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Volume 48 Masthead, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Volume 48 Masthead

Minor V. Happersett, Dobbs V. Jackson Women's Health Organization, And The Supreme Court's Refusal To Reconstruct America, Henry L. Chambers, Jr.

Law Faculty Publications

One hundred and fifty years ago, in the wake of the ratification of the Reconstruction Amendments, the United States Supreme Court decided Minor v. Happersett. In Minor, the Court ruled Missouri could continue to deny women the right to vote based on their sex. The decision was simply reasoned. In the absence of clear constitutional text requiring Missouri to provide the right to vote to women or proof that the right to vote was a right of citizenship, Missouri had no obligation to allow women to vote. Some states had banned women citizens from voting since the country’s founding. Missouri …

Anti-Democratic Rights Of Nature, Noah M. Sachs

Law Faculty Publications

The global Rights of Nature (RoN) movement, which seeks to confer enforceable rights on organisms and ecosystems, has become a political force, and governments are now codifying legal rights for nature in legislation. But policymakers and legal scholars are overlooking how assertions of vague rights held by a limitless class of non-humans could lead to repressive, anti-democratic outcomes. Many scholars view recognition of nature’s rights as an expansion of the boundaries of democracy, but a critical examination of RoN scholarship and advocacy shows that RoN principles are designed to check and constrain democratic institutions. Core tenets of the RoN movement …

Procedural Political Economy, Luke P. Norris

Law Faculty Publications

When the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure came into being in 1938, a broad political economy discourse was driving significant legal and policy reform efforts. Legal scholars, economists, political leaders, and others placed questions of economic power and their relationship to democracy at the center of those reform efforts, honing and developing a political economy tradition that is a forebearer to today’s law-and-political economy (LPE) approach. Both then and today, the relationship of civil procedure to these trends has not been fully mined. This Article tells a vital part of that story, tracing the federal civil procedure system’s political economy …

Crown Prosecutors And Government Lawyers: A Legal Ethics Analysis Of Under-Funding, Andrew Flavelle Martin

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Crown prosecutors and government lawyers are reliant on governments for their funding but exert no meaningful influence or control over such funding decisions. Nonetheless, this article demonstrates that as a question of law, under-funded Crown prosecutors and government lawyers risk violating their professional duties. If so, they must promptly inform the government, refuse new matters and, if necessary, withdraw from existing matters. If the government purports to block such refusal or withdrawal and does not provide adequate funding, resignation will become necessary. While law societies will likely not prioritize disciplinary action against such lawyers, the policy reasons to forego such …

How Does The Modern Supreme Court Treat The Idea Of Retribution In The Context Of Capital Punishment?, Paige Forsberg

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This thesis explores the modern U.S. Supreme Court's treatment of retribution in the context of capital punishment, analyzing how justices have framed and justified the death penalty as a form of justice. Through the examination of key Supreme Court rulings and legal arguments, this study evaluates the evolving role of retribution in the Court’s decisions on death penalty cases, highlighting how judicial reasoning has shifted over time in response to legal, philosophical, and societal developments.

Retribution, long considered one of the primary justifications for capital punishment, is examined through a nuanced lens in this study. While historically viewed as a …

If Memory Serves: Navigating Cognitive Impairment Within Congress, Gracemary R. Zizzo

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Human Rights Risks In Clean Energy Supply Chains: Racial Capitalism, Critical Minerals, And Corporate Responsibility, Erika George

Faculty Scholarship

This paper argues that decarbonization will fail to deliver climate justice unless the transition to clean energy confronts the racialized political economy that has historically structured extractive activity and shaped international economic law. Grounding its analysis in racial capitalism, the paper contends that the growing demand for critical minerals risks reproducing patterns of exploitation, expropriation, and expulsion. Using lithium extraction in Chile as a case study, it shows how colonial legacies, dictator-era neoliberal reforms, and present-day regulatory architectures governing foreign investment and natural resource extraction have prioritized investors over human rights and the environment. Recent decisions of the International Court …

Mind The Gap(S): Mitigating Harassment In A Post-#Metoo Workplace, Jamillah Bowman Williams, Elizabeth C. Tippett, Anu Ramdin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In a post-#MeToo workplace, harassment remains pervasive, and harassment law still fails to provide protection for the harms experienced by many workers—particularly those in the most vulnerable jobs. Even when reform efforts are introduced through legislation, courts, and agency guidance, it often does not provide greater power, autonomy, and dignity to women in ways that would more meaningfully protect them from workplace abuse. We are the first to create a database of state legislation, including over three thousand bills, that allows us to empirically analyze the extent to which lawmakers comprehensively address harassment following the rise of the #MeToo movement. …

The Fiduciary Code Of Capital And Climate Change, Seth Davis, Gregory Shaffer

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Fiduciary law is part of the “code” for the management of capital, as Katharina Pistor has conceptualized law. Climate activists, attorneys, investors, and international organisations have turned to fiduciary law for legal solutions to the ongoing problem of inadequate corporate and state action in response to climate change. Our thesis is that the turn to fiduciary law by norm entrepreneurs is an attempt to encode a concern for climate change within the management of capital. We make two contributions to the literature on private law and climate change. First, we rigorously identify the features of fiduciary law that make it …

I Hate Self-Care: A Criminal Defense Lawyer’S Lament, Abbe Smith

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Don’t get me wrong—I think people should take care of themselves. They should eat well, exercise regularly, and get a good night’s sleep. They should spend time with friends and family. They should have hobbies and interests. With any luck, they should find true love. But in the past decade or two, and especially since the COVID pandemic, there has been a disturbing turn inward. I’m talking about the “self-care” craze, which has become its own pandemic, or at least epidemic.

…

In this Essay, I share my concerns about what I regard to be an excessive focus on self-care …

The Impact Of Covid-19 Pandemic Demands On By-Law Officer Wellness And Work, Harveen Randhawa

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This research sheds light on how the rapid demand to enforce transitioning pandemic-related (and reopening) mandates impacts the wellness of bylaw officers in the context of resource strain. Ontario bylaw officers are at the forefront of the province’s response, enforcing lockdown rules to ensure community safety. This research is imperative in understanding how bylaw officers maintain their roles in municipal enforcement, while enforcing rapidly shifting COVID-19 regulations and moving forward into a post-lockdown climate. The research focuses on identifying and understanding the demands and resources that currently typify bylaw officers working in Southern Ontario. It further examines how the COVID-19 …

Introduction, Sydney Gass

FIU Law Review

No abstract provided.

Climate Finance Needs More Market Discipline, Richard Morrison

FIU Law Review

The market for climate and sustainability-driven products and services is potentially very large and thus attractive to many investors and entrepreneurs. However, its current reliance on public subsidies and capital flows is a significant weakness that often goes unacknowledged.

Lessons For The Trump Administration From The Biden U.S. National Strategy To Counter Antisemitism, Lili Levi

FIU Law Review

In May 2023, the Biden Administration issued the first-ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism with a goal of hindering further normalization of antisemitism by increasing public awareness of antisemitism and highlighting positive Jewish contributions to America. Recent events, however, particularly the social and political upheaval over protests of the war in Gaza, have led to public contestation over Israel, increased instances of antisemitism, and the partisan politicization of Jewish issues. All this has raised questions about whether the National Strategy's assumptions about public attitudes, the viability of antisemitism awareness initiatives, and the possibility of whole-of-society agreement on countering antisemitism …

Dei And Antisemitism: Bred In The Bone, Suzanna Sherry

FIU Law Review

The article explains why no one should have been surprised by the antisemitism that exploded on college campuses after October 7, 2023. The article demonstrates that the worldview espoused by the DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) movement -- and its cousins, antiracism and wokeness -- is inherently and inevitably antisemitic. The antisemitism "bred in the bone" of DEI was bound to come to the surface eventually, and it did.

Uncharitable Think Tanks, Faith Stevelman

FIU Law Review

As people debate whether the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 is good policy, what’s being overlooked is that it’s likely unlawful as the work product of a charitable think tank. (Think tanks nearly always are qualified as charities under the tax code.) To reinforce think tanks’ educational mission, tax law sets rigorous content requirements for their materials. It also bans them from campaigning, sharply limits their lobbying, and prohibits their benefiting private parties. The doctrines are intended to keep think tanks charity-worthy educators, but they have not succeeded.

Ironically, the failure reflects other features of tax law that incentivize using think …

Preventing Chemical And Biological Attacks: Enhanced Threats Requiring Enhanced Solutions, Alex Elliot Ottoni-Belval

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Chemical weapons (CW) and biological weapons (BW) are becoming more dangerous for experts to employ and more accessible to amateurs. Despite CW and BW attacks throughout history that killed and maimed millions of people, the international community has failed to establish meaningful consequences to prevent them. Agreements such as the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological Weapons Convention vow to eliminate and reduce the effects of CWs and BWs but lack respected response precedents and capabilities. The limited and inconsistent enforcement has inadvertently allowed CWs and BWs to become plausible weapons, especially to gain asymmetric advantages, while modern developments exasperate …

Reform For Realists: The False Promise Of Condorcet Voting, G. Michael Parsons, Rachel Hutchinson

Marquette Law Review

As Americans grow disenchanted with democracy, many scholars suggest that election reforms may offer a path forward. The fastest growing of these reforms is ranked choice voting (RCV). In RCV elections, voters rank candidates in order of preference: first, second, third, and so on. The candidates with the least support are eliminated, and ballots that ranked those candidates count for their next choice instead. This method has over a century of use in public elections and provides proven benefits well-suited to many of the problems facing our country.

Yet some social choice theorists now argue that reformers have backed the …

From Likes To Legislation: How The Internet Has Facilitated Hate Speech, Anti-Dei Discourse And Policy, And Threatens Our Democracy, Carmen Lynn Benavides-Garb

Undergraduate Scholarship

I argue that the way hate speech, and Anti-DEI rhetoric spreads online, through social media and algorithms, has impacted real-world Anti-DEI policies, attitudes, and overall backlash. In this essay I will begin by discussing the four themes found in my literature review, 1) Online Hate Speech, 2) Social Media and Algorithms, 3) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and 4) Anti-DEI Movements. From there, I will discuss the historical background of DEI movements in America to provide context about what makes this moment in history unique. I will then discuss the role of the Trump Presidency in relation to Anti-DEI work. …

Labor Law, Ownership, And The Firm, Sanjukta Paul

Articles

In shaping economic coordination within and across both firms and markets, one significant action of law is to allocate privileges or rights between people or groups of people. These include the right to coordinate with other people or groups of people in particular ways regarding core economic decisions-a type of activity that is not always or in all circumstances legally permissible. An area that makes this more general action of law especially concrete is antitrust or competition law, with its collection of "exemptions." Antitrust's formal and informal exemptions quite directly allocate economic coordination rights, for particular kinds of activity, and …

Voter Harassment And The Limits Of State And Federal Power, Ellen D. Katz

Articles

Acts of voter harassment are often difficult to prevent. One longstanding, albeit underused, tool for addressing such harassment is found in section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). Continued use of the provision, however, is threatened by recent decisions restricting private enforcement of the VRA. This Essay examines one challenge to such enforcement, exploring the linkage between section 11(b)’s prohibition on voter intimidation and the enforcement of constitutional voting guarantees, on which private enforcement of the provision presently depends. It invites consideration of the idea that this linkage is sufficient and private enforcement is appropriate because section 11(b) provides …

"The Only Place I'M Allowed In The City Is Court": Racial Capitalism, Gentrification, And The Criminalization Of Homelessness In Missoula, Montana, River Rafferty

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis dissects how gentrification, homelessness, and criminalization intersect and influence one another, using Missoula, Montana's recent urban camping ban as a case study.

It argues that racial capitalism, as a hermeneutic, structures the logics of Missoula's Ordinance 3747 and that gentrification, as a manifestation of racial capitalism, creates a structural imperative for the criminalization of homelessness. In addition, it asserts that local community organizations such as the Missoula Tenants Union and the Missoula Unhoused Neighbors Union offer viable alternatives to the current carceral organization of public policy, orienting space in the city toward what Ruth Wilson Gilmore terms abolition …

Let's Talk About Sex: Investigating Radical Feminist Theories On Prostitution In The United States, Anna E. Peterson

Scripps Senior Theses

This paper explores the feminist debates surrounding prostitution through an analysis of Catharine MacKinnon and Andrea Dworkin’s abolitionist theories, juxtaposed with critiques from Wendy Brown, Janet Halley, Susie Bright, and Marxist feminist abolitionist Esperanza Fonseca. The text examines the systemic forces of patriarchy and capitalism that commodify women’s bodies and the challenges of legislative approaches to the sex trade. While MacKinnon and Dworkin identify the structural inequalities underpinning prostitution, their legislative proposals often fail to address the stigma and systemic conditions that perpetuate the marginalization of prostituted people. Critics like Brown and Halley highlight the limitations of punitive measures, calling …

The Political Question Doctrine And The International Court Of Justice, Halil Rahman Basaran

University of San Francisco Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Excluded: Where Did Our Rights Come From, Who Paid The Price Trying To Establish Them, And Who Is Trying To Take Them Away? The Centuries-Long Struggle For Inclusion, Jim Brosnahan

University of San Francisco Law Review

No abstract provided.

From The Court To The Courtroom: A Stanley Lens To Potential Equal Pay Act Claims For Women’S Collegiate Athletes, Katrina L.G. Murphy

University of San Francisco Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reproductive Rights: How Voting Behavior Illustrates Shifting Political Attitudes, Keavy Callwood

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This research project intends to explore a causal link between the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022) and shifting political attitudes as modeled through voting behaviors. Research will be conducted by using data from government and reputable sources that are representative of the general public to show that political attitudes have shifted since the release of the Dobbs decision. Additionally, the question will be analyzed through discussing several political theories and applying them to the current issues being studied. This research could help show how the Supreme Court is an important actor in the political …

The Employees’ Dilemma: Balancing Internal Reporting, Whistleblowing, And Insider Trading Risks, Geeyoung Min

Seattle University Law Review

The Essay examines how recent developments in insider trading regulations and whistleblower reward programs can lead to unintended and counterproductive results of discouraging employees from using internal reporting channels within corporate compliance programs. While the presence of a robust and well-functioning corporate compliance program is a critical factor both in mitigating the level of public enforcement actions against companies and in protecting corporate managers from liability in private litigation, these programs often provide little incentive for employees to report potential misconduct internally.

Corporate compliance programs are designed to promote the upward information flow within the company, which is essential for …

Understanding The Big Three’S Wavering Support Of Environmental And Social Shareholder Proposals, Jeff Schwartz, Jefferson Jensen

Seattle University Law Review

Because of their substantial equity portfolios, BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street (the Big 3) are central players in corporate governance. It is, therefore, critical to understand how they vote. One puzzle is that their support for shareholder proposals on environmental and social matters appears to waiver. In 2020, for instance, BlackRock supported 11.1% of environmental proposals at S&P 500 firms. In 2021, it seemingly reversed course, supporting 55.2%. It then flipped again, supporting 32.1% in 2022. Such statistics suggest that the Big 3 are constantly changing their views on these topics. This Article seeks to better understand whether this is …