Law Commons^™

Toward An Expanded Conception Of Law Reform: Sexual Harassment Law And The Reconstruction Of Facts, Holly B. Fechner

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note uses feminist reform of sexual harassment law to show how the reconstruction of factual descriptions can lead to change in the law. Part I describes the feminist methodology of consciousness raising and analyzes Catharine MacKinnon's Sexual Harassment of Working Women as an example of a successful consciousness-raising tool. Part II discusses sexual harassment doctrine and presents a case study illustrating how changing the way legal decision makers think about facts can lead to law reform. Part III discusses how social construction theory aids understanding of changes in sexual harassment law.

Individual Entitlement To The Financial Benefits Of A Professional Degree: An Empirical Study Of The Attitudes And Expectations Of Married Professional Students And Their Spouses, Rebecca Redosh Eisner, Ruth Zimmerman

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Part I of this Note describes the case law that delineated the factors examined in the study. Those factors are the financial support provided by the supporting spouse, the extent of personal sacrifice made by the supporting spouse, the length of the marriage and corresponding accumulated assets of the marriage at the time of the divorce, and the relative earning capacities of the two parties after the divorce. Part II discusses the design of the study, and specifically how we manipulated these factors in hypothetical vignettes to measure reactions to the factors. Part III presents the results and our conclusions …

Pornography Is A Civil Rights Issue For Women, Andrea Dworkin

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

My name is Andrea Dworkin. I am a citizen of the United States, and in this country where I live, every year millions and millions of pictures are being made of women with our legs spread. We are called beaver, we are called pussy, our genitals are tied up, they are pasted, makeup is put on them to make them pop out of a page at a male viewer. Millions and millions of pictures are made of us in postures of submission and sexual access so that our vaginas are exposed for penetration, our anuses are exposed for penetration, our …

Methodological Issues In The Content Analysis Of Pornography, Daniel Linz, Edward Donnerstein

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

No scientifically sound analysis of the content of pornography in the United States as a whole currently exists. Dietz and Sears's article takes us a small step closer to quantifying the contents of pornography. Some of the methods employed in the present study, however, prohibit us from making solid generalizations from the findings reported here to the nationwide pornographic marketplace. Our critique of the article will concentrate first on the methods employed in the study and then on the findings obtained through these methods and the authors' interpretation of these findings.

Brief Amici Curiae Of Feminist Anti-Censorship Taskforce, Et Al., In American Booksellers Association V. Hudnut, Nan D. Hunter, Sylvia A. Law

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The document that follows represents both a legal brief and a political statement. It was written for two purposes: to mobilize, in a highly visible way, a broad spectrum of feminist opposition to the enactment of laws expanding state suppression of sexually explicit material; and to place before the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit a cogent legal argument for the constitutional invalidity of an Indianapolis municipal ordinance that would have permitted private civil suits to ban such material, purportedly to protect women. Drafting this brief was one of the most demanding and exhilarating assignments either author has yet …

Introduction, Lillian R. Bevier

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The Articles in this Symposium vividly demonstrate that the reason that the pornography debate is no longer at the forefront of national consciousness is surely not that the phenomenon itself has disappeared. Nor is it that we have achieved anything approaching consensus, for we cannot seem to agree even about what pornography is, much less about its harms or benefits. Nor is it even that we have suddenly discovered and begun to deploy, from tools long available in our legal arsenal, enforcement strategies promising cures less harmful than the disease. Quite the . contrary. As the editors of this journal …

Hard-Core Pornography: A Proposal For A Per Se Rule, Bruce A. Taylor

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Part I of this Article discusses the history and pervasiveness of the pornography problem. Part II explains the current legal test for obscenity, as evolved from Miller v. California, with an emphasis on terms commonly used in the definition of obscenity. Part III examines the problems in applying Miller that suggest that the application of a per se hard-core pornography rule may be appropriate. Finally, Part IV presents a proposal for a per se hard-core pornography rule, similar to child pornography laws existing in many jurisdictions and upheld by the Supreme Court in New York v. Ferber. This Article concludes …

Rape Shield Laws--Is It Time For Reinforcement?, Catherine L. Kello

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note takes a critical look at civil suits arising from allegations of rape, particularly from the perspective of how these actions run counter to the spirit of rape reform and rape shield legislation. The analysis begins with a brief history of the Rape Shield Law and its intended purposes. Part II then utilizes two cases to outline the current dilemma posed by civil suits that are filed during a pending criminal sexual conduct prosecution. After presenting these cases, Part III considers whether a legislative remedy is required and determines that it is. Part IV then proposes a Model Statute. …

The Right To Speak, The Right To Hear, And The Right Not To Hear: The Technological Resolution To The Cable/Pornography Debate, Michael I. Meyerson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article concludes that the power of government to regulate cable pornography is limited to that which is legally obscene. Part I reviews Supreme Court cases delineating the relationship between the rights of privacy in the home and of freedom of speech. Part II demonstrates that the technology of cable television provides the solution to the pornography dilemma. Cable television preserves both privacy and speech interests because individual subscribers can be given the physical means to block out programming they find personally offensive without affecting the ability of others to receive that programming. Where such accommodation of interests is permissible, …

Pornography And Obscenity Sold In "Adult Bookstores": A Survey Of 5132 Books, Magazines, And Films In Four American Cities, Park Elliott Dietz, Alan E. Sears

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

During the eighteen months that the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography (the Commission) conducted public hearings, public discussion, and staff research, one of the most common types of inquiry directed to the staff consisted of questions as to the content of pornography currently available in the United States. Critics of the Commission's work asserted that the pornography used as exhibits by witnesses at the public hearings was extreme, not commonly available, or unrepresentative of that sold in pornography retail outlets; The only pertinent, quantitative data available to the Commission appeared in a single report in the American Journal of Psychiatry …

Prurient Interest And Human Dignity: Pornography Regulation In West Germany And The United States, Mathias Reimann

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Article examines the regulation of pornography in West Germany and compares it to regulation in the United States. Part I provides an overview of the legal framework- constitutional and statutory-of pornography regulation in West Germany. Part II then traces the evolution of the concept of human dignity as a standard for defining pornography in West Germany, and Part III illustrates the practical impact of the idea in two widely debated recent cases. Part IV argues that West Germany's human dignity approach to pornography regulation raises important questions about how to view pornography, but that cultural and constitutional differences between …

Pay Equity--The Minnesota Experience, Nina Rothchild

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The concept of comparable worth is simple: jobs should be paid according to their value, whether the jobs are performed by men or by women. It says that pay should be based on the level of skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions required to do the job. It is hard to believe that such a common sense idea could generate such an emotional reaction.

In this essay I will describe Minnesota's experience with pay equity at the state and local levels. Our experience leads us to believe that the arguments of the opposition are pure conjecture and that the scare …

Comparable Worth -- The Theory, Its Legal Foundation, And The Feasibility Of Implementation, Carin Ann Clauss

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

County of Washington v. Gunther was decided by the Supreme Court over five years ago. In that case, the Court, resolving a conflict among the circuits, ruled that sex-based wage discrimination claims could proceed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 without regard to the limiting "equal work" standard of the Equal Pay Act. Following this decision, it was generally assumed that the courts would become the major forum for redressing sex-based wage discrimination. The anticipated litigation explosion never took place. Few wage discrimination suits have been filed, and even fewer have been successful. What progress has …

Thoughts On Comparable Worth Litigation And Organizational Strategies, Nancy Gertner

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

To watch the evolution of Title VIP is to watch the gradual constricting of a law that many had heralded as a tool of social change for women. Its passage represented a statement that the so-called free market had not worked for women. Women were denied access to higher paying and high-status positions. Even when a job was integrated, women's work was undervalued and their wages frequently depressed. With the passage of Title VII came the hope that the law would do what the market could not-break the cycle of discrimination.

Sex discrimination, in contrast with other forms of discrimination, …

The Attainment Of Pay Equity Between The Sexes By Legal Means: An Economic Analysis, George E. Johnson, Gary R. Solon

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The purpose of this Article is to present an analysis of the gap between men's and women's wages with particular emphasis on the likely effects of various existing and proposed legal remedies. Part I sets out a simple "ideal" statistical model of wage determination. Its purpose is to identify carefully the potential impact of alternative legal remedies such as the Equal Pay Act, Title VII, and proposed policies like comparable worth. This model is ideal in the sense that, although it could be estimated in principle, there is no data set currently available with which it could actually be estimated. …

The Application Of A Due Diligence Requirement To Market Share Theory In Des Litigation, Thomas C. Willcox

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note argues that courts should impose a due diligence requirement on plaintiffs as a prerequisite to the use of market share theory. Part I examines traditional products liability theories along with alternative theories and explains the relationship of due diligence to market share theory. Part II argues that due diligence should be a prerequisite to market share liability. Part III discusses the nature of due diligence in this context. Finally, Part IV considers various objections to a due diligence requirement and argues that they are essentially without merit.

Women's Pension Reform: Congress Inches Toward Equity, Anne Moss

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In the workplace and in the home, women suffer economic injustices. The inequities of our private and governmental pension systems compound their financial problems, leading to inadequate retirement income for many older women. For example, only ten percent of women age sixty-five and over received private pensions or annuities in 1982, as compared to twenty-nine percent of men age sixty-five and over. Women receiving pensions likewise get much less than men, averaging $1,520 in 1982. The average for men in 1982 was $2,980.

Gradually, policymakers are recognizing the shortcomings of pension systems. In the past few years, federal legislation has …

Inequality In Marital Liabilities: The Need For Equal Protection When Modifying The Necessaries Doctrine, Debra S. Betteridge

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note contends that the "primary/secondary" modification is unconstitutional because it ignores the husband's equal protection rights while unlawfully stigmatizing women as dependent. Part I discusses how the growing independence of women has led courts to modify the common law doctrine. Part II develops the test that the Supreme Court would apply in judging the constitutionality of any modification of the doctrine. Part III applies this test to the "primary/secondary" modification and concludes that the modification is unconstitutional and, therefore, not a legitimate reformation of the common law necessaries doctrine.

Wage Discrimination And The "Comparable Worth" Theory In Perspective, Bruce A. Nelson, Edward M. Opton Jr., Thomas E. Wilson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Our article focuses primarily on one legal question: Does the wage discrimination theory, as sketched by Professor Blumrosen, fall within the remedial ambit of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act? Wage Discrimination's factual contentions as to the existence and universality of wage discrimination deserve equally detailed analysis, but we leave that task to scholars of the pertinent disciplines, sociology and economics. We will deal with the factual contentions of Wage Discrimination only so far as necessary to challenge its central factual conclusion: that a demonstration of job separation should lead to a judicial inference of wage discrimination. This …

An Empirical Analysis Of The Equal Credit Opportunity Act, James A. Burns Jr.

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article will first examine the legislative history of the ECOA to discover (1) the impetus for its enactment; (2) the views of proponents and opponents of the legislation concerning the presence of credit discrimination, its proper cure, and the proposed provisions of the bills introduced to deal with the problem; and (3) the congressional intent as to the use of various credit-granting factors described by the Act. Regulation B will then be similarly examined to find out how the broad mandates of the ECOA have been made concrete for the use of creditors. Finally, the article will focus on …

Presumption Of Dependence In Workers' Compensation Death Benefits As A Denial Of Equal Protection, A. Russell Localio

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This note will examine the sex bias prevalent in many workers' compensation statutes and the constitutionality of these statutes in light of recent Supreme Court decisions on sex discrimination. After this examination, alternative methods for effecting reform of the sex-biased death benefit provisions will be analyzed.

The Michigan Abortion Refusal Act, G. Michael White

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Since the United States Supreme Court handed down the landmark decisions of Roe v. Wade andDoe v. Bolton, which placed constitutional limitations, on state regulation of abortions, efforts have been made on the federal and state levels to blunt the effect of those cases. One prevalent reaction has been the enactment of state "conscience clause" legislation, such as the Michigan Abortion Refusal Act, which seeks to extend to all hospitals the right to refuse admission of abortion patients. This legislative note will consider whether the Michigan conscience clause is legally necessary to ensure the right it seeks to …

The Right Of Married Women To Assert Their Own Surnames, Roslyn Goodman Daum

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This article, then, will attempt to frame the issues involved in the name change controversy and to suggest not only ways to implement reforms, but also the consequences attending these measures. Massachusetts has been chosen as the setting for an in-depth analysis of each problem, and examples of legislative, judicial, and administrative action in that state will be interspersed throughout. The results of the efforts in Massachusetts may be politically and legally instructive for people with similar interests in other jurisdictions.

Legislative Note: Micigan's Criminal Sexual Assault Law, Kenneth A. Cobb, Nancy R. Schauer

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Under increasing pressure from women's rights groups and other reform organizations, the Michigan legislature has re-evaluated its centenarian rape statute, found it inadequate for the realities of the mid-twentieth century, and enacted a new sexual assault act. While people may refer to the act as "the new rape law," it should be noted at the outset that the statute is intended to prohibit a variety of sexual acts which involve criminal assault. Michigan's new criminal sexual assault law was formulated to distinguish among degrees of violence as motivated by hostility rather than passion; rape, like other crimes, is more heinous …

Divorce Law Reform In Michigan, B. H. Lee

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Few social questions touch the individual so intimately and foster such widely divergent views as the question of divorce. From those who regard marriage as a perpetual and indissoluble bond instituted by God to those who consider it a terminable contract between a man and a woman, every shade of opinion can be found. The subject of marital breakdown is neither new nor peculiar to our age. As one author has said: "The breakdown of marriage with provisions for divorce and remarriage is a phenomenon widely recognized in Babylonian, Hebrew, Greek and Roman law." Nevertheless, ever since Christianity established a …

Self Defense For Women Lawyers: Enforcement Of Employment Rights, Giovanna M. Longo

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Employment and a concomitant opportunity to compete on the basis of individual merit for the rewards of achievement, whether they be money, power, prestige, personal satisfaction in a job well done, or the fulfillment of broad social aims, contribute to the assertion of legitimate human needs for independence and self-respect, and contribute to the expression and realization of individual potential. Women professionals and professional employers need to understand the applicable law regarding the proof of sex discrimination, what exceptions there are to prohibited sex discrimination, the procedures for enforcing that law and the benefits or detriments to be expected from …

California Family Law Act, Meredith A. Nelson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

California's Family Law Act has been heralded as the first major change in the State's divorce provisions in one hundred years. The Act is an attempt to remedy two major criticisms of current divorce practice both in California and throughout the United States. First, those advocating reform believe that laws controlling the granting of divorces are in conflict with modem concepts of marriage and divorce. Many divorce laws impose punitive sanctions in an attempt to deter those who would otherwise seek a divorce. Second, notwithstanding their intent, divorce laws have not, in fact, reduced the frequency of divorce. The inability …

Constitutional Reflections On Abortion Reform, Patrick L. Baude

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

United States abortion law is evolving comparably. Even eight years ago, public opinion was deeply divided when a Phoenix housewife sought to avoid giving birth after taking Thalidomide. The Model Penal Code, promulgated that year, authorized abortion in cases of felonious intercourse, to avoid deformity, and to protect the physical or mental health of the mother; these faintly daring innovations are now in danger of being declared unconstitutional because they are too limited. In the last year, three courts have invalidated moderate abortion statutes and the New York legislature has permitted abortion at will in early pregnancy. The purpose of …