Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Civil Rights and Discrimination

University of Richmond

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Law

Gender Equity In The 21st Century: Keynote Address, Chai Feldblum Jan 2015

Gender Equity In The 21st Century: Keynote Address, Chai Feldblum

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

You have heard a lot this morning about the need in 1964 for Congress to enact prohibitions against discrimination on the basis of race, national origin and religion. I am going to use my time, therefore, to talk about gender equity: the addition of the sex discrimination prohibition in Title VII, the advances that have occurred since passage of that law, and the miles that we still have to go to achieve full gender equity.


Environmental Justice As Civil Rights, Wyatt G. Sassman Jan 2015

Environmental Justice As Civil Rights, Wyatt G. Sassman

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

Environmental justice litigation using the Equal Protection Clause and civil rights statutes has largely failed. This article explains that failure as a result of a general shift by federal courts to limit the scope of civil rights law rather than an improper characterization of environmental justice as a civil rights issue. This explanation is important to both encourage and caution environmental justice advocates and scholars as they approach claims under Title VIII. I suggest that Title VIII's ability to bridge property and dignity may still present a powerful and much-needed tool for bringing equality to environmental law, but that, based …


Modern Sappers And Miners: The Rehnquist And Roberts Courts And The Civil Rights Act Of 1964, Jonathan K. Stubbs Jan 2015

Modern Sappers And Miners: The Rehnquist And Roberts Courts And The Civil Rights Act Of 1964, Jonathan K. Stubbs

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

this article is organized as follows. To orient readers on what is at stake, Section I provides a brief overview of the substantive provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Section II considers reasons why the Act was premised on Congress' Commerce Clause authority rather than the enforcement power that the Constitution confers upon Congress under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. Section III evaluates several recent Supreme Court decisions that give the Commerce Clause a restrictive interpretation. For illustrative purposes, this section explores the impact on Title Two of the Act. Finally, the article closes with a few observations …


To End Divisions: Reflections On The Civil Rights Act Of 1964, Dr. Julian Maxwell Hayter Jan 2015

To End Divisions: Reflections On The Civil Rights Act Of 1964, Dr. Julian Maxwell Hayter

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

By focusing on a number of the CRA's key titles - without belittling the act's importance to Latinos, women, et al.- this commentary illustrates how the act moved beyond eliminating segregation; it addresses how the racial climate of the early 1960s shaped public policy. Broadly, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 sought to change the balance of racial (and genderbased) power in the America by using federal law to finally protect African Americans' right to live equal lives. After 1964, for the first time since Reconstruction, race was national policy agenda. This agenda and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 …


Public Hazard, Personal Peril: The Impact Of Non-Governmental Organizations In The Environmental Justice Movement, Andrea Y. Simpson Jan 2015

Public Hazard, Personal Peril: The Impact Of Non-Governmental Organizations In The Environmental Justice Movement, Andrea Y. Simpson

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

This article argues that the local emphasis of what I call micromovements that form the larger Environmental Justice Movement could gain more traction from relationships with Non-Governmental Organizations. Such partnerships are emerging on a national level; however, since the localized movements communicate with, but are not partners with, national organizations such as the National Black Environmental Network, it is unclear how such partnerships add value to the activities of local groups. Moreover, some partnerships are forged for the organization of a specific event such as a conference or working group study Part II of this article discusses an overview of …


Title Vii Antiretaliation: The United States Supreme Court's Decision In Crawford V. Metropolitan Government Of Nashville &(And) Davidson County, Tennessee On The Scope Of The Opposition Clause, Ryan Nevin Jan 2010

Title Vii Antiretaliation: The United States Supreme Court's Decision In Crawford V. Metropolitan Government Of Nashville &(And) Davidson County, Tennessee On The Scope Of The Opposition Clause, Ryan Nevin

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

This Note discusses the interpretation of the opposition clause within Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in the context of Crawford v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, Tennessee. In general, the opposition clause protects an employee from retaliation by his employer if he opposes his employer's illegal conduct. Part II summarizes the facts and the holding of Crawford. Part III describes Title VII discrimination in general and antiretaliation in particular. Part IV discusses the United States Supreme Court's rationale in Crawford, and Part V questions the interpretation of the opposition clause. Finally, Part VI agrees …


Smith V. City Of Jackson: Disparate Impact In Age Discrimination Cases, Michael Leedom Jan 2006

Smith V. City Of Jackson: Disparate Impact In Age Discrimination Cases, Michael Leedom

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

In the wake of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, an act which protected minorities and women from employment discrimination but did not prohibit discrimination based on age, Congress enacted the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (hereinafter "ADEA"). This act prohibits an employer from taking actions which "would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual's age." At first glance, this statutory prohibition would seem to be very similar to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and indeed the …


Pennsylvania State Police V. Suders: The Constructive Discharge Doctrine's Applicability To Title Vii Sexual Harassment Cases And The Availabilityof The Ellerth/Faragher Affirmative Defense, Laura Marston Jan 2005

Pennsylvania State Police V. Suders: The Constructive Discharge Doctrine's Applicability To Title Vii Sexual Harassment Cases And The Availabilityof The Ellerth/Faragher Affirmative Defense, Laura Marston

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

This note examines the Court's decision in Suders and the evolution of the constructive discharge doctrine, specifically its applicability to Title VII sexual harassment cases. Part II analyzes the origins and purpose of the doctrine. Part III discusses the Court's previous decisions in Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth4 and Faragher v. Boca Raton, which set the framework for Suders by establishing the important affirmative defense to Title VII constructive discharge cases that the Court in Suders more clearly defined. Part IV considers the Supreme Court's decision in Suders in light of Ellerth and Faragher, and Part V concludes with the …


Natural Law And The Regulation Of Sexuality: A Critique, Dr. Brent L. Pickett Jan 2004

Natural Law And The Regulation Of Sexuality: A Critique, Dr. Brent L. Pickett

Richmond Public Interest Law Review

I will argue that the natural-law understanding of sexuality, and its application to the law, is deeply flawed, in regards to homosexuality and sodomy. I begin by laying out some of the foundations of the natural law position. Central to the position is an account of human goods that are seen as good in themselves, and hence as rational bases for choice and human action. In regards to sexuality, the two most important goods, at least from the natural law perspective, are those of marriage and personal integration. I argue that a real appreciation of the role of these two …