Law Commons^™

The Aftermath Of Dobbs: How The Criminalization Of Abortion Has Obstructed The Exercise Of Bodily Autonomy, Sonia Bakshi

Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Law Journal

This Blog addresses the topic of bodily autonomy in relation to the criminalization of abortion because everyone should be entitled to the right to make their own choices, especially when it comes to their bodies, and even greater, their selves as a whole. With the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, the ability to exercise bodily autonomy has never been more obstructed. The Supreme Court has left the nation with the impression that they do not believe women are capable of making decisions about their own bodies or their own futures. Now, it’s important to look into what the ripple …

Serving A Country That Will Not Accommodate Our Religion: The Sikh American Struggle To Choose Between Career Or Faith, Tanveer Moundi

Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Law Journal

Sikhism is the fifth largest religion in the world, with approximately thirty million followers of the faith worldwide. It is a monotheistic faith that teaches honesty, compassion, humility, universal equity, and respect for all religions. Since the 1984 genocide of Sikhs in India, many followers of the faith have immigrated to Western countries in hopes of “the American dream” and the prospect of freely practicing their faith. But as a devastating response to the tragedy of 9/11, members of the Sikh community living in the United States have become victims of hate crimes, workplace discrimination, school bullying, and …

Is Using Preferred Gender Pronouns Important In The Courtroom?, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Law Journal

In relation to the Farmer v. Brennan, a case discussed in this blog, it is important to note that triggering language is used in the opinion, as the incorrect pronouns are used to refer to the petitioner throughout.

The use of proper gender pronouns is important to nearly every person in the world. In all cases, proper and preferred gender pronouns are the same. It is respectful and expected to use a person’s preferred pronouns e.g., the proper term for the person. Whether you are part of the LGBTQ+ community or not, the use of proper gender pronouns is only …

A Seat At The Table: Why You Deserve It, But Your Brain Might Be Telling You Otherwise, Jonathan Ibarra Paz

Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Law Journal

“Are you frequently worried about making mistakes and frustrated because your work is not perfect? Do you suspect you will never be smart enough or good enough no matter how successful you already are? Do you often attribute your success to luck, chance, or anything else except your own talent and hard work?” If you answered yes to any of these questions, it could indicate that you suffer from imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome can be described as, an internal experience of intellectual phoniness… result[ing] in people feeling like they lack the skills, knowledge, and/or competence to do their jobs despite …

Social Equity: Will The Cannabis Industry Choose To Overcome Its Lack Of Diversity?, Dana Oviedo

Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Law Journal

In the world of legal cannabis, a new phrase has taken over: Social Equity. What does this really mean? Social Equity in the cannabis industry is an attempt to level the playing field for individuals who were negatively impacted by the prohibition of cannabis.

Long before the re-legalization of cannabis began to spread across the United States, Black and Brown folks were and continue to be disproportionately arrested and locked up for cannabis related offenses. Those most impacted by the War on Drugs have historically been Black and Brown individuals from low-income communities. Militarized policing targeted to these low-income communities …

Constitution-Free Zones: How The Fourth Amendment Rights Of Americans Are Violated At And Near The Border, Camila Valdivieso

Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Law Journal

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. U.S. Const. amend. XIV. Border Patrol continues to abuse their authority to this day.

Pray The Gay Away: Conversion Therapy, Suicide, Religion, And The First Amendment, Eric Cody Bass

Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Law Journal

In the United States, gay conversion therapy (GCT) has not been banned nationally, although twenty states have issued laws banning therapists from practicing it. While the Supreme Court has refused to hear several cases involving challenges to laws banning GCT, recently the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals found a local law banning the practice as an unconstitutional regulation on the First Amendment right of speech. This ruling disappointingly confuses ideas of First Amendment protections with what amounts to psychological torture of our youth. It must be noted that while bans on GCT have been successfully upheld as constitutional in other …

More Than A Hashtag: Why We Need To #Protectblackwomen In Real Life, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Law Journal

This piece will address the ways in which Black women continue to be disrespected, unprotected, and neglected, both publicly—as a result of systemic racism and police brutality—as well as privately—as a result of the legal system’s failure to appropriately address domestic violence committed against them.

Why We Should Provide More Support For Women Of Color In Academia, Silvia Chairez-Perez

Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Law Journal

My experience as a woman of color in higher education is not unique. In this piece, I will share my own story and discuss challenges women of color face to succeed in academia and how their absence in these spaces negatively affects the success of female students of color. Additionally, I will describe methods institutions of higher learning can implement to hire more women of color and how having women of color teachers has impacted my educational journey.

What “Good” Has Come From The “Good Faith” Exception?, Yasamin Elahi-Shirazi

Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Law Journal

The FourthAmendment protects the right of the people—us—against unreasonable searches, seizures, and warrantless conduct by government actors—police officers. The Supreme Court has added safeguards to this amendment, with the seminal cases of U.S. v. Weeks and Mapp v. Ohio. The Court created the exclusionary rule, which excludes evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment from criminal trials. Initially designed as a multifaceted legal mechanism to uphold judicial integrity, deter police misconduct, and serve as a remedy for those who are victims of constitutional violations. The deterrent value was meant to help protect the public at large—especially …

Founding Managing Editor’S Welcome Message, Tiffany Avila

Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Law Journal

It is with great privilege and honor to introduce you to the GGU Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice Law Journal. This project started when my colleague, dearest friend and founding Editor-in-Chief, Silvia Chairez-Perez, approached me during our internship with the California Supreme Court Capital Central Staff. We were discussing how far we have come with the resources presented to us, and our motivation to provide a better pathway to underrepresented law students.

Founding Editor-In-Chief’S Welcome Message, Silvia Chairez-Perez

Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Law Journal

Welcome! Thank you for visiting Golden Gate University’s Journal of Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Social Justice website. The Journal strives to provide race, gender, sexuality, and social justice practitioners, students, judges, and academics a platform to share their thought leadership via a born-digital format. We endeavor to publish legal scholarship of the highest quality.

Founding Journal Advisor’S Welcome Message, Jyoti Nanda

Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Law Journal

IMPORT OF THE RACE, GENDER, SEXUALITY, & SOCIAL JUSTICE LAW JOURNAL IN 2021

The launch of the Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Law Journal is no small feat and I applaud our student leaders for their fortitude in the middle of a year unlike any other. In 2020, our country underwent a national reckoning on race trigged by the unlawful death by police of several unarmed African American women and men while grappling with a global pandemic that halted life as we knew it. Our GGU law students, like all students everywhere, persevered – shifting to remote learning and …

Interim Law Dean’S Welcome Message, Eric C. Christiansen

Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Law Journal

Welcome to the inaugural issue of the Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality, & Social Justice Law Journal. There has never been a more appropriate or important time to inaugurate a journal dedicated to the law’s capacity to advance social justice than right now. And there is no better institution to inaugurate this new journal than Golden Gate University School of Law. Thank you to all our readers—now and in the years to come—who will help us move the values, principles, and ideas in this journal into communities and courtrooms in pursuit of equality and true justice.