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How Leftism Corrupted American Higher Education, Cardozo Federalist Society

2025–2026 Flyers

Join Newsweek Senior Editor-at-Large and Article ITI Project Senior Counsel Josh Hammer for a timely and unfiltered analysis of the state of legal academia in America.

Testimony Of Professor Zalman Rothschild Before The House Subcommittee On Early Childhood, Elementary, And Secondary Education Regarding Mahmoud V. Taylor, Zalman Rothschild

Testimony

On February 10, 2026, Professor Zalman Rothschild, Horn Family Distinguished Research Scholar in Law and Religion at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, testified before the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education of the House Committee on Education and Workforce. His testimony addressed the Supreme Court’s decision in Mahmoud v. Taylor and its implications for parental rights, religious liberty, public education, vaccination mandates, and compulsory schooling.

Professor Rothschild situates Mahmoud within the broader constitutional tradition shaped by Pierce v. Society of Sisters, West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, and Wisconsin v. Yoder …

The Apathy Economy: Patents, Advertising, And Consumer Indifference, Gavin J. Milczarek-Desai, Derek E. Bambauer

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal

Patents function as signals as well as rights to exclude. They inform competitors, investors, employees, and consumers about the invention and its owner. How this information affects consumers is not well understood. Existing studies disagree about how advertising a product or service as patented, or patent pending, affects the price consumers will pay. This Article offers the first major empirical study of that question andfinds that consumers behave with surprising rationality: they will not pay any price premium for a patented product. A product's patent status conveys little information about whether it is superior to competing offerings. The results hold …

Justice In Erotic Spaces, Elena L. Cohen

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

This Article posits that the concept of "erotic justice" could be used by courts to push back against the current cascade of anti-LGBTQ+ laws and meaningfully improve the lives ofgay and trans people. The beginning of the twenty-first century was widely seen as a time of great progress for LGBTQ+ people, with the legalization of gay marriage in countries across the world seen as the ultimate triumph. Yet there is a strong contemporary movement to re-criminalize the lives of LGBTQ+ people and to remove protections that have been granted by courts. In the U.S., the 2020s have seen an ongoing …

Breaking The Perpetual Social Injustice Cycle By Implementing Race-Neutral Alternatives As A Means To Create Equitable Admissions Practices In Higher Education, Jazmin B. C. Jardim-Phipps

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article argues that higher education institutions can still achieve the compelling state interest of diversity while complying with the Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) rulings by replacing race-based admissions with narrowly tailored, race-neutral alternatives. It proposes a model that redefines merit and prioritizes socioeconomic and first-generation status while eliminating legacy preferences to break cycles of systemic social injustice.

Pursuing Restorative Justice For The Legacy Of Federal Indian Boarding Schools, Jilly Horowitz

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

This Note examines the United States’ federal boarding school policy, designed to eliminate Native populations, and the federal government’s efforts from June 2021 to December 2024 to acknowledge and address its harms. For 150 years, Native children were subjected to this brutal policy and were removed from their communities and placed in boarding schools. These schools were focused less on providing education and opportunity for Native students, and instead were tools to carry out a concentrated federal policy of cultural assimilation and forcible removal from Native lands. The federal government implemented this policy throughout the country, operating or funding 451 …

The Beginning Of Change: A Long Overdue Shift In Policy For Profound Autism, Molly Mcguinness

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Buried Burdens: Contaminated Lands And The Unfinished Business Of The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, Yuwen Huyan

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Effectiveness Is Not A Criterion Here: The Curriculum Marketplace And The Students It Leaves Behind, Serena E. Roche

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

From One Stolen Generation To Another: Replicating Trevorrow In American Courts, Jennifer Grubman

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The note examines the historical injustices of Indian boarding schools in the United States and argues that survivors may assert fiduciary duty claims under the Indian Tucker Act to seek redress for the government’s mismanagement of tribal funds and the cultural trauma caused by these institutions. It critiques the lack of a nationwide reparations scheme and highlights the challenges posed by the statute of limitations in pursuing legal remedies. The analysis draws parallels to the Stolen Generations in Australia and emphasizes the need for a multifaceted approach to address the intergenerational harm inflicted by these policies.

The Right To Exit Religion, Zalman Rothschild

Articles

This Article argues that just over fifty years ago, in Wisconsin v. Yoder, the Supreme Court recognized what might be called a right to exit religion. In this decision, the Court expressed appreciation for preserving insular religious communities, while simultaneously articulating the principle that accommodations for such communities must not unduly restrict community members’ ability to exit should they wish to do so. Yet courts and scholars have largely overlooked Yoder’s recognition of a right to exit religion. To make this “right” more concrete, the Article examines impediments to it through a case study of one large insular religious community—the …

Kendra's Paradox: Redefining The Statutory Approach To Assisted Outpatient Psychiatric Treatment In New York, Matt Donelian

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note critically examines the limitations of Kendra's Law in New York, which provides Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) for individuals with severe mental illnesses. While the law aims to balance public safety and individual rights, its strict eligibility criteria often prevent timely intervention, leading to worse outcomes for those in need. The note proposes reforming the law to prioritize clinical assessments over past actions, enabling earlier intervention while respecting individual rights. This reform would address the law's retroactive nature and promote a more proactive, compassionate approach to mental health care.

Protecting The Freedom Of Movement For All: A Proposal For Complete Street Policies That Prioritize The Needs Of Travelers With Idds And Autism In The Wake Of N.J. Bill S147, Olivia Handelman

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note examines the groundbreaking implications of New Jersey Bill S147, which mandates the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) to develop complete street designs specifically addressing the needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (autism). This legislation represents a significant shift in complete streets policies, which traditionally focus on physical accessibility but rarely prioritize non-physical disabilities. The note argues that NJDOT’s implementation of these designs must include tailored strategies, such as mobility education, staff training, and improved signage, to ensure independent and safe travel for this population. By addressing these needs, New Jersey …

Leveling The Playing Field: Aligning Title Ix And Title Vii Sexual Harassment Standards To Ensure Equity For Female Hazing Victims, Cammie Swain

Cardozo Law Review

As hazing has become more common among student-athletes at colleges and universities throughout the country, litigants have used Title IX as a legal remedy to hold these educational institutions accountable for hazing practices on their campuses. However, while various male plaintiffs have brought successful Title IX cases alleging that their hazing experiences constitute actionable discrimination under Title IX, fewer women have had success in bringing such cases. This disparity looms especially large as the number of hazing incidents among women has grown and as intercollegiate athletics has transformed into a massive, lucrative industry. Since 2021, student-athletes have been able to …

Radical Restorative Justice: Reflections On Conflict, Trauma, And Hope In Chicagoland Schools, Amy J. Cohen, Uma Blanchard

Cardozo Law Review

This Article tracks how abolitionist and reformist debates are unfolding within urban schools’ attempts to smash the school-to-prison pipeline. We document how Chicago-area public school teachers are grappling with new restorative justice programs and their complex and divergent sociopolitical and institutional meanings. Drawing on over forty qualitative interviews with teachers, we illustrate how difficult widespread implementation of new conflict resolution mechanisms, in the name of restorative justice, are turning out to be. We analyze how teachers are interpreting restorative justice practices and the challenges they involve for students, educators, and school administrators who learn and teach and work in hierarchical …

A Framework For Trauma-Informed Mediation: A Heart And Mind Approach To Conflict Resolution, Michael Saini, Raheena Lalani Dahya, Shely Polak

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

Unresolved trauma histories can have both short and long-term consequences on children and parents' overall functioning. Using a trauma-informed approach to mediation, we first briefly highlight the impactofadversechildhood experiencesandunresolvedtraumasonadults. We then consider the various vulnerabilities and activations presented within mediation and the fundamental principles of trauma-informed mediation to assist parties in remaining within the "window of tolerance" during the mediation. Trauma-informed mediation is an approach that encourages mediators to be aware of potential trauma activations and to engage in compassionate practices to allow parties to engage within their own individualized "window of tolerance" to resolve disputes. We explore the unique …

Human Capital Disclosure & Corporate Governance: The New Evidence, George S. Georgiev

Cardozo Law Review

This Article explores the evolution of human capital disclosure—firm-supplied information about various workforce-related matters—as a factor in contemporary corporate governance. Regulatory and nonregulatory developments from recent years have upended longstanding practices and generated extensive new evidence. Most notably, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted a human capital management (“HCM”) disclosure mandate in 2020, which, though long overdue, was criticized from the outset for its modest scope and lax design. In the meantime, courts have taken a renewed interest in board of directors’ oversight responsibilities in a number of areas, including HCM, while labor’s power has unexpectedly increased in some …

“Today, The Constitution Prevails”: A History And Legacy Of Constitutional Racism, Zamir Ben-Dan

Cardozo Law Review

In a decision that surprised almost no one, the United States Supreme Court struck down the affirmative action programs at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina. The majority opinion recounted a jurisprudential history that started with the Fourteenth Amendment, jumped to Plessy v. Ferguson, and lingered on the progeny of Brown v. Board of Education. The opinion hailed Brown as the ultimate triumph, the case that spelled the beginning of the end of racism in America. It declared that the purpose of the Equal Protection Clause is to eliminate “all governmentally imposed discrimination based on race.” …

The Supreme Court And The Federalist Society Network: The Conversation That Determined Whose Vote Counts, Deborah Toscano

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article examines the role of the Federalist Society Network (FSN) in shaping the Supreme Court's decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which invalidated Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The FSN's legal framework, emphasizing state sovereignty and the Tenth Amendment, influenced the Court's expansion of the "equal sovereignty" doctrine, leading to the dismantling of a key provision of the VRA. This decision reflects a broader shift in federalism, prioritizing state autonomy over federal oversight in voting rights.

It Takes A Special Person To Raise A Special Needs Child: How New York's Existing Family Regulation Systems Are Not Equipped For Children With Autism, Alexandra Debenedictis

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that New York's current family regulation systems, including the Family Court Act (FCA) and the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), are inadequately equipped to protect children with autism in foster care. These systems fail to address the unique needs of autistic children, leading to increased vulnerability to abuse, neglect, and prolonged stays in foster care. The note proposes reforms to improve monitoring, education, and resource accessibility to better safeguard these children.

Faculty Handbook As Contract, Karen Halverson Cross

Cardozo Law Review

Colleges and universities, like other employers, typically have in place policies that govern the employment relationship with their faculty. Many such policies—policies against employee misconduct or policies on accommodations for persons with disabilities—are comparable to what employees might encounter outside of academia. Most higher education institutions also have in place policies that are more unique to academia, such as policies establishing shared governance bodies, affirming academic freedom as a core value, or outlining procedures on the granting and revocation of faculty tenure. These faculty policies may be aggregated in a faculty handbook, published separately on the institution’s web site, or, …

Beat It: A Proposal To End Masturbation Bans In Prisons, Madison Dougherty

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that bans on masturbation in prisons are unconstitutional under the Fourteenth and Eighth Amendments. It contends that such bans infringe upon prisoners' rights to privacy, bodily autonomy, and protection against cruel and unusual punishment. The author proposes reforms to prison policies to allow private masturbation while prohibiting assaultive behavior, advocating for a shift towards rehabilitation over punishment.

What’S Going On? Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Dispute Resolution Initiatives In The U.S., Robyn Weinstein

Articles

Over the course of my career, I have worked for and managed community dispute resolution centers, overseen a court-annexed dispute resolution program, and run a law school mediation clinic (my current position). In each post, I have been in a position of power over a different "gateway" or entry point into the field of dispute resolution. In these roles, and especially in my work overseeing a court-annexed ADR program, I became increasingly aware of who applied (and did not apply); who was appointed (and was not appointed); and who was selected (and not selected) for work as a mediator and …

Applying Militant Democracy To Defend Against Social Media Harms, Neil Netanel

Cardozo Law Review

Social media inflict multiple harms on liberal democracy. Online platforms thrive on propagating emotionally inflammatory content that maximizes user engagement. Too often that entails amplifying disinformation, hate speech, online extremism, and deep-seated partisan animosity. Tellingly, as documented in testimony before the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack, in the weeks following the 2020 presidential election, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Reddit knowingly enabled a firestorm of vitriolic far-right election denial on their platforms. In so doing, a Select Committee staff report concludes, the platforms “helped to facilitate the attack on January 6th.”

In Satan We Trust: The Satanic Temple’S Ongoing Crusade To Protect Abortion Rights, Bradley Koberg

Cardozo Law Review

In the summer of 2022, the Supreme Court overruled the nearly fifty-year-old precedent of Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion. This was one of several decisions in which the newly minted conservative supermajority undermined what could be seen as progressive precedents. At the same time, the Court has been elevating religious liberty claims and strengthening legal protections for religious individuals and organizations (predominantly Christian). For anybody who cares about the “so-called separation of . . . church and state,” this conservative Christian reformation taking place in the nation’s highest court is a cause for concern.

However, …

Context At The Periphery: The Rise Of The Critical-Contextual Legal Education Reform Movement, Cara R. Shaffer

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article argues that legal education must reform by integrating critical-contextual approaches to address declining critical thinking skills and better prepare students for contemporary legal practice. It emphasizes the need to move beyond the traditional Langdell case method, which separates doctrinal learning from practical and contextual understanding, and highlights the importance of interdisciplinary perspectives in legal training.

Judicial Interpretation By Bankruptcy Courts And The Department Of Education Regarding The Application Of The Undue Hardship ("Brunner") Standard To Student Loan Discharges, Anda Totoreanu

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note examines the stringent application of the Brunner standard in student loan discharge cases, highlighting the inconsistent judicial interpretations and the DOE's rigid stance, which disproportionately affects minority communities. It advocates for reforms, including legislative changes and judicial discretion, to address the systemic inequities.

An Examination Of U.S. And U.K. Procedures Governing Sexual Misconduct Investigations In Universities, Marc Siegel

Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review

The note critiques the lack of a unified regulatory framework for addressing sexual misconduct in U.K. universities, contrasting it with the structured, albeit controversial, Title IX system in the U.S. It argues that the U.K.'s voluntary approach has led to inconsistent, unjust outcomes and advocates for the adoption of a comprehensive regulatory regime similar to Title IX to ensure fairness, accountability, and consistency in handling such cases.

The Charter School Network (Almost) No One Wants: Mobilizing Regulation And Litigation To Serve The Public Interest, Joni Hersch, Colton Cronin

Cardozo Law Review

Publicly funded, independently operated charter schools entered the public sector three decades ago with the promise of innovating public education to better serve students in underperforming schools. Despite limited evidence of improved educational outcomes, charter schools are now an established part of the education system, with around 7,800 charter schools serving more than seven percent of public, school students.

Although charter schools have long been associated with the controversial school choice movement, a recent entrant into the charter school arena has created new and urgent concerns. Hillsdale College, through its affiliate Barney Charter School Initiative, has been making escalating inroads …

How Private Enforcement Exacerbates Climate Change, Anna A. Mance

Cardozo Law Review

Private enforcement-the practice of allowing private actors to directly enforce statutes or regulations-has been a fixture of environmental law for the last fifty years. In the absence of comprehensive climate legislation, climate change has been brought under the fold of the environmental regime and its emphasis on private enforcement. Yet climate change presents a distinct global challenge from those harms that the 1970s environmental regime was designed to address. This Article investigates how private enforcement is limiting our ability to respond to the crisis of climate change. The central claim is that private enforcers are using the mantle of environmental …