Law Commons^™

Dale V. Boy Scouts Of America: New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination Weighs The Balance Between The First Amendment And The State's Compelling Interest In Eradicating Discrimination, Karen L. Dayton

Georgia State University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Constitutional Right Of Poor People To Appeal Without Payment Of Fees: Convergence Of Due Process And Equal Protection In M.L.B. V. S.L.J, Lloyd C. Anderson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In this Article, Professor Lloyd Anderson examines the recent decision M.L.B. v. S.L.J., in which the United States Supreme Court held that due process and equal protection converge to require that states cannot require indigent parents who seek to appeal decisions terminating their parental rights to pay court costs they cannot afford. Noting that this decision expands the constitutional right of cost-free appeal from criminal to civil cases for the first time, Professor Anderson discusses the characteristics a civil case should have in order to qualify for such a right. Professor Anderson proposes a number of other civil cases, …

Dissecting The State: The Use Of Federal Law To Free State And Local Officials From State Legislatures' Control, Roderick M. Hills Jr.

Michigan Law Review

In discussions about American federalism, it is common to speak of a "state government" as if it were a black box, an individual speaking with a single voice. State governments are, of course, no such thing. Rather, a "state" actually incorporates a bundle of different subdivisions, branches, and agencies controlled by politicians who often compete with each other for electoral success and governmental power. In particular, these institutions compete with each other for the power to control federal funds and implement federal programs. This article explores one aspect of this intrastate competition - the extent to which federal law can …

Drum Majors For Justice, F. Michael Higginbotham, José F. Anderson

All Faculty Scholarship

Many lawyers worked with the legendary Thurgood Marshall to overturn the Supreme Court's infamous separate but equal doctrine, which had permitted racial segregation in schools and public accommodations. But while most Marylanders are aware of Marshall's contribution, few recognize the name of his colleague, William I. Gosnell.

At that time, Gosnell was one of only 32 black lawyers in the state of Maryland. In fact, due to the state's racial segregation policy, both he and Marshall had received scholarships to attend out- of-state law schools. They were denied entry to the University of Maryland because of their skin color. While …

The Limits Of The Constitutional Imagination: Equal Protection In The Era Of Assimilation, Erin Daly

Erin Daly

No abstract provided.

Discrimination Cases In The Supreme Court's 1997 Term, Eileen Kaufman

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Disenfranchisement As Punishment: Reflections On The Racial Uses Of Infamia, George P. Fletcher

Faculty Scholarship

The practice of disenfranchising felons, though decreasing, is still widespread. In this Article, Professor George Fletcher reflects on the use of disenfranchisement as punishment, the lack of a convincing theoretical justification for it, and its disproportionate impact on the African.American community. Fletcher presents a number of powerful arguments against the constitutionality of the practice, but he emphasizes that there is a deeper problem with disenfranchisement as punishment: It reinforces the branding of felons as an "untouchable" class and thus helps to prevent their effective reintegration into our society.

Constitutional Constraints On Redistribution Through Class Power, Mark Barenberg

Faculty Scholarship

My comments will not be so much a critique as an elaboration of the two papers, especially Professor Neuman's paper on United States (U.S.) law, since I am not an expert on German constitutional law. For those less familiar with U.S. law, my goal is to bring to light some additional elements of the U.S. constitutional tradition that impede the use of law to achieve economic equality-elements of U.S. constitutional law that reinforce the weak "general equality" principle of the Equal Protection Clause.2 I will use U.S. labor law as my vehicle for showing the variety of constitutional principles that …

The Abortion Right, Originalism, And The Fourteenth Amendment, Steven Graines, Justin Wyatt

Cleveland State Law Review

In this article, the Privileges or Immunities Clause will be re-conceived in its original context, at the center of the Fourteenth Amendment. This re-conception includes the assumption that The Slaughter-House Cases" were decided incorrectly.'" The contention of the article is that abortion restrictions, as a specific originalist matter, can be considered economic legislation and that they also economically burden women, such that they unconstitutionally abridge two privileges or immunities, the Lochnerian liberties to contract and the engagement in any of the common occupations. Specifically, abortion restrictions violate "the prohibition on redistributive 'class' legislation ... that was deeply rooted in the …

No-Drop Prosecution Of Domestic Violence: Just Good Policy, Or Equal Protection Mandate?, Kalyani Robbins

Faculty Publications

Domestic violence is a problem that must be dealt with for what it is: a criminal act. The only way to effectively diminish it is through the full force of the criminal justice system, which must treat domestic violence the same as it treats crime by strangers. The purpose of this note is to argue that aggressive prosecution of domestic violence-at least to the same extent that other violent crimes are prosecuted-is mandated by the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Part I will examine the extent of the problems that pervade the criminal justice system, both historically and …

Litigation Strategies: The Rights Of Homosexuals To Adopt Children, Stella Lellos

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

From A Whimper To A Bang: The Trend Toward Finding Occurrence Based Statutes Of Limitations Governing Negligent Misdiagnosis Of Diseases With Long Latency Periods Unconstitutional, Peter Zablotsky

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

The Cruelest Of The Gender Police: Student-To-Student Sexual Harassment And Anti-Gay Peer Harassment Under Title Ix, Deborah L. Brake

Articles

Title IX, like other sex discrimination laws, addresses discrimination that occurs because of an individual’s sex. Courts interpreting Title IX, like those interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, have struggled to demarcate a line separating discrimination because of sex from discrimination because of sexual orientation. This article constructs an argument for viewing anti-gay discrimination, and in particular anti-gay harassment between students, as a form of sex discrimination under Title IX. The article first explores why school inaction in the face of sexual harassment discriminates on the basis of sex. Although sex discrimination law generally has long …

In God's Image: The Religious Imperative Of Equality Under Law, George P. Fletcher

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay argues that the principle of equality under law is best grounded in a holistic view of human dignity. Rejecting modem attempts to justify equality by reducing humanity to a particular actual characteristic, it articulates a religious imperative to treat people equally by drawing on biblical as well as modern philosophical sources. The principle "all men are created equal," as celebrated in the Declaration of Independence and Gettysburg Address, draws on this holistic understanding of humanity. This admittedly romantic approach to equality generates a critique of contemporary Supreme Court doctrine, including the prevailing approaches to strict scrutiny, affirmative action, …

Enforcing Family Promises: Reliance, Reciprocity, And Relational Contract, Melanie B. Leslie

Articles

Courts are willing, in commercial contexts, to enforce promises even without consideration when enforcement supports a norm of reciprocity-a norm which recognizes that promises are seldom totally gratuitous, but are often made in furtherance of reciprocal, long-term, trust-based relationships. In this article, Professor Leslie argues that relational contract principles are firmly embedded in wills law. Courts enforce the reciprocity norm in the family context just as they do in commercial contexts; this enforcement is seen, however, not in breach of promise suits, which occur rarely between family members, but rather in will contests. Despite the prevalent ideology of wills law, …