Law Commons^™

Qualified Immunity: The Court's Brain Child & License To Kill, Laisha Harris

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

Qualified immunity, a defense created by the imagination of the Supreme Court, prevents citizens of their right to hold law enforcement officers liable when they clearly violate a citizens constitutionally protected right. Throughout this paper, I will describe the historical context of Supreme Court decisions regarding qualified immunity, clarifying the errs in logic that perpetuate a system of racial violence, while using the doctrine of stare decisis to justify the overturning of the decisions that created the defense of qualified immunity.

Report On The Texas Legislature, 87th Session: An Urban Perspective-Executive Summary, Sarah Guidry Esq., Zahra Buck Whitfield Esq., Sidikat Ishola Student, Jamal Garner Student

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

In Texas, the legislature meets every two years. At the end of a regular legislative session, hundreds of passed bills will have been sent to the governor for approval. The large number of bills and the wide range of topics they cover can make it difficult to gain an understanding of all the new laws that were passed, and this session there were three special sessions as well. At the close of each legislative session the Earl Carl Institute publishes, for the benefit of its constituents, highlights from the session in a bi-annual legislative report. In this year’s publication entitled …

Systemic Racism And Minority Disparities In Health Care, Constance Fain

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

Historically, racial discrimination in society has had an adverse effect on the health of African Americans. This type of inequality has also affected other persons of color, and it has been reported that racism has insidious effects on many White individuals, especially on their health as well. Four critical issues will be addressed in this paper: First, the impact of discrimination on the health care of African Americans and others. From slavery to lynching to incarceration, generations of African American families have endured trauma. Psychologist and other social scientists have said that these continuing experiences with racism may lie at …

Surviving Interlocutory Appeals: Trial Lawyer Edition, Grace Jun

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

This presentation provides an overview of Supreme Court caselaw regarding qualified immunity and government officials’ right to interlocutory appeal from denials of qualified immunity, and provides a brief discussion of ways trial lawyers can overcome interlocutory appeals to provide their injured plaintiffs with an opportunity to be heard and vindicated at trial by a jury.

Civil Rights And Protective Orders, Michael P. Doyle, Erin Brockway

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

“Open courts” are a bedrock principal of our judicial system, and court secrecy, including concealment of pretrial proceedings, poses a serious threat to public safety. Overbroad protective orders have concealed facts uncovered during litigation regarding some of the most important public harms, keeping them secret when the public needs protection. Protective orders routinely include provisions that allow parties to designate discovery material as “confidential” without further judicial review. These orders are often abused and result in unnecessary costs to litigants, the courts, and the public’s confidence in the court system. This is always a mistake because it harms the discovery …

Introduction To Re-Imagining “We The People" Part Two: Transcripts From The Aaj Education’S Civil Rights And Police Misconduct Litigation Seminar, Sarah Guidry

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

With this issue of The Bridge, we continue the discussions raised in our Spring 2021 issue: Police Misconduct & Qualified Immunity: Reimagining "We the People”, Vol.6, Issue 1. That issue shared the transcription of the virtual national conference by the same name, and featured an esteemed group of experts who discussed the state of racial unrest in this country, historically and currently. To promote further dialogue and support those who work to establish stronger protections against the use and misuse of police violence, we herein highlight several key sessions featured at the recent American Association for Justice Civil Rights and …

Panel Iii Discussion: The U.S. Constitution: Reimagining "We The People" As An Inclusive Construct, Joan Bullock, Constance Fain, Larry Weeden, Spearit

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

Former Congresswoman Barbara Jordan of Texas, a graduate of Texas Southern University, on July 25, 1974, in a speech to the House Judiciary Committee said, “Earlier today, we heard the beginning of the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States, “We, the people.” It is a very eloquent beginning. But when the document was completed on the seventeenth of September 1787, I was not included in that “We, the people.” I felt somehow for many years that George Washington and Alexander Hamilton just left me out by mistake. But through the process of amendment, interpretation, and court decision I …

Panel Ii Discussion: The Anatomy Of 1983 Litigation: Best Practices In Successful Civil Rights Litigation, Gary Bledsoe, Bhavani Raveendran, Brian Dunn, Honorable Ken Hoyt, Larry Taylor

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

The Civil Rights Act of 1871 is a federal statute, numbered 42 U.S.C. § 1983, that allows people to sue the government for civil rights violations. It applies when someone acting “under color of” state-level or local law has deprived a person of rights created by the U.S. Constitution or federal statutes. It is often the basis for relief when someone has been the victim of excessive use of force or other police misconduct, ostensibly while under the authority generally vested by the state or municipality. The Qualified Immunity defense in 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims often make them difficult …

Assessment Of Public Sector Service Quality: Gauging Experiences And Perceptions Of Racial Profiling, Aaron C. Rollins Jr.

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

The absence of a culturally competent public sector workforce has led to increased public scrutiny and heightened levels of distrust. In the field of public safety, this is particularly important due to the sensitive nature of the task performed and the historically strained relationships that exist between racial minorities and law enforcement. Using national survey data to gauge the prevalence of citizen’s experiences and perceptions of racial profiling, this research reveals significant discrepancies amongst minorities and their white counterparts. In response, this research encourages public officials and agencies to eliminate inconsistencies in their interactions with the citizenry as a whole. …

Legislation Meets Tradition: Interpretations And Implications Of The Volunteer Protection Act For Nonprofit Organizations As Viewed Through The Lens Of Hermeneutics, Patricia Groble, Nicholas C. Zingale, Joseph Mead

Journal of Public Management & Social Policy

Volunteers enable nonprofit organizations to reach more clients and more effectively fulfill their missions. However, the good done by these volunteers may be offset by their careless behavior. Rising fears that resulting lawsuits and monetary damages would deter potential volunteers from volunteering caused Congress to enact the Volunteer Protection Act. This research studies court decisions to ascertain whether the law fulfills its purpose and considers the implications of these interpretations for nonprofit managers. It also tests the usefulness of the hermeneutical approach to legal interpretation and to determine how the Act has changed as a result of these court decisions …

Predicting Staff Assault In Juvenile Correctional Facilities, Howard Henderson

Center for Justice Research Reports

This study examines the predictive utility of the community-based Positive Achievement Change Tool–Prescreen (PACT-PS) for staff assault in a sample of 787 state-committed male youth. Bivariate and multivariate analyses indicated the PACT-PS failed to predict staff assault across racial/ethnic groups. Notably, this study also found youth with serious delinquent histories and prior commitments improved the PACT-PS’s ability to predict staff assault. Limitations of this study, suggestions for future research, and practical implications are discussed.

Legal Punishment As Civil Ritual: Making Cultural Sense Of Harsh Punishment, Professor Spearit

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

This article is an excerpt American Prisons: A Critical Primer on Culture and Conversion to Islam. The central aim of this chapter is to examine the post-civil rights push toward harsh punishment through the cultural lens of ritual. The United States is one of the most punitive countries on the planet--the country is the world leader in imprisonment and is one of the top five that executes capital defendants. However, determining the catalysts of this turn to harsh punishment has proved vexing. Scholars have adequately explained how the end of the welfare state, followed by a proliferation of drug laws, …

Report On The Texas Legislature, 85th Session: An Urban Perspective-Criminal Justice Edition, Sarah R. Guidry, Zahra Buck Whitfield, Amber K. Walker, Marshaun Williams, Grady Paris

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

In Texas, the legislature meets every 2 years and at the end of a regular legislative session, hundreds of passed bills will have been sent to the governor for approval. The large number of bills and the wide range of topics they cover can make it difficult to gain an understanding of all the new laws that were passed. At the close of each legislative session the Earl Carl Institute publishes, for the benefit of its constituents, highlights from the session in a bi-annual legislative report. In this year’s publication entitled Report on the Texas Legislature, 85th Session: An Urban …

Race And Justice Outcomes: Contextualizing Racial Discrimination And Ferguson, Jason M. Williams

Ralph Bunche Journal of Public Affairs

While scores of literature may hint at the tumultuous relationship between the criminal justice system and Blacks, such literature, however, fail to assess, comprehensively, the intersectional purpose of present criminal justice processes and race. This paper will examine contemporary applications of justice along racial lines. It is argued that current justice outcomes are advantageous to the status quo. It is no secret that the American system of justice has a race problem; however, if the goal is to administer justice then, as this paper argues, the current system needs to be seriously examined and rebuilt. The paper also argues that …

Tsu Faculty Research Database-Jan 2017, David Owerbach

Office of Research Institutional Research and Scholarship

Research interests and selected publications from 230 Texas Southern University faculty have been updated in Jan 2017. Faculty from Public Affairs, the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, the College of Education, the College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Behavioral Sciences, the Law School and the School of Communications are included.

2016 Research Week, Linda Gardiner, David Owerbach

Office of Research Institutional Research and Scholarship

RESEARCH WEEK 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH COMMITTEES ACTIVITY SCHEDULE

LETTERS OF ENDORSEMENT

GENERAL SESSION

FACULTY, STAFF, AND STUDENT POSTER PRESENTATIONS

FACULTY AND STUDENT ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Research Week 2015, Linda Gardiner, David Owerbach

Office of Research Institutional Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Faculty Research Interest Database, David Owerbach

Office of Research Institutional Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Tsu Faculty Publication Database, David Owerbach

Office of Research Institutional Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

2014 Tsu Undergraduate Research Program, David Owerbach

Office of Research Institutional Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Research Week 2014, Linda Gardiner

Office of Research Institutional Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Education Reform And The Political Safeguards Of Federalism, Elizabeth J. Sharma

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2001 sparked widespread controversy over the federal government’s proper role in public education. Opponents criticized the legislation as an unprecedented federal intrusion on state and local governments’ policymaking authority. Whereas previous incarnations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) required local schools and districts to comply with detailed rules about how to spend categorical funds, federal moneys were never before made contingent on a rigorous testing and accountability regime. By requiring annual testing and tying federal funding to student outcomes, the new legislation signaled a shift in the …

How (And Why) Nclb Failed To Close The Achievement Gap:Evidence From North Carolina, 1998-2004, Roslyn Mickelson, Jason Giersch, Elizabeth Stearns, Stephanie Moller

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

Recent state and national policy changes for public education are premised upon the idea that high-stakes tests can improve student outcomes and close achievement gaps. Opponents maintain that such policies fail on both counts. Using a unique longitudinal dataset from North Carolina, we find that high-stakes tests have failed to close achievement gaps associated with social class and race, and that the persistence of these gaps is related, at least in part, to academic tracking. Such findings add to the questions being raised about such policies as No Child Left Behind.

2013 Tsu Undergraduate Research Program, David Owerbach

Office of Research Institutional Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Research Week 2013, Linda Gardiner

Office of Research Institutional Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

2012 Tsu Undergraduate Research Program, David Owerbach

Office of Research Institutional Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Research Week 2012, Linda Gardiner

Office of Research Institutional Research and Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Proposal To Reduce Recidivism Rates In Texas - 2010 Update, Marcia Johnson Professor, Katherine Bauer, Elizabeth Tagle

The Bridge: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Legal & Social Policy

No abstract provided.