Law Commons^™

Interview: Black Lives Matter—A Discussion With Two Civil Rights Attorneys, Justin C. Trimachi

Golden Gate University Law Review

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable . . . every step towards the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle, the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” The Black Lives Matter (“BLM”) movement has a formal presence in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. The founders’ outrage at the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who they believed murdered Trayvon Martin in 2013, fueled BLM’s mission to empower Black communities to intervene in the violence inflicted on those communities by both the State and vigilantes and to eradicate white …

That Was Then, This Is Now: The Revival Of The Proposed Equal Rights Amendment And The Co-Optation Of The #Metoo Movement, Kyndal Currie

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment argues that the anticipated effect of an Equal Rights Amendment on the experiences of Black women and girls who have survived sexual violence is incongruent with the original tenets of the #MeToo movement. To provide context, Part I of this Comment recounts historical efforts to enact the proposed Equal Rights Amendment. Part I also details the concept of “intersectionality,” as well as modern campaigns that embrace its meaning to advance the social position of Black women.

In evaluating the efficacy of an Equal Rights Amendment, Part II of this Comment defines the contours of Black women’s experiences in …

Nordstrom V. Ryan: Inmate’S Legal Correspondence Between His Or Her Attorney Is Still Constitutionally Protected, Christina Ontiveros

Golden Gate University Law Review

Prison administrations have been given much deference as to the limitations of prisoners’ rights. Still, even though the courts have shown regard to the prison administration, they have also recognized that there are two important interests at play: those of the prison administration and that of the prisoners’ constitutional rights. Because there are two important interests at play when an issue arises as to a prison’s regulation and its effect on a prisoner’s constitutional right, the courts turn to the Turner standard to determine the regulation’s constitutionality. Recently, the Ninth Circuit used this standard in Nordstrom v. Ryan to determine …

State V. Trump: Trump Fails In The ‘Art Of The Deal’ Securing A Victory For Travel Ban 2.0, Elizabeth Macayan

Golden Gate University Law Review

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court of Hawaii’s modification of the preliminary injunction against sections 2 and 6 of President Trump’s Executive Order 13780, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. International Refugee Assistance Project.

Hackers Made Me Lose My Job!: Health Data Privacy And Its Potentially Devastating Effect On The Lgbtq Population, Alex Lemberg

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment shows that because of an increasing rate and severity of data breaches, insufficient legal recourse for affected individuals, and lack of incentives for healthcare companies to strengthen their data security systems, leaked healthcare data will cause the substantive due process right of privacy of LGBTQ individuals to be disenfranchised. Because sexual orientation and gender identity are unprotected by heightened scrutiny under federal due process and equal protection jurisprudence, additional protections must be created for LGBTQ people. These protections should include a new legal right in tort under the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), increase …

A Wall Of Legislative Obstacles In The Path Of A Woman Exercising Her Right To An Abortion: Planned Parenthood Arizona, Inc. V. Betlach, Angela Breslin

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Note addresses the limited impact of the Ninth Circuit’s holding in Planned Parenthood Arizona, Inc. v. Betlach, especially for women living in states hostile to abortion rights. These legislative attempts to infringe on a woman’s right to an abortion are based on opinion and emotion, not reason and common sense. An objective view of the legislation stacked against a woman in exercising her right, including legislation against physicians who provide the service, illustrates how all of these obstacles have effectively become a wall. A woman’s constitutional right should not continue to be chipped away, one state statute at …

Presumed Guilty Until Proven Innocent: California Penal Code Section 851.8 And The Injustice Of Imposing A Factual Innocence Standard On Arrested Persons, Natalie Lyons

Golden Gate University Law Review

The statutory remedy for removing an arrest from a person’s record places an undue burden upon a person who has never been found guilty of a crime. California Penal Code section 851.8 mandates that an arrested person prove her factual innocence before the arrest record may be sealed and destroyed.

This Comment examines the injustice of this section 851.8 requirement that an arrested person prove her innocence before the arrest record will be destroyed. Part I considers the probative value of an arrest record measured against its impact on the arrested person’s life, focusing on the disparate impact of arrests …

Revisiting Parents Involved V. Seattle School District: Race Consciousness And The Government-Speech Doctrine, Joseph O. Oluwole

Golden Gate University Law Review

Professor William M. Carter, Jr.’s trailblazing work, Affirmative Action As Government Speech, first examined the relationship between government speech and race-conscious measures. According to Professor Carter, the United States Supreme Court “has come to view race-conscious government action as a form of prohibited government speech.” This Article takes a different approach from that of Professor Carter; specifically, the Article reviews the majority, dissenting, and concurring opinions in the Parents Involved case for language indicating the Justices’ parameters for viewing voluntary race-conscious measures as government speech. This is important, given that Parents Involved is the landmark Supreme Court decision on …

Turning Title Vii's Protection Against Retaliation Into A Never-Fulfilled Promise, Jessica L. Beeler

Golden Gate University Law Review

Part I also explains the varied standards that were previously used when deciding what constitutes an adverse employer action and how the Supreme Court's recent decision in Burlington Northern resolved a split among the circuits. In Burlington Northern, the Supreme Court adopted a deterrence test to define adverse employer actions, which means the employer action must be harmful to the point that it would deter a reasonable employee of complaining of discrimination. Part II analyzes the actual effects of this decision, focusing in particular on DeHart. It shows how DeHart misapplied the deterrence standard by focusing on whether the employer …

Unlawful Status As A "Constitutional Irrelevancy"?: The Equal Protection Rights Of Illegal Immigrants, Jason H. Lee

Golden Gate University Law Review

This article focuses on state discrimination against illegal immigrants and the use of equal-protection doctrine to protect these immigrants' rights to enjoy the array of benefits and services offered by state governments. There are two main reasons why this article will focus on the Equal Protection Clause rather than on federal preemption doctrine, which is the other major tool that illegal immigrants can use to attack discriminatory state classifications. First, the equal-protection doctrine highlights the dignity and membership of an individual in American society in a way that the more structural preemption analysis does not. Second, preemption has become the …

Preschooler Ii V. Clark County School Board Of Trustees: A Closer Look At Application Of Qualified Immunity In Public School Districts, Rachael Crim

Golden Gate University Law Review

During the 2002-2003 school year, the mother of a pre-school aged, non-verbal, autistic child became concerned when her child came home with unexplained bruises and began exhibiting violent behavior. The mother brought an action on behalf of herself and her child seeking relief under the Individuals with Disabilities Act ("IDEA"), Americans with Disabilities Act, and claimed constitutional violations under Section 1983. In Preschooler II v. Clark County School Board of Trustees, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held: 1) teacher's alleged conduct in beating, slapping, and head-slamming child violated Fourth Amendment rights for purposes of a …

Why Fight Fought?: A Missed Erisa Opportunity In The Ninth Circuit, Jill V. Cartwright

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Note analyzes the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit's standard of review in cases in which a conflicted administrator has denied benefits. Part I of this Note examines early standards of review prior to ERISA. Part II sets forth the split among the circuits in evaluating a conflicted administrator's denial of benefits and explains the Ninth Circuit's former standard. Part ill compares the Ninth Circuit's prior standard of finding such denials presumptively void with its recent holding in Abatie v. Alta Health & Life Insurance Company, in which the court effectively adopted a unique standard similar …

Taking A Closer Look At Prosecutorial Misconduct: The Ninth Circuit's Materiality Analysis In Hayes V. Brown And Its Implications For Wrongful Convictions, Lynn Damiano

Golden Gate University Law Review

This note argues that the Ninth Circuit's meaningful factual analysis in applying the materiality standard led to its reversal of Mr. Hayes's conviction. The Court's willingness to look beyond the Government's assertions and to take into account every way in which the prosecutor's duplicitous conduct might have affected the jury's verdict allowed it to reach a different decision than prior reviewing courts. Moreover, the Court did so while adhering to established Supreme Court precedent and remaining within the confines of modern federal habeas review. The Ninth Circuit's analysis under this standard can help prevent wrongful convictions by deterring prosecutorial misconduct …

The Time Has Come For Law Enforcement Recordings Of Custodial Interviews, Start To Finish, Thomas P. Sullivan

Golden Gate University Law Review

Throughout the United States, more and more law enforcement officials are coming to realize the tremendous benefits they receive when the questioning of suspects in police facilities is recorded from beginning to end, starting with the Miranda warnings and continuing until the interview is completely finished. Recordings put an end to a host of problems for detectives: having to scribble notes during interviews and later type reports; straining on the witness stand weeks and months later, trying to describe what happened behind closed doors at the station; becoming embroiled in courtroom disputes about what was said and done during custodial …

Exoneration And Wrongful Condemnations: Expanding The Zone Of Perceived Injustice In Death Penalty Cases, Craig Haney

Golden Gate University Law Review

In this article I argue that despite the very serious nature and surprisingly large number of these kinds of exonerations, revelations about factually innocent death-sentenced prisoners represent only the most dramatic, visible tip of a much larger problem that is submerged throughout our nation's system of death sentencing. That is, many of the very same flaws and factors that have given rise to these highly publicized wrongful convictions also produce a more common kind of miscarriage of justice in capital cases. I refer to death sentences that are meted out to defendants who, although they may be factually guilty of …

Beyond Unreliable: How Snitches Contribute To Wrongful Convictions, Alexandra Natapoff

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment briefly surveys in Part I some of the data on snitch-generated wrongful convictions. In Part II, it describes in more detail the institutional relationships among snitches, police, and prosecutors that make snitch falsehoods so pervasive and difficult to discern using the traditional tools of the adversarial process. Part III concludes with a litigation suggestion for a judicial check on the use of informant witnesses, namely, a Daubert-style pre-trial reliability hearing. The Appendix in Part IV contains a sample motion requesting and justifying such a hearing.

Anatomy Of A Miscarriage Of Justice: The Wrongful Conviction Of Peter J. Rose, Susan Rutberg

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Article examines one case in which students and lawyers from Golden Gate University's Innocence Project won the exoneration of Peter J. Rose, a man who served nearly ten years of a twenty-seven year State Prison sentence for the rape and kidnap of a child before DNA proved his innocence. The analysis of this case focuses on how the conduct of two police detectives, the prosecutor and the defense attorney contributed to this miscarriage of justice.

Innocence Lost ... And Found: An Introduction To The Faces Of Wrongful Conviction Symposium Issue, Daniel S. Medwed

Golden Gate University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Making-Up Conditions Of Employment: The Unequal Burdens Test As A Flawed Mode Of Analysis In Jespersen V. Harrah's Operating Co., Megan Kelly

Golden Gate University Law Review

Part I of this Note reviews Title VII and foundational caselaw, including cases regarding sex discrimination and appearance standards. Part II examines the Ninth Circuit's Jespersen opinion. Part III compares the Supreme Court decision in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, which expanded Title VII protection to include gender stereotyping, with the Jespersen holding. Part III also explores a Seventh Circuit case, Carroll v. Talman Federal Savings and Loan Association of Chicago, and Judge Thomas's dissent in Jespersen, which both argue for inclusion of less tangible factors such as gender stereotyping in the unequal burdens test. Part III finally contends that the …

Symptoms For Scalia And Texas: Gay Rights And American Nationalism, Daniel Gordon

Golden Gate University Law Review

Matti Bunzl in Symptoms of Modernity: Jews and Queers in Late-Twentieth Century Vienna expressed great faith in the multicultural fairness of American Society. Bunzl recognized the threat of Christian Conservatives in the United States to gay and lesbian civil rights and civil liberties, and he evidenced some skepticism of American multiculturalism. However, overall Bunzl remained optimistic about the future of civil rights for gays and lesbians in the United States noting "it was in the United States that a postmodern sensibility of minority politics was pioneered.'' This article utilizes Bunzl's work along with the work of urban religion sociologists to …

What Does Diversity Mean In Seattle?: Parents Involved In Community Schools V. Seattle School District Number 1 Strikes Down The Use Of A Racial Tiebreaker, Katie York

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Note examines the Ninth Circuit decision in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District Number 1. The introduction provides an overview of the evolution of race-based jurisprudence. In addition, the introduction describes the "open choice" policy established by the School District. Part I explains the progression to strict scrutiny as the applicable standard of review for race-conscious admissions policies. Part II analyzes the procedural history of the Parents Involved cases. Part III compares the admissions policies between public high schools and universities. Part IV proposes a constitutionally permissible race-conscious placement policy for secondary education. Part V concludes …

Dangerous Balance: The Ninth Circuit's Validation Of Expansive Dna Testing Of Federal Parolees, Claire S. Hulse

Golden Gate University Law Review

Part I provides a background of federal DNA testing legislation, the Fourth Amendment implications of DNA testing and two DNA testing cases leading up to the U.S. v. Kincade decision. Part II analyzes the plurality and dissenting opinions of the U.S. v. Kincade decision. Part III argues that the plurality's balancing test has a potential for inappropriate application. Finally, Part IV concludes that the Kincade balancing test should be narrowly applied as precedent after a meaningful balancing of interests, and not as a facade for ever-expanding government interests.

Throw A Dog A Suspect: When Using Police Dogs Becomes An Unreasonable Use Of Force Under The Fourth Amendment, Lisa K. Sloman

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Note contends that a dog bite lasting up to a minute is excessive force under these circumstances and violated Miller's Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable seizures. Part I of this Note provides a general synthesis of current Fourth Amendment seizure law as it applies to using police dogs. Part II discusses the facts of Miller and the court's application of current case law to those facts. Finally, Part III argues that the court failed to properly apply existing Fourth Amendment seizure law to the facts in Miller, and therefore, the force used was unreasonable.

Expert Testimony And "Subtle Discrimination" In The Workplace: Do We Now Need A Weatherman To Know Which Way The Wind Blows?, Deborah Dyson

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment studies Elsayed in order to investigate these questions. The Background discussion traces the two great lines of cases whose trajectories cross in Elsayed, the Daubert v. Merrell Dow expert testimony jurisprudence under the Federal Rules of Evidence and the McDonnell Douglas v. Green line of cases establishing the "pretext" model of proof for individual employment discrimination claims under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Then, turning to the opinion proper, the Analysis considers Elsayed under the following headings: (A) The Crux: The Court's Harmless-Error Determination, (B) Decoding in the Pretext Context, (C) Substituting the Mixed-Motives Regime …

Let's All Go To The Movies, And Put An End To Disability Discrimination: Oregon Paralyzed Veterans Of America V. Regal Cinemas, Inc. Requires Comparable Viewing Angles For Wheelchair Seating, Joshua D. Watts

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Note contends that the Ninth Circuit was correct in finding that in order to ensure comparable lines of sight for disabled and non-disabled patrons, viewing angles must be taken into account. Part I provides a general background of Title III of the ADA, and specifically addresses section 4.33.3 of the ADAAG and its history. Additionally, Part I examines the Fifth Circuit's decision in Lara, as it played a major role in the outcome of the Ninth Circuit's decision in Regal. Part II analyzes both the majority and the dissenting opinions offered in Regal. Part III defends the majority opinion …

Unequal Treatment Of United States Citizens: Eroding The Constitutional Safeguards, Irma Alicia Cabrera Ramirez

Golden Gate University Law Review

This comment examines the unequal treatment of United States citizens who are labeled enemy combatants by looking at the factual and procedural background of Padilla, Hamdi and Lindh. Next, this comment examines the origins of the label enemy combatant and the constitutional safeguards afforded to criminal defendants in similar situations as Padilla, Hamdi,and Lindh. The terrorist acts Padilla, Hamdi, and Lindh are accused of involve international laws. Therefore, this comment will examine the Geneva Conventions as a means to understand humanitarian protections that may cover Padilla and Hamdi. Finally, this comment will provide recommendations for some of the issues raised.

Housing Our Criminals: Finding Housing For The Ex-Offender In The Twenty-First Century, Heidi Lee Cain

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment examines the United States Supreme Court's statement in The Department of Housing and Urban Development v. Rucker that a strict liability clause would be enforceable in private leases. The Court accordingly infers that ex-offenders and suspected offenders would encounter obstacles in their attempt to receive and maintain housing leases, both public and private. Part II discusses the "One Strike and You're Out" housing act and the Court's decision in Rucker. The Court upheld the federally mandated public housing strict liability clause in part because the tenant would be treated the same in a private lease. This Comment thus …

Creating Reasonable Accommodations Without An Undue Burden: The Future Effects The Ada Will Have On Golf Courses, Janet Barbookles

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Comment examines the possible accommodations and structural improvements that golf course owners may be required to provide for disabled golfers to comply with ADA regulations. Part I discusses Title III of the ADA, which ensures that private entities offering commercial facilities and providing places of public accommodations provide equal access to all. Part II examines possible future accommodations, the reasonableness of these accommodations and whether they create an undue burden for golf clubs. Part III argues ways in which possible accommodations might fundamentally alter the nature of professional golf. Part IV recommends achievable solutions for golf clubs in making …

Sticks And Stones May Break Your Bones ... But Words May Break The Bank: Monetary Damages For 'True Threats' And The Future Of Free Speech After Planned Parenthood Of The Columbia/Willamette V. American Coalition Of Life Activists, Randall D. Nicholson

Golden Gate University Law Review

This Note is divided into five parts. Part I introduces the plaintiffs and defendants in Planned Parenthood and provides a detailed description of the content of the posters as well as the other evidence used to find the defendants liable for threatening speech. Part II presents a brief description of the details of, and impetus for, the enactment of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act ("FACE"), as the act provides the basis for liability. To highlight that the majority's position in Planned Parenthood did not comport with current First Amendment jurisprudence, Part III analyzes the major decisions handed …

Environmental Justice Enforcement Requires Reassessment Under The Equal Protection Clause, Title Vi Of The Civil Rights Act, And Environmental Statutes, Kenneth Owen

Golden Gate University Law Review

This article will suggest what is required to prevail under the purposeful discrimination standard under the Equal Protection Clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Interestingly, no equal protection environmental justice case or Title VI action has been presented to a jury charged with determining the factual issue of intent. The author will next explore the possibility of winning environmental justice cases under the citizen suit provisions that are part of most environmental statutes. Lastly, the author will suggest arguments to possible defenses that might be raised by defendants.