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Full-Text Articles in Law

Lucky: The Sequel, Martha Chamallas May 2005

Lucky: The Sequel, Martha Chamallas

The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Working Paper Series

Lucky: The Sequel is a review essay based on Alice Sebold’s 1999 memoir Lucky in which Sebold describes her own rape as a college student, her experiences as a rape victim and her navigation of the legal system. Chamallas uses Sebold’s rape narrative to explore themes of particular interest to feminist legal scholars. She discusses the intersection of race and rape, the continuing controversy surrounding the categorization of rape as a crime of violence versus a sex crime and the usefulness of considering the social and cultural dimensions of the trauma of rape.


Civil Rights In Ordinary Tort Cases: Race, Gender, And The Calculation Of Economic Loss, Martha Chamallas May 2005

Civil Rights In Ordinary Tort Cases: Race, Gender, And The Calculation Of Economic Loss, Martha Chamallas

The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Working Paper Series

This article explores race and sex bias in the computation of damages for loss of future earning capacity, an important component of economic loss in personal injury cases. It analyzes recent cases in the United States and in Canada which reject the use of race and sex-based tables to determine awards for female and minority plaintiffs and explains the method used by the special master in the September 11th Compensation Fund. Chamallas explores objections to reform -- from both the “right” and the “left” –- and makes the case for connecting civil rights principles to civil litigation.


The Disability Integration Presumption: Thirty Years Later, Ruth Colker Mar 2005

The Disability Integration Presumption: Thirty Years Later, Ruth Colker

The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Working Paper Series

The fiftieth anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision has spurred a lively debate about the merits of “integration.” This article brings that debate to a new context – the integration presumption under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”). The IDEA has contained an “integration presumption” for more than thirty years under which school districts should presumptively educate disabled children with children who are not disabled in a fully inclusive educational environment. This article traces the history of this presumption and argues that it was borrowed from the racial civil rights movement without any empirical justification. In …


Brown’S Legacy: The Promises And Pitfalls Of Judicial Relief, Deborah Jones Merritt Mar 2005

Brown’S Legacy: The Promises And Pitfalls Of Judicial Relief, Deborah Jones Merritt

The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Working Paper Series

Brown v. Board of Education marked a turning point for both civil rights and judicial activism. During the half century since Brown, social activists of all kinds have sought policy changes from the courts rather than legislatures. That trend has produced social benefits but, over time, it has also shifted political power to elites. This essay explores the possibility of retaining Brown's promise for racial equality while reinvigorating an electoral politics that would better represent many of the people Brown intended to benefit.