Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons^™

Second Amendment Incorporation Through The Fourteenth Amendment Privileges Or Immunities And Due Process Clauses, Michael Anthony Lawrence

ExpressO

The second amendment, alternately maligned over the years as the black sheep of the constitutional family and worse, and praised as a palladium of the liberties of a republic, since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers, should be recognized by the United States Supreme Court to apply to the several States through the Fourteenth Amendment privileges or immunities clause or, alternatively, through the due process clause.

This article suggests that the issue of Second Amendment incorporation presents a useful contemporary mechanism for the Court to revive the long-dormant Fourteenth Amendment privileges or …

When 2 Or 3 Come Together, Tracey L. Meares

ExpressO

This article investigates policies that are responsive to crime in disadvantaged, urban neighborhoods from a community-based context. The vehicle is an analysis of a community-wide prayer vigil held in Chicago in May of 1997. The vigil resulted from a collaboration between the Chicago Police Department and hundreds of (mostly) African-American churches on Chicago’s West Side. Strikingly, the local police district’s commander facilitated the vigil. We explain the sociological and political significance of this collaboration by drawing upon the “Chicago School” of urban sociology and demonstrating theoretically and empirically the potential for the collaboration, through the integration of key community institutions, …

Here Is The Church, Now Who Owns The Steeple? A Revised Approach To Church Property Disputes, Adam E. Lyons

ExpressO

This article reviews two approaches to the implementation of neutral principles of law – the constitutionally permissible method of resolving property disputes between bodies in a religious hierarchy. Though both approaches may be valid, the formal title approach, as implemented by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Presbytery of Beaver-Butler v. Middlesex Presbyterian Church, leads to problems in application that have been rectified by that court’s more recent decision in In re St. James the Less. It is the contention of this article that future courts and practitioners facing church property disputes can draw guidance from the St. James decision when …

Constitutional Tipping Points: Civil Rights, Social Change, And Fact-Based Adjudication, Suzanne B. Goldberg

Rutgers Law School (Newark) Faculty Papers

Judicial opinions typically rely on facts about a social group to justify or reject limitations on group members' rights, especially when traditional views about the status or capacity of group members are in contest. Yet the fact based approach to decision making obscures the normative judgments that actually determine whether restrictions on individual rights are reasonable. This article offers an account of how and why courts intervene in social conflicts by focusing on facts rather than declaring norms. In part, it argues that this approach preserves judicial flexibility to retain traditional justifications for restricting group members' rights in some settings …

Multiracial Identity And Affirmative Action, Nancy Leong

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

Come Down & Make Bargains In Good Faith: The Application Of 42 U.S.C. § 1981 To Race & National Origin Discrimination In Retail Stores, Charlotte H. Sanders

ExpressO

Plaintiffs who are harassed or otherwise discriminated against in retail stores on the basis of their race or national origin have few options for legal redress. The major federal public accommodations statute, Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, does not cover retail stores. In addition, while some state public accommodations statutes explicitly ban discrimination in retail stores, many others do not. As a result, plaintiffs who have been discriminated against in retail stores have turned to the contracts clause of 42 U.S.C. § 1981.

Section 1981, a Reconstruction-era civil rights statute, guarantees to all people within the …

Never Get Out'a The Boat: Stenberg V. Carhart And The Future Of American Law, Michael Scaperlanda, John Breen

ExpressO

In this essay, the haunting scenes from the film Apocalypse Now serve as the backdrop for an examination of Stenberg v. Carhart and the meaning that this case holds for the future of American law and culture.

The movie tells the story of Captain Benjamin Willard, a special forces officer in Vietnam who travels up-river on a patrol boat in search of a renegade American colonel whom Willard has been ordered to “terminate.” The major thematic concerns of the film are morality, violence, candor, and the tenuous nature of civilization. Indeed, life on board the boat, such as it is, …

Flipping A Coin: A Solution For The Inherent Unreliability Of Eyewitness Identification Testimony, Noah A. Clements

ExpressO

By most accounts, mistaken eyewitness identification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions in the U.S. As DNA evidence frees ever more people wrongfully convicted on the basis of mistaken identification testimony, it is worth asking: “What about those cases where there is no DNA evidence?” Study after study shows that eyewitness identifications are unreliable. Courts pay lip service to the concept of reliability, but even after identifications are tainted by suggestion, very few courts actually exclude this tainted identification testimony.

And identifications are powerful. Jurors tend to believe identification testimony more than any other kind. And judges are people …

Second Amendment Incorporation Through The Fourteenth Amendment Privileges Or Immunities And Due Process Clauses, Michael Anthony Lawrence

ExpressO

With the Declaration of Independence supplying the inspiration, the Framers created a constitutional template for a nation the likes of which the world had never seen – a nation in which government would serve, instead of rule, the people; and one in which the people would enjoy a freedom approximating as nearly as possible that which occurs in a state of nature itself. Government would exercise its necessary, limited role, and otherwise leave the people alone - with the Constitution standing ever watchful as guardian to assure that government would not overstep its bounds, as governments are apt to do. …

Civil Liberties In Uncivil Times: The Perilous Quest To Preserve American Freedoms, Kenneth Lasson

ExpressO

The perilous quest to preserve civil liberties in uncivil times is not an easy one, but the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin should remain a beacon: “Societies that trade liberty for security end often with neither.” Part I of this article is a brief history of civil liberties in America during past conflicts. Part II describes various actions taken by the government to conduct the war on terrorism – including invasions of privacy, immigration policies, deportations, profiling, pre-trial detentions, and secret military tribunals. Part III analyzes the serious Constitutional questions raised by the government’s actions in fighting terrorism. The thesis throughout …

The Expressive Impact Of Patents, Timothy R. Holbrook

ExpressO

Patents represent a quid pro quo between the public and the inventor: in exchange for disclosing the invention, the inventor receives the right to exclude others from practicing her invention. They therefore serve as a source technical information. Patents also communicate information to markets and companies that serve to reduce various transaction costs, allowing more efficient transactions and investment. Patents consequently communicate various types of information beyond the technical.

There is no reason, however, that such messages must be limited to the technical or the pecuniary. This Article explores whether patents, like other governmental acts such as legislation, can create …

The Bureaucratic Due Process Of Government Watch Lists, Peter M. Shane

ExpressO

Watch lists have become increasingly important tools for law enforcement and the protection of homeland security since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001,. These lists, however, pose dangers that innocent persons may be burdened either because they are included on such lists without justification or because they share a name with another individual who is appropriately listed. Our public law traditionally addresses this sort of risk through some redress-oriented scheme of due process that allows individuals alleging improper treatment to seek administrative and judicial relief from the error they assert in their particular case. Such an approach is inadequate …

An Analysis Of The Contemporary Role Of Social Science In The Law: The Case Of Race Conscious Admissions, Crystal R. Gafford Muhammad

ExpressO

The present inquiry focuses on the role of social science evidence contemporarily, using observations from judicial opinions in race conscious admissions cases. Using a set of judicial opinions from K-12 voluntary desegregation and higher education affirmative action in admissions, I use legal and statistical analysis to argue that social science data presented into evidence does not affect the outcomes of court cases involving normative subject matters, such as those involving race. I find judicial political affiliation to be the greatest predictor of opinions in this area of law. However, the question is not whether social science evidence is influential or …

Statutory Interpretation, Constitutional Limits, And The Dangers Of Collaboration: The Ironic Case Of The Voting Rights Act, Luis Fuentes-Rohwer

ExpressO

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is widely known as the most effective civil rights statute in history. This is an expected distinction, as President Johnson asked for and ultimately signed the “goddamnedest toughest” legislation possible. But the President and the 89th Congress could not do this important work alone. They knew that the substantive provisions of the statute presented a difficult challenge to established constitutional norms and for this reason they offered a broad and expansive statutory canvass. In so doing, and as this Article argues, they implicitly enlisted the U.S. Supreme Court as a key player in the …

When Hope Lies With The Courage Of A Cowardly Lion: Social Science, Race, And Judicial Political Affiliation In Contemporary Race Conscious Admissions Cases, Crystal R. Gafford Muhammad

ExpressO

This paper employs the critical race theoretical frame of the price of racial remedies, using statistical analysis to document the influence of judicial political affiliation in the outcomes of contemporary race conscious admissions cases. The analyses employed support the conclusion that the outcomes of these cases rest on the political affiliations of the judges, confirming the terse Critical Legal Studies (CLS) critique that “its all political”. Going beyond the CLS critique and centering my work in critical race theory, I ground my findings in Derrick Bell’s price of racial remedies framework. What is most interesting here is that in the …

Just Say "No Fishing": The Lure Of Metaphor, Beth Thornburg

ExpressO

The phrase “fishing expedition” is widely used in popular culture and in the law. In the case of metaphorical “fishing” in the law, reliance on the metaphor can act as a substitute for rigorous analysis, disguising the factors that influence a result. When used by the court, it is uninformative. Worse, the fishing metaphor may itself shape the way the court thinks about the kind of issue or claim involved. Accusations of “fishing” also affect the language and position of the litigants. Parties arguing against pleadings or discovery use the metaphor as a rhetorical weapon, stigmatizing their opponents, instead of …

Choosing Tribal Law: Why State Choice-Of-Law Principles Should Apply To Disputes With Tribal Contacts, Katherine J. Florey

ExpressO

This article considers a problem in Indian law that has been much commented upon but little explored: When a state court exercises jurisdiction over a case with tribal contacts, what law should govern? While the Supreme Court has developed a detailed set of rules dictating whether cases with tribal contacts should be heard in a state or tribal forum, it has devoted almost no attention to the question of which law should apply once a forum has been chosen. Thus, many state courts have simply assumed, without explicit consideration of the issue, that state law should apply to any case …

Poor Whites, Benevolent Masters, And The Ideologies Of Slavery: A Slave Accused Of Rape In The Antebellum South, Jason A. Gillmer

ExpressO

This Article analyzes in detail a case involving a slave accused of raping a white woman in the 1850s to offer a fresh perspective on our basic assumptions about sex and race in the slave South. Joining a new group of “cultural-legal historians,” the author looks beyond the legal language of Southern legislatures and high courts, and focuses instead on the trial record of one case: State v. Pleasant. In doing so, the author uncovers the stories of ordinary men and women – the slave, his master, his accuser, his attorney, the jurors, and others – to see how the …

Inside The Outsider: Critical Race Theory Against Human Rights?, Eric Heinze

ExpressO

This article examines disturbing contradictions within critical race theory. Critical race theorists, such as Mari Matsuda, Richard Delgado, or Charles Lawrence, maintain that legal norms cannot be taken at face value, but must instead be understood in historical and social context. For example, the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted to guarantee ‘equal protection of the law’ to all citizens. However, on its face, that norm reveals little about the brutality and exclusion that ethnic minorities subsequently experienced, often with the complicity of legislatures and courts.

Matsuda applies that analysis to hate speech in the 1993 collection Words That Wound, which remains …

Law, Narrative, And The Continuing Colonist Oppression Of Native Hawaiians, David Barnard

ExpressO

The article does three things. First, and for the first time, it brings to bear the perspectives of critical race theory, postcolonial theory, and narrative theory on the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2000 decision in Rice v. Cayetano, which dealt a severe blow to Native Hawaiians’ struggles for redress and reparations for a century of dispossession and impoverishment at the hands of the United States. Second, it demonstrates in the concrete case of Hawaii the power of a particular historical narrative—when it is accepted uncritically by the Supreme Court—to render the law itself into an instrument of colonial domination. Third, it …

The Limits Of Equality And The Virtues Of Discrimination, Yifat Bitton

ExpressO

This article focuses on the application of antidiscrimination regimes to groups which have been discriminated-against de jure and de facto. This Article approaches diverges from the dominant view that discrimination is a purely destructive force. The central argument of the Article is that de jure, overt and blatant discrimination necessarily contributes to the creation of a coherent group identity recognized by law, which enables groups that are discriminated against to obtain remedial relief. In contrast, the law fails to recognize a coherent group identity for de facto discriminated-against groups and thus these groups have to overcome a structural challenge to …

"You Can't Wear That To Vote": The Constitutionality Of State Laws Prohibiting The Wearing Of Political Message Buttons, Kimberly J. Tucker

ExpressO

My research for this article began on Election Day 2004 when I was told that I could not wear a campaign button into the polling room while voting in Virginia. The article outlines the laws of all 50 states that restrict a voter’s right to speak in and around polling places. It focuses on the 10 states that explicitly prohibit a voter from wearing “buttons” to the polls.

A Theory Of Government Damages Liability: Torts, Constitutional Torts, And Takings, Lawrence Rosenthal

ExpressO

Theories of tort liability generally fall within two broad camps: the instrumentalists claim that tort liability promotes efficient investments in safety by cutting into the revenues of those who under-invest in safety; and the advocates of corrective justice claim that tort liability embodies a moral obligation of culpable parties to bear losses for which they are fairly considered responsible. Neither theory offers much support for government tort liability. Unlike private tortfeasors, the government’s objective is not profit maximization; it responds to political and not market discipline. Thus, the instrumental justification for tort liability is wanting in the public sector. As …

Card Check Recognition: The Ongoing Legal And Legislative Battle, Michael E. Aleo

ExpressO

A great debate has been brewing for years over whether unions should be able to organize employees outside of the traditional election procedures provided by the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA” or “the Act”). Typically, in an organizing drive, a union solicits support from employees to indicate a desire to run a National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) election. The union does this by collecting cards from employees affirming the employees’ desire to have a representation election. If the union collects valid cards from at least one-third of eligible employees in the appropriate bargaining unit, the union may then …

The Suffocation Of Free Speech Under The Gravity Of Danger Of Terrorism, Tim Davis

ExpressO

On July 14, 2005, Ali al-Timimi was sentenced to life in prison plus 70 years for acts of pure speech. The United States government contended that Timimi, through his lectures and direct personal appeals, induced and/or aided and abetted local Muslim men to leave the country and pursue jihad training with the intent to defend the Taliban against all potential enemies, including the United States. Buried in nearly 200 pages of jury instructions was a single paragraph that unceremoniously described the law of protected speech under Brandenburg v. Ohio. At first blush, Brandenburg seemed to unequivocally lay down the rule …

Torture: Considering A Framework For Limiting Use, Scott J. Goldberg

ExpressO

Abu Graib, Guantanamo, the War on Terror—the debate over the use of torture is still very much alive in the world today. The debate can be divided into two questions: (1) whether there should be an actual absolute ban where torture is never allowed either ethically or legally, and (2) if torture should be allowed under certain circumstances what form of regulation is best able to ensure that it is used only in those most limited circumstances. Currently, there is an absolute ban in place, yet world leaders, applying a case-by-case utilitarian approach, in fact permit the use of torture …

Exploring The Judicial Philosophy And Intellectual Independence Of John Marshall Harlan I: A Temporal Examination Across Three Chief Justices, George S. Yacoubian

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

What's In A Name?: Cause Lawyers As Conceptual Category, Corey S. Shdaimah

ExpressO

Stuart Scheingold's and Austin Sarat's "Something to Believe In: Politics, Professionalism, and Cause Lawyering," (Stanford University Press, December 2004) draws on a decade of empirical and theoretical work on cause lawyering. Scheingold’s and Sarat’s law and society scholarship contributes to our knowledge of lawyering, the law, work with clients and social movements, and the interplay between what Ewick and Silbey have called "legality" and the social world. Their cross-disciplinary work makes a significant contribution to the social sciences as well as to the field of legal studies. This review examines the utility of cause lawyering as a concept that contributes …

Living By The Sword: The Free Exercise Of Religion And The Sikh Struggle For The Right To Carry A Kirpan, Rishi S. Bagga

ExpressO

Sikhism is a 500 year old religion with a growing presence in the United States. However, one of the articles of faith required for Sikhs, a kirpan (a ceremonial sword), conflicts with the norms of American life for these often misunderstood people. This paper gives a brief primer on Sikhism and discusses some of the day-to-day problems and recent issues facing kirpan-carrying Sikhs in North America. Upon reviewing the current state of free exercise jurisprudence as applied to the kirpan, I outline several suggestions for the acceptance and accommodation of kirpans.

Dan The Xenophobe Rides The A-Train Or The Modern, "Secret" Racist: Unconscious Racism In `Enlightened America' And The Destructive Stereotypes That Fuel It, Richard D. Salgado

ExpressO

A short story style exploration of unconscious racism in modern "enlightened" America.