Law Commons^™

Snyder V. Louisiana: Continuing The Historical Trend Towards Increased Scrutiny Of Peremptory Challenges, John P. Bringewatt

Michigan Law Review

In March 2008, the Supreme Court decided Snyder v. Louisiana, the latest in the line of progeny of Batson v. Kentucky. This Note demonstrates that Snyder is part of a historical pattern of Supreme Court decisions concerning the use of peremptory challenges in which the Court has moved away from permitting the unfettered use of the peremptory challenge in favor of stronger Equal Protection considerations. Snyder alters the requirements for trial judges in deciding Batson challenges by requiring them to provide some explanation of their reasons for accepting a prosecutor's justification of a peremptory challenge. Snyder is the …

Fourth Amendment Federalism And The Silencing Of The American Poor, Andrew E. Taslitz

Chicago-Kent Law Review

In Virginia v. Moore, police officers searched Moore incident to an arrest for a minor traffic infraction for which Virginia statutory law in fact prohibited arrest. The officers found cocaine on Moore's person, arresting him for that crime too. The United States Supreme Court ultimately found that the arrest for the traffic infraction and the subsequent search were valid under the federal Constitution's Fourth Amendment. Central to the Court's reasoning was its insistence that the state statute was irrelevant. Any contrary conclusion, explained the Court, would wrongly make the Fourth Amendment's meaning vary from place to place. Professor Taslitz …

Case Information: People V. White

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Presentation On People V. Goetz, Mark Baker, Esq.

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Presentation On People V. White, Frederick K. Brewington, Esq.

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Question And Answer Session

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Race And The Doctrine Of Self Defense: The Role Of Race In Determining The Proper Use Of Force To Protect Oneself, Richard Klein

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Felon Disenfranchisement: A Call For Legislative Reform, Timothy P. Gilligan

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Felon Disenfranchisement As A Legitimate State Regulation, Boyoung Kang

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Felon Disenfranchisement And The Systemic Racism Of The Criminal Justice System, Matthew D. Itkin

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Conceptualizations Of Legalese In The Course Of Due Process, From Arrest To Plea Bargain: The Perspectives Of Disadvantaged Offenders, Shiv Narayan Persaud

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

Priam's Lament: The Intersection Of Law And Morality In The Right To Burial And Its Need For Recognition In Post-Katrina New Orleans, Sarah Tomkins

University of the District of Columbia Law Review

Priam's lament might resound with those of us who saw certain images after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans three short years ago: bodies of beloved mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers dangling from house rafters and left to rot on street corners and in basements for months. The remaining unidentified victims were interred last summer at a new memorial, after spending the three years since Hurricane Katrina in a storage facility.3 How could this happen? In America, we might not expect the intercession of gods, but we do expect our government to set reasonable limits on human suffering. Were there just …

Causation Or Correlation? The Impact Of Lulac V. Clements On Section 2 Lawsuits In The Fifth Circuit, Elizabeth M. Ryan

Michigan Law Review

Under section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, illegal vote dilution exists when an electoral standard, practice, or procedure results in a denial or abridgement of the right to vote on account of race or color Plaintiffs demonstrate vote dilution by introducing evidence regarding a variety of objective factors, including whether voting in the jurisdiction in question is polarized along racial lines. In 1993, the Fifth Circuit adopted a new standard for section 2 plaintiffs trying to prove racially polarized voting. The Fifth Circuit held that demonstrating a mere correlation between race and vote was insufficient to establish racially polarized …

Jicarilla Apache Nation Tribal Court Handbook (2009), Tribal Law Journal Staff

Tribal Law Journal

This handbook helps take some of the mystery out of practicing in tribal courts. Without the necessary information to learn new rules and protocols many attorneys are understandably reluctant to practice in a new jurisdiction. As a result, tribal courts are underused or misused. This handbook is intended to help attorneys and advocates become more aware of the various individual tribal court systems and to learn their rules and protocol.

Southern Ute Tribal Profile, Michael J. Anaya

Tribal Law Journal

An overview of the internal laws of the Southern Ute Tribe.

Burrell V. Armijo: The Role Of Comity In Federal Court Review Of Tribal Court Judgments, Erin Garcia

Tribal Law Journal

This article discusses the on-going issue of tribal versus federal judicial power. While tribal courts have been recognized as an important aspect of tribal sovereignty, federal precedent has diluted tribal authority. This dilution of authority is evident by the restriction on jurisdiction given to the tribal courts by the federal government. The author explores this issue using the case of Burrell v. Armijo. She contends that this Tenth Circuit case demonstrates the continued undermining of tribal jurisdiction and that the general rule for federal courts to give great deference to tribal courts was not properly applied, leading to continued weakening …

Restorative Justice In Traditional Pre-Colonial 'Criminal Justice Systems' In Kenya, Sarah Kinyanjui

Tribal Law Journal

Traditional African communities are often said to have embraced restorative values in resolving conflicts and responding to wrongdoing. Through empirical research and analysis of secondary data on the pre-colonial traditional Kamba, Kikuyu and Meru communities in Kenya, this article illustrates how penal practices in these communities embraced restorative justice as understood today. This genealogy of restorative justice in these communities demonstrates the potential of restorative justice as an intervention in crime and its role in meeting overall community goals. By doing so, the genealogy challenges the objectification of retributive justice in modern criminal justice systems, which renders retributive practices as …

Australian Aboriginality And Sociobiology, Allan Ardill

Tribal Law Journal

“It has been argued elsewhere that the colonization, dispossession, and oppression of indigenous Australians have a close nexus with biological determinism, scientific racism, and the ideology known as sociobiology. In the United States similar arguments are made concerning the historic maltreatment meted out to African Americans. In Australia, the concern is with the continuing colonial control over the identity of Australian Aboriginal people.” In his essay Dr. Ardill explores indigenous Australian identity and its “reciprocal relationship with health, education, poverty, (loss of) language, native title, sovereignty and self-determination.” He argues “that the legal reasoning underpinning colonial control over Aboriginal identity …

Cultivating Native Intellect And Philosophy: A Community Symposium, Tribal Law Journal

Tribal Law Journal

Cultivating Native Intellect and Philosophy: A Community Symposium Recognizing and Discussing the Contributions of Christine Zuni Cruz was the title of a March 10 symposium at the University of New Mexico School of Law.

Zuni Cruz's work was discussed in two panel discussions, which focused on Native thought and philosophy in tribal courts and community lawyering.

Poll Workers, Election Administration, And The Problem Of Implicit Bias, Antony Page, Michael J. Pitts

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Racial bias in election administration-more specifically, in the interaction between poll workers and voters at a polling place on election day-may be implicit, or unconscious. Indeed, the operation of a polling place may present an "optimal" setting for unconscious racial bias. Poll workers sometimes have legal discretion to decide whether or not a prospective voter gets to cast a ballot, and they operate in an environment where they may have to make quick decisions, based on little information, with few concrete incentives for accuracy, and with little opportunity to learn from their errors. Even where the letter of the law …

Challenging Monohumanism: An Argument For Changing The Way We Think About Intercountry Adoption, Shani King

Michigan Journal of International Law

In Part I, this Article provides a brief history of ICA. In Part II, using a post-colonialist theoretical framework, the work of legal scholars from the past twenty years on the subject of ICA is explored. This analysis exposes the centrality of MonoHumanism to our discourse on ICA. In Part III, this Article illustrates how our discourse regarding intercountry adoption contributes to our violating the rights of children (and families) as they are defined in the CRC. Lastly, in Part IV, this Article explores how this argument fits into the current and somewhat polarized debate on ICA and how the …

Transitions To Justice: Prisoner Reentry As An Opportunity To Confront The Counteract Racism, Adrienne Lyles-Chockley

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

This article discusses the issues facing formerly incarcerated individuals upon reentry from prison into their communities, focusing primarily on the unique challenges faced by African-American males. The article first highlights the strong correlation between incarceration and race: People of color make up a disproportionate percentage of the U.S. prison population, are more likely to receive harsh prison sentences, and are less likely to be found eligible for parole. The article focuses specifically on the challenges facing African-American males as they exit prison and attempt to reenter a society where they will face institutional racism in multiple forms and on multiple …

Warth Redux: The Making Of Warth V. Seldin, Brian G. Gilmore

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

This article examines the holding in the archetypal case onstanding, Warth v. Seldin, through the lens of racial and economic discrimination. In Warth, five sets of plaintiffs brought a claim challenging the city of Penfield's zoning ordinances that prevented the construction of low and moderate-income housing in the area. The plaintiffs included low income, African- American and Puerto Rican residents of a nearby city who sought low income housing options in Penfield, taxpayers in the neighboring city, and a non-profit organization dedicated to combating discrimination in housing. The U.S. Supreme Court held that none of the plaintiffs had standing to …

Mean Streets: Violence Against The Homeless And The Makings Of A Hate Crime, Raegan Joern

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

In 1999 the National Coalition for the Homeless began to document incidents of hate crime and violence against homeless people in an annual report. The statistics and stories in these reports demonstrate a disturbing rise in violent attacks and murders of homeless people across the country. This note argues that these attacks, whereby the perpetrator targets the victim because he or she is homeless, meet the legal definition for a bias motivated or hate crime. Bias motivated crimes against the homeless are bred in a social context that devalues homeless people's lives and pinpoints them as appropriate targets for violence. …

When Something Is Not Quite Right: Considerations For Advising A Client To Seek Mental Health Treatment, Carol M. Suzuki

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

This article explores the important role that lawyers are afforded in evaluating the mental health concerns of clients. The article advocates that, where a lawyer has concerns about the mental, cognitive, or emotional health of a client, the lawyer should counsel the client to consider seeking appropriate mental health treatment. While acknowledging that counseling a client to seek mental health treatment is not an intuitive aspect of providing legal services, the article argues that humanitarian concerns, as well as the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility allow, and in some situations perhaps require, a lawyer to consider providing such a referral. …

San Fransisco Public Housing As An Avenue For Empowerment: The Case For Spirited Compliance With Tenant Participation Requirements, Nicole Schmidt

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

This note examines the spirit and letter of statutes aimed at improving the state of public housing in America, focusing on the realities of the San Francisco Housing Authority's jurisdiction. The Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 devolved responsibility for public housing administration to local housing authorities and in turn required that each jurisdiction submit an Annual Plan detailing all aspects of the local housing programs. In addition, the Act required that Resident Advisory Boards be established to gather information and concerns from tenants and present them to local authorities for consideration and comment. The vague language of …

Performing Discretion Or Performing Discrimination: Race, Ritual, And Peremptory Challenges In Capital Jury Selection, Melynda J. Price

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Research shows the mere presence of Blacks on capital juries-- on the rare occasions they are seated--can mean the difference between life and death. Peremptory challenges are the primary method to remove these pivotal participants. Batson v. Kentucky developed hearings as an immediate remedy for the unconstitutional removal of jurors through racially motivated peremptory challenges. These proceedings have become rituals that sanction continued bias in the jury selection process and ultimately affect the outcome of capital trials. This Article deconstructs the role of the Batson ritual in legitimating the removal of African American jurors. These perfunctory hearings fail to meaningfully …

Teaching Whren To White Kids, M. K.B. Darmer

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Article addresses issues at the intersection of United States v. Whren and Grutter v. Bollinger at a time when the reality of racial profiling was recently illustrated by the high-profile arrest of a prominent Harvard professor. Given the highly racialized nature of criminal procedure, there is a surprising dearth of writing about the unique problems of teaching issues such as racial profiling in racially homogeneous classrooms. Because African American and other minority students often experience the criminal justice system in radically different ways than do Whites, the lack of minority voices poses a significant barrier to effectively teaching criminal …

Choosing Those Who Will Die: The Effect Of Race, Gender, And Law In Prosecutorial Decision To Seek The Death Penalty In Durham County, North Carolina, Isaac Unah

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

District prosecutors in the United States exercise virtually unfettered power and discretion to decide which murder cases to prosecute for capital punishment. According to neoclassical theory of formal legal rationality, the process for determining criminal punishment should be based upon legal rules established and sanctioned by the state to communicate the priorities of the political community. The theory therefore argues in favor of a determinate mode of decision-making that diminishes the importance of extrinsic elements such as race and gender in the application of law. In the empirical research herein reported, I test this theory using death eligible cases in …

United States V. Hatahley: A Legal Archaeology Case Study In Law And Racial Conflict, Debora L. Threedy

American Indian Law Review

This article is a case study of United States v. Hatahley using the methodology of "legal archaeology" to reconstruct the historical, social, and economic context of the litigation. In 1953, a group of individual Navajos brought suit under the Federal Tort Claims Act for the destruction of over one hundred horses and burros. The first section of the article presents two contrasting narratives for the case. The first relates what we know about the case from the reported opinions, while the second locates the litigated case within the larger social context by examining the parties, the history of incidents culminating …