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Full-Text Articles in Law

It’S Time To Turn The Tide: The Supreme Court Must Moderate Its Stare Decisis Approach Before It’S Too Late For Cases Like Plyler, Sabrina Rodriguez Mar 2024

It’S Time To Turn The Tide: The Supreme Court Must Moderate Its Stare Decisis Approach Before It’S Too Late For Cases Like Plyler, Sabrina Rodriguez

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

We are standing in a defining moment for the Supreme Court. Against the backdrop of the Court’s Dobbs decision, it is now clearer than ever that if the Court fails to modernize its stare decisis approach, the civil liberties we enjoy are vulnerable to be undermined beyond recognition. Scholars have previously opined that the modern Court’s application of stare decisis to overturn precedent is not a significant departure from the Court’s historical application of this doctrine and thus, the Court’s stare decisis trend is not alarming. This argument fails to appreciate that overturning precedent under selective application stare decisis factors …


House Bill 3: An Iou Texas Public Schools And Communities Of Color Cannot Afford, Candace L. Castillo Jun 2021

House Bill 3: An Iou Texas Public Schools And Communities Of Color Cannot Afford, Candace L. Castillo

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

A history of school finance litigation and legislation shows there are inherent and structural problems in Texas’s education finance system. Like many government and social structures, the Texas school finance system is built to benefit school districts that have greater access to wealth to begin with and creates inequalities between rich and poor populations as well as between people of color and Caucasians. House Bill 3 went into effect in 2019 and promises improvements to “recapture” calculations, increases in certain allotments, as well as salary increases for some Texas teachers. Some changes to education finance were sorely needed such as …


The Termination Of Parental Rights In Texas: The Long Run Cut Short For Parents In Bexar County, Gabriel A. Narvaez Jun 2021

The Termination Of Parental Rights In Texas: The Long Run Cut Short For Parents In Bexar County, Gabriel A. Narvaez

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

Abstract forthcoming.


No Path To Redemption: Evaluating Texas’S Practice Of Sentencing Kids To De Facto Life Without Parole In Adult Prison, Lindsey Linder, Justin Martinez Oct 2020

No Path To Redemption: Evaluating Texas’S Practice Of Sentencing Kids To De Facto Life Without Parole In Adult Prison, Lindsey Linder, Justin Martinez

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

Abstract forthcoming.


Picking The Lock: A Proposal For A Standard Fee Waiver In Texas For Identification Documents, Gregory Zlotnick Oct 2020

Picking The Lock: A Proposal For A Standard Fee Waiver In Texas For Identification Documents, Gregory Zlotnick

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

Abstract forthcoming.


It Is Time To Get Back To Basics On The Border, Donna Coltharp Oct 2020

It Is Time To Get Back To Basics On The Border, Donna Coltharp

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

Abstract forthcoming.


Lessons Learned, Lessons Offered: Creating A Domestic Violence Drug Court, Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez, Dr. Stacy Speedlin Gonzalez May 2020

Lessons Learned, Lessons Offered: Creating A Domestic Violence Drug Court, Judge Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez, Dr. Stacy Speedlin Gonzalez

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

Abstract forthcoming.


Can We Have Our Cake And Eat It Too?: What Masterpiece Cakeshop And Religious Refusals Mean For Texas’S Adoption Bill, Nadeen Abou-Hossa May 2020

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.


Challenging Voting Rights And Political Participation In State Courts, Irving Joyner Oct 2019

Challenging Voting Rights And Political Participation In State Courts, Irving Joyner

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

Abstract forthcoming


Undocumented Crime Victims: Unheard, Unnumbered, And Unprotected, Pauline Portillo Aug 2018

Undocumented Crime Victims: Unheard, Unnumbered, And Unprotected, Pauline Portillo

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

Abstract forthcoming


The Failure Of International Law In Palestine, Svetlana Sumina, Steven Gilmore May 2018

The Failure Of International Law In Palestine, Svetlana Sumina, Steven Gilmore

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

Abstract forthcoming


Prisoner's Dilemma—Exhausted Without A Place Of Rest(Itution): Why The Prison Litigation Reform Act's Exhaustion Requirement Needs To Be Amended, Ryan Lefkowitz May 2018

Prisoner's Dilemma—Exhausted Without A Place Of Rest(Itution): Why The Prison Litigation Reform Act's Exhaustion Requirement Needs To Be Amended, Ryan Lefkowitz

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

The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) passed in 1996 in an effort to curb litigation from prisoners. The exhaustion requirement of the PLRA requires prisoners to fully exhaust any administrative remedies available to them before filing a lawsuit concerning any aspect of prison life. If a prisoner fails to do so, the lawsuit is subject to dismissal. The exhaustion requirement applies to all types of prisoner lawsuits, from claims filed for general prison conditions to excessive force and civil rights violations. It has been consistently and aggressively applied by the courts, blocking prisoners’ lawsuits from ever going to trial. Attempts …


Trapped In The Shackles Of America's Criminal Justice System, Shristi Devu May 2018

Trapped In The Shackles Of America's Criminal Justice System, Shristi Devu

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

Abstract forthcoming


Take This Job And Shove It: The Pragmatic Philosophy Of Johnny Paycheck And A Prayer For Strict Liability In Appalachia, Eugene "Trey" Moore Iii May 2018

Take This Job And Shove It: The Pragmatic Philosophy Of Johnny Paycheck And A Prayer For Strict Liability In Appalachia, Eugene "Trey" Moore Iii

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

Abstract forthcoming


No Un Jurado De Mis Pares: Juror Exclusion Of Limited English Proficient Speakers., Michael Mccann Jan 2017

No Un Jurado De Mis Pares: Juror Exclusion Of Limited English Proficient Speakers., Michael Mccann

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

In the context of fulfilling civic duties as a citizen, accessibility to language assistance programs ensures every individual, including those with limited English proficiency (LEP), is afforded the opportunity to exercise their fundamental rights. Preservation of the integrity of the justice system must be provided in a comprehensive manner, not merely in one part of the legal proceedings or isolated to one part of the courthouse. LEP citizens should be integrated in public society, not disqualified from it. Statutes that create overly burdensome language proficiency standards create problems with the jury selection process. These standards limit and often deny LEP …


The Texas Supreme Court Retreats From Protecting Texas Students, Albert Kauffman Jan 2017

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 …


Navigating The Post-Shelby Landscape: Using Universalism To Augment The Remaining Power Of The Voting Rights Act, Jesús N. Joslin Jan 2017

Navigating The Post-Shelby Landscape: Using Universalism To Augment The Remaining Power Of The Voting Rights Act, Jesús N. Joslin

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

Abstract forthcoming.