Law and Gender Commons^™

The Violence Against Women Act Of 1999, Margaret Murphy

Buffalo Women's Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Title Ix's Collegiate Sports Application Raises Serious Questions Regarding The Role Of The Ncaa, 31 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1303 (1998), Darryl C. Wilson

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Assesing The Family And Medical Leave Act In Terms Of Gender Equality, Work/Family Balance, And The Needs Of Children, Angie K. Young

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

While recognizing that parental leave is only one aspect of the FMLA, this Article concentrates on the provision allowing leave to parents in order to care for their children. Before analyzing the FMLA in detail, it is helpful to explore what aims a parental-leave policy should have. The purpose of this Article is to propose and defend three goals that parental-leave legislation should strive to meet: equality of career opportunities for men and women, the right to participate in both work and family, and meeting the needs of children. After articulating what parental-leave legislation should aim for in theory, this …

Crossing The Line: The Political And Moral Battle Over Late-Term Abortion, Rigel C. Oliveri

Faculty Publications

This paper focuses on the political and moral debate surrounding two pieces of federal legislation which sought to criminalize a particular late term abortion technique scientifically known as "intact dilation and extraction," and popularly known as "partial birth abortion." The Congressional "Partial Birth Abortion" Bans of 1996 and 1997 inflamed the already emotionally charged contest over abortion rights. The intense lobbying and advocacy efforts put pro-choice activists in the uncomfortable position of having to defend one of the most extreme positions on the abortion-rights spectrum. The advocacy was further complicated by the fact that very few women obtain late term …

"A Revolution Which Seeks To Abolish Law, Must End Necessarily In Despotism": Louisa Mccord And Antebellum Southern Legal Thought, Alfred L. Brophy

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

Louisa McCord's essays provide a unique lens into the legal and political thought of antebellum Southern society, particularly her defense of slavery and the role of law in maintaining social order. She argued that law should ensure basic fairness in market transactions but should not interfere with the institution of slavery, which she viewed as a matter of sentiment rather than legal regulation. McCord's work challenges the notion that legal history is confined to the common law tradition, emphasizing the importance of understanding law as part of a broader societal outlook.

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.

Treating Sexual Harassment With Respect, Anita Bernstein

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Testing Testing, Carl E. Schneider

Articles

Last year, Congress passed the Ryan White Care Act Amendments of 1996. The amendments authorize ten million dollars for each fiscal year from 1996 through 2000 for counseling pregnant women on HIV disease, for "outreach efforts to pregnant women at high risk of HN who are not currently receiving prenatal care," and for voluntary testing for pregnant women. The amendments compromise a central question: whether prenatal and neonatal AIDS testing should be compelled. The compromise is complex. The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is instructed to establish a system for states to use to discover and …

Women's Powerless Tool: How Congress Overreached The Constitution With The Civil Rights Remedy Of The Violence Against Women Act, 30 J. Marshall L. Rev. 803 (1997), Lisa A. Carroll

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

International Human Rights Standards On Sexual Violence Against Women As They Apply To Pornography, Claudia Giunta

LLM Theses and Essays

The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing in September 1995, and represented an important step towards the achievement of equality for women. At the Conference, the progress made towards equality was acknowledged, but it was also acknowledged that many goals have not been achieved yet, and that cultural changes of fundamental importance remain to be made. Indeed, in many countries the cultural approach to violence and discrimination against women is quite fatalistic; they believe violence against women cannot be solved by laws. However, this approach overlooks the role played by societies in tolerating practices of …

Proposition 209, Girardeau A. Spann

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

I have a proposition for you. It's called Proposition 209. All you have to do is stop discriminating in favor of women and racial minorities, and your perpetual problems of race and gender discrimination will finally disappear. If this Proposition sounds too good to be true ... well, you know how the saying goes. In law, as in life, the seductiveness of a proposition owes as much to its disregard of established norms as to its underlying content. Eliminate the affront to social convention, and a proposition promises about as much excitement as a routine liaison with one's spouse. But …

Drive-Through Deliveries: In Support Of Federal Legislation To Mandate Insurer Coverage Of Medically Sound Minimum Lengths Of Postpanum Stays For Mothers And Newborns, Freeman L. Farrow

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

President Clinton signed the Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act of 1996 into law on September 26, 1996. The Act requires insurers that provide maternity benefits to cover medically sound minimum lengths of inpatient, postpartum stays according to the joint guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. This Note discusses the historical context in which the necessity for passage of protective legislation arose, the interplay between state and federal statutes that created the need for federal legislation to provide desired protections for postpartum patients and examines the provisions of the Act. This …

The Proposed Model Surrogate Parenthood Act: A Legislative Response To The Challenges Of Reproductive Technology, Murray L. Manus

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In this Article, Manus proposes a Model Surrogate Parenthood Act. He examines the medical and scientific history of surrogacy and reviews the jurisprudence in the area, specifically the constitutional relationship between procreation rights and surrogacy. The author asserts that surrogate motherhood cannot be, and indeed, should not be, eradicated through legislation criminalizing it. The proposed Model Act, presented here in its entirety, attempts to reduce the problems inherent in the concept of surrogate parenthood by putting the process under strict court supervision and by zealously protecting the rights of the surrogate mother and the child to be conceived.

The Civil Rights Remedy Of The Violence Against Women Act: Legislative History, Policy Implications & Litigation Strategy, Elizabeth M. Schneider

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Case For Pregnancy-Based Unemployment Insurance, Mark R. Brown

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Professor Brown argues that unemployment insurance laws should be amended to provide coverage to otherwise eligible, pregnant claimants. Under current law, women who quit because of pregnancy are either disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits altogether or qualify only after childbirth. Those who are fired, meanwhile, often either cannot prove the motivation for their discharge or discover that they are disqualified because of their unavailability for work. Professor Brown uses a case study to illustrate the problems posed by pregnancy and unemployment insurance. He proposes model legislation that extends coverage to all pregnant claimants who temporarily separate from their employment.

A Feminist Exploration Of Issues Around Assisted Death, Jocelyn Downie, Susan Sherwin

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Although a great deal of public attention has recently been focused on issues around assisted death remarkably little of it has come from an explicitly feminist perspective. This is a serious omission at a time when legislators are feeling pressure to review and perhaps revise existing policies on assisted death, and when the policies they contemplate may have a significant negative and disproportionate impact on women. We think it is essential that there be some discussion of these issues from an explicitly feminist perspective in order to ensure that concerns about the oppression of women become part of the public …

The Victim-Plaintiff In Criminal Trials And Civil Law Responses To Sexual Violence, Alexandra Goy

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article examines the role of the victim-plaintiff in German criminal trials, particularly in cases involving sexual violence. It highlights the unique procedural rights granted to victim-plaintiffs, such as the ability to participate actively in trials and present evidence. However, the analysis reveals significant practical and systemic barriers that limit the effectiveness of this institution, including restrictive evidentiary rules, financial challenges, and gender biases within the judiciary. The article argues that while the victim-plaintiff institution offers opportunities for victims to seek justice, its impact is undermined by these obstacles, raising concerns about the protection of sexual autonomy and gender equality …

The Violence Against Women Act Project: Teaching A New Generation Of Public Interest Lawyers, Minna J. Kotkin

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

An Argument For Universal Pediatric Hiv Testing, Counseling And Treatment, Colin Crawford

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article argues that mandatory pediatric HIV testing, counseling, and treatment are essential to address a public health emergency, overriding constitutional concerns. The author, Colin Crawford, asserts that early detection and treatment significantly improve the lives of HIV-positive children, making it a compelling state interest that should take precedence over privacy and autonomy concerns.

Making Equality Law More Effective: Lessons From The German Experience, Ninon Colneric

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article examines the evolution and effectiveness of equality law in Germany, particularly focusing on gender equality. It highlights the significant influence of European Community (EC) law on German legislation and discusses the challenges in implementing these laws to achieve substantial gender equality. The analysis reveals that while progress has been made, there are persistent issues in effectively enforcing these laws.

Judging Girls: Decision Making In Parental Consent To Abortion Cases, Suellyn Scarnecchia, Julie Kunce Field

Articles

Judges make determinations on a daily basis that profoundly affect people's lives. On March 28, 1991, the Michigan legislature enacted a statute entitled The Parental Rights Restoration Act (hereinafter "the Michigan Act" or "the Act"). This statute delegated to probate court judges the extraordinary task of deciding whether a minor girl may have an abortion without the consent of a parent. Nothing in law school and little in an average judge's experience provide a meaningful framework for making such a decision. Although many commentators, including the authors, argue that decisions about abortion should be left to the woman regardless of …

Feminist Lawmaking And Historical Consciousness: Bringing The Past Into The Future, Elizabeth M. Schneider

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Structuralist And Cultural Domination Theories Meet Title Vii: Some Contemporary Influences, Martha Chamallas

Michigan Law Review

This essay first looks at three important theoretical approaches - motivational, structural, and cultural - that mark the scholarly discourses on workplace equality since 1965. The motivational or individual choice theory is well established and has dominated legal discourse throughout this period. I concentrate in this essay on the other two visions, dating structuralist accounts from the mid1970s and cultural domination theories from the mid-1980s.

Title Vii And The Complex Female Subject, Kathryn Abrams

Michigan Law Review

One strength of Title VII has been its capacity to accommodate the changing conceptions of discrimination and the self-conceptions of subject groups. In the first decades of its enforcement, advocates have raised - and courts have endorsed - a range of contrasting conceptions in order to broaden the employment opportunities of protected groups. This flexibility is particularly evident with respect to women.

After exploring recent doctrinal efforts to respond to complex claimants, I address these questions and assess the prospects of change. Although the unitary or categorical notions of group identity under which Title VII has historically been enforced might …

Employment Discrimination Law In Perspective: Three Concepts Of Equality, John J. Donohue Iii

Michigan Law Review

The essay begins with a discussion of which groups deserve the protection of employment discrimination law. With the protected categories of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act etched into the American consciousness, many might consider the appropriate categories to be fully self-evident. But of course, they are not, and many jurisdictions continue to struggle over whether certain dispreferred groups merit the law's solicitude.

Only Girls Wear Barrettes: Dress And Appearance Standards, Community Norms, And Workplace Equality, Katharine T. Bartlett

Michigan Law Review

In this essay I study both the judicial rationales and the scholarly criticisms thereof, agreeing with critics that community norms are too discriminatory to provide a satisfactory benchmark for defining workplace equality, but also questioning the usual implications of this critique. Critics assume that it is possible, and desirable, to evaluate dress and appearance rules without regard to the norms and expectations of the community - that is, according to stable or universal versions of equality that are uninfected by community norms. I question this assumption, arguing that equality, no less than other legal concepts, cannot transcend the norms of …

Tort Reform: An Important Issue For Women, Lucinda M. Finley

Circles: Buffalo Women's Journal of Law and Social Policy

No abstract provided.

Understanding Mixed Motives Claims Under The Civil Rights Act Of 1991: An Analysis Of Intentional Discrimination Claims Based On Sex-Stereotyped Interview Questions, Heather K. Gerken

Michigan Law Review

This Note analyzes the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and relevant case law to determine whether posing sex-stereotyped interview questions is actionable conduct under Title VII. It questions whether proof of discrimination during a phase in the hiring process, specifically during the interview stage, supports a Title VII claim without other independent evidence that the hiring decision was discriminatory. Part I explains that the circuit courts have envisioned the impact of discrimination during the hiring process differently and, as a result, are divided in determining whether sex-stereotyped interview questions are actionable under Title VII. Part II examines the legislative history …

An Imperfect Remedy For Imperfect Violence: The Construction Of Civil Rights In The Violence Against Women Act, David Frazee

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Along with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) could be the most significant addition to federal civil rights laws in the last century. While potentially revolutionary, the VAWA's civil rights remedy forges two problematic legal concepts-traditional civil rights jurisprudence and "perfect" violence-into a super-remedy that risks combining the worst aspects of each. Those who utilize and interpret the Act can avoid this outcome by situating individual violent acts in the broader social and historical context of gender-motivated violence.

Sex, Reason, And A Taste For The Absurd, Robin West

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Like much of Richard Posner's best work, Sex and Reason does many things, and for that reason will no doubt attract a large and diverse readership. This heavily footnoted, exhaustively researched, and imminently accessible book is a welcome introduction to the interdisciplinary study of sex. For the lay reader it presents an arresting set of speculations about human sexuality, drawn from the author's evident familiarity with a sizeable library of studies representing at least half a dozen scientific and social scientific disciplines, assembled in a readable and lively way. Of more interest, perhaps, to academicians and social scientists familiar with …