Law Commons^™

How The Payday Predator Hides Among Us: The Predatory Nature Of The Payday Loan Industry And Its Use Of Consumer Arbitration To Further Discriminatory Lending Practices, Michael A. Satz

Michael A Satz

This Article argues that Payday lending is a predatory lending practice that disproportionately targets minority customers, and that the Payday lending industry utilizes consumer arbitration agreements to further the industry’s discriminatory lending practices. The Article proposes that protections enacted into law to protect military service members from payday lenders should be universally enacted on a national level.

Statistical Evidence On The Gender Gap In Law Firm Partner Compensation, Marina Angel, Eun Young Whang, Rajiv Banker, Joseph F. Lopez

Marina Angel

Our study compiled the largest research sample on the gender gap in compensation at the 200 largest law firms by combining two large databases to examine why women partners are compensated less: because they are less productive than men partners or because they are women. The AmLaw 100 and 200 studies include gross revenue, profits, number of equity and non-equity partners, and the total number of lawyers at each firm. The Vault/MCCA Law Firm Diversity Programs study (Vault/MCCA) includes the gender ratios at each AmLaw 200 firm. Our study covers the years 2002 to 2007.

The ratio of women equity …

Inheriting Inequality: Wealth, Race, And The Laws Of Succession, Palma Joy Strand

palma joy strand

The article begins by documenting deep inequality in the form of Black-White wealth disparities: While the overall wealth distribution in the United States is highly unequal from both historical and international perspectives, racial wealth disparities are particularly acute, with median Black net worth approximately a tenth of median White net worth (as compared to median Black income that is approximately two-thirds of median White income). Next, the article ties the perpetuation of this inequality to current inheritance law. It then confronts this inequality as a civil rights issue in terms of its social effects, its historical causes, and legal avenues …

Familiar Stories: An International Suggestion For Lgb Family Military Benefits After The Repeal Of “Don’T Ask, Don’T Tell”, Maureen Brocco

Maureen Brocco

This Article advocates for Congress to make benefits available to the families of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) servicemembers after the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, by passing an amended version of the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009 (DPBOA). Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is only one element of the quandary of laws preventing LGB servicemembers from receiving military family benefits equal to those of their heterosexual peers. The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) limits the federal definition of a marriage to opposite-sex couples and explicitly bars same-sex couples from receiving federal recognition, regardless of the …

Adhd And The New Americans With Disabilities Act: Expanded Legal Recognition For Cognitive Disorders, John P. Heekin

John P. Heekin

The author assesses the likely impact of the recent amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, broadening the definition of a “disability,” upon the legal treatment of discrimination claims from individuals with cognitive disorders, such as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The paper begins with a review of the symptoms, diagnosis and treatments of ADHD, noting that remedies for the disorder fail to fully “normalize” its effects, leaving individuals impaired in relation to their peers. The author then presents the original ADA and its administrative interpretation issued in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Compliance Manual. From there, the paper …

The Telltale Sign Of Discrimination: Probabilities, Information Asymmetries, And The Systemic Disparate Treatment Theory, Jason R. Bent

Jason R Bent

The systemic disparate treatment theory of employment discrimination is in disarray. Originally formulated in United States v. International B’hood of Teamsters, 431 U.S. 324, 360-61 (1977), the systemic disparate treatment theory provides plaintiffs with a method for creating an inference of unlawful discriminatory intent if plaintiffs can first present sufficient statistical evidence establishing that the employer was engaged in a “pattern or practice” of discrimination. While the Court and scholars have recently given substantial attention to the disparate impact theory, they have not adequately analyzed the contours of the systemic disparate treatment theory. For example, there are currently disputes about …

Glimmers Of Hope: The Evolution Of Equality Rights Doctrine In Japanese Courts From A Comparative Perspective, Craig Martin

Craig Martin

There has been little study of the analytical framework employed by the Japanese courts in resolving constitutional claims under the right to be treated as an equal and not be discriminated against. In the Japanese literature the only comparative analysis done focuses on American equal protection jurisprudence. This article examines the development of the equality rights doctrine in the Japanese Supreme Court from the perspective of an increasingly universal “proportionality analysis” approach to rights enforcement, of which the Canadian equality rights jurisprudence is a good example, in contrast to the American approach. This comparative analysis, which begins with a review …

On The Contemporary Meaning Of Korematsu: "Liberty Lies In The Hearts Of Men And Women", David A. Harris

David A Harris

ABSTRACT ON THE CONTEMPORARY MEANING OF KOREMATSU: “LIBERTY LIES IN THE HEARTS OF MEN AND WOMEN” In just a few years, seven decades will have passed since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Korematsu v. U.S., one of the most reviled of all of the Court’s cases. Despised or not, however, similarities between the World War II era and our own have people looking at Korematsu in a new light. When the Court decided Korematsu in 1944, we were at war with the Japanese empire, and with this came considerable suspicion of anyone who shared the ethnicity of our foreign …

Standardizing Liability For Negligent Hiring Of Ex-Offenders, Stacy A. Hickox

Stacy A. Hickox

Employers considering hiring applicants with criminal records face a dilemma. Potential liability for negligent hiring may prompt employers to refuse to hire ex-offenders, since the employer could be liable for harm caused by an employee who has a criminal record, if that harm was foreseeable. Yet the negligent hiring case law provides little guidance for an employer trying to determine when harm is foreseeable. At the same time, nondiscrimination laws require that employers not exclude applicants based solely on their criminal records, since exclusion of ex-offenders will likely have an adverse impact on applicants of color. To resolve this dilemma, …

Women And Private Military And Security Companies, Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Ana Filipa Vrdoljak

Lack of clarity about the application of international law norms and inadequacies of existing regulatory regimes covering private military and security companies have reinforced concerns about transparency and accountability in respect of gender-related violence, harassment and discrimination. This chapter focuses on the main issues and legal concerns raised by the impact of the privatisation of war on women, both as PMSC employees and civilians. Part I highlights how armed conflict, civil unrest, occupation and transition have a detrimental effect upon the lives of women with particular reference to safety, displacement, health and economic disadvantage. Part II provides a summary of …

R (On The Application Of E) (Respondent) V Governing Body Of Jfs And The Admissions Appeal Panel Of Jfs (Appellants) And Others (Case Note) [2009] Uksc 15, Reuven (Ruvi) Ziegler

Dr. Reuven (Ruvi) Ziegler

This case-note offers comparative perspectives on the UK Supreme Court’s judgment in the JFS case (alleged racially discriminatory school admissions policy) and the Israeli Supreme Court’s judgment in the Emanuel Haredi school case (alleged Ashkenazi/Sephardi segregation arrangements).

From Nondiscrimination To Civil Marriage, Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

Prof. Elizabeth Burleson

As William Faulkner explained, we must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. This article analyzes the continuing constitutional struggle for civil rights on the basis of sexual orientation, concentrating on the constitution state's critique of its constitution. Connecticut is currently at the forefront of recognizing civil rights. Connecticut has ruled that discrimination against gay and lesbian persons is subject to intermediate scrutiny, which has historically been used to review laws that employ quasi-suspect classifications such as gender. Civil marriage for same sex couples is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. …