Law Commons^™

The Role Of Suspicion In Federal Equal Protection, Paul E. Mcgreal

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Recently, Professor Jed Rubenfeld wrote an essay arguing that the Supreme Court's strict scrutiny test for equal protection works best to "smoke out" the purpose of laws to determine whether they were enacted because of racial bias or preference. Professor Rubenfeld criticized the Court's most recent affirmative action decision in Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena for departing from this "smoking out" approach.

In this Essay, Professor McGreal explores how this "smoking out" process is applied in federal equal protection cases. Counter to Professor Rubenfeld's view, he argues that the Supreme Court did use a "smoking out" approach in Adarand. His …

Continuing The Trend Toward Equality: The Eradication Of Racially And Sexually Discriminatory Provisions In Private Trusts, Katheryn F. Voyer

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

Racially and sexually discriminatory private trusts are presumed to be valid under traditional common law governing dispositions of property. Most courts have held that if the state plays a "passive" role, only private actors are involved and the Fourteenth Amendment is not implicated The United States Supreme Court, however, has declared in one context that discriminatory charitable trusts violate public policy and are unconstitutional. This Note argues that because private trusts involve unlawful state action and are not purely private, courts have an affirmative obligation imposed by the Supreme Court and a moral responsibility because of well-established public policy against …