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Journal

2011

Discrimination

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Institution
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Articles 1 - 30 of 34

Full-Text Articles in Law

In Times Of Medical Crisis: Inadequacy Of Legal Remedies Available To Sexual Minorities., A. Nicole Kwapisz Dec 2011

In Times Of Medical Crisis: Inadequacy Of Legal Remedies Available To Sexual Minorities., A. Nicole Kwapisz

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

Society has become more tolerant and accepting of changes to the social order. Yet many people still feel the need to cover when in public. Covering is a practice of sexual minorities hiding who they really are for fear of judgment and stereotyping. The media portrayal of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (collectively LGBT) issues allows people to grow more comfortable and accepting of sexual minorities. In the climate of change and acceptance, many LGBT individuals choose to live their lives cover-free. However, refusing to downplay their stigmatized identities leads to routine denial of equal treatment. The rights of sexual …


Opening The Broom Closet: Recognizing The Religious Rights Of Wiccans, Witches, And Other Neo-Pagans, Bradford S. Stewart Nov 2011

Opening The Broom Closet: Recognizing The Religious Rights Of Wiccans, Witches, And Other Neo-Pagans, Bradford S. Stewart

Northern Illinois University Law Review

Religious freedom is a core component of our nation and one of the most widely known and accepted constitutional guarantees provided by the First Amendment. No prior civilization had adopted a national policy that tolerated various religious beliefs while simultaneously refusing to endorse or promote a national religion. Considering the fundamental backdrop of religious tolerance, it might seem unimaginable that a skilled medical technician could be fired from her job, an alleged victim of sexual abuse could have her credibility undermined in a court of law, or a mother could lose custody of her child, under the color of legality, …


Beyond Common Sense: A Social Psychological Study Of Iqbal's Effect On Claims Of Race Discrimination, Victor D. Quintanilla Sep 2011

Beyond Common Sense: A Social Psychological Study Of Iqbal's Effect On Claims Of Race Discrimination, Victor D. Quintanilla

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) once operated as a notice pleading rule, requiring plaintiffs to set forth only a "short and plain" statement of their claim. In Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, and then Ashcroft v. Iqbal, the United States Supreme Court recast Rule 8(a) into a plausibility pleading standard. To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter "to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Iqbal requires federal courts, when deciding whether a complaint is plausible, to draw on their "judicial experience and common sense." Courts apply this standard …


Fair Lending 2.0: A Borrower-Based Solution To Discrimination In Mortgage Lending, Jared Ruiz Bybee Sep 2011

Fair Lending 2.0: A Borrower-Based Solution To Discrimination In Mortgage Lending, Jared Ruiz Bybee

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Fair lending laws promise that borrowers with similar credit profiles will receive similar loan products-regardless of their race. Yet, studies reveal that black and Latino borrowers consistently receive loan products that are inferior to those of white borrowers with similar credit characteristics. Despite frequent amendments since their passage during the Civil Rights Era, the Fair Lending Laws that opened doors for minority borrowers are unable to root out the subtle discrimination that persists in today's mortgage lending market. These traditional Fair Lending Laws are built on an outdated framework that focuses exclusively on punishing lenders and righting past wrongs. This …


Disability Law - Americans With Disabilities Act Of 1990 - Title Ii And Title Iii And The Expansion Of Captioning For The Deaf: From Televisions And Movie Theaters To Stadiums And Arenas, Daniel Haney Jul 2011

Disability Law - Americans With Disabilities Act Of 1990 - Title Ii And Title Iii And The Expansion Of Captioning For The Deaf: From Televisions And Movie Theaters To Stadiums And Arenas, Daniel Haney

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.


Islam In The Secular Nomos Of The European Court Of Human Rights, Peter G. Danchin Jul 2011

Islam In The Secular Nomos Of The European Court Of Human Rights, Peter G. Danchin

Michigan Journal of International Law

If, with the benefit of hindsight, Mr. Choudhury's case was a harbinger of the emergence of various problems associated with Islam and the rights of Muslim minorities in European nation-states, then the events of September 11, 2001 have propelled these issues to the forefront of law and politics in a way unimaginable even a decade earlier. In Denmark, cartoons depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad as a suicide bomber have been published leading to protests and violence across Europe and the Islamic world; a law prohibiting students in public schools from wearing symbols or attire through which they conspicuously exhibit a …


Who Am I And Who Do You Want Me To Be? Effectively Defining A Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Social Group In Asylum Applications, Keith Southam Jun 2011

Who Am I And Who Do You Want Me To Be? Effectively Defining A Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Social Group In Asylum Applications, Keith Southam

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Asylum law provides an area within immigration law that is unexpectedly friendly to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender persons. Persons who suffer persecution on account of "membership in a particular social group" are eligible to live and work in the United States. This encompasses lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender persons who suffer persecution. However, United States law does not clearly define applicable standards in this area. As a result, different adjudicators in the asylum process focus on different methodological approaches and sometimes inject bias into the process. In addition, because the terms "lesbian," "gay," "bisexual," and "transgender" are …


Ely At The Altar: Political Process Theory Through The Lens Of The Marriage Debate, Jane S. Schacter Jun 2011

Ely At The Altar: Political Process Theory Through The Lens Of The Marriage Debate, Jane S. Schacter

Michigan Law Review

Political process theory, closely associated with the work of John Hart Ely and footnote four in United States v. Carolene Products, has long been a staple of constitutional law and theory. It is best known for the idea that courts may legitimately reject the decisions of a majority when the democratic process that produced the decision was unfair to a disadvantaged social group. This Article analyzes political process theory through the lens of the contemporary debate over same-sex marriage. Its analysis is grounded in state supreme court decisions on the constitutionality of barring same-sex marriage, as well as the high-profile, …


Some Women's Work: Domestic Work, Class, Race, Heteropatriarchy, And The Limits Of Legal Reform, Terri Nilliasca Apr 2011

Some Women's Work: Domestic Work, Class, Race, Heteropatriarchy, And The Limits Of Legal Reform, Terri Nilliasca

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Note employs Critical Race, feminist, Marxist, and queer theory to analyze the underlying reasons for the exclusion of domestic workers from legal and regulatory systems. The Note begins with a discussion of the role of legal and regulatory systems in upholding and replicating White supremacy within the employer and domestic worker relationship. The Note then goes on to argue that the White, feminist movement's emphasis on access to wage labor further subjugated Black and immigrant domestic workers. Finally, I end with an in-depth legal analysis of New York's Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, the nation's first state law to …


Finding A Cure In The Courts: A Private Right Of Action For Disparate Impact In Health Care, Sarah G. Steege Apr 2011

Finding A Cure In The Courts: A Private Right Of Action For Disparate Impact In Health Care, Sarah G. Steege

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

There is no comprehensive civil rights statute in health care comparable to the Fair Housing Act, Title VII, and similar laws that have made other aspects of society more equal. After Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI served this purpose for suits based on race, color, and national origin for almost four decades. Since the Supreme Court's 2001 ruling in Alexander v. Sandoval, however, there has been no private right of action for disparate impact claims under Title VI, and civil rights enforcement in health care has suffered as a result. Congress has passed new legislation …


Jury Trials For Violent Hate Crimes In Russia: Is Russian Justice Only For Ethnic Russians?, Nikolai Kovalev Apr 2011

Jury Trials For Violent Hate Crimes In Russia: Is Russian Justice Only For Ethnic Russians?, Nikolai Kovalev

Chicago-Kent Law Review

The article examines issues of potential anti-victim jury bias in hate crime trials of skinheads in Russia. The study is based on the analysis of court transcripts and interviews with judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and victims' lawyers who participated in four high profile criminal cases. The cases selected for analysis resulted in scandalous acquittals, which raised many questions within the Russian society as to whether lay citizens can and should adjudicate hate crimes committed against members of ethnic and racial minority groups. The results of the study have revealed that the juries in these cases did not demonstrate any bias …


Gimme Shelter, Robert Leckey Apr 2011

Gimme Shelter, Robert Leckey

Dalhousie Law Journal

Highlighting the family home's significance as shelter this paper challenges the prevailing view of the demands of the equality guarantee in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms regarding unmarried cohabitants. In Nova Scotia (Attorney General) v. Walsh, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the claim that it was discriminatory to restrict rules dividing matrimonial property to married couples. By contrast, on many views it is discriminatory to exclude cohabitants from a support obligation. Scholars and judges assume that Walsh upholds all statutory rules regarding married spouses and their property, including measures protecting the family home as shelter But Walsh …


Plausibility Pleading Employment Discrimination, Charles A. Sullivan Apr 2011

Plausibility Pleading Employment Discrimination, Charles A. Sullivan

William & Mary Law Review

The Supreme Court’s unanimous 2002 decision in Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., which took a very permissive approach to pleading discrimination claims, may or may not remain good law after Ashcroft v. Iqbal. As is well known, Iqbal took a restrictive approach to pleading generally under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and its application to employment discrimination cases could pose serious problems for plaintiffs attempting to get into federal court. In addition, there is certainly a tension between Swierkiewicz and Iqbal. This is in part because the former is a strong reaffirmation of notice pleading as it has traditionally been …


Whither The Disability Rights Movement?, Robert W. Pratt Apr 2011

Whither The Disability Rights Movement?, Robert W. Pratt

Michigan Law Review

While reading this book in 2010, almost twenty years to the date after President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disability Act ("ADA"), one realizes how much the world of politics has changed. It is difficult to remember a time when such major legislation passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 91 to 6 and the House of Representatives by 377 to 28. Even more surprising, as we look back to 1990, is the fact that the executive branch was controlled by a different political party than the legislative branch. Contrast this legislative record with the milieu surrounding …


Disgust And The Problematic Politics Of Similarity, Courtney Megan Cahill Apr 2011

Disgust And The Problematic Politics Of Similarity, Courtney Megan Cahill

Michigan Law Review

Martha Nussbaum's latest book, From Disgust to Humanity: Sexual Orientation & Constitutional Law, could not have come at a more opportune time in the history of gay rights in the United States. All signs point to progress toward "humanity," from same-sex couples' successful bids for marriage equality in a handful of states to the public's increasing acceptance of the prospect of gays and lesbians serving openly in the military. Even if recent cognitive science research indicates that same-sex relationships provoke more than a little disgust in some people, landmark marriage-equality victories in a few states suggest that the law is …


The United Nations And Women - A Critique, Elizabeth F. Defeis Feb 2011

The United Nations And Women - A Critique, Elizabeth F. Defeis

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

No abstract provided.


When Will Race No Longer Matter In Jury Selection?, Bidish Sarma Jan 2011

When Will Race No Longer Matter In Jury Selection?, Bidish Sarma

Michigan Law Review First Impressions

We are coming upon the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court's opinion in Batson v. Kentucky, which made clear that our Constitution does not permit prosecutors to remove prospective jurors from the jury pool because of their race. The legal question in Batson-when, if ever, can governmental race discrimination in jury selection be tolerated?-was easy. The lingering factual question, however-when will prosecutors cease to discriminate on the basis of race?-has proven far more difficult to answer. The evidence that district attorneys still exclude minorities because of their race is so compelling that it is tempting to assume that race will …


Sex Equality's Unnamed Nemesis, Veronica Percia Jan 2011

Sex Equality's Unnamed Nemesis, Veronica Percia

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Sex inequality still exists. However, its manifestations have evolved since the early sex inequality cases were heard in courts and legislatures first began structuring statutory regimes to combat it. In particular, so-called "facial" discrimination against men and women on the basis of sex has no doubt decreased since the advent of this legal assault on sex inequality. Yet the gendered assumptions that structure our institutions and interactions have proven resilient. With sex discrimination now operating more covertly, the problem of sex inequality looks considerably different than it once did. Courts, however, have failed to successfully respond to the changing contours …


Tango Or More - From California's Lesson 9 To The Constitutionality Of A Gay-Friendly Curriculum In Public Elementary Schools, Amy Lai Jan 2011

Tango Or More - From California's Lesson 9 To The Constitutionality Of A Gay-Friendly Curriculum In Public Elementary Schools, Amy Lai

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

In August 2009, a group of parents in California filed a lawsuit, Balde v. Alameda Unified School District, in the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda. They alleged that the Alameda Unified School District refused them the right to excuse their children from a new curriculum, Lesson 9, that would teach public elementary school children about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) families. The proposed curriculum included short sessions about GLBT people, incorporated into more general lessons about family and health, once a year from kindergarten through fifth grade. Kindergarteners would learn the harms of teasing, while fifth graders …


Removing Categorical Constraints On Equal Employment Opportunities And Anti-Discrimination Protections, Anastasia Niedrich Jan 2011

Removing Categorical Constraints On Equal Employment Opportunities And Anti-Discrimination Protections, Anastasia Niedrich

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

It has been the "historical tendency of anti-discrimination law to use categories to define protected classes of people." This Article challenges the categorical approach and seeks to change that limited framework. This Article focuses on the flaws with Title VII's categorical approach and discusses why there is a desperate need for change to combat the different types and targets of workplace discrimination today, focusing on the transgender community as one example. After discussing the current framework and operation of Title VII, this Article analyzes the insurmountable flaws inherent in the categorical approach to anti-discrimination law, and specifically considers Title VII's …


Latin America’S Indigenous Women, Courtney Hall Jan 2011

Latin America’S Indigenous Women, Courtney Hall

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Latin America’s indigenous women are as diverse as the land they inhabit. Their uniqueness is shaped by belonging to groups that have their own distinct history, traditions, and identity. Yet despite this diversity, indigenous women confront the same human rights challenges: racial, gender, and socio-economic discrimination. Without ignoring the diversity of indigenous women, a better understanding of their fundamental struggles can be gained by weaving these issues together in a comprehensive narrative.


American Muslim Minorities: The New Human Rights Struggle, Ashley Moore Jan 2011

American Muslim Minorities: The New Human Rights Struggle, Ashley Moore

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The ramifications of the attacks of September 11, 2001 are felt throughout the United States. However, no minority community is as deeply affected as the American-Muslim minority. Since the attacks on the World Trade Center, Muslims residing in the United States have experienced violations of economic and political liberties, as well as ongoing social discrimination. Media stereotypes and government legislation continually exacerbate these human rights abuses and entrench institutional, social, and economic discrimination deeper in American society. At the heart of this discrimination are clear misunderstandings about Islam and those who practice the faith. In an effort to combat these …


Peeking Out From Behind The Curtain, Ian Reese Jan 2011

Peeking Out From Behind The Curtain, Ian Reese

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Absconded by airport security to middle-of-nowhere Russia, Nikolai Alexeyev sat for several days in early September 2010 unaware of his infractions or of his fate. Like a page from a Cold-War spy novel, the point of his abduction was to terrorize; Alexeyev’s abductors psychologically tortured and berated him with homophobic remarks. Nikolai Alexeyev is the leading gay rights activist in Russia and has been a twisting thorn in the side of local and national government for several years. Upon his release, he resolved to agitate further by leading a public demonstration to boycott the Swiss International Air Lines for its …


Combating Discrimination Against The Roma In Europe: Why Current Strategies Aren’T Working And What Can Be Done, Erica Rosenfield Jan 2011

Combating Discrimination Against The Roma In Europe: Why Current Strategies Aren’T Working And What Can Be Done, Erica Rosenfield

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In the summer of 2010, the forced expulsion of many Roma from Western to Eastern Europe captured headlines and world attention, yet this practice simply represented the latest manifestation of anti-Roma sentiment in Europe. Indeed, the Roma—numbering over ten million across Europe, making them the continent’s largest minority—face discrimination in housing, education, healthcare, employment, and law enforcement; widespread prejudice against this group shows no evidence of receding. There is, however, certainly no shortage of national and supranational policies aiming to promote inclusion and equality for the Roma.


On Equality: The Anti-Interference Principle, Donald J. Kochan Jan 2011

On Equality: The Anti-Interference Principle, Donald J. Kochan

University of Richmond Law Review

This essay seeks to summarize the general equality concept and proposes that equality requires that the government engage in anti-interference with individual choices and activities, so long as these things create no negative externalities for others. If we are serious about respecting equality, such interference actions should be avoided. Adopting an "anti-interference principle" is a necessary foundation for achieving the goal of true equality. The primary point is that equality matters. The purpose of this essay is not to survey the vast political, jurisprudential, and academic debate on equality, but instead, to take a broad look at the philosophical concept …


Weaning Ohio Employers Off Of Lactation Discrimination: The Need For A Clear Interpretation Of Ohio's Pregnancy Discrimination Act Following Allen V. Totes/Isotoner Corp. Note, Shannon Byrne Jan 2011

Weaning Ohio Employers Off Of Lactation Discrimination: The Need For A Clear Interpretation Of Ohio's Pregnancy Discrimination Act Following Allen V. Totes/Isotoner Corp. Note, Shannon Byrne

Cleveland State Law Review

Part II of this Note will explain the relevant statutory and case law background behind pregnancy and lactation discrimination at both the federal and state levels. Part III.A will explain why the Supreme Court of Ohio's decision [in Allen v. Totes/Isotoner Corp, 123 Ohio St. 3d 21, 2009 Ohio 4231, 915 N.E.2d 622 (2009)] to affirm the appellate court's grant of summary judgment was improper. Part III.B will explain why the Supreme Court of Ohio's analysis of the accommodation issue is incorrect. Part IV.A will describe how this improper decision could open the door to facially discriminatory workplace policies that …


Reaching Batson's Challenge Twenty-Five Years Later: Eliminating The Peremptory Challenge And Loosening The Challenge For Cause Standard, Matt Haven Jan 2011

Reaching Batson's Challenge Twenty-Five Years Later: Eliminating The Peremptory Challenge And Loosening The Challenge For Cause Standard, Matt Haven

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.


Education As A Counterterrorism Tool And The Curious Case Of The Texas School Book Resolution, Diane Webber Jan 2011

Education As A Counterterrorism Tool And The Curious Case Of The Texas School Book Resolution, Diane Webber

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.


The Fcc's New Theory Of The First Amendment, Hannibal Travis Jan 2011

The Fcc's New Theory Of The First Amendment, Hannibal Travis

Santa Clara Law Review

No abstract provided.


Noah's Curse: How Religion Often Conflates Status, Belief, And Conduct To Resist Antidiscrimination Norms, William N. Eskridge Jr. Jan 2011

Noah's Curse: How Religion Often Conflates Status, Belief, And Conduct To Resist Antidiscrimination Norms, William N. Eskridge Jr.

Georgia Law Review

Today, many devout Christian fundamentalists support
some state discrimination against gay people, on the
ground that full equality for gays would mean fewer
liberties for themselves. In its recent controversy with a
public law school, the Christian Legal Society argued that
it was entitled to state subsidies even though it violated
the school's antidiscrimination policy. The Society said it
excluded only "unrepentant homosexuals"-those gay
persons whose "immoral" conduct and degraded status
were directly linked to what the Society considered an
anti-Christian message.
Professor Eskridge demonstrates that the same clash
between equality for minorities and liberty for Christian
fundamentalists played out …