Law and Race Commons^™

Ai Report: Humanity Is Doomed. Send Lawyers, Guns, And Money!, Ashley M. London

Law Faculty Publications

AI systems are powerful technologies being built and implemented by private corporations motivated by profit, not altruism. Change makers, such as attorneys and law students, must therefore be educated on the benefits, detriments, and pitfalls of the rapid spread, and often secret implementation of this technology. The implementation is secret because private corporations place proprietary AI systems inside of black boxes to conceal what is inside. If they did not, the popular myth that AI systems are unbiased machines crunching inherently objective data would be revealed as a falsehood. Algorithms created to run AI systems reflect the inherent human categorization …

Race, Gender And Nation In An Age Of Shifting Borders: The Unstable Prism Of Motherhood And Masculinity, Catherine Powell

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Bad, The Ugly, And The Horrible: What I Learned About Humanity By Doing Prison Research, Adelina Iftene

Dalhousie Law Journal

Every Canadian academic conducting research with humans must submit an ethics application with their university’s Research Ethics Board. One of the key questions in that application inquired into the level of vulnerability of the interviewees. Filling in that question, I had to check nearly every box: the interviewees were incarcerated, old, under-educated, poor, Indigenous or other racial minorities, and likely had mental and physical disabilities. However, it was not until I met John that I understood what all those boxes actually meant. They were signalling that I was entering a universe of extreme marginalization—the universe of the forgotten. I learned …

Committing To Justice: The Case For Impact Of Race And Culture Assessments In Sentencing African Canadian Offenders, Maria C. Dugas

Dalhousie Law Journal

Canadian judges have made notable, although too limited, strides to recognize the unique conditions of Black Canadians in sentencing processes and decisionmaking. The use of Impact of Race and Culture Assessments in sentencing people of African descent has gradually gained popularity since they were first introduced in R v “X.” These reports provide the court with the necessary information about the effect of systemic anti-Black racism on people of African descent and how the experience of racism has informed the circumstances of the offence, the offender, and how it might inform the offender’s experience of the carceral state. This paper …

Intersectional Cohorts, Dis/Ability, And Class Actions, Ann C. Mcginley, Frank Rudy Cooper

Scholarly Works

This Article occupies the junction of dis/abilities studies and critical race theory. It joins the growing commentary analyzing the groundbreaking lawsuit by Compton, California students and teachers against the Compton school district under federal disability law and seeking class certification and injunctive relief in the form of teacher training, provision of counselors, and changed disciplinary practices. The federal district court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss but also denied the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction and class certification, resulting in prolonged settlement talks. The suit is controversial because it seeks to address the trauma suffered by Black and Latinx …

Bridging Divides In Divisive Times: Revisiting The Massie-Fortescue Affair, Stewart Chang

Scholarly Works

This Article revisits the infamous Massie-Fortescue rape and murder cases that occurred in Hawai'i during the 1930s, in order to challenge the methods by which race scholars have previously analyzed the case by relying on gender hierarchies. Thalia Massie, a white woman, accused five "Hawaiians" of gang raping her, even though they were of various Asian Pacific ethnic identities. The rape case ended in a hung jury, and so her relatives resorted to vigilante murder of one of the defendants. The subsequent murder trial resulted in convictions, but the 10- year prison sentences for the white defendants were commuted to …

Cop Fragility And Blue Lives Matter, Frank Rudy Cooper

Scholarly Works

There is a new police criticism. Numerous high-profile police killings of unarmed blacks between 2012–2016 sparked the movements that came to be known as Black Lives Matter, #SayHerName, and so on. That criticism merges race-based activism with intersectional concerns about violence against women, including trans women.

There is also a new police resistance to criticism. It fits within the tradition of the “Blue Wall of Silence,” but also includes a new pro-police movement known as Blue Lives Matter. The Blue Lives Matter movement makes the dubious claim that there is a war on police and counter attacks by calling for …

Race, Rights, And The Representation Of Children, Barry Feld, Perry Moriearty

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Employing Smith To Prevent A Constitutional Right To Discriminate Based On Faith: Why The Supreme Court Should Affirm The Third Circuit In Fulton V. City Of Philadelphia, Margaret Smiley Chavez

American University Law Review

In the interest of the children in the Philadelphia foster care system, the City of Philadelphia prohibits its contracting foster care agencies from discriminating against prospective foster care parents on account of race, religion, and sexual orientation, among other things. Despite this requirement, in 2018, two foster care agencies—Catholic Social Services (CSS) and Bethany Christian Services— that have annual contracts with Philadelphia refused to certify same-sex couples as foster parents for religious reasons. While Bethany Christian Services reached an agreement with the city, CSS did not. As a result, the city froze foster care placement referrals to CSS and did …

Are Opinions On Abortion Based On Racial Attitudes?, Ashley Mueller

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

My specific research question that I will be addressing through my Honors Research Project is; Does one’s race influence their opinions and criminalization of abortion in the United States? In addition to this question I will be discussing if these views have changed over time depending on race, and how their backgrounds, due to their race, may differentiate these views.

Law, Race, And The Epistemology Of Ignorance, George A. Martinez

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Philosophers and other theorists have developed the field of epistemology which is the study of human knowledge. Critical race theorists have begun to explore how epistemological theory and insights may illuminate the study of race, including the analysis of race and the law. Such use of epistemology is appropriate because theoretical work on knowledge can be used to advance one of the key goals of critical race theory which is to understand how a regime of white supremacy and its subordination of people of color have been created and maintained in America. In this regard, philosophers and other theorists have …

Damn It! A Conversation On Being Black, Female, And Marginalized During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Is The World Listening? A Conversation Between Black Female Law Professors, Patricia A. Broussard

Journal Publications

We are African American women with a combined forty-four years in academia. We are professors of law and have seen firsthand how COVID-19 has ravaged African Americans across this country. As we conversed with one another in the Spring of 2020 about what we were witnessing, we began to look through the spectrum of the law and discrimination, and how this novel Coronavirus is laying bare the inequities and inequalities that have been evident for hundreds of years in the Black community. We felt compelled to put pen to paper and document our conversations in an attempt to give a …

Race, Education, And Technology: How The Expansion Of “E-Rate” Could Alleviate Educational Inequalities From Online Education Exacerbated By Covid-19, Michael "Troy" Hatcher

Upper Level Writing Requirement Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Intersectionality In The Opioid Crisis: Anti-Black Racism And White, Pregnant, Opioid Users, Craig Konnoth

Publications

No abstract provided.

(Indigenous) Language As A Human Right, Kristen Carpenter, Alexey Tsykarev

Publications

The United Nations General Assembly has proclaimed 2022-2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages. Building on lessons of the International Year of Indigenous Languages of 2019, the Decade will "draw attention to the critical loss of indigenous languages and the urgent need to preserve, revitalize and promote indigenous languages." These actions are necessary, in part, because existing laws and policies have proven inadequate to redress the legacy of state suppression of indigenous languages or ensure nondiscrimination in contemporary usage. In light of the International Year and Decade, this Article explores the rights of indigenous peoples to "use, revitalize, and …

While The Water Is Stirring: Sojourner Truth As Proto-Agonist In The Fight For (Black) Women’S Rights, Lolita Buckner Inniss

Publications

This Essay argues for a greater understanding of Sojourner Truth’s little-discussed role as a proto-agonist (a marginalized, long-suffering forerunner as opposed to a protagonist, a highly celebrated central character) in the process that led up to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment. Though the Nineteenth Amendment failed to deliver on its promise of suffrage for black women immediately after its enactment, black women were stalwarts in the fight for the Amendment and for women’s rights more broadly, well before the ratification of the Amendment and for many years after its passage. Women’s rights in general, and black women’s rights in …

From Common Law To Constitution, Sanctioned Dispossession And Subjugation Through Otherization And Discriminatory Classification, Mobolaji Oladeji

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Confessions, Convictions And Controversy: An Examination Of False Confessions Leading To Wrongful Convictions In The United States Throughout History, Kirandeep Kaur

Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity

No abstract provided.

Excessive Force: A Feasible Proximate Cause Approach, Latasha M. James

University of Richmond Law Review

Through an analysis of the statutory and case law surrounding the use of excessive force, this Comment will review how differentiating applications of the law have led to varying and sometimes unjust results. Jurisdictions differ regarding what pre-shooting conduct can be considered, what the “objective reasonableness” standard encompasses, and how tort law should impact this analysis. Therefore, this Comment works to provide a framework for the consistent application of the objective reasonableness standard. Part I reviews the proscribed levels of force, noting when the use of force becomes excessive, and discusses the tort concept of proximate cause and how the …

Sexual Exploitation And The Adultified Black Girl, Mikah K. Thompson

Faculty Works

A troubling legacy of American chattel slavery is the justice system’s continued failure to provide adequate protection to African-American crime victims. This piece focuses on the law’s historic unwillingness to shield Black girls from acts of sexual violence. During slavery, lawmakers refused to criminalize rape committed against Black girls and women based not only on the fact that they were considered property but also on stereotypes about their sexuality. Even though the law now criminalizes the rape of Black girls, African-American rape survivors encounter more skepticism and hostility when they come forward with their stories compared to their White counterparts. …

From The Legal Literature: Automating Police, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

The New Principle-Practice Gap: The Disconnect Between Diversity Beliefs And Actions In The Workplace, Jamillah Bowman Williams, Jonathan Cox

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Following increased calls for racial justice, many organizations have pledged to play their part in dismantling systemic racism. One common step leaders take is to invest in diversity and inclusion programs. Yet, despite organizations’ bold claims to value diversity and the investment of billions of dollars on related efforts, workplace discrimination continues to be a major factor in the lives of people of color. Additionally, existing research highlights a principle-policy gap, wherein people--particularly White Americans--espouse support for the principles of diversity, yet their support wanes for policies that address inequalities. In this survey study, we explore attitudes about organizational diversity …

The Distraction That Is Stand Your Ground, Katryna Santa Cruz

FIU Law Review

No abstract provided.

And When Does The Black Church Get Political?: Responding In The Era Of Trump And Making The Black Church Great Again, Jonathan C. Augustine

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

The November 2018 midterm elections engaged more voters than any midterm election since World War I. Moreover, from a Black Church perspective, the midterm elections arguably engaged more constituent members in secular politics than any time since the Civil Rights Movement and the historic passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. If the axiom is true that, “For every action there is a reaction,” the series of actions that have been part of Donald J. Trump’s “Make America Great Again” narrative have been met with a reaction that is “Making the Black Church Great Again!”

This interdisciplinary Article, juxtaposing …

Transgender Rights: Shifting Strategies In A Changing Nation, Alex Binsfeld

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

Transgender rights have only come to the forefront of public consciousness and US jurisprudence in the past couple of decades. During this time, the transgender rights movement has made large strides and was rapidly working toward the enshrinement of federal non-discrimination protections for the transgender community. However, recent political changes in the US have led to a federal effort to undo the decades of progress that transgender activists have made in advocating for the recognition of their rights.1 As a result of this changing political climate, the strategies used by transgender rights advocates must change if the movement is going …

The Company Store And The Literally Captive Market: Consumer Law In Prisons And Jails, Stephen Raher

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

The growth of public expense associated with mass incarceration has led many carceral systems to push certain costs onto the people who are under correctional supervision. In the case of prisons and jails, this frequently takes the form of charges and fees associated with telecommunications, food, basic supplies, and access to information. Operation of these fee-based businesses (referred to here as “prison retail”) is typically outsourced to a private firm. In recent years, the dominant prison retail companies have consolidated into a handful of companies, mostly owned by private equity firms.

This paper explores the practices of prison retailers, and …

Masthead

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

No abstract provided.

In West Philadelphia Born And Raised Or Moving To Bel-Air? Racial Steering As A Consequence Of Using Race Data On Real Estate Websites, Nadiyah J. Humber

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

Current fair housing laws are not entirely equipped to deal with issues of housing discrimination on the internet, particularly the practice of racial steering, where a homebuyer is directed away from certain communities based on racial demographics. Courts interpret these kind of steering claims as requiring a showing of discriminatory intent, yet the way people search for and buy homes online have changed how steering manifests in real estate transactions. Contemporary practices do not fit neatly within the current legal framework, which is why we must revolutionize the way we think about housing law.

This article examines real estate websites, …

The “Welfare Queen” Goes To The Polls: Race-Based Fractures In Gender Politics And Opportunities For Intersectional Coalitions, Catherine Powell, Camille Gear Rich

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Trauma-Centered Social Justice, Noa Ben-Asher

Faculty Publications

This Article identifies a new and growing phenomenon in the American legal system. Many leading agendas for gender, racial, and climate justice are centered on emotional trauma as the primary injury of contemporary social injustices. By focusing on three social justice movements–#BlackLivesMatter; #MeToo, and Climate Justice–the Article offers the first comprehensive diagnosis and assessment of how emotional trauma has become an engine for legal and policy social justice reforms. From a nineteenth century psychoanalytic theory about repressed childhood sexual memories that manifest in female hysteria, through extensive medicalization and classification in the twentieth century, emotional trauma has evolved and expanded …