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The Homosexual Law And Policy In The Military: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass" . . . Don't Be Absurd!, Debra A. Luker
The Homosexual Law And Policy In The Military: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass" . . . Don't Be Absurd!, Debra A. Luker
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
The violent murder of Army Private First Class Barry Winchell, a suspected homosexual, is a gruesome example of how the military does not tolerate homosexuals. The military’s current homosexual policy – referred to as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Pursue, Don’t Harass – is ineffective. The policy creates an atmosphere of intolerance that leads to discrimination among homosexual service members, and this discrimination often has violent ends. This comment analyzes the ways other countries implement policies for their homosexual service members, and also offers proposals to improve the current homosexual policy in the United States. The author discusses how the …
Responding To Judicial And Lawyer Misconduct: Analyzing A Survey Of State Trial Court Judges, Peter M. Koelling
Responding To Judicial And Lawyer Misconduct: Analyzing A Survey Of State Trial Court Judges, Peter M. Koelling
St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics
While reported cases or incidents may give us insight into the interpretation of Rule 2.15 of the Model Code of Judicial Conduct, they do not give us a sense of how often judges undertake the obligation to act under the rule. The Judicial Division of the American Bar Association developed a survey to explore the interpretation and the implementation of Rule 2.15 of the Model Code of Judicial Conduct, and to determine how and in what manner state trial court judges responded to ethical violations by lawyers and other judges. The survey looked back over a ten-year period and was …
In The Aftermath Of Shelby County: An Analysis On Why Texas Should Be Required To Pre-Clear All Voting Changes., Elizabeth Resendez
In The Aftermath Of Shelby County: An Analysis On Why Texas Should Be Required To Pre-Clear All Voting Changes., Elizabeth Resendez
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
The history of the Voting Rights Act began with the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment. African-Americans have faced numerous roadblocks in exercising their right to vote. A few of these roadblocks include property tests, poll taxes, and gerrymandering of voting districts. The federal government attempted to combat these procedures by passing legislation. Initially, these laws tried to weaponize case-by-case litigation, but these laws were ineffective due to the far reach of voter discrimination and the sluggish pace of the litigation process. To better combat the issue, Congress attempted to use the Civil Rights Act of 1957 to deal with systemic …
The New World Of Prosecutorial Discretion In Immigration Enforcement: Lessons From Criminal Justice., Aaron Haas
The New World Of Prosecutorial Discretion In Immigration Enforcement: Lessons From Criminal Justice., Aaron Haas
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Abstract forthcoming.
Immigrants For Sale: Corporate America Puts A Price Tag On Sexual Abuse., Bessie Muñoz
Immigrants For Sale: Corporate America Puts A Price Tag On Sexual Abuse., Bessie Muñoz
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Current immigration law and the privatization of immigration detention centers have made it highly likely that immigrants will be detained. Immigrants will continue to migrate to the United States, and if the immigration policies require detention, the government needs to enforce the compliance of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards, especially in private detention centers. Illegal immigration is not to be condoned, but immigrants still retain the human right to be treated with dignity, free from sexual violence. There are three different types of immigration detention facilities, but the ones owned by private government contractors do not have to …
A Decade's Legacy: Dashed Hopes For Gender Equality And The Status Of Afghan Women In Light Of The Ensuing Drawdown., Meredith B. English
A Decade's Legacy: Dashed Hopes For Gender Equality And The Status Of Afghan Women In Light Of The Ensuing Drawdown., Meredith B. English
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
This Comment addresses the legal structures which need to be supported in order to ensure substantial gender equality after allied forces withdraw from Afghanistan. After 2013, justice for abused women in Afghanistan stalled. Research suggests women’s rights and peace in Afghanistan are directly related. The presence of the Taliban and their restrictive rules has many Afghan women fearing for their lives and for the loss of decades of progress in the women’s rights movement. Leaders in Afghanistan must acquire a more liberal interpretation of Sharia law, while staying within the boundaries of the religious and ethnic traditions of the culture. …
Safety Over Semantics: The Case For Statutory Protection For Domestic Violence Asylum Applicants., Spencer Kyle
Safety Over Semantics: The Case For Statutory Protection For Domestic Violence Asylum Applicants., Spencer Kyle
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Women and children make up the vast majority of the world’s refugee population. However, in the United States, the majority of successful applicants are men. Asylum seekers who assert claims of domestic violence are largely unsuccessful. The current immigration laws do not take gender into account when determining societal factors for obtaining asylum. People often misinterpret most foreign domestic violence allegations as differences of religion or cultural practices. Many believe domestic violence against women is solely a private issue and not the product of a political or social system designed to make women inferior to men. This dichotomy allows people …
Nurturing The Seeds Of Food Justice: Unearthing The Impact Of Institutionalized Racism On Access To Healthy Food In Urban African-American Communities., Kate Meals
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Comprehensive change to our food systems must include a combination of community-based solutions and the elimination of racism from all structural levels. An anti-racist analysis of hunger is necessary to contextualize the power dynamics and structures responsible for food inequality. In recent decades, globalization and exponential population growth have pushed the boundaries of economic, social, and ecological sustainability, threatening global food security. Despite the fact that it is fundamental to human survival, adequate access to food is often viewed as a privilege, rather than a basic human right. These practices work to maintain a food system crisis that disproportionally impacts …
Is Obama Black: The Pseudo-Legal Definition Of The Black Race: A Proposal For Regulatory Clarification Generated From A Historical Socio-Political Perspective., Gloria J. Liddell, Peason Liddell Jr.
Is Obama Black: The Pseudo-Legal Definition Of The Black Race: A Proposal For Regulatory Clarification Generated From A Historical Socio-Political Perspective., Gloria J. Liddell, Peason Liddell Jr.
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Barack Obama’s successful run for President of the United States exposed many intriguing sociological and political issues in American society, not least of which was the question of race. Obama was the offspring of a mother of White European ancestry and a father of African ancestry. Obama is considered “Black,” though some would argue he could have been called “White” just as justifiably. The public discourse surrounding the election of President Obama highlights the need for clarification. In this Article, we explore the past to provide a foundational perspective. In proposing a somewhat unconventional definition, we seek to contain within …
Linguistic Profiling In Education: How Accent Bias Denies Equal Educational Opportunities To Students Of Color., William Y. Chin
Linguistic Profiling In Education: How Accent Bias Denies Equal Educational Opportunities To Students Of Color., William Y. Chin
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
desegregation, education civil rights, Meagan Field, Jennifer Solak, William Chin, Monica Aguon, No Child Left Behind, Minority Student, The Scholar: St. Mary’s Law Review on Minority Issues, Limited English Proficient (LEP).
John Jay, Discrimination, And Tenure., Guillermo S. Dekat
John Jay, Discrimination, And Tenure., Guillermo S. Dekat
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
American courts should cease allowing the academic deference doctrine to interfere with tenure decision cases and treat tenure decisions the same way they treat any other employment discrimination case. Unlike recent court precedent that holds that summary judgement and judgement as a matter of law should not be granted when the employer’s defenses are vague and subjective, or when they heavily rely on testimony of interested parties, this principle has yet to be applied to a plaintiff in a tenure case. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit provided five reasons for distinguishing between tenure decisions and regular employment …
Transformative Mediation: Empowering The Oppressed Voices Of A Multicultural City To Foster Strong Democracy., Arby Aiwazian
Transformative Mediation: Empowering The Oppressed Voices Of A Multicultural City To Foster Strong Democracy., Arby Aiwazian
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Transformative mediation’s promotion of understanding, acceptance, and inclusion fosters a purer democracy by cultivating the individual self-empowerment of traditionally disempowered individuals that is vital to strong and robust democracies. By transforming relationships and empowering individuals, transformative mediation helps foster an arena for self-governance, which inevitably leads to self-empowerment and a purer democracy. Optimistically, as more individuals are empowered through transformative mediation, communities plagued with violence, hatred, and misunderstanding could also reap the benefits by fostering acceptance, communication, inclusion, and understanding. The nature of the United States’ current passive and procedural democratic system further perpetuates inequality by placing political power solely …
Are Americans Good Samaritans - How Martin Luther King's Example Can Empower American's Humanitarian Majority., Charles Martel
Are Americans Good Samaritans - How Martin Luther King's Example Can Empower American's Humanitarian Majority., Charles Martel
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
The essay challenges the notion that the American conception of human rights is limited to civil and political rights and excludes internationally recognized principles that accord right status to economic, cultural and social justice. The author points to the U.S. civil rights movement and its societal transformative success as evidence that Americans support a comprehensive humanitarian agenda that conforms to international human rights law. The civil rights movement promoted economic and social rights and treated those issues as integrated with civil and political rights. Thus U.S. civil rights law - and the revolutionary transformation of the American socio-political landscape brought …
Defining And Determining Retardation In Texas Capital Murder Defendants: A Proposal To The Texas Legislature., Graham Baker
Defining And Determining Retardation In Texas Capital Murder Defendants: A Proposal To The Texas Legislature., Graham Baker
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Although the Supreme Court of the United States ruled it is cruel and unusual to execute someone with a mental handicap, Texas statutes still do not adequately protect these individuals. Previously, the Court in Penry v. Lynaugh upheld states executing individuals with mental deficiencies. However, individual states began to outlaw such a practice. When the Court heard Atkins v. Virginia, they determined the states created a national consensus against executing persons who possess certain developmental disabilities, thus rendering it cruel and unusual. Atkins did not, however, define mental retardation and left it up to individual states to determine that criteria. …
A Pregnant Teenager's Right To Education In Texas., Amber Hausenfluck
A Pregnant Teenager's Right To Education In Texas., Amber Hausenfluck
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Texas must work to better protect the legal rights of pregnant teenagers within its school districts. Without statewide requirements to ensure the elimination of pregnancy discrimination against students, school districts’ policies vary greatly and often include policies counter to the protections afforded both in Title IX and the Texas Education Code. Title IX requires the choice to attend an alternative school be completely voluntary. However, upon inspection, many Texas schools seem to violate this requirement by compelling or pressuring pregnant students to attend alternative education programs instead of adequately informing them of their educational options. The Texas Education Code guarantees …
Getting The Mentally Ill Misdemeanant Out Of Jail., James R. Walker
Getting The Mentally Ill Misdemeanant Out Of Jail., James R. Walker
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
This Comment advocates for the release of jailed persons arrested for nonviolent crimes due to the symptomology associated with their mental illnesses. Mentally ill misdemeanants suffer from severe and persistent mental disorders, usually either a psychotic or mood disorder, without symptoms or a diagnosis of a personality disorder. Due to the increase in arrests of individuals with mental illnesses, jail and prison populations are drastically increasing. These institutions have turned into modern mental hospitals or asylums. Criminalization of the mentally ill occurs because increasing numbers of mentally ill persons who commit minor crimes are subject to more frequent arrests. The …
Truth Vs. Justice: Promoting The Rule Of Law In Post-Apartheid South Africa., Cassandra Fox Charles
Truth Vs. Justice: Promoting The Rule Of Law In Post-Apartheid South Africa., Cassandra Fox Charles
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Strict adherence to the rule of law provides the strongest protections against gross human rights violations. The aftermath of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, TRC, demonstrates how few protections exist without the rule of law. By exchanging truth for justice, the Commission harmed, and continues to harm, the true victims of apartheid and failed to achieve the national unity and reconciliation promised. Truthful confessions based on voluntary disclosure cannot equalize the overarching systematic disparities required for reconciliation to take root and grow. Instead of amnesty in exchange for voluntary disclosure, South Africa should follow the traditional notions of justice …
America And The World: Human Rights At Home And Abroad., Joe W. (Chip) Pitts Iii
America And The World: Human Rights At Home And Abroad., Joe W. (Chip) Pitts Iii
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Multiple provisions in the Bill of Rights appear gutted around the last year. While abroad, Mr. Pitts received an outside perspective on American news which provided him with a new outlook on current events. The United Nations Social Forum brought voices into the United Nations which are not typically heard, such as poor and vulnerable populations not represented elsewhere. Concurrently, the Johannesburg Summit addressed similar issues. However, as of late, the American government suppresses the voices of the American people. The Patriot Act includes provisions which deter dissent, freedom of speech, and assembly. This Act also purported to give the …
Is Anything Ever Free?: Nafta’S Effect On Union Organizing Drives And Minorities And The Potential Of Ftaa Having A Similar Effect, Karla Shantel Jackson
Is Anything Ever Free?: Nafta’S Effect On Union Organizing Drives And Minorities And The Potential Of Ftaa Having A Similar Effect, Karla Shantel Jackson
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its additional labor agreement, the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), supported globalization between North American countries. Mexico, Canada, and the United States signed the agreements intending to increase economic growth and employment over a fifteen-year period. NAFTA proponents believed it would serve as a stimulus for long-term economic gains. Opponents disagreed, citing the ineffectiveness of the labor accord in protecting workers and major job losses. In the United States, NAFTA negatively impacted labor union organizing drives, women, and minorities. Nothing is ever free, and these demographics pay the price for …
Self-Determination And The American Indian: A Case Study, Milo Colton
Self-Determination And The American Indian: A Case Study, Milo Colton
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
The United States has repeatedly victimized indigenous populations by stripping away tribal sovereignty and self-determination. One such example is Indian tribal reservations historical absence of jurisdictional autonomy. Prior to 1953, Indian tribal reservations shared jurisdiction with the federal government, allowing some semblance of autonomy. However, passage of Congress’s Public Law 280 erased this form of self-determination. This law enabled states to assume all civil and criminal jurisdiction over Indian tribal reservations. More recently, however, reservations have slowly begun to regain jurisdictional autonomy through the process of retrocession: the act of returning something taken. The achievements of the Winnebago Tribe of …
There Is A Lot To Be Repaired Before We Get To Reparations: A Critique Of The Underlying Issues Of Race That Impact The Fate Of African American Reparations, Art Alcausin Hall
There Is A Lot To Be Repaired Before We Get To Reparations: A Critique Of The Underlying Issues Of Race That Impact The Fate Of African American Reparations, Art Alcausin Hall
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Reparations are vital to enfranchise a group historically denied access to the opportunities required to enjoy the civil and political rights every United States citizen possesses. However, before African Americans will receive reparations, underlying issues of race must be resolved. The United States has provided reparations for some domestic groups, as well as support for at least one international group. Unfortunately, neither the Supreme Court, nor Congress seems willing to grant the same relief to African Americans. Because of this, outside of small settings and academic arenas, little debate has occurred. The resulting stalemate reveals underlying problems that stem from …
The American Tradition Of Language Rights, ¡Que Viva Texas!: The Forgotten Right To Government In A "Known Tongue", Jose Roberto Juarez
The American Tradition Of Language Rights, ¡Que Viva Texas!: The Forgotten Right To Government In A "Known Tongue", Jose Roberto Juarez
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Abstract forthcoming
Unraveling The Cloth That Binds Latina Garment Workers In Texas: A Critical Analysis Of The Texas Pay Day Act, Ina M. Minjarez
Unraveling The Cloth That Binds Latina Garment Workers In Texas: A Critical Analysis Of The Texas Pay Day Act, Ina M. Minjarez
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Abstract forthcoming
Do Minorities Really Benefit? The Untold Truth About Vouchers, Marie A. Galindo
Do Minorities Really Benefit? The Untold Truth About Vouchers, Marie A. Galindo
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Abstract forthcoming
Strengthening Human Rights Protection: Why The Holocaust Slave Labor Claims Should Be Litigated, Justin H. Roy
Strengthening Human Rights Protection: Why The Holocaust Slave Labor Claims Should Be Litigated, Justin H. Roy
The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice
Abstract forthcoming