Law Commons^™

Legally Sanctioned Takings Of Black Children: How Slavery Reverberates In The Modern Child Welfare System, Abigail Mitchell

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

This article explores the link between the taking of Black children from their families perpetrated as part of American slavery and modern takings in the modern family policing system. This article posits that underpinning both systems is a pervasive paternalism that purports to be benevolent but has been weaponized to systematically traumatize Black children and villainize Black parents. This article takes a sweeping historical perspective and connects the same discourse used to justify slavery to that which has permeated the modern family policing system.

Abortion Access: A Strain On The Most Vulnerable Women In Texas Post-Dobbs, Aleea Costilla

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

No abstract provided.

Home For Good: How The Opt-In Element Added To Hb 547 Negatively Impacts Low-Income Homeschool Students In Texas, Nadine Cox

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

This comment addresses the relationship between a parent’s constitutional right to educate their child as they see fit and a child’s interest in receiving a robust education. The idea of a parent’s right to raise their child is a fundamental and long established one. However, activist have also raised concern regarding children who are educated at home. The concern centers around the idea that children have little to no access to extra-curricular activities, socialization, or other educational opportunities. Access to extra-curricular activities leads to a well-balanced education that prepares the child for whatever career the child desires. A child does …

Closing The Door On Human Dignity: How The Supreme Court Blocked The Path To Relief For Victims Of Title Ix Discrimination, Bailey Wylie

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

This comment exposes the far-reaching consequences of Cummings v. Premier Rehab Keller and scrutinizes the Supreme Court’s reliance on contract law principles to deny victims of discrimination recovery of non-economic damages.

For almost 50 years, courts have awarded emotional distress damages to victims of discrimination. Consequently, the Court’s lack of notice argument within Cummings falls flat through a cursory analysis of precedent. In the context of Title IX discrimination, school districts are undeniably aware of the possibility of sexual harassment liability at the time they accept federal funding. Mandated Codes of Conduct explicitly prohibit sexual harassment and outline ramifications for …

Then They Came For Us: Access To Justice Harm And Opportunity For Our Transgender And Nonbinary Youth, Sarah Steadman

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

Transgender and nonbinary youth are under legislative and political siege as the latest victims in our nation’s culture wars. They are acutely aware of the hostility towards their existence and best interests, damaging their often already precarious well-being. There is a concerning risk they will associate biased and antagonistic lawmakers with our entire legal system, including legal service providers. Fear of encountering discrimination and bias leads targeted individuals to avoid accessing services. I fear that means too many among this generation transgender and nonbinary youth may avoid addressing their legal health needs as they age.

Consequently, the legal profession must …

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 …