Law and Gender Commons^™

By Reason Of Their Sex: Feminist Theory Postmodernism And Justice , Tracy E. Higgins

Faculty Scholarship

Both the Supreme Court's jurisprudence of gender and feminist legal theory have generally assumed that some identifiable and describable category of woman exists prior to the construction of legal categories. For the Court, this woman-whose characteristics admittedly have changed over time-serves as the standard against which gendered legal classifications are measured. For feminism, her existence has served a different but equally important purpose as the subject for whom political goals are pursued. To the extent that the definitions of the category diverge, the differences among definitions are played out in feminist critiques of the Court's gender jurisprudence, and, occasionally, in …

Women's Jury Service: Right Of Citizenship Or Privilege Of Difference?, Joanna L. Grossman

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

The Supreme Court recently declared that peremptory challenges based on sex, like those based on race, violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In this note, Joanna Grossman argues that the Court has finally established the right of women to serve on juries. Women's rights advocates had fought for this right for more than a century, but courts refused to recognize that women were harmed by exclusion from juries and denied any connection between women's jury service and citizenship. Instead, courts focused on gender difference and only eliminated legal barriers to women's jury service when it was necessary …

Responding To Gender Bias In The Courts: Progress Without Accountability, Suellyn Scarnecchia

Articles

On December 19, 1989, we received the final report of the Michigan Supreme Court Task Force on Gender Issues (task force report). The task force made 91 recommendations, plus an additional 18 joint recommendations with the Task Force on Racial/Ethnic Issues in the Courts. The Michigan Supreme Court, the State Bar of Michigan and other individuals and organizations have made much progress in responding to the recommendations, with one glaring omission-Although jointly recommended by both task forces as "essential to the realization of the goals envisioned in the goals envisioned in the reports," the Supreme Court has failed to appoint …

Who Is Jessica's Mother? Defining Motherhood Through Reality, Suellyn Scarnecchia

Other Publications

The recent Baby Jessica case and others like it have renewed the nature versus nurture debate in family law. Baby Jessica's biological parents, the Schmidts, sought to obtain permanent custody of their daughter after giving her up for adoption to the DeBoer family. Their argument was one that found its basis in biology and the idea of a traditional family. On the other hand, with the assistance of Professor Scarnecchia, the DeBoers argued that it was more important forJessica's overall health to remain with her primary caretakers of two years. Courts, however, have taken a more traditional view of this …

Bias In The Washington Courts: A Call For Reform, Melisa D. Evangelos

Seattle University Law Review

Because of the documented threat that racial and gender bias pose to the effective administration of justice in Washington, this Comment advocates amending the Washington Rules of Professional Conduct to explicitly make intentional gender and racial bias an act of attorney misconduct and to discipline any attorney who engages in such behavior. Section I of this Comment identifies and describes instances of attorney behavior that result in gender and racial bias and explains the impact of such bias on attorneys, clients, and the judicial system. Section II explores similar anti-bias rules proposed or in place in other states. Section III …

Abortion And The Pied Piper Of Compromise, Annette E. Clark

Faculty Articles

In this article, Professor Clark offers a detailed analysis of the controversy among legal scholars which has long surrounded the issue of legal regulation of abortion. Professor Clark begins by focusing on a recent book by Professor Laurence Tribe, Abortion: The Clash of Absolutes. She argues that although Tribe claims to seek a compromise solution to the abortion problem, he fails in this pursuit both because he does not truly search for compromise and because he is unwilling to explore intermediate moral or legal positions that are not acceptable to either the pro-choice or pro-life movements. In contrast, Professor Clark …

A Date With Justice: Prostitution And The Decriminalization Debate, Margaret A. Baldwin

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article critiques the decriminalization of prostitution, arguing that it fails to address the systemic exploitation and violence faced by women in prostitution. The author contends that decriminalization would empower pimps, johns, and legal systems to further exploit women, as it legitimizes their power dynamics. The analysis emphasizes the need to prioritize the survival and empowerment of prostituted women over legal reforms that benefit their exploiters.

Why Civil Protection Orders Are Effective Remedies For Domestic Violence But Mutual Protective Orders Are Not, Elizabeth Topliffe

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Beyond Maryland V. Craig: Can And Should Adult Rape Victims Be Permitted To Testify By Closed-Circuit Television?, Lisa Hamilton Thielmeyer

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Mysteries Of Violence And Self-Defense: Myths For Men, Cautionary Tales For Women, Marianne Wesson

Publications

No abstract provided.

New York V. Sullivan: Shhh .... Don't Say The A Word - Another Outcome-Oriented Abortion Decision, 23 J. Marshall L. Rev. 753 (1990), Christopher C. Kendall

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Equality Theory, Marital Rape, And The Promise Of The Fourteenth Amendment, Robin West

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

During the 1980s a handful of state judges either held or opined in dicta what must be incontrovertible to the feminist community, as well as to most progressive legal advocates and academics: the so-called marital rape exemption, whether statutory or common law in origin, constitutes a denial of a married woman's constitutional right to equal protection under the law. Indeed, a more obvious denial of equal protection is difficult to imagine: the marital rape exemption denies married women protection against violent crime solely on the basis of gender and marital status. What possibly could be less rational than a statute …

The Federal Judiciary Engendered, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

The dearth of women named to cabinet level positions in the George H.W. Bush Administration does not augur well for appointment of women to the federal bench. Equally discouraging was Mr. Bush's campaign response to the question whether there should be special efforts to select more women for the federal judiciary: "[I] remain committed to appointing to the bench the best qualified candidates we can find-regardless of ... gender--and the record shows that we have been successful in fulfilling this commitment. " The record compiled by the Administration in which he served as Vice-President for two terms was deplorable.

To …

Killing Daddy: Developing A Self-Defense Strategy For The Abused Child, Joelle A. Moreno

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Webster And Women's Equality, Dawn E. Johnsen, Marcy J. Wilder

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Will Roe V. Wade Survive The Rehnquist Court?, Dawn E. Johnsen, Marcy Wilder

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Task Force Reports On Women In The Courts: The Challenge For Legal Education, Elizabeth M. Schneider

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Johnson V. Transportation Agency: The United States Supreme Court Weighs Statistical Imbalance In Favor Of Affirmative Action, 21 J. Marshall L. Rev. 593 (1988), Denise C. Hockley-Cann

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Judge Robert H. Bork’S Opinions On Standing, Daniel D. Polsby

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Gender Dynamics And Jury Deliberations (Student Note), Nancy S. Marder

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Premenstrual Syndrome As A Criminal Defense: The Need For A Medico-Legal Understanding, Candy Pahl-Smith

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

Book Review Of Passion: An Essay On Personality , Richard F. Devlin Frsc

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Passion is a cogently structured, compel Jingly argued and seductively enthralling masterpiece which, in years to come, will undoubtedly stand out as an inspirational source for many who seek social transformation. Unger's style, in this essay at least, is lucid and inviting. Substantively, Passion demonstrates not only the depth of his penetrating intellect but also his command of an array of' disciplines. Unger's polymathy is all the more impressive when we remember that ours is an era in which idiosyncratic specialization is the norm.

Rethinking The Substantive Rules For Custody Disputes In Divorce, David L. Chambers

Articles

A few states, mostly in the West and South, still retain a preference in custody disputes for placing young children with their mothers. In most other states, legislatures or courts have replaced the maternal presumption with a rule directing courts to be guided solely by the child's "welfare" or "best interests." A few legislatures have created a new preference for joint custody, directing courts to consider favorably requests by a parent for such arrangements, even over the objection of the other parent. This Article argues that the trend away from the maternal presumption is sensible, but that the current best-interests …

Rewriting Roe V. Wade, Donald H. Regan

Articles

Roe v. Wade is one of the most controversial cases the Supreme Court has decided. The result in the case - the establishment of a constitutional right to abortion - was controversial enough. Beyond that, even people who approve of the result have been dissatisfied with the Court's opinion. Others before me have attempted to explain how a better opinion could have been written. It seems to me, however, that the most promising argument in support of the result of Roe has not yet been made. This essay contains my suggestions for "rewriting" Roe v. Wade

Jury-Intentional Exclusion Of Women

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.