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University of Alabama School of Law

Essays, Reviews, and Shorter Works

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2021

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Full-Text Articles in Law

Against Equality: A Critical Essay For The Naacp And Others, Richard Delgado, Jean Stefancic Jan 2021

Against Equality: A Critical Essay For The Naacp And Others, Richard Delgado, Jean Stefancic

Essays, Reviews, and Shorter Works

We address a recurring problem in movement scholarship and activism: why do some civil rights organizations persist in promoting themselves as advocates of equal protection when street activists rarely mention it, and lawyers know that litigation brought under that clause almost always loses? Try to recall the last time you heard of a street protest by a group -- say Mexican-American school children in Tucson, Arizona, Black victims of police violence, or military women subjected to sexual harassment -- proceeding under the banner of equal protection. Or think when you last read of a lawyer who brought and won a …


Treat Every Defendant Equally And Fairly: Political Interference And The Challenges Facing The U.S. Attorneys' Offices As The Justice Department Turns 150 Years Old, Joyce Vance Jan 2021

Treat Every Defendant Equally And Fairly: Political Interference And The Challenges Facing The U.S. Attorneys' Offices As The Justice Department Turns 150 Years Old, Joyce Vance

Essays, Reviews, and Shorter Works

The US Attorneys' Offices are the flagships of the federal government's law-enforcement work. But as the Department of Justice (DOJ) approaches its 150th anniversary, there are deep concerns for their future. The four years of the Trump Administration have shaken public confidence in DOJ, and during his tenure, Attorney General William Barr all too often took on the role of the President's lawyer rather than upholding the integrity and credibility of line prosecutors to work free from political interference. This Essay, written in the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election, argues that, in a new administration, there must …


Sacrificing Legitimacy In A Hierarchical Judiciary, Tara Leigh Grove Jan 2021

Sacrificing Legitimacy In A Hierarchical Judiciary, Tara Leigh Grove

Essays, Reviews, and Shorter Works

Scholars have long worried about the legitimacy of the Supreme Court. But commentators have largely overlooked the inferior federal judiciary - and the potential tradeoffs between Supreme Court and lower court legitimacy. This Essay aims to call attention to those tradeoffs. When the Justices are asked to change the law in high-profile areas - such as abortion, affirmative action, or gun rights - they face a conundrum: To protect the legitimacy of the Court, the Justices may be reluctant to issue the broad precedents that will most effectively clarify the law - and thereby guide the lower courts. The Justices …