Law and Gender Commons^™

Conviction Nixed, But No Wrongful Imprisonment Suit For Poz Man, Arthur S. Leonard

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

Supreme Court Takes Up School Bathroom Issue, Arthur S. Leonard

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

We'll Always Be Bosom Buddies, Arthur S. Leonard

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

Section 276 Misconstrued: The Failure To Properly Interpret And Apply Canada's Rape Shield Provisions, Elaine Craig

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Despite the vintage of Canada’s rape shield provisions (which in their current manifestation have been in force since 1992), some trial judges continue to misinterpret and/or misapply the Criminal Code provisions limiting the use of evidence of a sexual assault complainant’s other sexual activity. These errors seem to flow from a combination of factors including a general misunderstanding on the part of some trial judges as to what section 276 requires and a failure on the part of some trial judges to properly identify, and fully remove, problematic assumptions about sex and gender from their analytical approach to the use …

The Ethical Identity Of Sexual Assault Lawyers, Elaine Craig

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Despite progressive law reforms, sexual assault complainants continue to experience the criminal justice response to the violations that they have suffered as unsatisfactory, if not traumatic. One emerging response to this dilemma involves greater consideration of the ethical boundaries imposed on lawyers that practice sexual assault law. What is the relationship between a criminal lawyer’s ethical duties and the reforms to the law of sexual assault in Canada? How do lawyers themselves understand the ethical limits imposed on their conduct of a sexual assault case? How do lawyers that practice in this area of law comprehend their role in the …

The Law Of Stigma, Travel, And The Abortion-Free Island, Joanna Erdman

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

In 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada decriminalized abortion in R. v. Morgentaler. Almost immediately thereafter, the Maritime province of Prince Edward Island ("P.E.I.") passed a legislative resolution opposing the provision of abortion services on the Island except to save the life of a pregnant woman. P.E.I. is a small pastoral province of rolling hills and ocean coves in the St. Lawrence Gulf, and since 1988, through various regulatory actions, its government has honored this policy promise to keep the Island abortion-free and to preserve its moral landscape.

The same year that abortion was banished from P.E.I., Prince Edward Islanders …

International Human Rights And The Mistreatment Of Women During Childbirth, Rajat Khosla, Christina Zampas, Joshua P. Vogel, Meghan A. Bohren, Mindy Roseman, Joanna Erdman

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

International human rights bodies have played a critical role in codifying, setting standards, and monitoring human rights violations in the context of sexual and reproductive health and rights. In recent years, these institutions have developed and applied human rights standards in the more particular context of maternal mortality and morbidity, and have increasingly recognized a critical human rights issue in the provision and experience of care during and after pregnancy, including during childbirth. However, the international human rights standards on mistreatment during facility-based childbirth remain, in an early stage of development, focused largely on a discrete subset of experiences, such …

Shattering The Glass Ceiling In International Adjudication, Nienke Grossman

All Faculty Scholarship

The Article shows that women are found in dramatically low numbers on the benches of the majority of the world’s most important international courts, analyzes the causes of this phenomenon and proposes and evaluates solutions. It establishes that the number of women in the pool of potential judges does not appear to dictate how many women become international judges. It shows, too, that when selection procedures are closed and opaque, and there is no quota or aspirational target for a sex-balanced bench, women obtain international judgeships in disproportionately low numbers. On the other hand, when a quota or aspirational target …

En-Gendering Economic Inequality, Michele E. Gilman

All Faculty Scholarship

We live in an era of growing economic inequality. Luminaries ranging from the President to the Pope to economist Thomas Piketty in his bestselling book Capital in the Twenty- First Century have raised alarms about the disparity between the haves and the have-nots. Overlooked, however, in these important discussions is the reality that economic inequality is not a uniform experience; rather, its effects fall more harshly on women and minorities. With regard to gender, American women have higher rates of poverty and get paid less than comparable men, and their workplace participation rates are falling. Yet economic inequality is neither …

Achieving Sex-Representative International Court Benches, Nienke Grossman

All Faculty Scholarship

Twenty-five years ago, in this Journal, Hilary Charlesworth, Christine Chinkin, and Shelley Wright argued that the structures of international law “privilege men.”1 As shown in Table 1, which summarizes data from a forthcoming article, on nine of twelve international courts of varied size, subject-matter jurisdiction, and global and regional membership, women made up 20 percent or less of the bench in mid 2015.2 On many of these courts, the percentage of women on the bench has stayed constant, vacillated, or even declined over time.3 Women made up a lower percentage of the bench in mid 2015 than in previous years …

Same-Sex Marriage, Italian Style, Matteo M. Winkler

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article examines Italy's exceptionalism in same-sex marriage rights through the lens of the Bernaroli case, highlighting the country's divergence from European legal trends. It argues that the Italian Constitutional Court's heteronormative interpretation of Article 29 of the Constitution, which prohibits same-sex marriage, reflects a broader resistance to recognizing same-sex unions despite international human rights standards. The case underscores the tension between domestic law and supranational legal frameworks, such as rulings from the European Court of Human Rights, which have increasingly supported the recognition of same-sex relationships. The article concludes that while Italy has made limited progress with its 2016 …

The Myth Of Gender Equality In Turkey: Her Name Or Sir-Name?, Joseph Zand, Bahar Öcal Apaydın

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

Gender equality is one of the most contentious matters in the contemporary Turkish society. Unlike in many other parts of the developed world, Turkish women still struggle to use their maiden name, as well as to pass it on to their children upon marriage. A woman's surname is of crucial importance to her identity. Despite the fact that Turkey is a part of the European Civil Law tradition and the Turkish Civil Code has a specific provision regarding women's surnames, Turkey has failed to grant its female population a choice in relation to their surname after marriage. The European Court …

Religion's Power Over Reproductive Care: State Religious Freedom Restoration Laws And Abortion, Sophia Martin Schechner

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that state Religious Freedom Restoration Acts (RFRAs), such as those in Missouri and Alabama, can be strategically used by pro-choice advocates to challenge restrictive informed consent laws for abortion, as these laws may violate the Establishment Clause and unduly burden women's religious freedom. By leveraging state RFRAs, advocates can resist reproductive care restrictions imposed by such laws, offering a novel legal strategy to protect abortion access.

My Hair Is Not Like Yours: Workplace Hair Grooming Policies For African American Women As Racial Stereotyping In Violation Of Title Vii, Dawn D. Bennett-Alexander, Linda F. Harrison

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

This article argues that workplace discrimination based on hair grooming policies disproportionately impacts African American women. The article seeks to establish that natural hair is an immutable characteristic, as is all hair, made mutable by social policies that impose an "acceptable" standard of beauty that was never meant to include or reflect black women. Often placed under workplace or other institutional grooming policies, the article posits that these policies are no more than a continuation of race-based policies that reflect unlawful stereotyping under Title VII and should be eliminated. Lastly, the article proposes a set of questions that test the …

Property's Immortality, Shelly Kreiczer-Levy

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The law ofpost most-mortem transfers assumes an autonomous individual, free to will their property as they see fit. This Article offers a relational critique of this legal reality, and highlights the implications ofsuch a critique for gender equality. Although property's role in supporting relationships and facilitating cooperation has long been celebrated, post-mortem transfers pose a challenge to relational legal theory. It is commonly held that death puts a stop to all relationships and defies all relational commitments. This Article builds on a different perception of death, and argues that the need to transcend mortality is profoundly relational. Property-related projects can …

Housing Intersex Juvenile Offenders, Janae Hunte

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note examines the legal and societal challenges faced by intersex individuals, particularly in the U.S. prison system, arguing that current laws and policies fail to adequately protect their rights. It highlights the need for standardized guidelines and protections, advocating for federal standards that respect intersex individuals' autonomy and safety in prison housing. The analysis focuses on the intersection of medical normalization practices, constitutional rights, and legislative shortcomings, emphasizing the importance of addressing these issues through legal reform and policy changes.

The Return Of Coverture, Allison Anna Tait

Law Faculty Publications

Once, the notion that husbands and wives were equal partners in marriage seemed outlandish and unnatural. Today, the marriage narrative has been reversed and the prevailing attitude is that marriage has become an increasingly equitable institution. This is the story that Justice Kennedy told in Obergefell v. Hodges, in which he described marriage as an evolving institution that has adapted in response to social change such that discriminatory marriage rules no longer apply. Coverture exemplifies this change: marriage used to be deeply shaped by coverture rules and now it is not. While celebrating the demise of coverture, however, the …

Litigating Transphobic Bathroom Bills: Envisioning Comprehensive Legal Strategies For Trans Liberation, Noah Lewis, Andy Izenson, Harper Jean Tobin, Ezra Cukor, Joshua Block, Pooja Gehi, Julie Suk, Kate Shaw

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

This symposium examines the legal and social challenges faced by transgender individuals, particularly in the context of bathroom access and anti-trans legislation. It emphasizes the importance of a holistic approach to trans liberation, combining legal advocacy, grassroots efforts, and education. The analysis highlights the multifaceted nature of trans rights, including the role of storytelling, intersectionality, and the impact of political shifts on LGBT protections. The symposium underscores the need for a comprehensive strategy to achieve equality and justice for trans communities.

Anti-Rape Culture, Aya Gruber

Publications

This essay, written for the Kansas Law Review Symposium on Campus Sexual Assault, critically analyzes “anti-rape culture” ― a set of empirical claims about rape’s prevalence, causes, and effects and a set of normative ideas about sex, gender, and institutional authority ― which has heralded a new era of discipline, in all senses of the word, on college campuses. In the past few years, publicity about the campus rape crisis has created widespread anxiety, despite the fact that incidents of sexual assault have generally declined and one-in-four-type statistics have been around for decades. The recent surge of interest is due …

Consent Confusion, Aya Gruber

Publications

The slogans are ubiquitous: “Only ‘Yes’ Means ‘Yes’”; “Got Consent?”; “Consent is Hot, Assault is Not!” Clear consent is the rule, but the meaning of sexual consent is far from clear. The current state of confusion is evident in the numerous competing views about what constitutes mental agreement (grudging acceptance or eager desire?) and what comprises performative consent (passive acquiescence or an enthusiastic “yes”?). This paper seeks to clear up the consent confusion. It charts the contours of the sexual consent framework, categorizes different definitions of affirmative consent, and critically describes arguments for and against affirmative consent. Today’s widespread uncertainty …

Not Affirmative Consent, Aya Gruber

Publications

No abstract provided.

Genetic Essentialism In Family Law, Jennifer S. Hendricks

Publications

No abstract provided.

Testimony On Pennsylvania Sb1306: No Additional Protections For Religious Freedom, Katherine M. Franke, Burton Caine, Lenore F. Carpenter, Eric A. Feldman, Thersa Glennon, Nancy J. Knauer, Jules Lobel, Wendell Pritchett, Dara E. Purvis, Brishen Rogers, Victor C. Romero, Kathryn M. Stanchi, Nancy A. Welsh

Faculty Scholarship

On behalf of the Public Rights/Private Conscience Project (PRPCP) at Columbia Law School I offer the following legal analysis of Senate Bill 1306. Overall, the current version of the bill promises to modernize Pennsylvania’s Human Relations Act by expanding antidiscrimination protections in employment to include sexual orientation and gender identity-based discrimination. Were the Pennsylvania legislature to pass SB 1306, the Commonwealth would join twenty-two states that include sexual orientation and nineteen states that include gender identity in their laws assuring equal employment opportunities for their citizens.

Class Warfare: The Disappearance Of Low-Income Litigants From The Civil Docket, Myriam Gilles

Articles

In recent years, much attention has been paid to the startling disparities in income and wealth in contemporary U.S. society. The enormous concentration of economic power in the top 1% is the culmination of decades of significant income and wealth gains for the top, combined with stagnant or decreasing growth for the majority - a trend that continues apace. But nowhere is the gap more glaring than in the civil docket, where class actions brought by or on behalf of low-income consumers and employees are on the verge of disappearing.

To be sure, the decline in class actions is only …

#Sayhername Captured: Using Video To Challenge Law Enforcement Violence Against Women, Amber Baylor

Faculty Scholarship

Recorded encounters between women of color and police officers have been invaluable in bringing the reality of these interactions into the living rooms of otherwise unknowing Americans. The recordings are instrumental pieces of documentation and evidence, with the power to impact verdicts and galvanize the domestic struggle for human rights outside of the courtroom. They also are fraught with ethical issues that must be addressed by attorneys and activists hoping they effect change. Complexities such as implicit biases, editing and sourcing of videos, anonymity for those attacked and bystanders, and vicarious trauma on affected communities complicate use of violent police …