Human Rights Law Commons^™

Much Ado About Nothing?: Local Resistance And The Significance Of Sanctuary Laws, Alyssa Garcia

Seattle University Law Review

This Comment explores the current constitutional discourse of sanctuary laws and compares their various components. Part I provides background on the basic policy components of sanctuary laws and modern policies. Part II explores and compares the substantive legal and political value of sanctuary laws. This section will first assess the impact of sanctuary policies on existing immigration and constitutional law. In doing so, specific sanctuary jurisdictions involved in litigation, Seattle, San Francisco, and Chicago, and their likelihood of withstanding preemption under existing doctrine will be compared. The impact sanctuary laws may have on the Tenth Amendment will next be discussed. …

Enforcing/Protection: The Danger Of Chevron In Refugee Act Cases, Maureen A. Sweeney

Faculty Scholarship

United States immigration courts that decide asylum cases are situated within the Justice Department – a law enforcement agency deeply invested in enforcing border control – and are subordinate to the Attorney General, the nation’s politically appointed chief law enforcement officer. This institutional subjugation of immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals challenges the system’s integrity and leaves people seeking protection promised by international treaty to the whims of an enforcement agency. Courts exacerbate the problem when they give Chevron deference to those Justice Department decisions rather than reviewing them rigorously. Given the prosecutorial nature of the Justice Department, …

Syria Under Pinheiro: Reformulating Syrian Domestic Law For Decentralized Reconstruction, George Somi

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; since 2011; the Syrian conflict has generated roughly 5.4 million refugees; while approximately 6.5 million people are internally displaced within the country; making it the largest internally displaced population in the world. Rebuilding Syria’s infrastructure; homes; and businesses will be an immense task; with cost estimates ranging between $250–$350 billion USD. The Syrian government and the international community have already started to contemplate postwar reconstruction and even wartime reconstruction; despite the ongoing fighting. This Note operates under the assumption that the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad will; at a minimum; …

Information And The Regulatory Landscape: A Growing Need To Reconsider Existing Legal Frameworks, Anjanette H. Raymond

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Burden Of A Good Idea: Examining The Impact Of Unfunded Federal Regulatory Mandates On Medicare Participating Hospitals, Rachel J. Suddarth

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Battle Of The Backlog: How Congressional Inaction Threatens The Integrity Of Medicare, Joshua M. Kaplan

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

"Too Big To Foia": How Agencies Avoid Compliance With The Freedom Of Information Act, Stephanie Alvarez-Jones

Cardozo Law Review

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), while foundational for promoting government transparency, faces significant challenges in its administration, particularly through the judicially created "undue burden" claim, which allows agencies to evade disclosure. The note argues that courts' deference to agencies' claims of undue burden undermines FOIA's purpose of promoting openness. It proposes reforms, such as a public interest sliding scale, to balance the burden on agencies against the public's right to know, ensuring FOIA remains an effective tool for accountability.

Why Guidance From The Supreme Court Is Required In Redefining The Particular Social Group Definition In Refugee Law, Liliya Paraketsova

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

One of the most debated topics in refugee law has been the meaning of particular social group (PSG)—one of the five categories used to claim refugee status. In 2006, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) adopted a narrower PSG definition. Since that adoption, a circuit split has persisted over the meaning of PSG. Two circuits in particular have continually refused to adopt this definition—even when the BIA attempted to revise the definition in response to their criticism. This Note proposes a reform that would include a compromise between the two current definitions of PSG by rejecting the BIA’s particularity requirement …

Valuing Life: A Human Rights Perspective On The Calculus Of Regulation, William J. Aceves

Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality

No abstract provided.

Willful Blindness Or Deliberate Indifference: The United States' Abdication Of Legal Responsibility To Refugees, Abed A. Ayoub, Yolanda C. Rondon

Barry Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Examination Of Trans Fat Labeling: Splitting The Third & Ninth Circuit, Jack Gainey

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

At first glance, consumer claims alleging misleading labeling would seem to find a simple resolution. Under 21 U.S.C. § 343, which governs misbranded food, a food product is misbranded if “its labeling is false or misleading.” However, controversial interpretation of seemingly straightforward statutory language, together with evolving case law, have blurred a once clear picture. Disagreement over the federal preemption of consumer claims regarding trans fat, underscored by a dispute regarding standing, have combined to create a divergence of opinions between courts across the country.

In 2011, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California considered a …

Disability Rights In The Age Of Uber: Applying The Americans With Disabilities Act Of 1990 To Transportation Network Companies, Rachel Reed

Georgia State University Law Review

Within the past year, individual plaintiffs and disability rights organizations have initiated a number of lawsuits against Uber, and similar companies like Lyft, alleging violations of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title III). In each of these cases, the plaintiffs’ success turns on affirmatively answering one significant threshold question: Whether Uber, or a similar entity, falls within the scope of Title III. Traditional taxi companies fall squarely within the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990’s (ADA) coverage under 42 U.S.C. § 12184 (§ 12184), which governs private companies that provide transportation services. Given the similarities …

Reconciling Expectations With Reality: The Real Id Act's Corroboration Exception For Otherwise Credible Asylum Applicants, Alexandra Lane Reed

Michigan Law Review

The international community finds itself today in the throes of the largest refugee crisis since World War II. As millions of refugees continue to flee violence and persecution at home, the immediate concern is humanitarian, but in the long-term, the important question becomes: What are our obligations to those who cannot return home? U.S. asylum law is designed not only to offer shelter to legitimate refugees, but also to protect the country from those who seek asylum under false pretenses. Lawmakers and policymakers have struggled to calibrate corroboration requirements for asylum claims with the reality that many legitimate asylum seekers …

Freedom Of Information Beyond The Freedom Of Information Act, David Pozen

Faculty Scholarship

The U.S. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows any person to request any agency record for any reason. This model has been copied worldwide and celebrated as a structural necessity in a real democracy. Yet in practice, this Article argues, FOIA embodies a distinctively “reactionary” form of transparency. FOIA is reactionary in a straightforward, procedural sense in that disclosure responds to ad hoc demands for information. Partly because of this very feature, FOIA can also be seen as reactionary in a more substantive, political sense insofar as it saps regulatory capacity; distributes government goods in an inegalitarian fashion; and contributes …

Ebola, Experimental Medicine, Economics, And Ethics: An Evaluation Of International Disease Outbreak Law, Sara L. Dominey

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

New Judicial Review In Old Europe, Alyssa S. King

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Prostitution Policy: Legalization, Decriminalization And The Nordic Model, Ane Mathieson, Easton Branam, Anya Noble

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Don’T Risk It; Wait Until She’S Sober, Patrick John White

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Let’S Talk About Sex: A Call For Guardianship Reform In Washington State, Sage Graves

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Living Under The Boot: Militarization And Peaceful Protest, Charlotte Guerra

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

His Feminist Facade: The Neoliberal Co-Option Of The Feminist Movement, Anjilee Dodge, Myani Gilbert

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Let’S Invest In People, Not Prisons: How Washington State Should Address Its Ex-Offender Unemployment Rate, Sara Taboada

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

In Her Words: Recognizing And Preventing Abusive Litigation Against Domestic Violence Survivors, David Ward

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Lawyers In The Shadow Of The Regulatory State: Transnational Governance On Business And Human Rights, Milton C. Regan Jr., Kath Hall

Fordham Law Review

Lawyers are beginning to play an important role in strengthening the system of transnational governance that regulates business and human rights. In setting the background to our discussion of lawyers’ role in this context, Part I of this Article provides a general overview of the emergence of the transnational governance regime. Part II then describes some of the governance instruments that attempt to prevent and rectify the adverse human rights impacts of business activities. Part III discusses the extent to which lawyers are advising their business clients on human rights issues, the factors that may inhibit or encourage the provision …

Practical Reasoning And The Application Of General Federal Regulatory Laws To Indian Nations, Alex T. Skibine

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

No abstract provided.

The Injustice Of Sea Level Rise: Ethics And Evidence, Lies And Liability--Event Poster, Professor Keith Rizzardi

Lectures and Presentations

The Center for International Law & Justice (CILJ) and the Environment, Development & Justice Program (EDJP) present a lecture by Professor Keith Rizzardi. Professor Rizzardi, an experienced government lawyer and litigator, teaches at St. Thomas University School of Law.

The Injustice Of Sea Level Rise: Ethics And Evidence, Lies And Liability--Text Of Speech, Professor Keith Rizzardi

Lectures and Presentations

The Center for International Law & Justice (CILJ) and the Environment, Development & Justice Program (EDJP) present the Second Annual Climate and Energy Justice Lecture by Professor Keith Rizzardi. Professor Rizzardi, an experienced government lawyer and litigator, teaches at St. Thomas University School of Law.

The Injustice Of Sea Level Rise: Ethics And Evidence, Lies And Liability--Slides And Data Presentation, Professor Keith Rizzardi

Lectures and Presentations

The Center for International Law & Justice (CILJ) and the Environment, Development & Justice Program (EDJP) present the Second Annual Climate and Energy Justice Lecture by Professor Keith Rizzardi. Professor Rizzardi, an experienced government lawyer and litigator, teaches at St. Thomas University School of Law.

Fortifying The Rights Of Unauthorized Immigrant Workers: Why Employee-Focused Incentives Under The Nlra Would Help End The Cycle Of Labor Rights Abuse, Caitlin E. Delaney

Journal of Law and Policy

Over the past several decades, there has been an unmistakable tension between labor law and immigration law in the United States. That tension, addressed by the Supreme Court most recently in 2001, still exists for unauthorized immigrant workers who wish to assert their labor rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). While the Obama Administration has made significant strides in easing the concerns that unauthorized immigrant workers may have before filing an NLRA claim, the unavailability of the back pay remedy and the uncertainty of protection from immigration authorities leave little incentive for such workers to assert their labor …

The Broad Implications Of The First Nation Caring Society Decision: Dealing A Death-Blow To The Current System Of Program Delivery On-Reserve & Clearing The Path To Self-Government, Naiomi Metallic

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

On January 26, 2016, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) released a watershed decision in a complaint spearheaded by the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, its Executive Director, Dr. Cindy Blackstock, and the Assembly of First Nations (the “Caring Society” decision). The complaint alleged that Canada, through its Department of Indigenous and Northern Affairs (“INAC” or the “Department”), discriminates against First Nations children and families in the provision of child welfare services on reserve. In its decision, the Tribunal found that INAC’s design, management and control of child welfare services on reserve, along with its …