Law Commons^™

“Better Luck Next Election”: Late-Jailed Voters’ Constitutional Right To Vote After Mays V. Larose., Grace Thomas

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract Forthcoming.

The Eyes Of Texas Are Upon You: Will Affirmative Action In Texas Survive Its Endless Constitutional And Legislative Attacks?, Kathryn L. Cantu

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract Forthcoming.

Protecting A Woman’S Right To Abortion During A Public Health Crisis, San Juanita Gonzalez

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

As COVID-19 infected our nation, states were quick to issue executive orders restricting various aspects of daily life under the pretense of public safety. It was clear at the outset that certain civil liberties were going to be tested. Among them, the constitutional right to an abortion.

This comment explores Texas’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the limitations it imposed on abortion access. It will attempt to address the legitimacy of the “public health concerns” listed in executive orders issued throughout numerous states and will discuss the pertinent legal framework and judicial scrutiny to apply.

According to the Fifth …

Maternity Rights: A Comparative View Of Mexico And The United States, Roberto Rosas

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Women play a large role in the workplace and require additional protection during pregnancy, childbirth, and while raising children. This article compares how Mexico and the United States have approached the issue of maternity rights and benefits. First, Mexico provides eighty-four days of paid leave to mothers, while the United States provides unpaid leave for up to twelve weeks. Second, Mexico allows two thirty-minute breaks a day for breastfeeding, while the United States allows a reasonable amount of time per day to breastfeed. Third, Mexico provides childcare to most federal employees, while the United States provides daycares to a small …

Can We Have Our Cake And Eat It Too?: What Masterpiece Cakeshop And Religious Refusals Mean For Texas’S Adoption Bill, Nadeen Abou-Hossa

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

Reforming Recidivism: Making Prison Practical Through Help, Katelyn Copperud

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

While Texas has long been recognized as “Tough Texas” when it comes to crime, recent efforts have been made to combat that reputation. Efforts such as offering “good time” credit and more liberal parole standards are used to reduce the Texas prison populations. Although effective in reducing prison populations, do these incentives truly reduce a larger issue of prison overpopulation: recidivism?

In both state and federal prison systems, inmate education is proven to reduce recidivism. Texas’s own, Windham School District, provides a broad spectrum of education to Texas Department of Criminal Justice inmates; from General Education Development (GED) classes to …

Texas Indian Holocaust And Survival: Mcallen Grace Brethren Church V. Salazar, Milo Colton

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

When the first Europeans entered the land that would one day be called Texas, they found a place that contained more Indian tribes than any other would-be American state at the time. At the turn of the twentieth century, the federal government documented that American Indians in Texas were nearly extinct, decreasing in number from 708 people in 1890 to 470 in 1900. A century later, the U.S. census recorded an explosion in the American Indian population living in Texas at 215,599 people. By 2010, that population jumped to 315,264 people.

Part One of this Article chronicles the forces contributing …

The Unconstitutional Application Of Apprehension And Detention Laws: Section 236(C) Of The Immigration And Nationality Act, Rigoberto Ledesma

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

The Texas Supreme Court Retreats From Protecting Texas Students, Albert Kauffman

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

This Article criticizes the 2016 Texas Supreme Court school finance decision, the latest of seven decisions starting in 1989, for its disregard of both the record in the case and the realities of the Texas Constitution and Texas politics. The Article also focuses on how standards for reviewing legislation have changed and the Texas Supreme Court's irrational and unfounded retreat to the "money doesn't make a difference" theory of school finance. Finally, the Article recommends a return to an objective, comprehensible, enforceable and constitutional system of review, and concludes with a prayer for holdings that recognize the inequities of the …

On The Border Patrol And Its Use Of Illegal Roving Patrol Stops., David Anton Armendariz

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract Forthcoming.

Religious Treatment Exemption Statutes: Betrayest Thou Me With A Statute., Shirley Darby Howell

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract Forthcoming.

Breaking The Dress Code: Protecting Transgender Students, Their Identities, And Their Rights., Zenobia V. Harris

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract Forthcoming.

Making The Case: Did The Government's Response To Hurricane Katrina Violate The Equal Protection Clause., Michael Kogut

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract Forthcoming.

Down And Out In San Antonio: The Constitutionality Of San Antonio's Anti-Homeless Ordinances., Justin Cook

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

This comment addresses the constitutionality of two San Antonio anti-homeless ordinances which prohibit camping in public and aggressive panhandling. The population of San Antonio, Texas grows at a rapid rate. Mayor Ed Garza established a task force to address the homelessness problem in San Antonio. This task force developed a ten-year plan to end homelessness in the city. The plan proposed by the year 2014 all homeless individuals would have alternatives and access to safe, decent, and affordable housing as well as resources and support to sustain housing. However, not long after approving the proposal, San Antonio’s City Council presented …

Racial Profiling In Texas Department Of Public Safety Traffic Stops: Race Aware Or Race Benign., Steven R. Wolfson

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

It is illegal for Texas law enforcement agencies to racially profile people. However, Texas continues to deal with racial profiling among law enforcement officers. This article concerns the right to travel, unmolested by state action based upon race or ethnicity. Since passing the Fourteenth Amendment and its Equal Protection Clause, our legal system under-includes, and outright excludes, certain groups of people from its promise. Such racial disparities have lived in the United States Constitution since the authors drafted the three-fifths compromise at its inception. When considering the criminality of a group of people and the overpopulation in state prisons, many …

Religion And Housing For The Homeless: Using The First Amendment And The Religious Land Use Act To Convert Religious Faith Into Safe, Affordable Housing., David L. Abney

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract Forthcoming.

Innocent Until Proven Guilty - Not If You're Teaching Me: A Texas Teacher's Right To Procedural Due Process., Daniel Austin Ortiz

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract Forthcoming.

The Dangers Of Unguarded Discretion: The Unconstitutional Stops Of Buses By Roving Patrols, Norma Alicia Ortiz

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract Forthcoming

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