The First Amendment, Yaman Salahi, Nasrina Bargzie
Talking Israel And Palestine On Campus: How The U.S. Department Of Education Can Uphold The Civil Rights Act And The First Amendment, Yaman Salahi, Nasrina Bargzie
UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice
A rise in scholarly discussion and campus activism about Israel and Palestine has prompted a wave of civil rights complaints that raise important legal questions under the First Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This Article reviews the U.S. Department of Education's handling of such complaints focused on traditional forms of constitutionally-protected expression, like nonviolent protest, academic panels, film screenings, pamphlets, and flyers. The Article rejects the central premise of these complaints: that students suffer from a hostile educational environment in violation of their civil rights when a particular country or government with which they …