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Front Matter And Table Of Contents

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

You Can Be Innocent—Or You Can Be Free: Prosecutorial Power And Dark Pleas In Innocence Litigation, Tori Simkovic, Craig Trocino

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

This Article examines the phenomenon Justice Michael P. Donnelly has termed the “dark plea.” A dark plea is a post-conviction guilty plea extracted from defendants who maintain their innocence but accept freedom over exoneration. Through the lens of State of Florida v. Lawrence K. Johnson, this Article exposes how dark pleas operate at the precise moment when newly discovered evidence threatens to unravel a conviction and expose actual innocence in a nearly two decades old wrongful conviction. Johnson’s case illustrates the coercive dynamics of this type postconviction “bargaining.” After eighteen years of incarceration, compelling DNA recantation evidence, and an appellate …

Qualified Immunity: Emerging Fault Lines In The Eleventh Circuit, Ricky J. Marc

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

Qualified immunity operates as a central doctrine in federal civil rights litigation, defining the threshold between government accountability and official protection from suit. Within the Eleventh Circuit, this doctrine has developed into a highly structured yet fact-dependent framework that shapes litigation strategy and judicial outcomes. This article offers a comprehensive analysis of qualified immunity in the Eleventh Circuit from 2022 to 2025, drawing on recent precedents involving law enforcement officers and correctional officials. It examines the Circuit’s treatment of clearly established rights, the role of objective reasonableness in determining constitutional violations, and the evidentiary dynamics that influence summary judgment and …

Unsettling Settled Science: The Perils Of And Rationale Behind Blind Faith In Forensic Evidence, Jaclyn Marra

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

Science—a seemingly compelling and infallible adjudicative element—plays a pivotal role in criminal trials, serving as a cornerstone for evidence interpretation and decision-making. However, the perceived infallibility of scientific evidence often masks its inherent limitations and vulnerabilities. Forensic methods, widely regarded as objective and precise, can suffer from a plethora of inconspicuous constraints—including flawed methodologies, human error, and biases—which undermine their reliability. The American public and legal system frequently place undue trust in forensic evidence and experts, influenced by portrayals of their certainty in media and popular culture. This phenomenon has been referred to as the “Reverse CSI Effect.” This note …

Presumed Guilty By Proximity: How Geofence Warrants Undermine The Fourteenth Amendment, Radha Patel

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

Geofence warrants are utilized as a surveillance tool to gather location data on every user within a specific area and are being integrated into policing without a stable legal framework. This integration threatens individual rights and disproportionately impacts people and communities of color. While these warrants are often scrutinized under the Fourth Amendment, this note argues that they significantly undermine the Fourteenth Amendment by granting law enforcement excessive discretion. This unchecked discretion allows systemic bias and racial profiling to influence criminal investigations, creating the potential for wrongful convictions. The analysis in this note details the three-step execution process of geofence …

On The “Storied” History And Sustained Impact Of A Thriving Social Justice Journal, Mario L. Barnes

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

Separate But Equal In The Bold New City Of The South: A Shadow Of What Remains, Charity Dera

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

This project undertakes the task of analyzing the historical and contemporary landscape of Jacksonville, Florida, the “Bold New City of the South,”1 from a multidisciplinary vantage point. It argues that the spirit of the overturned “separate but equal” holding of Plessy v. Ferguson2 and its bold segregationist ideologies reverberate today in both subtle and overt ways. Yet, that reality has not come without the resilience and perseverance of pioneering natives who have resisted such ideals in bold ways. While segregation is deeply rooted in U.S. history and scholars have readily addressed the contemporary effects of landmark cases such as Plessy …

Death Before Breath: Courts Should Add De–Escalation And Proportionality To The Graham Factors, Nakyshia Fralin

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

This paper examines Barnes v. Felix, a case recently before the Supreme Court, through a comparative analysis of various circuit courts’ applications of the Graham factors in use–of–force evaluations. Beginning with a historical overview of policing, the paper revisits the factual background of the case before delving into the Fifth Circuit’s analysis, known as the Moment–of–Threat doctrine. It then contrasts this approach with the broader “totality of the circumstances” approach, highlighting the differing judicial interpretations. Building upon these established frameworks, the paper proposes two additional factors aimed at promoting human life and safety. By introducing these elements, the analysis seeks …

Deterring Prison Versus Police Civil Rights Violations: Legal Challenges, Public Policy, And Institutional Failures, Natalie Kemper

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

The status of incarcerated individuals falls categorically below that of non-incarcerated individuals in our society, yet most would agree they deserve protection from governmental abuses of power. This Note evaluates the current legal, institutional, political, and societal circumstances that contribute to the immense difficulties faced by individuals alleging civil rights violations under the Eighth Amendment, primarily through the avenue of U.S.C. § 1983. Due to similarities in civil rights claims, this Note compares the barriers faced by incarcerated plaintiffs to those encountered in police misconduct claims, highlighting key discrepancies that undermine accountability and deterrence.

A primary barrier is the significantly …

From Fairy Tales To Fascist Nightmares: Countering Ron Desantis’ Florida, Ronald Mize, Et. Al

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

The recent spate of anti–‘woke’, don’t say gay, anti–trans, and anti–immigrant legislation, led by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, puts the sunshine state in the unenviable position of serving as the nation’s test case for Republicans’ neofascist agendas. This paper explores the exclusionary, targeting, and banning aspects of these culture war assaults on public education and outgroups. The specific banning of Critical Race Theory is discussed alongside cis–heteronormative efforts to target queer and trans communities, as well as DeSantis’ executive memoranda of transporting those at the border to sanctuary cities and S.B. 1718 aimed at excluding immigrant communities from public life …

Filarsky’S Dilemma: Qualified Immunity For Private Actors And Its Potentially Negative Impact On Policing, Timothy Joseph Mondloch

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sentencing Roulette: The Absurdity And Unconstitutionality Of The Crime Of Violence Enhancements, Noam Kozlov

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

The law needs to be clear. This dictum is true especially with respect to criminal law. Defendants need to be made aware of the statutory and judicial rules surrounding their trial, and sentencing outcome should be foreseeable, even if not predictable. But we have failed. We have failed in granting defendants this sought-after clarity, exposing them to grossly disproportional and disparate sentences. One such failure is found in the Crime of Violence enhancement rules. COV enhancements add years or even decades to sentences of defendants whose previous convictions are classified as 'violent'. Despite this detrimental impact of the COV rules, …

Hoodwinked By Rucho: The Illusion Of Protection For Racial Gerrymandering In Federal Courts, Krystell Fienco

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

"lt is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular cases, must of necessity expound and interpret that rule." - Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803).

"[W]e must never forget, that it is a constitution we are expounding." - McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316 (1819).

A New Equal Protection And Due Process Clause: Pushing Back On The Eleventh Circuit’S Error In Corbitt, Alberto Bufalino

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

Front Matter And Table Of Contents

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

Masthead

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

Town Hall On The Sustainable Development Goals And Racial Justice In Miami–Dade County, Tamar Ezer, Denisse Córdova Montes, Abigail L. Fleming, Lily Arslanian, Kristina Bergman, Jordan Brooks, Alexis Burns, Cassandra Hacker, Zoe Henderson, Estefania Hernandez, Alyssa Huffman, Photini Kamvisseli Suarez, Brianna Sanchez, Lakshmi Sanmuganathan, Gabrielle Thomas, Abigail Wettstein

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

Restoring The Soul To Birthing In Miami: A Call For Justice For Obstetric Racism In Miami–Dade County, Jordan Brooks, Jamarah Amani, Sannisha Dale, Dr. Karen A. Scott

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

For far too many Black mothers and birthing people, U.S. hospitals are dangerous and fail to keep our Black mothers and birthing people and their babies safe, alive, and thriving during and after childbirth. The confluence of medical racism and obstetric violence—obstetric racism—leads to a disproportionate rate of predictable, preventable, and unfair death, sickness, and trauma for Black birthing people and babies in the afterlife of slavery. Obstetric racism, as defined by Davis, is both an analytic and phenomenon that describes mechanisms of subordination, control, and dominance to which Black mothers and birthing people are subjected by health systems and …

An Examination Of The Standard Of Judgment For Court–Ordered Electroshock Therapy, Anna Irving

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

Civil Rights V The First Amendment, And The Erosion Of The Belief–Action Dichotomy, Elena Lacorte

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

Medicaid Unwinding: Due Process Violations And Impacts In Florida, Emma Page

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

Race, Religion, And Reconciliation: Building A Mosaic Of Latine Faith From The Margins, Sabrina A. Ochoa

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

Are Healthy Foods “White People Food”: A Legal Analysis Of Disparities In Healthy Food Accessibility And Affordability At Grocery Stores And Restaurants In Low-Income Neighborhoods, Sara St. Juste

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Ghost Of Jim Crow: The Human Right To Housing, Generational Wealth, The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, And The American Legal System, Miranda Guedes

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Borders: The Rise Of Judicial Corruption And Universal Jurisdiction, Rose Mahdavieh

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

Examining Deshaney: Child Abuse, Due Process, And State-Sanctioned Violence, Anabelle Tolgyesi

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

Masthead

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Forgotten Activists: Black People In The Disability Rights Movement, Kiyra Ellis

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

On Liberty: From Due Process To Equal Protection—Dobbs’ Impact On The Transgender Community, Emily Kaufman

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

Liberty has been a bedrock principle of American democracy from the time of our nation’s founding and is the norm that charters our nation’s existence. Liberty was the motivation driving the colonists’ rebellion against tyranny in order to establish a nation that would preserve liberty, at all costs. The preamble of the Constitution explicitly classifies every subsequent article’s purpose, to secure the blessings of liberty.

This note will touch on the concepts of personal liberty in the context of abortion in the landmark case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org, and the implications of this case on the transgender community. …

Front Matter And Table Of Contents

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.