Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons^™

Enemies Foreign And Domestic: A Historical Look At The Use Of Military Commissions By The United States And The Case For Using Them Against American Citizens, James T. Barnett

ExpressO

An historical look at the use of Military Commissions by the United States of America. This article examines the constitutional powers to use Military Commissions as well as the limitations on such commissions.

It also examines the use of these commissions against American citizens and argues that they are proper in certain circumstances. The limitations set out by the Supreme Court are eroded to the point of being void.

The article goes on to examine the cases of John Walker Lindh and Yasser Hamdi to show that Military Commissions are the proper forum for such cases.

Celebrating Accomplishments In Equality, Sharon Breckenridge Thomas

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

Abstract forthcoming.

Degrees Of Freedom: Building Citizenship In The Shadow Of Slavery, Rebecca J. Scott

Articles

By seeing events in the past as part of a dynamically evolving system with a large, but not indefinite, number of degrees of freedom, we can turn our attention to the multiple possibilities for change, and to the ways in which societies that are initially similarly situated may go on to diverge very sharply. Thus it is, I will argue, with societies in the 19th century that faced the challenge of building citizenship on the ruins of slavery.

Resurrecting The White Primary, Ellen D. Katz

Articles

An unprecedented number of noncompetitive or "safe" electoral districts operate in the United States today. Noncompetitive districts elect officials with more extreme political views and foster more polarized legislatures than do competitive districts. More fundamentally, they inhibit meaningful political participation. That is because participating in an election that is decided before it begins is an empty exercise. Voting in a competitive election is not, even though a single vote will virtually never decide the outcome. What a competitive election offers to each voter is the opportunity to be the coveted swing voter, the one whose support candidates most seek, the …

Executing The Laws Or Executing An Agenda: Usurpation Of Statutory And Constitutional Rights By The Department Of Justice, Christopher C. Sabis

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The Department ofJustice (DOJ) can compel individuals and entities to sacrifice their constitutional or statutory rights. The DOJ can do so through brute political force, settlements and consent decrees, selective statutory enforcement, and prosecutions that coerce future actors not to pursue goals contrary to the policy desires of the executive branch. The current regime provides few constraints on the DOJ's ability to abuse its legal authority to achieve political objectives. This unbridled power jeopardizes the rights of both opposing and third parties.

This Note examines, in a bipartisan manner, the methods the Justice Department employs that deprive opponents or third …

Digital Propertization Of The New Artifacts: The Application Of Technologies For "Soft" Representations Of The Physical And Metaphysical, Mark Perry

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The article explores how digital technology is revolutionizing the representation and ownership of artifacts, complicating traditional notions of intellectual property and cultural preservation. It argues that high-quality digital reproductions, such as MP3 files and digital images, challenge existing legal frameworks, highlighting the need for more flexible and culturally sensitive approaches to intellectual property rights.

Civil Resistance And The Diversity Of Tactics In The Anti-Globalization Movement: Problems Of Violence, Silence, And Solidarity In Activist Politics, Janet Conway

Osgoode Hall Law Journal

This article examines the (re)emergence of large-scale civil disobedience and the accompanying debates about violence and non-violence in the contemporary anti-globalization movement. Rooted in the Canadian movement but in conversation with wider debates, the article tracks movement practices and debates from the Battle of Seattle through to the Quebec Summit. The debate took a new turn in Genoa, with massive police brutality and the killing of a protester, and again following the events of September 11, 2001. The central argument of the article is that the new forms of civil resistance embody a critique of prevailing forms of organization, participation, …

The Freedom Of Information Act Post-9/11: Balancing The Public's Right To Know, Critical Infrastructure Protection, And Homeland Security, Kristen Elizabeth Uhl

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Twenty-Eighth Amendment: Why The Constitution Should Be Amended To Grant Congress The Power To Legislate In Furtherance Of The General Welfare, 36 J. Marshall L. Rev. 327 (2003), Casey L. Westover

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sexism Is A "Family Value", Kimberly Charles

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article argues that sexism is an inherent and underlying value in the discourse of the Christian Coalition of America, a prominent Right-Wing group. Rooted in Fundamentalist Christianity, the Coalition's "family values" agenda perpetuates a society of domination, where male authority and control over women are justified as natural and ordained by God. This ideology is evident in their political activism, legal advocacy, and social policies, which systematically undermine women's rights and reinforce gender inequality.

Redefining American Democracy: Do Alternative Voting Systems Capture The True Meaning Of "Representation"?, James Thomas Tucker

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Article explores whether alternative voting systems are compatible with the meaning of representation in the United States. Part II begins by examining the role of geographical representation and the effect it has on the ability of individuals and groups of voters to give or withhold their consent. Part III follows this inquiry by assessing the relationship between representatives and constituents under majoritarian and proportional systems to determine the consequences of moving away from geographical representation towards models designed to enhance opportunities for all voters to choose winning candidates. A description of what a "majority" is and when and how …

Identity Crisis: “Intersectionality,” “Multidimensionality,” And The Development Of An Adequate Theory Of Subordination, Darren Lenard Hutchinson

UF Law Faculty Publications

While essentialism remains a prominent feature of progressive social movements, critical scholars have offered persuasive arguments against traditional, single-issue politics and have proposed reforms in a variety of doctrinal and policy contexts. The feminist of color critiques of feminism and antiracism provided the earliest framework for analyzing oppression in complex terms. Feminists of color and other critical scholars have examined racism and patriarchy as “intersecting” phenomena, rather than as separate and mutually exclusive systems of domination. Their work on the intersectionality of subordination has encouraged some judges and progressive scholars to discard the “separate spheres” analysis of race and gender. …

Pause At The Rubicon, John Marshall And Emancipation: Reparations In The Early National Period?, 35 J. Marshall L. Rev. 75 (2001), Frances Howell Rudko

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Foreword, Thomas A. Eaton

Georgia Law Review

It has long been accepted that deterrence and vindication are two of the primary purposes of the body of law we know as "constitutional torts." Justices of every ideological stripe have acknowledged deterrence and vindication as the legitimate objectives of suits against governments and government officials who violate a person's constitutional rights. Justices with philosophies as divergent as Brennan's and Scalia's agree that civil rights actions serve an essential vindicatory function.' Justices Breyer, O'Connor, Blackmun, White, Marshall, and Powell have authored opinions that embrace the deterrent effect of such actions. The acceptance of deterrence and vindication as the twin goals …

In Defense Of Making Government Pay: The Deterrent Effect Of Constitutional Tort Remedies, Myriam E. Gilles

Georgia Law Review

I will argue in this Essay that there are a number of reasons to expect that the imposition of constitutional tort damage awards against individual officers or their municipal employers does have a deterrent effect on the behavior of these governmental actors and entities. In Part I, I will focus on the ways in which the imposition of constitutional tort remedies against an individual officer does deter. While Professor Levinson decries the inability of the law and economics paradigm to explain government actors' response to constitutional tort damages, he fails to meaningfully account for the role of the qualified immunity …

The Ideology Of Judging And The First Amendment In Judicial Election Campaigns, W. Bradley Wendel

Cornell Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A&M Florida A&M University Magazine For Employees, Alumni And Friends: The Return Of The Famu College Of Law, Florida Agricultural And Mechanical University

Annual Reports and Publications

This issue celebrates the return of the FAMU College of Law. This posting includes former FAMU President Frederick S. Humphries' "President's Message" entitled Celebrating the Return of the College of Law and the Cover Story from the issue, The Rebirth of the FAMU College of Law 1949-1968 2000-Present. It contains a compilation of excerpts from Chapter Five in the The Florida Agricultural and Meghanical University College of Law (1949-2000) written by Larry O. Rivers.

Indirect Constitutional Discourse: A Comment On Meese, Robert F. Nagel

Publications

No abstract provided.

Prosecuting Teenage Parents Under Fornication Statutes: A Constitutionally Suspect Legal Solution To The Social Problem Of Teenage Pregnancy, Juhi Mehta

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that the constitutional right to privacy, as established by precedent, protects individuals' decisions regarding childbearing and sexual activity. It critiques the use of archaic fornication statutes to prosecute pregnant teenagers, asserting that such prosecutions impose an undue burden on constitutionally protected freedoms. The analysis emphasizes the need for policies addressing teen pregnancy that prioritize education, access to contraception, and legal reforms over punitive measures.

Race And Criminal Justice, Richard B. Collins

Publications

No abstract provided.

Playing Defense, Robert F. Nagel

Publications

Noting that the Romer opinion condemns the motives behind Amendment 2 without pausing even briefly to examine the social context in which it was enacted, Professor Nagel describes the decision as a model of the intolerant impulse in action. He traces this impulse to the Justices' unwillingness to examine their own role--and that of the rest of the constitutional law establishment--in creating the underlying conditions that produced Amendment 2.

In order to identify those conditions, Professor Nagel analyzes the primary document used by Colorado for Family Values during its campaign on behalf of the initiative. He argues that this document …

Civil Rights And Federalism Fights: Is There A "More Perfect Union" For The Heirs To The Promise Of Brown?, Pace Jefferson Mcconkie

BYU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Democratic National Committee V. Edward J. Rollins: Politics As Usual Or Unusual Politics?, Rachel E. Berry

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Female Genital Mutilation In The United States: An Examination Of Criminal And Asylum Law, Layli Miller Bashir

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

U.S. Ratification Of The Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms Of Discrimination Against Women, Julia Ernst

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

The purpose of this article is to highlight the need for ratification of the Convention by the United States, and to address arguments against ratification. Various concerns have been raised with respect to CEAFDAW, both specific to the United States and more international in scope. Some problems pertain to United States ratification generally, other issues concern potential conflicts between specific articles of the Convention and U.S. law, and broader problems have been raised with respect to international implementation. Most of these issues are not uncommon in international agreements, and may therefore be remedied through conventional mechanisms, including implementing legislation, reservations, …

Race And Political Empowerment: The Crisis Of Black Leadership, William E. Nelson Jr.

William Monroe Trotter Institute Publications

W.E.B. Du Bois demonstrated poignant insight into the character of American society when he predicted in 1901 that the fundamental problem of the 20th Century would be the problem of the color line. Du Bois was writing in the aftermath of the first reconstruction that saw the institutionalization of Jim Crow and white dominance across the South. This period was symbolized by the infamous Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896. It was also marked by the capitulation of white Republican custodians of Reconstruction to the racist demands of southern politics, including the massive ejection of Black politicians from public office, …

Identifying The Harm In Racial Gerrymandering Claims, Samuel Issacharoff, Thomas C. Goldstein

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Article proceeds along two lines. First, it reviews the theories of harm set forth in the Justices' various opinions, i.e., the articulated risks to individual rights that may or may not be presented by racial gerrymandering. What is learned from this survey is that Shaw and its progeny serve different purposes for different members of the Court. Four members of the Shaw, Miller v. Johnson, and United States v. Hays majorities-Chief Justice Rehnquist, along with Justices Scalia, Kennedy, and Thomas- are far more concerned with "race" than "gerrymandering." In particular, they consider all race-based government classifications to be inherently …

Can Minority Voting Rights Survive Miller V. Johnson, Laughlin Mcdonald

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Part I of this Article reviews the congressional redistricting process in Georgia, particularly the State's efforts to comply with the Voting Rights Act and avoid the dilution of minority voting strength. Part II describes the plaintiffs' constitutional challenge and the State's asserted defenses, or more accurately its lack of asserted defenses. Part III argues that the decision of the majority rests upon wholly false assumptions about the colorblindness of the political process and the harm caused by remedial redistricting. Part IV notes the expansion in Miller of the cause of action first recognized in Shaw v. Reno. Part V …

The Empitness Of Majority Rule, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

In this Note, the author steers away from the current substantive debates surrounding the Voting Rights Act, its various amendments, and the "correct" way of interpreting its intended benefits and constitutionally accepted mandates. Instead, indirectly joins the many "radical" voices advocating for a departure from the majoritarian stranglehold-the decision-making process where fifty percent plus one of the voting population carry the election. The author does so not by suggesting yet another mechanism by which representatives may be elected, but by critiquing the perceived underpinnings of our democratic system of government. The author does not profess to delineate a definitive interpretation …

Three Models Of Affirmative Action Beneficiaries, Thomas W. Merrill

Faculty Scholarship

What has caused the affirmative action debate to become so acrimonious? Perhaps some insight may be gained By considering three competing models of affirmative action beneficiaries that underlie this debate: (1) the outsider group model; (2) the interest group model; and (3) what I will call the adversity group model.