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Articles 1 - 16 of 16
Full-Text Articles in Law
Confronting Race And Collateral Consequences In Public Housing, Ann Cammett
Confronting Race And Collateral Consequences In Public Housing, Ann Cammett
Seattle University Law Review
Access to affordable housing is one of the most critical issues currently facing low-income families. In many urban areas, rising costs, dwindling economic opportunity, and gentrification have foreclosed access to previously available rental stock and contributed to a crisis in housing. For African Americans lingering economic disparities arising from generations of forced racial segregation and the disproportional impact of mass incarceration have magnified these problems. In this Article I explore legal barriers to publicly subsidized housing, a “collateral consequence” of criminal convictions that increasingly serves as a powerful form of housing discrimination. Evictions, denial of admission, and permanent exclusion of …
A Positive Right To Free Labor, Rebecca E. Zietlow
A Positive Right To Free Labor, Rebecca E. Zietlow
Seattle University Law Review
This Article seeks to resurrect a lost thread in our civil rights tradition: the idea that workers have a positive right to free labor. A positive right to free labor includes the right to work for a living wage free of undue coercion and free from discrimination based on immutable characteristics. Not merely the negative guarantee against the state’s infringement on individual equality and liberty, a positive right to free labor is immediately enforceable against state and private parties. A positive right to free labor is rooted in the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution, which prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude …
The Thirteenth Amendment, Disparate Impact, And Empathy Deficits, Darrell A.H. Miller
The Thirteenth Amendment, Disparate Impact, And Empathy Deficits, Darrell A.H. Miller
Seattle University Law Review
Modern civil rights policy is, as the late Justice Scalia warned, at “war.” On the one hand, some laws, like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and the Fair Housing Act, can impose liability for decisions due to their racial impacts rather than their racial motivation. Defendants in such cases can always respond that the challenged decision (a test, a criterion, an allocation) is necessary in some legally cognizable sense; but the courthouse doors open with the prima facie case of disparate impact. On the other hand, the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, ever since …
License To Discriminate: How A Washington Florist Is Making The Case For Applying Intermediary Scrutiny To Sexual Orientation, Kendra Lacour
License To Discriminate: How A Washington Florist Is Making The Case For Applying Intermediary Scrutiny To Sexual Orientation, Kendra Lacour
Seattle University Law Review
Over the past few decades, the debate over sexual orientation has risen to the forefront of civil rights issues. Though the focus has generally been on the right to marriage, peripheral issues associated with the right to marriage—and with sexual orientation generally—have become more common in recent years. As the number of states permitting same-sex marriage—along with states prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation—increases, so too does the conflict between providers of public accommodations and those seeking their services. Never is this situation more problematic than when religious beliefs are cited as the basis for denying services to …
Academic Freedom And Professorial Speech In The Post-Garcetti World, Oren R. Griffin
Academic Freedom And Professorial Speech In The Post-Garcetti World, Oren R. Griffin
Seattle University Law Review
Academic freedom, a coveted feature of higher education, is the concept that faculty should be free to perform their essential functions as professors and scholars without the threat of retaliation or undue administrative influence. The central mission of an academic institution, teach-ing and research, is well served by academic freedom that allows the faculty to conduct its work in the absence of censorship or coercion. In support of this proposition, courts have long held that academic freedom is a special concern of the First Amendment, granting professors and faculty members cherished protections regarding academic speech. In Garcetti v. Ceballos, the …
The Gay Accent, Gender, And Title Vii Employment Discrimination, Ryan Castle
The Gay Accent, Gender, And Title Vii Employment Discrimination, Ryan Castle
Seattle University Law Review
While race, religion, ethnicity, and sex will always remain salient social issues in our nation, sexual orientation is currently at the forefront of our national debate and will likely not abate in the foreseeable future. Federal courts, for example, struggle in differentiating sex, gender, and sexuality when adjudicating Title VII employment discrimination claims. Because Title VII does not protect employees from sexual orientation-based discrimination, plaintiffs who are or are perceived to be of a sexual minority have difficulty proving a valid sex-based discrimination claim in federal court. This difficulty arises because one cannot perceive sex, gender, and sexuality without muddling …
The Achievement Gap And Disparate Impact Discrimination In Washington Schools, Sarah Albertson
The Achievement Gap And Disparate Impact Discrimination In Washington Schools, Sarah Albertson
Seattle University Law Review
In today’s public schools, students designated as “white” and “Asian” consistently outperform students from other ethnic groups in test scores and graduation rates. These disparities, commonly called “the achievement gap,” are a symptom of greater issues, or “opportunity gaps.” Washington State has recently taken a further step to address the achievement gap and racial discrimination in schools. In 2010, the Washington legislature passed the Equal Education Opportunity Law (EEOL), HB 3026, in response to the recommendations in commissioned achievement gap studies. The EEOL authorizes the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to enforce this law through regulations. This …
Proposition 8 Is Unconstitutional, But Not Because The Ninth Circuit Said So: The Equal Protection Clause Does Not Support A Legal Distinction Between Denying The Right To Same-Sex Marriage And Not Providing It In The First Place, Nathan Rouse
Seattle University Law Review
In Perry v. Brown, the Ninth Circuit held that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. But in doing so, the court stepped back from the breadth of the district court’s decision. The Ninth Circuit did not address whether same-sex marriage is a fundamental constitutional right. Nor did the Ninth Circuit address whether the Equal Protection Clause categorically prevents states from limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples. Instead, the Ninth Circuit reached the narrow conclusion that Proposition 8 violates the Equal Protection Clause because it withdrew a preexisting legal right from a marginalized group without any legitimate purpose. The Ninth Circuit should have held …
Physical-Strength Rationales For De Jure Exclusion Of Women From Military Combat Positions, Maia Goodell
Physical-Strength Rationales For De Jure Exclusion Of Women From Military Combat Positions, Maia Goodell
Seattle University Law Review
Women have been serving in the military in steadily increasing numbers for decades. Nevertheless, the military remains one of the few areas in which the U.S. government decides what roles are open to women based on de jure exclusions. This Article examines the law governing de jure classification, noting that a mere normative belief about women’s proper place in society is an insufficient basis to justify a sex-based exclusion. It then probes the most common rationale advanced in support of the continued de jure exclusion of women: physical strength. The Article examines four problems with the physical strength rationale: (1) …
"Virtual" Schools: Real Discrimination, Edward Lin
"Virtual" Schools: Real Discrimination, Edward Lin
Seattle University Law Review
Jurisdictions should protect privileged communications that are voluntarily shared between insureds and insurers. They should recognize this protection to prevent unwanted and unintended disclosure to third parties while continuing to encourage honest communication between insurance companies and their insureds. To achieve this result, jurisdictions need to adopt an approach that views the insurance company as the insured's ally, rather than adversary, even when the insured is defending a lawsuit that the insurer might later exclude from coverage. Part II of this Comment describes how and why D&O policies differ from general liability policies, which also involve litigation concerning privileged information. …
The Robinson-Patman Act And Consumer Welfare: Has Volvo Reconciled Them?, John B. Kirkwood
The Robinson-Patman Act And Consumer Welfare: Has Volvo Reconciled Them?, John B. Kirkwood
Seattle University Law Review
In this article, I address that broader question. In Part II, I summarize the facts and opinions in Volvo, particularly the final section of the majority opinion where the Court observed that Volvo's discrimination was procompetitive. In Part III, I review the growing consensus in antitrust law that the fundamental goal of the antitrust statutes (other than the Robinson-Patman Act) is to promote consumer welfare. Today when most courts say that a practice furthers competition, they mean that it improves consumer welfare-specifically, the welfare of consumers in the relevant market. In Part IV, I use that interpretation of …
Denial Of Recovery To Nonresident Beneficiaries Under Washington's Wrongful Death And Survival Statutes: Is It Really Cheaper To Kill A Man Than To Maim Him?, Jonathan James
Seattle University Law Review
Although courts have expressed repugnance for discrimination against nonresidents as far back as the early 1900s and recognized that it was out of date even in their time, it is the refusal of Washington courts to question the constitutionality of such legislative enactments which has allowed this injustice to continue unabated for almost 100 years. It is time that the courts in Washington finally realize that such discriminatory legislation must succumb to the protections provided by both the United States and Washington Constitutions and find these statutes unconstitutional. To do otherwise would allow a tortfeasor an “undeserved and morbid windfall” …
The Ninth Circuit's "Hybrid Rights" Error: Three Losers Do Not Make A Winner In Thomas V. Anchorage Equal Rights Commission, Eric J. Neal
The Ninth Circuit's "Hybrid Rights" Error: Three Losers Do Not Make A Winner In Thomas V. Anchorage Equal Rights Commission, Eric J. Neal
Seattle University Law Review
Because the Ninth Circuit, in reaching its Thomas decision, relied on Smith's hybrid rights language, this Note will focus on the court's analysis of that subject. By applying the hybrid rights' dicta instead of following the actual holding in Smith, the Ninth Circuit reached a conclusion that is illogical and does not comport with current Supreme Court free exercise jurisprudence. This Note will discuss the Thomas court's analysis and will propose a logical interpretation of Smith that more closely reflects the Supreme Court's actual position regarding the Free Exercise Clause.
Don't Throw The Price Waterhouse Baby Out With The Bath Water: Age Discrimination And The Direct Evidence/Mixed Motive Puzzle, Mary L. Beyer
Don't Throw The Price Waterhouse Baby Out With The Bath Water: Age Discrimination And The Direct Evidence/Mixed Motive Puzzle, Mary L. Beyer
Seattle University Law Review
This Comment examines why Washington should place a higher burden on employers in direct evidence and mixed motive age discrimination cases. Because Washington courts follow federal case law in interpreting state anti-discrimination legislation, Section II examines relevant federal statutes and the history of their interpretation by federal courts. Section III explores the courts' modification of the traditional federal approach found in direct evidence and mixed motive cases. Section IV discusses Washington's anti-discrimination statute and Washington's judicial interpretation of that statute. Section V demonstrates Washington's insufficient response to federal developments in direct evidence and mixed motive cases. Finally, Section VI identifies …
An Observation About Comparable Worth, George Schatzki
An Observation About Comparable Worth, George Schatzki
Seattle University Law Review
The ultimate legal question is: Does Title VII incorporate the comparable worth doctrine? The courts are saying, "No." Their reasoning is, at best, unpersuasive. Indeed, often their reasoning is nothing more than mere conclusion. Given what I have described briefly as the legal arguments pro and con, one can easily understand that so long as Griggs remains a part of the Title VII scene, there is a rational but not compelling argument to incorporate comparable worth into the Act. How, then, does a court decide? The following discussion is offered not as an example of desirable or undesirable judicial analysis. …
Women At The Bar—A Generation Of Change, Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Women At The Bar—A Generation Of Change, Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Seattle University Law Review
This lecture, delivered at the University of Puget Sound School of Law, addresses the evolving role of women in the legal profession.