Law Commons^™

Absolute Immunity: A License To Rape Justice At Will, Prentice L. White

Prentice L White

ABSOLUTE IMMUNITY: A LICENSE TO RAPE JUSTICE AT WILL BY PRENTICE L. WHITE We are all acquainted with the phrase the sanctity of marriage. We understand that the vows made by a couple at the wedding ceremony is sacrosanct, and if those vows are not taken seriously, or abused in any way, then the offending spouse will be penalized and evicted from the marital relationship. Likewise, justice should be handled in the same manner and with the same intensity. America prides itself on having the best legal system in the world. It broadcasts to all the surrounding nations that its …

Addendum: Civil Rights In Jeopardy, Martin A. Schwartz, Eileen Kaufman

Eileen Kaufman

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights, Martin A. Schwartz

Martin A. Schwartz

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights Developments, Martin A. Schwartz

Martin A. Schwartz

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights In Transition: Sections 1981 And 1982 Cover Discrimination On The Basis Of Ancestry And Ethnicity, Eileen R. Kaufman, Martin A. Schwartz

Martin A. Schwartz

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights In Transition: Sections 1981 And 1982 Cover Discrimination On The Basis Of Ancestry And Ethnicity, Eileen R. Kaufman, Martin A. Schwartz

Eileen Kaufman

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights In Transition: Sections 1981 And 1982 Cover Discrimination On The Basis Of Ancestry And Ethnicity, Eileen R. Kaufman, Martin A. Schwartz

Martin A. Schwartz

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights Developments, Martin A. Schwartz

Martin A. Schwartz

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights In Transition: Sections 1981 And 1982 Cover Discrimination On The Basis Of Ancestry And Ethnicity, Eileen R. Kaufman, Martin A. Schwartz

Martin A. Schwartz

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights In Transition: Sections 1981 And 1982 Cover Discrimination On The Basis Of Ancestry And Ethnicity, Eileen R. Kaufman, Martin A. Schwartz

Martin A. Schwartz

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights In Transition: Sections 1981 And 1982 Cover Discrimination On The Basis Of Ancestry And Ethnicity, Eileen R. Kaufman, Martin A. Schwartz

Eileen Kaufman

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights In Transition: Sections 1981 And 1982 Cover Discrimination On The Basis Of Ancestry And Ethnicity, Eileen R. Kaufman, Martin A. Schwartz

Eileen Kaufman

No abstract provided.

Why Wait Until The Crime Happens? Providing For The Involuntary Commitment Of Dangerous Individuals Without Requiring A Showing Of Mental Illness, Adam Lamparello

Adam Lamparello

No abstract provided.

Case Note: Nabozny V. Podlesny, William B. Turner

William B Turner

This case note describes and provides context for the 1996 opinion in Nabozny v. Podlesny, in which the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district judge's grant of summary judgment to defendants in a suit by a former student who complained of years of severe bullying and harassment by his peers because of his sexual orientation, which school administrators persistently failed to take steps to stop.

Thurgood Marshall, The Race Man, And Gender Equality In The Courts, Taunya Banks

Taunya Lovell Banks

Renowned civil rights advocate and race man Thurgood Marshall came of age as a lawyer during the black protest movement in the 1930s. He represented civil rights protesters, albeit reluctantly, but was ambivalent about post-Brown mass protests. Although Marshall recognized law's limitations, he felt more comfortable using litigation as a tool for social change. His experiences as a legal advocate for racial equality influenced his thinking as a judge. Marshall joined the United States Supreme Court in 1967, as dramatic advancement of black civil rights through litigation waned. Other social movements, notably the women's rights movement, took its place. The …

Dodging A Bullet: Mcdonald V. City Of Chicago And The Limits Of Progressive Originalism, Dale E. Ho

Dale E Ho

The Supreme Court’s decision in last term’s gun rights case, McDonald v. City of Chicago, punctured the conventional wisdom after District of Columbia v. Heller that “we are all originalists now.” Surprisingly, many progressive academics were disappointed. For “progressive originalists,” McDonald was a missed opportunity to overrule the Slaughter-House Cases and to revitalize the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In their view, such a ruling could have realigned progressive constitutional achievements with originalism and relieved progressives of the albatross of substantive due process, while also unlocking long-dormant constitutional text to serve as the source of new unenumerated …

The Wisdom Of Solomon: Why We Can't Split The Pre-Embryo, Bridget M. Fuselier

Bridget M Fuselier

Due to the fact that there are at least 500,000 cryo-preserved pre-embryos and a very small amount of common law or statutes to provide guidance, legislators need to act and take steps to guide the people impacted by these problems.

This article promotes modifications to property concepts that protects the special dignity of the pre-embryo while also recognizing the autonomy of the individual gamete providers. The article proposes a form of ownership that would prevent the pre-embryos from passing through wills and by intestate succession. It would also eliminate the possibility of ending up with a multitude of owners for …

It’S Time To Replace Tsa’S John Pistole Because Of His Lack Of Conflict Resolution Skills, Christopher C. Cooper Dr.

Christopher C. Cooper Dr.

In order to be a solid Law Enforcement leader, one must possess excellent social skills. Included should be expertise in interpersonal conflict resolution. Yes, Pistole has an obligation to keep travelers safe; however, Pistole also has an obligation to guard children from being groped by TSA employees. Pistole has an obligation to allow men and women to be free from exploitation by TSA workers. Since we are country characterized by Democracy, Pistole has an obligation to do what the people ask when the request is reasonable. This obligation extends to all of our federal elected officials. Let us commend the …

The Problem Is A Combative Chief Of U.S. Airport Security, Christopher C. Cooper Dr.

Christopher C. Cooper Dr.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) head, John Pistole, has become known by many Americans this week because of his hard-line, inflexible stance that aggressive patdowns of airport passengers will not be modified. As incredulous, although we live in a Democracy, Pistole has implied wrongdoing on the part of the media for airing stories about the aggressive patdowns that are akin to molestation.

Yes, Pistole has an obligation to keep travelers safe; however, Pistole also has an obligation to guard children from being groped by TSA employees. Pistole has an obligation to allow men and women to be free from exploitation …

Black Pluralism In Post Loving America, Taunya Lovell Banks

Taunya Lovell Banks

The face of late twentieth and early twenty-first century America has changed, as have attitudes about race, especially about persons with some African ancestry. Since 1967, the number of multi-racial individuals with some African ancestry living in the United States has increased dramatically as a result of increased out-marriage by black Americans and the immigration of large numbers of multiracial individuals from Mexico, the Caribbean, as well as Central and Latin America. Many members of the post-Loving generation came of age in the 1990s with no memories of de jure racial segregation laws or the need for the 1960s civil …

Exceptions: The Criminal Law's Illogical Approach To Hiv-Related Aggravated Assaults, Ari E. Waldman

Ari E Waldman

This article identifies logical and due process errors in cases involving HIV-related aggravated assaults, which usually involve an HIV-positive individual having unprotected sex without disclosing his or her HIV status. While this behavior should not be encouraged, this paper suggests that punishing this conduct through a charge of aggravated assault – which requires a showing that the defendant’s actions were a means likely to cause grievous bodily harm or death – is fraught with fallacies in reasoning and runs afoul of due process. Specifically, some courts use the rule of thumb that HIV can possibly be transmitted through bodily fluids …

Ca. Gov't Code §11135: A Challenge To Contemporary State-Funded Discrimination, Danfeng S.V. Koon

Danfeng S.V. Koon

Racially disproportionate outcomes persist in our schools, hospitals, courts, and neighborhoods. While some of these disparities stem from historical inequalities, socio-economic differences, and individual behavior, considerable racial disparities persist, even after holding these factors constant. These disparities are particularly troubling because they are attributable to the unconscious biases embedded in the policies and practices of our public institutions and represent the most pernicious form of contemporary discrimination. This article argues that unlike other disparities, these “super disparities,” can and must be legally redressed. While federal redress for state-funded disparate impacts has been largely foreclosed after Alexander v. Sandoval, California Government …

Staring Down The Sights At Mcdonald V. City Of Chicago: Why The Second Amendment Deserves The Kevlar Protection Of Strict Scrutiny, James J. Williamson Ii

James J. Williamson II

In District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court found that a federal law that restricted the possession of handguns within a federal enclave to be in direct conflict with the Second Amendment, and therefore, unconstitutional. Two years after that decision, the Supreme Court, in McDonald v. City of Chicago, held that the Second Amendment is applicable to the States through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In both cases, however, the High Court failed to articulate a standard of review by which future Second Amendment challenges should be adjudicated. This note argues that the appropriate standard of …

The Learning Disability Mess, Ruth Colker

Ruth Colker

This essay explores the problems that have plagued society since 1975 when Congress first tried to define what is a “learning disability.” The statement that “No one really knows what a learning disability is” rings as true today as in 1975. Rather than solve this problem with an improved classification scheme, Professor Colker recommends that schools, testing entities and the federal government should place less weight on which students are classified as “learning disabled.” Plodders University should become the norm, where students are admitted based, in part, on their scores on exams taken under extended time conditions.

Excluding Exclusion: How Herring Jeopardizes The Fourth Amendment's Protections Against Unreasonable Search And Seizure, Hariqbal Basi

Hariqbal Basi

Abstract- For nearly a half-century, the exclusionary rule has remained an important mechanism for ensuring police compliance with the Fourth Amendment and deterring unconstitutional searches and seizures. In January 2009, the Supreme Court held in Herring v. United States that the exclusionary rule does not apply to good faith negligent police behavior. This significantly broadened the law, and severely limits the future application of the exclusionary rule. Furthermore, this holding has strong potential for abuse by police departments. By analogizing to Fifth Amendment jurisprudence and Miranda rights, I argue that the ruling in Herring needs to be limited in order …

Snyder V. Phelps & The Supreme Court's Speech-Tort Jurisprudence: A Prediction, Deana Ann Pollard Sacks

Deana A Pollard

In Snyder v. Phelps, members of the Westboro Baptist Church targeted a young marine’s untimely death to exemplify their hate-filled message to the world that “God Hates Fags” and retaliates against America for tolerating homosexuality by killing American soldiers. A jury awarded the marine’s father $10.9 million for invasion of privacy and emotional distress after the church members disseminated extremely hateful and personalized attacks against the fallen marine’s family. The Supreme Court is reviewing the case to determine whether civil liability based on invasive, hate-filled, injurious speech violates the First Amendment. In New York Times v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court …

Judge Harold Baer's Quixotic Crusade For Class Counsel Diversity, Michael H. Hurwitz

Michael H Hurwitz

In this comment, the author discusses the recent rulings of U.S. District Court Judge Harold Baer, Jr. directing that proposed class counsel provide evidence of its racial and gender diversity. After summarizing the provisions of Rule 23(g) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that govern the appointment of class counsel, the author analyzes Judge Baer’s rulings in light of Rule 23(g)’s requirements. The author concludes that Judge Baer’s rulings are inconsistent with the Rule’s requirements and, instead, represent the judge’s effort to impose his own policy views over the interests of the class members served by the Rule’s narrow …

Sexual Reorientation, Elizabeth M. Glazer

Elizabeth M Glazer

Bisexuals have been invisible for at least ten years. Ten years ago, Kenji Yoshino wrote about the “epistemic contract of bisexual erasure,” the tacit agreement between both homosexuals and heterosexuals to erase bisexuals. Though legal scholarship has addressed bisexuality only in rare moments, Yoshino’s epistemic contract of erasure answered Ruth Colker’s earlier call for a “bi jurisprudence” and explained why the “vast and vastly unacknowledged wall between heterosexual and homosexual identities” that Naomi Mezey identified has been so “vigilantly maintained.” While the tenth anniversary of the publication of Yoshino’s article is reason enough to revisit the topic of bisexual erasure, …

Portland's Exiles: Pricing Out African Americans, Henry Mcgee

Henry W McGee Jr.

Abstract Displacement of Blacks by unprejudiced whites who are willing to live next door to people of color continues to plague African Americans who suffer disrupted neighborhoods. African Americans in Portland, Oregon in the period between 1990 and 2000, were displaced by whites who moved to Northeast Portland because of significantly lower house prices, a consistent characteristic of Black neighborhoods. Hitherto insulated from inflated house prices because of racial prejudice, African Americans developed businesses and social institutions over the decades in which they were able only to purchase homes in Portland’s Black “ghetto.” A sea change in racial attitudes has …

Yes, I Can: Subjective Legal Empowerment, Martin Gramatikov, Robert B. Porter

Martin Gramatikov

This paper explores critically the notion of legal empowerment and suggests that the currently employed approaches lead to vague concepts which evade measurement and lend little programmatic guidance. Our thesis is that legal empowerment should be sought not in the process of providing legal solutions but in the subjective self-belief that a person posses and can mobilize the necessary resources, competencies and energies to solve particular problem of legal nature. This model rejects the existence of an overall quantity of legal empowerment. People’s beliefs in their ability to solve legal problems differ by type of problem, distribution of power in …