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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Aesthetics Of Affirmative Action, Brian Soucek
The Aesthetics Of Affirmative Action, Brian Soucek
Studio for Law and Culture
Justice Thomas’s dissent in Grutter v. Bollinger — which dismissed diversity as an “aesthetic” — highlighted the Supreme Court’s least-discussed rationale for affirmative action in higher education: the claim that visible diversity in elite institutions bolsters those institutions’ “perceived legitimacy.” This Article takes seriously that claim, and Thomas’s critique, as distinctively aesthetic arguments about the role of appearances in public life. By distinguishing the perceived legitimacy argument from others made on behalf of affirmative action, the Article traces for the first time its origins, scope, and unacknowledged popularity. By identifying the aesthetic logic of the Court's argument and drawing on …
Blood Quantum And Equal Protection, Rose Cuison Villazor
Blood Quantum And Equal Protection, Rose Cuison Villazor
Studio for Law and Culture
Modern equal protection doctrine treats laws that make distinctions on the basis of indigeneity defined on blood quantum terms along a racial/political paradigm. This dichotomy may be traced to Morton v. Mancari and more recently to Rice v. Cayetano. In Mancari, the Supreme Court held that laws that privilege members of Native American tribes do not constitute racial discrimination because the preferences have a political purpose – to further the right to self-government of tribes. Rice v. Cayetano crystallized the juxtaposition of the racial from the political nature of indigeneity by invalidating a law that privileged Native Hawaiians. That …