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Symposium Transcript

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Powerful Vine: My Memories Of Isabel Marcus, Barbara J. Bono

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

House Bill 1316 & Senate Bill 0538: Paid Leave For Adoptive And Foster Parents, Lilia Zylstra, Caroline Shutley, Sydney Reyes, Evelyn Mankowski

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

House Bill 1316 and its companion Senate Bill 0538 propose that employees of the state of Tennessee should be allotted up to 6 weeks paid leave if they become a foster parent to a minor or adopt a minor. To better understand HB 1316 and SB 0538 from a social work perspective, it is vital to examine how the proposed bill promotes the importance of human relationships, the dignity and worth of a person, and social justice—while also recognizing where the bill has room for growth. This study of HB1316 will provide an in-depth analysis of the bill from a …

Hb277/Sb941: Sentencing Disparities In Tennessee, Theresa Collins, Sloane Crockett, Amani Devault-Smith, Maggie Ask, Natalie Schilling

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

No abstract provided.

Child Protection And Infant Mental Health: An Essential Partnership, Claudia M. Gold M.D.

West Virginia Law Review

The core argument of this paper— that listening from stance of curiosity to caregivers who interface with the child protection system holds the key to true protection by supporting child development—stands the test of time. Since its publication a decade ago, two significant changes have occurred. First the field of infant mental health is in the process of a reframing to the term “early relational health,” drawing on the abundance of research evidence showing how early relationships lay the foundation for lifelong growth and development. Second we are in the midst of a long overdue reckoning with social injustice. Principles …

"Communities That Care": Incorporating Socially Engaged Artistic Practices Into Clinical Legal Education, Bernard P. Perlmutter, Xavier Cortada

Articles

This Article, co-authored by a law school clinician and an artist and lawyer, explores collaborations between the artist, a child advocacy clinic, and its clients (children in state foster care) in building a community that empowers clients by giving them voice through both traditional legal advocacy and non-traditional forms of socially engaged artistic expression. The Article aims to address some of the challenges and benefits of clinics creating alliances with artists and community-based arts organizations as part of their teaching and advocacy missions. We describe and provide examples of the practice of law as a creative exercise and argue that …

The Ties That Bind Us: An Empirical, Clinical, And Constitutional Argument Against Terminating Parental Rights, Vivek S. Sankaran, Christopher Church

Articles

This Article explores the unnecessary termination of a child's relationship with their parent from an empirical, clinical, and constitutional lens. Part I explores administrative data related to TPR, which like many child protection metrics, resembles nothing short of a wild west of practices and policies relating to how often and how fast child protection systems terminate parental rights. These data also reveal how TPR can unnecessarily delay legal permanency for children, particularly those children who are living with extended family, and how a State pursuing TPR can drain its own scarce resources, a system perpetually decrying insufficient resources. Part II …

Shades Of Justice: Racial Profiling Then And Now, F. Michael Higginbotham

Articles

It is not easy these days to talk about race in America, especially in a diverse group across racial lines. This is because people tend to feel strongly about these controversial issues, and when they disagree, they end up calling each other bad names, and that upsets their stomachs; then, they cannot enjoy the good food and drink that often accompany such events. So many simply choose not to attend, burying their heads in the sand. This Essay discusses several controversial aspects of the relevance of slavery law to issues of racial inequality today. Racial profiling has been a consistent …

Working Hard And Hardly Earning: Ab 2932 And The Need To Empower Labor, Adam D. Nir

University of the Pacific Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Quest To End Human Trafficking: An Educational And Practical Guide For Everyone Who Wants To Help Break The Bonds And Assist Survivors, Dennis W. Mccarty

Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity Faculty Scholarship

People often assume that only legislators and law enforcement personnel can take meaningful steps to fight human trafficking, one of the most lucrative transnational crimes in the world. This inquiry sought to assess the validity of that belief. The study was informed by the author’s experience as a college instructor of human trafficking and the inspiration he drew from the range and quality of his students’ projects.

The methodology included examining the strategies that governmental and non-governmental organizations are using to fight trafficking and assist survivors. It also considered the work of individual activists and service providers such as social …

Palestinian Women And Housing Laws In Israel: A Case Study Of Legal And Epistemic Injustice, Yael Cohen-Rimer

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

This Article is built on a legal metaphor. In criminal law, we discuss whether an actor has the mens rea for a crime. I argue in this paper that judicial review of cases related to rights infringements involve a similar inquiry. In applying discrimination laws, courts actually, though sometimes not explicitly, search for anything between intent and awareness. In administrative law, courts search for indications of the negligence of the administrator. I use the test case of Palestinian women and Israeli housing aid rules to show where these legal practices fall short in treating the core problem. I analyze this …

Disrupting The School-To-Prison Pipeline: The Development Of Strong, Stable Relationships, Mackiah Hoff

Senior Capstone Papers

The “school-to-prison pipeline” is a disturbing national trend where school policies and practices unjustly funnel children—namely children who are Black and Brown and/or have disabilities—into the Juvenile Justice system. Students of color are far more likely to be suspended, expelled, or arrested for the same kind of behavior as their white peers, and youth with disabilities are acutely affected by schools who ignore due process protections. Such students would benefit from extra supports and resources but instead face zero-tolerance policies, exclusionary discipline, and unreasonable difficulties with re-entry into school. The following research presents a review of current literature as it …

When The Victim Is Male: An Organizational Approach To Combat Gender Bias Within The Criminal Justice System, Shelby Hobbs

Senior Capstone Papers

The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey estimates that over 226.1 million people have been victims of domestic violence (DV) throughout their lifetimes. This violence can present itself in physical abuse or emotional turmoil, all with the ultimate goal of a perpetrator maintaining power over their victim(s). Rates of victimization across men and women are similar—44.2% and 47.3% respectively; however, this is not reflected in the current research and service provisions for victims. For example, male-identifying victims within the criminal justice system have reported their innocence must be proved before their claims of abuse are taken seriously, and that …

Racial Bias And Death Penalty Cases: A Soar Analysis Of Post-Conviction, Ashley Mcilvaine

Senior Capstone Papers

Racial discrimination is a far-reaching issue that adversely impacts individuals, groups, and communities across multiple domains. It is defined by the Equality and Human Rights Commission as being treated differently because of one’s race. For decades, discriminatory policies have been codified into institutional processes which disadvantage people of color. This is particularly evident in the criminal justice system. Examples of practices that disproportionately impact intentionally marginalized populations include issues of excess force and police brutality, sentencing disparities for minor offenses or drug charges, and state sanctioned capital punishment. While these forms of discrimination are often labeled as explicit and overt …

The Hague Convention On International Parental Kidnapping: Still The Best Hope For Children?, Katherine Jenkins

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction remains the most effective legal mechanism for resolving international parental kidnapping cases, but it requires significant reforms, particularly to address issues related to domestic violence and its impact on victims and children. While the Convention has facilitated the return of thousands of children, its failure to adequately acknowledge and protect domestic violence survivors has led to unintended consequences, undermining its effectiveness and deterring some countries from joining.

Disaster Discordance: Local Court Implementation Of State And Federal Eviction Policies, Lauren Sudeall, Elora L. Raymond, Philip M.E. Garboden

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Eviction sits at the nexus of property rights and the basic human need for shelter-the former benefits from a strong framework of legal protection while the latter does not. In most eviction courts across the country, therefore, the right to housing is unrecognized, while landlords' economic interests in property are consistently vindicated.

The public health crisis unleashed by COVID-19 temporarily upended that (im)balance. Emergency federal and state eviction prevention policies issued in response to COVID-19 prioritized public health-and the need for shelter to prevent the spread of disease-over typically dominant property rights. In doing so, they presented courts with an …

Environmental Justice From The Ground(Water) Up: Coping With Contamination In Tallevast, Florida, Grey W. Caballero

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

How do communities living with chronic environmental contamination cope with the social, political, and economic impacts of the contamination? This research employs a community-engaged oral history approach with participant observation and archival research to address this question. We focus on the case of Tallevast, Florida, where the local groundwater has been contaminated with chlorinated solvents for over 60 years and where cleanup is estimated to take another 100 years. In addition to concerns about health and wellness, we find that residents are also concerned about household displacement and the disruption of social networks, failed governance at the local and state …

The Elusive Pursuit Of Justice: Sexual Assault Survivors' Speak About Redress In The Aftermath Of Violence, Tamera Ashley Margaret Burnett

PhD Dissertations

The struggle of survivors to obtain justice after they have been sexually assaulted has been a much discussed topic in recent years. Significant attention and resources are being directed towards this issue, making academic research particularly valuable at this time. However, instead of asking how legal processes can theoretically be made better, as is the case in most of the literature on this topic, my focus has been on asking why survivors want to engage in a legal process at all. What do they get from reporting their assaults and does what the legal system offers them respond to what …

Treating Criminal Justice-Involved Serious Mental Illness (Smi) Clients In The Community, Brittany Hood

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

With criminal justice-involved individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) at an all-time high in the criminal justice system, research on community mental health centers (CMHCs) demonstrates a lack of treatment for justice-involved persons. Scholars have argued that providing appropriate treatment to criminal justice-involved individuals with SMI could alleviate symptoms. Therefore improving the effectiveness of mental health treatment to reduce recidivism in this population is paramount. The current study used a qualitative approach to examine how community service providers perceived organizational-level variables and legal constraints to influence treatment decisions for justice-involved individuals with SMI. Findings suggest three critical implications for policy …

Privacy Is Not Dead: Expressively Using Law To Push Back Against Corporate Deregulators And Meaningfully Protect Data Privacy Rights, Alexander F. Krupp

Georgia Law Review

When the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) passed in 2016, it represented the world’s first major comprehensive data privacy law and kicked off a conversation about how we think about the right to privacy in the modern age. The law granted a broad range of rights to EU citizens, including a right to have companies delete data they collect about you, a right not to have your personal information sold, and a range of other rights all geared towards individual autonomy over personal data. All the while, platform companies like Facebook (Meta), Apple, and Amazon have taken …

The Buffalo Model: An Approach To Aba Standard 303(C)'S Exploration Of Bias, Cross Cultural Competency, And Antiracism In Clinical & Experiential Law, Kim Diana Connolly, Elisa Lackey

Journal Articles

This Article offers an early analysis of ABA Standard 303(c) following its recent adoption in 2022. ABA Standard 303(c) requires that law schools “shall provide education law students on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism.” The Author suggests that 303(c) formalizes what many clinical educators have already been teaching: inclusion, justice, and belonging. Following the 2020 shootings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, many law schools have revisited their diversity, equity, and inclusion programming and implemented various new initiatives and training. Despite current efforts, the Author notes that planning and resources will need to be allocated toward compliance efforts in order …

Homeless Residency Restrictions, Ben A. Mcjunkin

West Virginia Law Review

Last year, the West Virginia House of Delegates introduced a radical proposal for responding to homelessness within the state: privately enforceable residency restrictions. As introduced, the restrictions prohibited homeless individuals from sheltering themselves, from being sheltered by others, or from receiving food or care within 1,500 feet of a school or childcare center. This prohibition was to operate statewide, transforming an issue that historically has been considered hyper-local into a subject of state concern. Moreover, the proposed bill established a private right of action for enforcement, legislating around the possibility of recalcitrant municipal governments declining to abide by the residency …

Community Justice Services: Models From Around The World, Lisa Moore

Canadian Forum on Civil Justice

This document examines community justice services. It highlights approaches and models for local justice outreach and legal assistance effectuated by organizations around the world. The organizations profiled in this document all provide legal assistance in some form to underserved, underprivileged, vulnerable, and/or marginalized populations. In many cases, geographic location is an important factor determining who can access legal help, but it is not the only factor or necessarily a prerequisite. Across the diverse community justice services included in this document, legal assistance is provided virtually, in-person, by phone, or in hybrid formats to individuals living within or beyond a given …

Rhode Was Right (About Character And Fitness), Leslie C. Levin

Fordham Law Review

In this Essay, Professor Leslie C. Levin revives Professor Deborah L. Rhode’s forty-year-old critique of the character and fitness process and shows that not much has changed. Levin exposes the process’s core problems, including the lack of public information available about character and fitness decisions, the process’s subjectivity, the disconnect between information sought and future lawyer misconduct, and the deterrent effect on individuals considering a legal career. Levin proposes that task forces reexamine problematic application questions, such as those targeting decriminalized conduct and mental health, and push for more transparency and disclosure.

Cultural Humility And Cultural Brokering In Professional Training: Insights From People Of Color (Poc) And Persons With Disabilities (Pwd), Victoria Filingeri, Heather M. Mendez, Alisa Ssu Yu Lin, Gyasi Burks-Abbott, Amy Szarkowski, Jason Fogler

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

This conceptual paper reflects the collaborative work of LEND trainees and faculty exploring the need to shift from “cultural competencies” to “cultural humility” in training programs. The authors draw on their lived experiences as members of racially/ethnically marginalized groups, members of the disability community, and advocates for equity in accessibility. Collectively, the authors highlight some of the challenges and opportunities in supporting diverse trainees in professional- and discipline-specific training programs. and in the provision of services the trainees provide to care-recipients across a variety of fields. This paper includes a series of case vignettes in order to: examine individual authors’ …

Disability Decolonized: Indigenous Peoples Enacting Self-Determination, Nathan J. Rabang, Amy E. West, Eric Kurtz, Jim Warne, Vanessa Y. Hiratsuka

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Populations researched often have little if any input in the means of data collection, analysis, or authorship of the findings published. They are excluded from participating in the scientific methods even though they are the subject of the content that is being produced. This is true for Indigenous populations and the disability community around the globe. Researchers usually use colonial methodology that does not encompass the values of these communities or have their well-being in mind. This paper examines the history of colonization and how it has infiltrated science and inhibits self-determination of Indigenous peoples. Indigenous communities need to have …

The Promising Practice Of Cultural Brokering Support With Culturally Diverse Families Of Children With Developmental Disabilities: Perspectives From Families, Yali Pang, Dana V. Yarbrough

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Background and Purpose: The Parent to Parent model of support has been found to be effective with supporting families of children with DD in navigating complex systems, gaining emotional support, building positive resilience, sharing ideas and learning problem solving skills. Parent to Parent ties can be particularly strong when cultural capital is involved. This study presents a cultural brokering initiative embedded in the evidence-informed Parent to Parent support model that could be a promising practice to support culturally diverse families of children with DD.

Methods: This study used a mixed methods approach to examine the practice and outcomes of a …

Differential Access Of Young Children Of Immigrants To Special Education In Massachusetts, Cady Landa

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Accessing services for children with special needs is complex and challenging for even U.S.-born parents. Is it even more difficult for immigrant parents, and what are the consequences for their children? This article reports on a mixed methods approach to examining the access of immigrants’ children to special education and inclusive placement. A multivariate analysis of Massachusetts education data finds that children of immigrants are significantly less likely than children of U.S.-born parents to participate in special education. It also finds that among children who do participate in special education, children of immigrants are more likely to be in substantially …

Paths To Equity: Parents In Partnership With Ucedds Fostering Black Family Advocacy For Children On The Autism Spectrum, Elizabeth H. Morgan, Benita D. Shaw, Ida Winters, Chiffon King, Jazmin Burns, Aubyn Stahmer, Gail Chodron

Developmental Disabilities Network Journal

Racism and ableism have doubly affected Black families of children with developmental disabilities in their interactions with disability systems of supports and services (e.g., early intervention, mental health, education, medical systems). On average, Black autistic children are diagnosed three years later and are up to three times more likely to be misdiagnosed than their non-Hispanic White peers. Qualitative research provides evidence that systemic oppression, often attributed to intersectionality, can cause circumstances where Black disabled youth are doubly marginalized by policy and practice that perpetuates inequality. School discipline policies that criminalize Black students and inadequate medical assessments that improperly support Black …

The Status Of Curricular Change During The Industry’S Greatrecession: Radical, Or The New Norm?, Patrick Meyer

Ohio Northern University Law Review

No abstract provided.