Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons^™

Public Health Versus Civil Liberties: Washington State Imposes Hiv Surveillance And Strikes The Proper Balance, Robin Sheridan

Seattle University Law Review

The article examines the controversy surrounding the Washington HIV surveillance system in light of a long-standing conflict between public health concerns and civil liberties. 7 Part I of the article briefly describes the inception of the AIDS epidemic. Part II focuses on AIDS legislation and the justifications for surveillance. Part III discusses the tension between public health and civil liberties. Part IV describes AIDS’s social stigmatization and deterrence. Part V addresses the nature of medical information and the potential for government misuse. Part VI describes the types of HIV surveillance available and the benefits and burdens which accompany both tracking …

Lena Olive Smith: A Minnesota Civil Rights Pioneer, Ann Juergens

Faculty Scholarship

Lena Olive Smith and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) created a spirited partnership in the public interest during the 1920s and 1930s. Throughout their long collaboration, this woman lawyer, her clients, and the Minneapolis branch of a national grassroots organization faced similar challenges: to stay solvent, to end segregation and increase equality, and to live with dignity. This article is divided into four sections. The first three roughly correspond with stages in Smith’s life and work. Part II briefly chronicles Smith’s first thirty six years, 1885 to 1921, as a single African-American woman in the …

Property, Wealth, Inequality And Human Rights: A Formula For Reform, Berta E. Hernández-Truyol, Shelbi D. Day

UF Law Faculty Publications

This essay scrutinizes the persistence of inequality in the United States through a human rights lens and grapples with the troubling disparities unearthed by two works: American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass and Black Wealth/White Wealth: A New Perspective on Racial Inequality. These two highly enlightening and, simultaneously, deeply troubling and depressing books elucidate the myriad locations at which inequalities persist and the historical, social, psychological, and legal foundations of, and explications for, such disparities in the African American community.

This work proposes a human rights paradigm that provides a methodology to analyze, deconstruct and unravel …

Holding-Up More Than Half The Sky: Marketization And The Status Of Women In China, Anna M. Han

Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is to examine generally how Chinese women fared under communism and more specifically, delve into how marketization has adversely impacted the status of women in China. It is this author's contention that despite the overall improvements in the standard of living, Chinese women are increasingly being marginalized economically. The long-term effects of subjugating the advancement of women for the immediate benefits of China's experimentation with a market economy hold vast implications for the future of the country. As China progresses economically, politically and socially, it cannot afford to leave half of its population behind as …

Racial Profiling: Driving While Mexican And Affirmative Action, Victor C. Romero

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay will focus on "racial profiling" not just in the way people think about the term - that is, with respect to stopping motorists for traffic violations based solely on their race, so-called "Driving While Mexican" or "Driving While Black" - but also in the context of "affirmative action - namely, using race as a factor in employment and educational decisions. More broadly, then, I want us to think of "racial profiling" as simply "the use of race to develop an understanding of an individual" which moves us slightly away from more pejorative notions of the phrase that have …

Rethinking The History Of American Freedom, Michael J. Klarman

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Future Of Human And Civil Rights In Zimbabwe: Ideology And Outcome Research, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes two common approaches to achieving human and civil rights and what may be needed to select among these and other approaches.

The United Kingdom Bill Of Rights 1998: The Modernisation Of Rights In The Old World, Clive Walker, Russell L. Weaver

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Into a steadfastly conservative constitutional landscape, the United Kingdom Parliament has now introduced a Bill of Rights, the Human Rights Act of 1998, which takes effect in October 2000. The Act provides for a full catalogue of civil and political rights which are enforceable by the courts. This development raises two questions in evaluating the future of English law. First, does this signify the dawn of a new British radicalism? And second, why has it happened now? In answering these questions in relation to England and Wales, Part I of this Article provides an introduction to the traditional treatment of …

Retrieving The Rejected Stone: Rethinking The Marginalization Of The Economic, Social And Cultural Rights Under The African Charter On Human And Peoples' Rights, Shedrack Chukwuemeka Agbakwa

LLM Theses

The 'African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights' is unique in its conceptualization of rights. Among other things, it provides in a single document a core of both economic, social and cultural rights, as well as civil and political rights. However, the 'Charter's' Preamble clearly demonstrates where the emphasis of the document lies. The 'African Charter' asserts a belief that the satisfaction of economic, social and cultural rights is a guarantee for the enjoyment of civil and political rights. Given the grave economic problems facing Africa, the emphasis on economic, social and cultural rights as a precondition for the enjoyment …

The Case For United States Reparations To African Americans, Adrienne D. Davis

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Legislative Focus: Extending Non-Discrimination In Employment To Gays And Lesbians, Tracy Davis, Sara Oppenheim

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Discrimination And Business Regulation (The Supreme Court And Local Government Law: The 1999-2000 Term), Eileen Kaufman

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Eleventh Amendment Federalism And State Sovereign Immunity Cases: Direct Effect On Section 1983?, Steven H. Steinglass

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

I was asked to address briefly the impact of the Supreme Court's recent Eleventh Amendment, federalism, and state sovereign immunity decisions on Section 1983 litigation. These cases are unlikely to have any direct or significant impact on Section 1983 litigation in the state or federal courts. On the other hand, these decisions will likely have a significant impact on non-Section 1983 litigation, including non-Section 1983 civil rights litigation. For example, a few weeks ago the Supreme Court heard an argument in an Age Discrimination and Education Act (hereinafter "ADEA") case involving claims brought directly against the state. The recent Supreme …

Lessons From The Past And Strategies For The Future: Using Domestic, International And Comparative Law To Overturn Sodomy Laws, Charlene Smith, James Wilets

Seattle University Law Review

This Article will first discuss the legal importance of challenging sodomy laws, even though those laws are rarely enforced. It will then discuss the importance of incorporating international and comparative law in formulating these challenges. In Section II, Professor Charlene Smith will discuss past and future strategies, focusing on the topics of equal protection, morality, and the difference (or lack thereof) between acts and status. In Section III, Professor Jim Wilets will explore incorporating international and comparative law into domestic challenges to U.S. sodomy laws. This Article will demonstrate that there is binding Supreme Court authority requiring all U.S. courts …

Connecting Grounds Of Discrimination To Real People's Real Experiences, Dianne Pothier

Dianne Pothier Collection

From the outset, the prevailing approach to human rights statutes in Canada has been predicated on a closed list of prohibited grounds of discrimination. The early drafts of s. 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms likewise had a closed list of enumerated grounds, but the final version qualifies those grounds as "in particular", opening the door for a broader application of s. 15. Nonetheless, the Supreme Court of Canada, with the exception of Justice L'Heureux-Dube, has insisted that establishing a prohibited ground, either enumerated or analogous, is a requisite condition to a s. 15 breach. In the …

Civil Rights And Human Rights: A Call For Closer Collaboration, Douglass Cassel

Journal Articles

Those of you who may be familiar with my commentaries know that my usual topics are mass murderers overseas or U.S. foreign policy toward them. Today, however, I would like to focus on something closer to home-the history of and prospects for fruitful collaboration between the civil rights movement and the international human rights movement. My purpose is to encourage dialogue between civil rights and human rights lawyers. As a sometime civil rights lawyer myself, I am convinced that such a dialogue could be productive.

We might start by distinguishing human rights from civil rights. In customary American usage, the …

Redressing The Imbalances: Rethinking The Judicial Role After R. V. R.D.S., Richard Devlin Frsc, Dianne Pothier

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The decision of the Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. R.D.S. dealt with whether a trial judge's comments, about the interactions between police officers and "non-white groups", gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias in the circumstances. They strongly criticize the contrary ruling of the dissent as inappropriately drawing a false dichotomy between decisions based on evidence and decisions based on evidence and decision based on generalizations, and as improperly ignoring social context with an unwarranted confidence in the ideology of colour blindness. While more supportive of the majority's analysis, the authors also find cause for concern, with …

Comparison Between Freedom Of Religion In Germany And In The United States In General And The Treatment Of The Church Of Scientology Specifically, Wolfgang Eichele

LLM Theses and Essays

The thesis first gives background information about the general development of fundamental rights in both Germany and the United States and specifically the freedom of religion. The analysis discusses in particular freedom of religion granted by Article 4 of the Basic Law in Germany and the religious clauses of the First Amendment of the American Constitution. In the first conclusion, the differences in the interpretations of the religious clauses both in Germany and the United States will be stated. These differences will then be illustrated by a discussion on the Church of Scientology through its basic facts, history, ideas, and …

Rethinking Property Rights As Human Rights: Acquiring Equal Property Rights As Human Rights Acquiring Equal Property Rights For Women Using International Human Rights Treaties, Leslie Kurshan

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Affirmative Action: An International Human Rights Dialogue, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Deborah Jones Merritt

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Army Of Lovers?: Queering The Ministry Of Defense Report Of The Homosexual Policy Assessment Team, Bruce Carolan

Articles

Certain queer theorists argue that gay men and lesbians are banned from military service in certain countries not due to a fear of otherness. Instead, they are prohibited from serving precisely because of a fear that the opposite might be true -- that introducing openly gay people into a 'homosocial' environment might destabilize accepted notions of sexuality among members of the service who presently constitute themselves as heterosexual. This article explores that idea in the context of the Report of the Homosexual Policy Assessment Team established to defend exclusion of openly gay people from military service in the United Kingdom. …

Apartheid As A Crime Against Humanity: A Submission To The South African Truth And Reconciliation Commission, Ronald C. Slye

Michigan Journal of International Law

The question of whether apartheid is a crime against humanity might seem an odd one for many people living outside South Africa-and indeed for the vast majority of people living inside South Africa. With the recent demise of legalized apartheid in South Africa, one might ask if apartheid's status under international law has any contemporary relevance beyond a small group of legal academics. The status of apartheid under international law-in particular whether apartheid constitutes a crime against humanity-is a question that the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission ("TRC") was obligated to address in its final report.

Women In The New Millennium: The Promises Of The Past Are Now The Problems For The Millennium, Lundy Langston

Journal Publications

In this Article, I will explore the roles of women and the expectations that society maintains for them in the past and the expectations for the present and future. As we enter the millennium, the courts appear to administer the law in the same way as laws were administered prior to the women's rights movement. Judges appear to implement notions of equal rights while society attaches the notions of the "difference group" without any special treatment for the dual roles. Something interesting appears to be happening to the dual roles of women. There is one standard stating that women must …

Dignity And Discrimination: Toward A Pluralistic Understanding Of Workplace Harassment, Rosa Ehrenreich Brooks

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Part I of this article briefly examines some of the drawbacks and inconsistencies of Title VII sexual harassment jurisprudence and shows that Title VII does not provide an adequate framework for understanding many common forms of workplace harassment. Title VII is unquestionably a critical means of fighting against workplace discrimination; however, by emphasizing discrimination at the expense of dignity, the Title VII workplace harassment paradigm provides an incomplete understanding of the wrongs of workplace harassment.

Part II of this article asserts the importance of an approach to sexual harassment that distinguishes between the nature of the harm of workplace sexual …

The Race Convention And Civil Rights In The United States, Theodore M. Shaw

City University of New York Law Review

No abstract provided.

Human Rights In The United States Courts: The Role Of Lawyers, Steven M. Schneebaum

Washington and Lee Law Review

No abstract provided.

Same-Sex Sexual Harassment Claims After Oncale: Defining The Boundaries Of Actionable Conduct , Richard F. Storrow

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Lessons From Reconstruction For Libertarians: Betrayal And Illusion In The Struggle For Real Equality No Easy Walk To Freedom: Reconstruction And The Ratification Of The Fourteenth Amendment By James E. Bond, Henry W. Mcgee, Jr.

Seattle University Law Review

With regard to the struggles of the newly freed slaves, Dean Bond's study of the Reconstruction legislatures endorses the views of contemporary historians. These historians do not blame the freedman for failure to forge lasting instruments of liberation, instruments that might have transformed the formal equality promised by emancipation into a social order free of the stigmatizing racial oppression upon which American slavery, segregation, and racial oppression has been premised. Diligently researched and written, the book is of significant interest because of the coincidence of the author's empathy with Afro-Americans and his unwavering and unequivocal affirmation of racial equality, principles …

Regarding Rights: An Essay Honoring The Fiftieth Anniversary Of The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights Introduction: Locating Culture, Identity, And Human Rights Symposium In Celebration Of The Fiftieth Anniversary Of The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, Tracy E. Higgins

Faculty Scholarship

The half-century since the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights' has been famously heralded as the "Age of Rights" and the concept of human rights described as "the only political-moral idea that has gained universal acceptance." During the same period, however, both terms defining the subject-human and rights-have become increasingly contested. Informed by the emergence of identity-based political movements, critics have attacked the category human has as bearing the baggage of Western Enlightenment assumptions about personhood and community, inherently racist, sexist, and classist. Theorists across the political spectrum have criticized the concept of rights as indeterminate, destructive of …

State Common-Law Choice-Of-Law Doctrine And Same-Sex "Marriage": How Will States Enforce The Public Policy Exception?, L. Lynn Hogue

Faculty Publications By Year

Growth in the number of states legalizing same-sex marriages and civil unions that increasingly mirror the rights afforded married partners has brought renewed focus on the issue of extra-territorial recognition of those relationships. The public policy exception is a primary, state-law-based impediment to the recognition of foreign marriages that do not conform to the forum state's definition of marriage. This article discusses the role of the public policy exception in rejecting recognition of foreign marriages and argues that the public policy exception has constitutional underpinnings that are rooted in principles of federalism and the protection of state sovereignty which inheres …