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Law And The Sexual Subaltern: A Comparative Perspective , Ratna Kapur Jan 2000

Law And The Sexual Subaltern: A Comparative Perspective , Ratna Kapur

Cleveland State Law Review

I am entering this conversation as a comparativist who wants to complicate the received wisdom about India in the West in regard to matters of sex, desire and the law. I want to address three issues:* First, how sex generally and alternative sexuality more specifically, are emerging as zones of contest in the legal arena and are simultaneously cast as cultural controversies in post-colonial India.* Second, I address how sexual subalterns, that is, gays, lesbians and sexworkers, are challenging dominant sexual and cultural norms.* And finally, I examine why a project of pleasure and desire is an important political goal …


The Beltway And Beyond: The Struggle For Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual And Transgender Equality, Rebecca Isaacs Jan 2000

The Beltway And Beyond: The Struggle For Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual And Transgender Equality, Rebecca Isaacs

Cleveland State Law Review

I will focus primarily on the struggle in the legislative arena in Washington, DC and more importantly, in states and local communities. And I will focus on three key issues for the GLBT community: families; civil rights and the intersection with religious liberty rights; and finally, violence and hate crimes. In summary, the GLBT community is pushing ahead of these and other issues in all 50 states.


Re-Orienting Law And Sexuality , Ratna Kapur, Tayyab Mahmud Jan 2000

Re-Orienting Law And Sexuality , Ratna Kapur, Tayyab Mahmud

Cleveland State Law Review

This symposium issue of the Cleveland State Law Review emerges from the Reorienting Law and Sexuality Conference hosted by Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in October 1999. The symposium locates itself as a continuation of the discourse that surfaced in the American legal academy in 1979 with a symposium issue of the Hastings Law Review. It is a discourse that brings into sharp relief technologies of power and strategies of resistance that contend at all sites where law aims to regulate human sexuality. While the initiative of 1979 was further cultivated by other forums of knowledge production within the American legal …


Legislating Special Rights , Karen Engle Jan 2000

Legislating Special Rights , Karen Engle

Cleveland State Law Review

Is it possible to pursue a queer agenda in promoting and defending gay rights ordinances? My answer is yes, or at least that we need to try to do it. I propose that we pursue a queer agenda by arguing for special rights, not equal rights. Not only does the special rights argument fit with the queer agenda; it also provides our best hope for confronting gay rights opponents. I'll put forth my argument in the following way. First, I'll talk about what a queer sensibility is, and discuss how a call for special rights fits within that sensibility. Second, …


Second-Parent Adoption, Patricia J. Falk Jan 2000

Second-Parent Adoption, Patricia J. Falk

Cleveland State Law Review

My topic for today's presentation is second-parent adoption. I hope to accomplish four things in my discussion. First, I will define second-parent adoption and give some reasons that it is desirable for both parents and children. Second, I will summarize the state of the law in terms of legislative enactments and case law in the United States. Third, I will discuss the role of social science in second-parent adoption cases. Finally, I will discuss some of the implications of recognizing these adoptions.


Second-Parent Adoption By Same-Sex Couples In Ohio: Unsettled And Unsettling Law, Susan J. Becker Jan 2000

Second-Parent Adoption By Same-Sex Couples In Ohio: Unsettled And Unsettling Law, Susan J. Becker

Cleveland State Law Review

In addition to the need for homes for children without any legally recognized parent, the need for a child who already has one legal parent to be adopted by the parent's gay or lesbian partner who is already serving as a de facto parent is very important to the child's emotional stability and material well being. This type of adoption, frequently referred to as a "second-parent" adoption,' is the focal point of this article. However, the matters discussed herein also apply directly and by analogy to situations where gay and lesbian couples and heterosexual unmarried couples desire to jointly adopt …


A Child Conceived After His Father's Death: Posthumous Reproduction And Inheritance Rights - An Analysis Of Ohio Statutes, Cindy L. Steeb Jan 2000

A Child Conceived After His Father's Death: Posthumous Reproduction And Inheritance Rights - An Analysis Of Ohio Statutes, Cindy L. Steeb

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article will argue that the posthumous child and the rights and responsibilities relating to such a child, are directly related to the fundamental right to procreate, thus statutes must support rather than prohibit posthumous conception. It will argue that legislation must necessarily incorporate that right in determining issues and forming legislation related to the posthumous child. It will show that current legislation, both the various Uniform Codes and Ohio's Revised Code, is not sufficient to protect and provide for this new class of children. In reaching this conclusion, Part II of this Article will review the history of artificial …


School Principals And New York Times: Ohio's Narrow Reading Of Who Is A Public Official Or Public Figure, Andrew L. Turscak Jr. Jan 2000

School Principals And New York Times: Ohio's Narrow Reading Of Who Is A Public Official Or Public Figure, Andrew L. Turscak Jr.

Cleveland State Law Review

The United States Supreme Court has promulgated the rule that plaintiffs in defamation cases who are either public officials or public figures must prove that an alleged defamatory statement was made with "actual malice."' Those individuals who have achieved public official or public figure status have a higher burden of proof than ordinary plaintiffs; they must show that a defamatory falsehood was made "with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not." The Supreme Court has not listed which government employees qualify for public official status, but it has provided some guidance. …


Computer Searches And Seizure, Donald Resseguie Jan 2000

Computer Searches And Seizure, Donald Resseguie

Cleveland State Law Review

This note will discuss legal issues related to search and seizure of computers and define the trend that the law is taking in the emerging area of inquiry. Personal privacy protection will be adequate regarding computer searches and seizures only if the courts properly balance the government's interests in bringing criminals to justice against citizens' interests against overly broad inquiries into the personal affairs. Section II provides a limited general discussion of constitutional limitations on search and seizure. Section III will discuss search and seizure of computers in the context of the "plain view" doctrine as an exception to the …


The Gang's All Here: Anti-Loitering Laws In The Face Of City Of Chicago V. Morales, Robert Delchin Jan 2000

The Gang's All Here: Anti-Loitering Laws In The Face Of City Of Chicago V. Morales, Robert Delchin

Cleveland State Law Review

This Comment examines Morales and the Court's treatment of anti-gang loitering statutes under the vagueness doctrine. Part II examines the City of Chicago's attempt to tackle the problem of gangs terrorizing its citizens and how the Illinois courts dealt with the ordinance. Part III then examines the reasons for the United States Supreme Court invalidating the ordinance, with equal emphasis placed on all the Justice's opinions. Part IV then analyzes the implications of the Court's decision, criticizing the plurality's creation of a fimdamental right to loiter and demonstrating how the ordinance survives a vagueness challenge.


Change Is Needed: The Taxation Of Alimony And Child Support, Laura Bigler Jan 2000

Change Is Needed: The Taxation Of Alimony And Child Support, Laura Bigler

Cleveland State Law Review

When a marriage dissolves there are tax consequences for everything from distribution of property to custody of the couple's children. The current tax system for alimony and child support strengthens the possibility of financial devastation. Under the present system, alimony and child support have opposite tax treatment. Many complicated rules have been added to distinguish between alimony and child support, which will be discussed later in this paper. There must be a simplification of the present law so that the average divorced taxpayer will be able to understand and implement the rules with or without sophisticated tax counsel or an …


Sexual Harassment In The Workplace: How Arbitrators Decide , Mollie H. Bowers, E. Patrick Mcdermott Jan 2000

Sexual Harassment In The Workplace: How Arbitrators Decide , Mollie H. Bowers, E. Patrick Mcdermott

Cleveland State Law Review

For thirty years courts and labor arbitrators have grappled with what constitutes sexual harassment and how to remedy such behavior. The Federal judiciary has developed case law on sexual harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, arbitrators addressing this issue under collective bargaining agreements have often treated similar fact patterns differently than jurists. In contrast, labor arbitrators decide culpability first, and then consider the appropriate remedy. In reconciling these separate paths for establishing standards of workplace conduct, the authors will provide a model that explains how arbitrators decide sexual harassment cases and how this model …


Learning From Japan: The Case For Increased Use Of Apology In Mediation , Max Bolstad Jan 2000

Learning From Japan: The Case For Increased Use Of Apology In Mediation , Max Bolstad

Cleveland State Law Review

This article proposes that there is room for increased use of apology in the United States and in mediation in particular. Mediation offers the ideal setting for the offering of an apology because of its position outside the traditional strictures of the adversarial system and because of its oft-stated goal of reconciling parties and preserving relationships. Similarly, an increased awareness of apology among mediators is likely to provide another innovative method for helping parties reach a mutually satisfying and beneficial settlement. Part II of this Article examines the nature of apology and its transformative power. Part II discusses the use …


Iadimarco V. Runyon And Reverse Discrimination: Gaining Majority Support For Majority Plaintiffs, Maria A. Citeroni Jan 2000

Iadimarco V. Runyon And Reverse Discrimination: Gaining Majority Support For Majority Plaintiffs, Maria A. Citeroni

Cleveland State Law Review

This Note will argue that the Supreme Court should resolve the inconsistency within the federal system concerning the appropriate standard of proof in reverse discrimination disputes by adopting the reasoning set forth by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Section II will profile the history and purpose of Title VII, with emphasis on the "burden shifting" framework established by the Supreme Court to analyze claims of racial discrimination in the workplace. Section III will contrast the development of the "background circumstances" test applied by lower federal courts to discrimination claims brought by majority plaintiffs with the Supreme Court's recognition of …


Predatory Lending: Practices, Remedies And Lack Of Adequate Protection For Ohio Consumers, Anna Beth Ferguson Jan 2000

Predatory Lending: Practices, Remedies And Lack Of Adequate Protection For Ohio Consumers, Anna Beth Ferguson

Cleveland State Law Review

This note focuses on remedies available to borrowers who fall prey to predatory lending practices on their home equity loans where their homes are used as collateral. Part II gives basic background information on predatory lending: what predatory lending is, examples of common predatory lending techniques, and, who benefits and who is hurt by predatory lending practices. Part III discusses and critiques current federal laws that borrowers have used to combat predatory mortgage lending practices. Part IV explains the current forms of relief available in Ohio and the limitations of these remedies. Part V discusses remedies in other states, focusing …


Kass V. Kass, Blazing Legal Trails In The Field Of Human Reproductive Technology, Kelly Summers Jan 2000

Kass V. Kass, Blazing Legal Trails In The Field Of Human Reproductive Technology, Kelly Summers

Cleveland State Law Review

The decision in Kass illustrates a situation where well-founded common law contract principles were applied to a novel reproductive issue in order to respond to rapidly evolving technological progress. However, this legal dilemma presents a variable that warrants special attention. The parties involved in the case at hand struggled for control of a possible human life; Mrs. Kass hoped to preserve the pre-zygotes for future implantation attempts, and Mr. Kass sought to avoid the tribulations associated with compulsory parenthood. This Comment will evaluate the decisions rendered by both the Supreme Court of New York and the New York Court of …


How Federal Transfer Taxes Affect The Development Of Property Law , Ira Mark Bloom Jan 2000

How Federal Transfer Taxes Affect The Development Of Property Law , Ira Mark Bloom

Cleveland State Law Review

This topic, How Federal Transfer Taxes Affect the Development of Property Law, makes the basic assumption that, to some extent, property law exists because of the federal wealth transfer tax system. As will be seen, this assumption is correct. In some instances, however, property laws exist because of the federal transfer tax system. I classify such property laws into three categories: the necessary, the appropriate and the unfortunate. In the remainder of this article, I will give examples of federal transfer tax-based property laws in these three categories. By way of illustration, I will primarily rely on statutory laws of …


Death Taxes: A Critique From The Margin, Patricia A. Cain Jan 2000

Death Taxes: A Critique From The Margin, Patricia A. Cain

Cleveland State Law Review

The proper taxation of the family under both the income tax and the estate tax has been debated for ages. It is an old issue. My purpose, however, is to consider the issue from a perspective somewhat different from that of those who have debated the issue over the years. My perspective is the perspective of the marginalized taxpayer. I critique from this perspective to see if it can tell us anything new about the old debate and to ensure that the ultimate tax treatment is just as to all taxpayers. The estate tax is supposed to be a tax …


Federal Transfer Taxes: The Possibility Of Repeal And The Post Repeal World , Joel C. Dobris Jan 2000

Federal Transfer Taxes: The Possibility Of Repeal And The Post Repeal World , Joel C. Dobris

Cleveland State Law Review

I do want to focus you on what I now see as the crucial social policy behind transfer taxes in America. And, today I would say, that the death tax, if amended, can vindicate that crucial policy. Rightly or wrongly, I think we do not focus on the key purpose of death taxation in this country. I believe knowing the "secret" makes it easier to explain why the environment is so pro-repeal and it makes it easier for me to prescribe for the future. For better or worse, I believe the crucial purpose of the tax is to assert the …


The Moral Hazard Of The Estate Tax , Carolyn C. Jones Jan 2000

The Moral Hazard Of The Estate Tax , Carolyn C. Jones

Cleveland State Law Review

The current debate about wealth transfer taxation has its themes of morality as well. Opponents have labeled the tax as “immoral.” Taxation is about morality. It is both useful and necessary to consider moral arguments in the debate about the estate tax. In an area largely consigned to economists and philosophers, it is beneficial to broaden perspectives. One could expand the range of academic disciplines considered-to history, psychology, and sociology, for example. One should also take into account the narratives of those affected by the issue. This essay can only probe into this question, beginning with Andrew Carnegie and the …


Does The Death Tax Deserve The Death Penalty - An Overview Of The Major Arguments For Repeal Of Federal Wealth-Transfer Taxes , Richard Schmalbeck Jan 2000

Does The Death Tax Deserve The Death Penalty - An Overview Of The Major Arguments For Repeal Of Federal Wealth-Transfer Taxes , Richard Schmalbeck

Cleveland State Law Review

President Bush campaigned on a platform calling for repeal of the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes, and, within his first month in office, introduced a bill that would accomplish that result. Whether or not these taxes are repealed this year, however, the debate over them will not immediately end. In the spirit of that on-going debate, I offer this essay considering the major arguments that have been made by advocates of repeal. Although I will focus mostly on those arguments in opposition to the existing system, I will begin with a brief description of the federal wealth transfer …


The Unconstitutionality Of Eliminating Estate And Gift Taxes , James G. Wilson Jan 2000

The Unconstitutionality Of Eliminating Estate And Gift Taxes , James G. Wilson

Cleveland State Law Review

This article discusses why the recent proposal to eliminate estate and gift taxes is not only immoral and a poor allocation of resources, but also is unconstitutional. The author argues that the only way to sustain any allegation of unconstitutionality against these tax policy changes is to extend meanings of "constitutionality" beyond the legalistic paradigm of constitutional adjudication. Explaining that to extend notions of constitutionality this additional distance, we would need to resurrect earlier constitutional conceptions from such influential political thinkers as Aristotle, David Hume, James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson. While pointing out that the United States Constitution embodies a …


Sexual Misconduct And The Government: Time To Take A Stand , Andrea B. Daloia Jan 2000

Sexual Misconduct And The Government: Time To Take A Stand , Andrea B. Daloia

Cleveland State Law Review

This Note analyzes law enforcement's use of one particularly troublesome tactic-the use of sexual acts or romantic promises to encourage a defendant to participate in illegal activities or to obtain information that can be used against the defendant at trial. The first part of this Note gives a brief history of the outrageous government conduct defense, including its distinction from entrapment, its origin and its lack of success in the courts. Although the entrapment defense and the outrageous conduct defense have some similarities, they are in fact quite different. The second section of this Note discusses the perception of sex …


The Grand Jury And Exculpatory Evidence: Should The Prosecutor Be Required To Disclose Exculpatory Evidence To The Grand Jury, Ali Lombardo Jan 2000

The Grand Jury And Exculpatory Evidence: Should The Prosecutor Be Required To Disclose Exculpatory Evidence To The Grand Jury, Ali Lombardo

Cleveland State Law Review

In 1992, the United States Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Williams that the federal courts do not have the supervisory power to require prosecutors to present exculpatory evidence to the grand jury. This Note argues that the Williams decision is flawed because it diminishes crucial rights of defendants and because it prevents the grand jury from fulfilling its protective function. In Section II, this Note examines the historical background and purpose of the grand jury in England and America. Section III discusses the Williams decision and the rationale behind both the majority and dissenting opinions. It also discusses …


The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Local Human Rights Ordinances, Robert Salem Jan 2000

The Strengths And Weaknesses Of Local Human Rights Ordinances, Robert Salem

Cleveland State Law Review

This panel will discuss the prospects and perils of local human rights initiatives. Specifically, I will talk about the nature of these local initiatives and their advantages and disadvantages. Time permitting, I will also talk about our successful effort last year in Toledo, Ohio to pass a human rights ordinance that includes sexual orientation as a protected category, and why it is so crucial that lawyers and law professors become involved in these local campaigns. I believe that with determination, most communities can achieve what we did in Toledo. Local human rights ordinances (HROs) take a variety of forms, and …


The First Amendment's Petition Clause As An Alternative Basis For Challenging Voter Initiatives That Burden The Enactment Of Anti-Discrimination Protection For Gays, Lesbians, And Bisexuals, Kevin Francis O'Neill Jan 2000

The First Amendment's Petition Clause As An Alternative Basis For Challenging Voter Initiatives That Burden The Enactment Of Anti-Discrimination Protection For Gays, Lesbians, And Bisexuals, Kevin Francis O'Neill

Cleveland State Law Review

The purpose of my remarks today is to suggest that the First Amendment-specifically, the Petition Clause of the First Amendment provides an alternative basis for vindicating gay, lesbian, and bisexual rights in certain cases. At least in the context of voter initiatives that seek to abolish anti-discrimination protection for sexual orientation, the Petition Clause is a promising alternative to equal protection and substantive due process. My objective here was merely to plant a seed: to identify an alternative basis for vindicating the rights of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals-especially when combatting homophobic voter initiatives like those in Romer and Cincinnati. It's …


Trademarks And The Movies: An Af-'Fair Use To Remember, Lauren P. Smith Jan 2000

Trademarks And The Movies: An Af-'Fair Use To Remember, Lauren P. Smith

Cleveland State Law Review

The Federal Trademark Dilution Act poses a serious threat for filmmakers, much more so than found under the original Lanham Act. A filmmaker can be found guilt of dilution without a finding that consumers would likely be confused by the allegedly diluting use. The mere appearance of a mark in a film would not likely violate a trademark holders rights. According dilution's much less stringent standard, non-competing uses of a mark which would "blur" its strength would violate a holder's rights. Courts have used the FTDA in ways as broad as its language allows, and it poses a very serious …


The Confrontation Clause: Statements Against Penal Interest As A Firmly Rooted Hearsay Exception, Amy N. Loth Jan 2000

The Confrontation Clause: Statements Against Penal Interest As A Firmly Rooted Hearsay Exception, Amy N. Loth

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article will explore why these types of confessions, called self-inculpatory statements, should be admissible under the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment. Part IIA of this Article will discuss the two-part test set forth in Ohio v. Roberts. Part IIB will address Lilly v. Virginia, the Supreme Court's first attempt to resolve whether statements against penal interest are sufficiently reliable to be admissible under the Confrontation Clause. Part IIB will also explore the distinction between self-inculpatory and non-self-inculpatory statements, what constitutes a "firmnly rooted" hearsay exception, and also the policy concerns behind creating a "firmly rooted" hearsay exception. Part …


Legal Challenges To And By Sex Workers/Prostitutes , Amalia Lucia Cabezas Jan 2000

Legal Challenges To And By Sex Workers/Prostitutes , Amalia Lucia Cabezas

Cleveland State Law Review

Sex worker is a term that emerges from a particular historical and political juncture. It reflects a change in consciousness imbedded in the political struggles of women prostitutes. In this article, I trace the genealogy of the term to the 1960s, when major changes occurred in the role of women in society and in the reconceptualization of what were heretofore known as "deviant" sexualities. I then shift attention to the Caribbean, where I apply the term to the advent of sex tourism and the development of a sex workers' movement linked to a human rights agenda.


Alden V. Maine And State Sovereign Immunity Original Intent Or An Intent Congenial To The Court's Desires, Jeffrey H. Canja Jan 2000

Alden V. Maine And State Sovereign Immunity Original Intent Or An Intent Congenial To The Court's Desires, Jeffrey H. Canja

Cleveland State Law Review

In Alden v. Maine the Supreme Court considered whether Congress, pursuant to its Article I powers, can subject a nonconsenting state to a private suit for damages in the state's own courts. Alternatively viewed, the question was whether a state has sovereign immunity which precludes such suits. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Article I of the Constitution does not grant Congress the power to subject a nonconsenting state to a private suit for damages in the state's own courts. The decision represents a direct extension of the federalism developed by the Court in Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, …