Law and Race Commons^™

Racial Mirroring, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

“Racial mirroring” refers to efforts by one group to match the primary racial composition of another group. In contrast to racial balancing, which takes place when two groups are adjusted simultaneously to achieve a desired degree of racial equilibrium between them, racial mirroring occurs when the racial makeup of one group is adjusted so as to reflect the predominant racial identity of the second group. Employers and even federal courts engage in racial mirroring. For example, in order to generate trust among customers, employers have hired or promoted individuals of the same race as the employers’ primary customer base. Further, …

Fairly Assessing Risk And Recidivism, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Sikh's Public Relations Problem, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Obama's Looming Legal Trap In Afghanistan, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

The president may create another Guantanamo -- in Afghanistan. Here's why it could backfire on him in a big way.

Segregating Workplaces By Religion, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

Many employers use dress codes to keep visibly religious employees out of sight. Now, the Supreme Court has a chance to end the practice.

Holt V. Hobbs: Does A Muslim Prisoner’S Case Foreshadow The End Of Affirmative Action?, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

A Wind Watcher's Tale: Skinned Alive, C.F. Black

Tribal Law Journal

This is an excerpt from the forthcoming book, A Mosaic of Indigenous Legal Thought: Legendary Tales and Other Writings, by Dr. C.F. Black. Her book is a return to traditional ways of conveying legal and ethical thought, by writing a series of anthropomorphized animal tales, evocative poetry and rhetorical writings.

This excerpt is one of the narrative tales. The introduction included in the excerpt will help guide the reader's understanding of the context and significance this piece.

Moneyball Sentencing, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

Sentencing is a backward- and forward-looking enterprise. That is, sen-tencing is informed by an individual’s past conduct as well as by the criminal jus-tice system’s prediction of the individual’s future criminal conduct. Increasingly, the criminal justice system is making these predictions on an actuarial basis, computing the individual’s risk of recidivism according to the rates of recidivism for people possessing the same group characteristics (e.g., race, sex, socio-economic status, education). The sentencing community is drawn to this statisti-cal technique because it purportedly distinguishes with greater accuracy the high-risk from the low-risk, and thereby allows for a more efficient allocation of …

Spatial Terrorism, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

Terrorism, under federal law, generally means an act of politically- or socially-motivated violence perpetrated against innocents. Terrorism within the meaning of federal law, in other words, exists only if a cognizable motive is uncovered. This definition also sees the United States as an undifferentiated landscape—by its own terms, it fails to take into account any geographic nuance in acts of mass violence. This Article suggests that spatial considerations are relevant in determining whether an act of mass violence constitutes an act of terrorism for purposes of federal law. It points to cities—which are characterized by a highly concentrated, fluid population, …

Editorial Tribute To Professor G. William Rice, Christine J. Jordan, Connie Tsosie De Haro

Tribal Law Journal

It is with great admiration, affection and respect that the Tribal Law Journal dedicates this issue to the memory of Professor G. William Rice. Professor Rice’s work had a wide and long-lasting impact on the Indian Law community. As legal professionals who strive to make a positive difference in the lives of Indigenous people, we can only hope to live in a way that would make Professor Rice proud. He will be dearly missed.

The Tribal Law Journal is honored to publish his last article, American Indian Children and U.S Policy in this issue.

American Indian Children And U.S. Policy, Angelique Eaglewoman (Wambdi A. Wastewin), Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Oyate Of The Lake Traverse Reservation, G. William Rice, United Keetoowah Band Of Cherokee Indians In Oklahoma

Tribal Law Journal

This article presents the major impact of implemented U.S. Indian policies on the lives of American Indian children. First, the article discusses U.S. policies aimed to re-socializing American Indians through imposition of external language, culture, and beliefs through a system of government-mandated education. In the late 1700s through the 1800s, the U.S. government set a course for military control over American Indian peoples. Re-socialization as an assimilation policy forced profound lifestyle and culture changes. These policies were aimed directly at American Indian children through mandatory Indian residential boarding schools. After decades of resistance, many tribal communities achieved educational reform. Assimilation …

Privacy Doesn't Exist In A Vacuum, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

We Don't Need A "Right To Be Forgotten." We Need A Right To Evolve, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

The sad symptom of a judgmental culture

Why The Supreme Court Beard Case Matters, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

How Serious Is The Supreme Court About Religious Freedom?, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

A new case will test whether the justices' defense of conscience in Hobby Lobby applies to minority religions like Muslims, or just to Christians.

10 Reasons Preet Bharara Should Be The Next Attorney General, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Judicial Modesty In The Wartime Context, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

“The most important thing we do is not doing,” Justice Louis D. Brandeis noted of the Supreme Court. At the height of the Civil War, the Supreme Court in Roosevelt v. Meyer claimed that it could not review, and therefore let stand, a state court decision upholding the Legal Tender Act (“Act”), a critical wartime measure designed to stabilize the Union economy and fund the Union’s war efforts. In this essay, I suggest that this oft-overlooked case warrants the legal community’s consideration because it implicates a question fundamental to our constitutional system: should the courts decline judicial review—or, “not do”—in …

Name Narratives: A Tool For Examining And Cultivating Identify, Margaret E. Montoya, Irene Morris Vasquez, Diana V. Martinez

Faculty Scholarship

This paper uses Critical Race Theory and LatCrit terminology, analytical approaches, and discursive conventions, including autobiographical narratives. From their inception, names are embedded with meaning and coded with identity, and over time, they become layered with nuance and memory. We divide this article into three sections, Part I is a brief overview of recent commentaries in newspapers and public radio related to names, particularly as they pertain to identity and specifically to Latinas/os. Part II is a description of how Professor Irene Vasquez has used Name Narratives in the undergraduate classroom to help students deepen their understanding of their cultural …

The Story Behind A Letter In Support Of Professor Derrick Bell, Margaret E. Montoya

Faculty Scholarship

Jointly authored with Cheryl Nelson Butler, Sherrilyn Ifill, Suzette Malveaux, Natsu Taylor Saito, Nareissa L. Smith and Tanya Washington. Professor Derrick A. Bell, Jr. had a long and proud history of disturbing authority. He is widely noted as one of the founders of Critical Race Theory. His scholarship on race was not only a direct challenge to the traditionally conservative legal academy, but also to the more liberal bastions within the academy, such as the Critical Legal Studies movement. His writings about the role of race in American law have made him one of the most prominent legal scholars of …

Legal Education At A Crossroads: Innovation, Integration, And Pluralism Required!, Antoinette M. Sedillo Lopez, Robert F. Seibel, Peggy Maisel, Karen Tokarz

Faculty Scholarship

We conclude in this Article that expanded practice-based, experiential education will provide foundational learning for the successful transition from law student to law practice, and that clinical education (in-house clinics, hybrid clinics, and externships) is crucial to the preparation of competent, ethical law graduates who are "ready to become professionals." We urge law schools to require each graduate complete a minimum of twenty-one experiential course credits over the three years of law school, including at least five credits in law clinics or externships. Twenty-one required credits (or roughly 25 percent of the eighty-three required credits for graduation from an American …

She Saves Us From Monsters: The Navajo Creation Story And Modern Tribal Justice, Heidi J. Todacheene

Tribal Law Journal

The goal of this paper is to attempt to provide a general social and political framework of the Navajo tribe using the creation story and journey narrative. This will provide a comprehensive insight into the history and modern functioning of the tribe for someone who may not understand traditional Navajo thought. Modern legal cases have been integrated into this paper to demonstrate how Navajo courts use and preserve traditional concepts in current legal analysis. This paper will try to convey a traditional Navajo perspective whose ideology is deeply rooted in the creation story and illustrated through the Holy Beings, especially …

The Seminole Way: The Path To The 2011 Reestablishment Of The Seminole Nation Of Oklahoma Tribal Court System, John Haney

Tribal Law Journal

This article will examine the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma’s path from the federal dismantling of the Seminole Nation tribal court system upon the statehood of Oklahoma in 1906 to the Seminole Nation’s reestablishment of its tribal court system in 2011. This article will also explore the Seminole Nation’s methods of integrating tribal tradition and custom into the Seminole tribal court system, and will also present the many challenges that exist in developing an efficient and sustainable tribal justice system. The article will demonstrate that the Seminole Nation’s persisting determination to reestablish its judicial authority stems from the desire to maximize …

A Framework For Understanding Tribal Courts And The Application Of Fundamental Law: Through The Voices Of Scholars In The Field Of Tribal Justice, April L. Wilkinson, Kiowa Tribe Of Oklahoma

Tribal Law Journal

Through an examination of scholarly articles, this paper examines traditional tribal justice systems set in tribal communities in an effort to establish a framework for understanding tribal courts and the unique challenges they face. The research presented describes a spectrum of traditional aspects within tribal courts, and analyzes the impact that changing social dynamics have had on the tribal court construct. A rigorous review of available research concerning traditional tribal courts showed scholars repeatedly arguing that traditional law, also called fundamental law, which existed before Western style courts, exists beyond the tribal court setting and is fundamental to a tribal …

Fond Du Lac Band Of Lake Superior Chippewa V. Frans: An Examination Of State Taxation Of Off-Reservation, Out-Of-State Tribal Member Income, Christopher A. Dodd

Tribal Law Journal

This article analyzes the propriety of state taxation of tribal members’ out-of-state, off-reservation income through a critical examination of Fond du Lac Band of Lac Superior Band of Chippewa v. Frans, 649 F.3d 849 (8th Cir. 2011). The article argues that Judge Murphy’s dissent in the case provided the correct analysis—that state taxation of out-of-state, off-reservation tribal member income is improper when the tribal member resides on tribal land and the only nexus between the state and the taxed income is the tribal member’s state citizenship. The article explains that by granting citizenship to tribal members with the Indian Citizenship …

The Birth Of The Greenback, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Guantanamo Military Commissions: Reflections From A Legal Observer (Part I, Ii & Iii), Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Get Rid Of Tenure For Law Schools, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

Professors with tenure have job security but no incentive to go above and beyond as a teacher.

Mascaras Y Trenzas: Reflexiones. Un Proyecto De Identidad Y Analysis A Traves De Veinte Anos (Masks And Braids: Reflections, A Project On Identity And Analysis Over Twenty Years), Margaret E. Montoya

Faculty Scholarship

This article uses Critical Race Theory and LatCrit methodologies, vocabulary, categories, and pedagogical approaches. In this Section, titled 'On Mascaras,' I am grappling with race (and gender secondarily) in public space -- un/masking my professional persona. In using the word 'wrestle' in the subheading I am referring to this struggle over a re-allocation of the social power that inheres in racial hierarchies, namely, the back-and-forth exchanges involved in changing the racial ambiance by exposing and transforming the presumptions, especially regarding notions of inferiority, that cabin our thinking and restrain our relationships. My original paper was something of an outburst, challenging …

Lessons On Terrorism And "Mistaken Identity" From Oak Creek, With A Coda On The Boston Marathon Bombings, Dawinder S. Sidhu

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Threats Demand Our Action, Margaret E. Montoya

Faculty Scholarship

Those of us who identify as progressive see this as a time when speaking up and engaging on public policy is our duty. I am writing to express my deep concern and dismay about the state of the federal government under Donald Trump. Like others, I have marched, donated, and joined Wednesday’s International Women’s Day protests against the administration of Donald Trump.