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Taking The 'Hate' Out Of Hate Crimes: Applying Unfair Advantage Theory To Justify The Enhanced Punishment Of Opportunistic Bias Crimes, Jordan Woods
Jordan Blair Woods
Should bias crime perpetrators who, for personal gain, intentionally select victims from social groups that they perceive to be more vulnerable be punished similarly to typical bias crime perpetrators who are motivated by group hatred? In this Comment, I apply unfair advantage theory to argue that enhancing the punishment of opportunistic bias crimes is proper because of the perpetrators' motivations and the crimes' harmful effects. In its most basic form, unfair advantage theory justifies punishment based on the unfair advantage that criminals obtain over law-abiding members of society by violating the law. I contend that the enhanced punishment of opportunistic …
Ensuring A Right Of Access To The Courts For Bias Crime Victims: A Section 5 Defense Of The Matthew Shepard Act, Jordan Woods
Ensuring A Right Of Access To The Courts For Bias Crime Victims: A Section 5 Defense Of The Matthew Shepard Act, Jordan Woods
Jordan Blair Woods
Congress recently invoked its power under the Commerce Clause to pass the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 (The Matthew Shepard Act). On December 6, 2007, Congressional Democrats dropped the Matthew Shepard Act from the U.S. Department of Defense authorization bill. With Democrats now in control of Congress and the election of President Barack Obama, there is renewed hope that the Matthew Shepard Act will be passed and enacted during a subsequent session.
Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment gives Congress the authority to enforce the substantive provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment through federal legislation. Although Congress …
Morse V. Frederick's New Perspective On Schools' Basic Educational Missions And The Implications For Gay-Straight Alliance First Amendment Jurisprudence, Jordan Woods
Jordan Blair Woods
In Morse v. Frederick, the United States Supreme Court adopted a new rule permitting schools to limit student expression that is reasonably viewed to promote illegal drug use. The purpose of this Article is to demonstrate that Morse could alter the First Amendment analysis in gay-straight alliance (GSA) litigation to make it easier for LGBTQ students to form GSAs under the First Amendment. Prior to Morse, the Supreme Court increasingly deferred to schools' educational missions to grant schools increasing authority to limit student speech. In Morse, however, the Court shifted its tone and harshly criticized the notion that schools may …