Law Commons^™

The Legacy Of Trust Promises: Native American Healthcare (Note), Hailey Trawick

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

From European colonialism to the establishment of the United States, the rights, history, and independence of Native Americans have been systematically stripped away. The American government expanded rapidly, forcibly displacing indigenous populations from their native lands and moving them to reservations with inferior resources and space. During a forced removal, often instituted by treaties between American Indian tribes and the federal government, government officials offered protection and access to resources in exchange for vast tribal land. Although treaty-making with American tribes ended over a century ago, their deleterious and often broken promises continue to haunt us.

Part I of this …

Evolution Of Legal Topics, Rights And Obligations In The United States, Roberto Rosas

Faculty Articles

What new constitutional rights does the American Legal system have to offer? The United States Constitution is a document that continues to be interpreted every year. The Supreme Court hears recent cases with the purpose of interpreting the meaning of the Constitution. Since the creation of the Supreme Court, the Constitution has been analyzed in different ways – some interpretations lasting decades and some amendments going through changes depending on the different ideologies of the Justices on the Court.

This article discusses some of the rights established by the Supreme Court from 2016 to 2019 and provides the background as …

Navigating The Post-Shelby Landscape: Using Universalism To Augment The Remaining Power Of The Voting Rights Act, Jesús N. Joslin

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

The Texas Supreme Court Retreats From Protecting Texas Students, Albert Kauffman

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

This Article criticizes the 2016 Texas Supreme Court school finance decision, the latest of seven decisions starting in 1989, for its disregard of both the record in the case and the realities of the Texas Constitution and Texas politics. The Article also focuses on how standards for reviewing legislation have changed and the Texas Supreme Court's irrational and unfounded retreat to the "money doesn't make a difference" theory of school finance. Finally, the Article recommends a return to an objective, comprehensible, enforceable and constitutional system of review, and concludes with a prayer for holdings that recognize the inequities of the …

In The Aftermath Of Shelby County: An Analysis On Why Texas Should Be Required To Pre-Clear All Voting Changes., Elizabeth Resendez

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

The history of the Voting Rights Act began with the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment. African-Americans have faced numerous roadblocks in exercising their right to vote. A few of these roadblocks include property tests, poll taxes, and gerrymandering of voting districts. The federal government attempted to combat these procedures by passing legislation. Initially, these laws tried to weaponize case-by-case litigation, but these laws were ineffective due to the far reach of voter discrimination and the sluggish pace of the litigation process. To better combat the issue, Congress attempted to use the Civil Rights Act of 1957 to deal with systemic …

The New Voter Suppression: Why The Voting Rights Act Still Matters., Michael Ellement

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 drastically transformed the ability of African Americans to exercise their right to vote in the South. The most influential policy under the Act was Section Five. This section instituted a new system of review for voting procedure changes in states with a history of racial discrimination. States subject to this section of the Voting Rights Act must get preclearance by submitting any changes to their voting laws to the United States Department of Justice or to the Federal District Court in the District of Columbia. Any law not cleared will not go into effect. …

An Updated Quantitative Study Of Iqbal's Impact On 12(B)(6) Motions, Patricia W. Moore

Faculty Articles

The effect of Ashcroft v. Iqbal on pleading standards and behavior is a source of significant legal debate. This article serves as a follow-up to Professor Moore's 2010 empirical study on Iqbal's effect on courts' rulings on motions to dismiss complaints for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Professor Moore's previous study found a statistically significant increase in the likelihood that a court grants a 12(b)(6) motion with leave to amend following Iqbal. In this article, Professor Moore updates and increases the pool of cases in her database. The updated data …