Law and Race Commons^™

Antiracist Medicine In Colorblind Courts, Govind Persad

Michigan Law Review

This Article considers how health professionals’ efforts to combat racial health inequities interact with legal restrictions constraining their ability to consider race. In light of the Roberts Court’s recent invalidation of two university admissions programs, intensifying a “colorblind” judicial shift, the collision between antiracist medicine and colorblind law is a pressing concern. This Article anticipates the implications of this collision and explores how health professionals and systems can design programs that survive judicial examination.

In Part I, the Article examines the frameworks that will apply if antiracist medicine faces legal challenges. These include the Equal Protection Clause and federal statutes …

Equalizing Disproportionate Death And Punishment In Black And Brown Communities: An Emergency Shutdown On Death, Inequality, And Deliberate Indifference, Angela Dixon

Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development

(Excerpt)

According to an old saying, “death is the great equalizer.” But is it? It may be in the sense that absent a contravening force, it is an appointment that all must keep. Yet data indicates that all do not die equally. Socioeconomic status (“SES”), which includes levels of occupation, education, income, and wealth, all delay or advance mortality. People of a higher SES outlive, generally, people of a lower SES; moreover, such disparities continue to widen as trends of income inequality intensify.

Perhaps predictably, race, just like class, exacerbates inequities. Black Americans in the United States remain the pivotal …

Developing Thick Skin: Pediatric Eczema In Vulnerable Communities And Fda Regulation Of Cosmetic Products, Abayomi Jones Md, Jd

Journal of Law and Health

Eczema is a common yet serious inflammatory skin condition affecting millions of children in the United States. Dark skin and/or African-American ethnicity are risk factors for increased eczema severity, most likely due to systemic racism expressed as lower socioeconomic status, increased environmental toxin exposure, decreased access to adequate medical care, and infrequent implementation of early intervention practices. Skin-directed management of eczema for caregivers is critically important for improving clinical outcomes of children with eczema. Skin-directed management of eczema includes avoidance of allergens and appropriate moisturization of skin, which warrants evaluation of cosmetic products like lotions, creams and oils essential for …

Transcript: Structural Racism, The Healthcare System And Health Justice, Ruquaiijah Yearby

Journal of Law and Health

The following is a transcript from Racial Disparities and Outcomes presented at Cleveland State University College of Law by the Journal of Law and Health on Friday, February 9, 2024. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and to reflect updates in the relevant law since the time of transcription.

Covid-19 And Access To Healthcare At The Crossing Of Race, Poverty, And Rurality, Shavonnie R. Carthens

Journal of Law and Health

Black Americans make up 7.7 percent of the rural population in the United States. During the COVID-19 pandemic many in this population found themselves at a unique intersection of inequity - being Black, poor, and residing in a rural area. Poverty is a known contributor to negative health outcomes and is a risk factor for death from coronavirus infection. The association between race and poverty, when examining infectivity and mortality rates of COVID-19, have disproportionately devastated Black Americans and other minorities. Further, research indicates the presence of a general “rural mortality penalty” wherein rural Black communities have higher death rates …

Countering Workplace Wellness Bias Through Wellness-Legal Partnerships, Barbara J. Zabawa Jd, Mph

Journal of Law and Health

In the current United States economy, wellness is predominantly marketed to society’s privileged individuals, catering to a mostly white and high-income clientele. When marginalized communities encounter wellness services, such as in the workplace, they are faced with an implicitly biased industry. These biases include an emphasis on individual behavior change without considering social determinants of health (SDOH), cultural appropriation of wellness activities for capitalistic gain, use of biased health measures like Body-Mass Index (BMI), and constant images of and expectations of achieving a stereotypical healthy body. The legal community must wake up to these biases and advocate for more equitable …

Transcript: The Intersection Of Race And Poverty In Criminal Justice, Stephen B. Bright

Tennessee Journal of Law and Policy

Transcript of the lecture given by Bright at the University of Tennessee College of Law Summers-Wyatt Lecture given on September 27, 2010.

When “The Right To Life” Forgoes Quality Of Life: Examining The Public Policy Impacts Of Mississippi’S Abortion Ban On Women Post-Dobbs, Eleanor Condelles

Buffalo Human Rights Law Review

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court eliminated the right to abortion. Its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org. overturned Roe v. Wade and was the culmination of a decades-long attack on abortion rights and accessibility. Without a federal abortion standard, it is now up to each state to determine women’s access to abortion. This system will produce a tiered structure of abortion access, causing significant health and socioeconomic burdens for women generally and reinforcing fundamental social inequities. Women of means will find ways around the Dobbs decision; others, who lack finances, childcare, or the ability to travel …

Lawyers, Guns, And Marijuana: How N.Y. State Rifle And Pistol Ass'n V. Bruen Is Shaping Federal Marijuana Law, Mia Cordle

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

Rural Renting: An Empirical Portrait Of Eviction, Cassie Chambers Armstrong, Christopher J. Ryan Jr.

University of Cincinnati Law Review

In this Study, we examine eviction from the renter’s perspective. Specifically, we seek to understand what factors influence the eviction process—and the likelihood it will result in a judgment against a renter—once a property owner initiates legal proceedings. To this end, we used records from 202,572 eviction cases filed by landlords in Kentucky state courts. We employed statistical modeling to determine what impacted whether each case ultimately ended in a judgment of eviction against the renter.

Many of our findings were novel, and they were staggering. We found that, holding all else equal, those living in rural areas were at …

Integrating Doctrine & Diversity Speaker Series: Owning Our Values: Supplementing Our Textbooks For Those Engaged In Social Justice, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

A Feedback Loop Of Exclusion: The Treatment Of Bilingualism In The Courtroom, Simone Stover

Northwestern University Law Review

In the 1991 case Hernandez v. New York, the United States Supreme Court characterized bilingualism as a race-neutral trait that can be used to exclude individuals from jury service. This Note proceeds by demonstrating how the current state of the law undermines the interests of bilingual individuals and then proposes a solution. Focusing specifically on Hispanic bilingual Spanish speakers, this Note first employs Professor Jennifer Lackey’s multi-directional credibility model to show that bilingual Spanish speakers suffer injustice in the courtroom due to both credibility deficits and excesses. Following this analysis, it proposes a possible solution to this issue: an …

Transportation Racism And State-Created Danger: A Civil Rights Litigation Strategy For Pedestrians Harmed By Traffic Violence, Riley Freedman

Washington Law Review

Pedestrian fatality rates in the United States are markedly high compared to peer nations and are on the rise. The distribution of these deaths shows an alarming racial gap: Black pedestrians are twice as likely to be killed compared to white pedestrians. One significant factor that explains the disparity is the greater presence of wide, high-speed roads—built to move traffic quickly at the expense of pedestrian safety—in Black neighborhoods. In some cases, there is evidence that governments intentionally placed roads through and around Black neighborhoods for racially discriminatory reasons.

This Comment argues that a pedestrian harmed or killed by a …

Is The Constitution Of 1787 A White Supremacist Document? Against Essentialism In Constitutional Interpretation, David S. Schwartz

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

A curious convergence is emerging in legal academia around the conclusion that the 1787 Constitution is a white supremacist document. Although most originalists would deny that contention, their methodology strongly favors, if it does not compel, an agreement with progressive, “neo-Garrisonian” scholars that the Constitution of 1787 is indeed a white supremacist document. Both the neo-Garrisonian and originalist elements of this implicit convergence stem from their “essentialism” in Constitutional interpretation: the idea that the Constitution or its terms or provisions carry a uniquely and objectively correct meaning, invariant over time, and independent of our evolving normative commitments.

This Article argues …

The Implications Of Section 230 For Black Communities, Spencer Overton, Catherine Powell

William & Mary Law Review

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act generally immunizes online platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Amazon, and Uber from liability for third-party user content (for example, posts, comments, and videos) and for moderation of that content. This Article addresses an important issue overlooked by both defenders and critics of Section 230: the implications of the law and proposed reforms for Black communities in particular. By relieving tech platforms of most legal liability for third-party content, Section 230 helps facilitate Black social activism, entrepreneurship, and artistic creativity. Section 230 also relieves platforms of most legal liability for content moderation, which boosts …

Unlocking The Vote: Hopkins V. Hosemann As A Catalyst For Restoring Voting Rights To Nonviolent Felons, Emily K. Abrams

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Providing End-Of-Life Counseling: A Narrative Inquiry, Carol Hecht, Sibyl West

Adultspan Journal

This qualitative study aimed to address the gap in the research related to end-of-life counseling by exploring the experiences of counselors working with clients at end of life. While counseling literature and education are lacking regarding end of life, many counselors will work alongside clients approaching death. The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to better understand the nuanced experiences of counselors providing end-of-life counseling and (b) to explore the supports and preparations helpful for counselors to provide end-of-life counseling. A narrative approach, using the Listening Guide (Gilligan, 2015), was employed to analyze and present the stories of three …

Considerations Of Medicare Telehealth Services With Older Adults, Sonah Kho, Amanda Dediego

Adultspan Journal

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic set in motion a rapid expansion of mental health services offered via telehealth. With this rapid expansion came the need to examine how policy and practice should be shaped in a future where telehealth is considered common in counseling practice. For counselors to understand how to support older adult clients in using telehealth services, they must understand telehealth policy. Following the eligibility of licensed counselors to participate in Medicare, counselors need to stay abreast of regulatory changes regarding restrictions and regulations on use of telehealth for mental and behavioral health services, including video and …

El Único Pecado De Chepita Rodriguez, Maria G. Vielma

Regeneración: A Xicanacimiento Studies Journal

Cuento.

Brown V. Board Of Education: Enduring Caste And American Betrayal, Sheryll Cashin

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article reflects on the role of residential caste in reproducing school segregation and how the Supreme Court betrays the equality principles of Brown by applying a colorblind constitutionalism that renders so-called de facto residential caste, and subsequent school segregation, acceptable.

During the seven-decade Great Migration of the 20^th century, northern cities deployed policies to create an architecture of inequality in which African Americans and white Americans did not live in the same neighborhoods. While the Fair Housing Act of 1968 rendered intentional discrimination in housing markets illegal, and the Court also ruled against forms of intentional housing discrimination, …

Integrating Doctrine & Diversity Speaker Series: Breaking Bias: A Conversation With Attorney Anu Gupta 9-10-2024, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

The Elusiveness Of Tax And Constitutional Reform, Susan Pace Hamill

Politics, Justice, Law, and Philosophy

In this chapter, Professor Hamill illustrates that Alabama’s regressive tax policy oppresses poor Alabamians and denies their children a chance for a better future and explains why the 1901 Constitution makes meaningful tax reform impossible. She then shows that Governor Bob Riley’s 2003 failed reform efforts and ten years of unsuccessful civil rights litigation which followed, means reformers must convince Alabama’s citizens at the ballot box. Professor Hamill’s story of her personal experiences as an outspoken reformer, especially the anecdotes of her speaking to thousands of voters at their doors when she was a candidate for the legislature, illuminate why …

Good Deeds? A Critical Race Analysis Of The Nova Scotia Land Titles Clarification Act, Melisa Marsman

Dalhousie Law Journal

The Nova Scotia Land Titles Clarification Act (“LTCA”) is remedial legislation that was enacted in 1964 to resolve insecure land titles within designated communities, particularly African Nova Scotian communities. However, African Nova Scotians had been advocating for legal title to their land for over 100 years prior to the enactment of the LTCA, and those demands were largely ignored by the government. Furthermore, despite the 60-year existence of this remedial legislation, many African Nova Scotians still hold insecure title to their land. Through a critical race analysis, this article explores why the LTCA has failed to achieve its promise to …

Gender According To World Athletics: The Regulation Of Racialized Athletes From The Global South, Maria Dugas

Dalhousie Law Journal

In March 2023, World Athletics, the regulating body for the sport of Athletics introduced The Eligibility Regulations for the Female Classification (Athletes with Differences of Sex Development). These Regulations limit participation in female Athletics events at international competition and to set world records. They require certain athletes to maintain a testosterone threshold below 2.5nmol/L, despite their naturally occurring testosterone levels. On one level, this paper is about gender regulation in sport, particularly regulating testosterone in elite, female athletes. On another level it is about power and privilege at the intersection of race, nationality, and gender. It argues that through its …

The Influence Of The Race Of Defendant And The Race Of Victim On Capital Charging And Sentencing In California, Catherine M. Grosso, Jeffrey A. Fagan, Michael Laurence

Faculty Scholarship

The California Racial Justice Act of 2020 recognized racial and ethnic discrimination as a basis for relief in capital cases, expressly permitting several types of statistical evidence to be introduced. This statewide study of the influence of race and ethnicity on the application of capital punishment contributes to this evidence. We draw on data from over 27,000 murder and manslaughter convictions in California state courts between 1978 and 2002. Using multiple methods, we found significant racial and ethnic disparities in charging and sentencing decisions. Controlling for defendant culpability and specific statutory aggravators, we show that Black and Latinx defendants and …

Evaluating The Elimination Of Peremptory Challenges In Arizona, Hailey Badger Gordon

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

The Supreme Court confronted racial discrimination in jury selection in Batson v. Kentucky by prohibiting the use of race as a factor in exercising peremptory challenges. But Batson challenges rarely succeed in overcoming a challenged peremptory strike and have long been criticized as insufficient to eliminate racial discrimination in jury selection. Justice Marshall correctly predicted in his concurring opinion in Batson that racial discrimination in jury selection would continue as long as peremptory challenges were permissible.

Recognizing Batson’s shortfalls, states have experimented with reforms ranging from lowering the required showing for a successful Batson challenge to enumerating presumptively impermissible …

Critical Race Theory As Legal Epistemic Justice, Jasmine Gonzales Rose

Faculty Scholarship

“Critical Thinking: Not Critical Race Theory” and “Teach Truth: Not CRT,” proclaimed the front and back of a T-shirt on a fellow traveler passing in the airport. I was startled by the blatant misconceptions. The core pursuits of critical race theory (“CRT”) are to think critically, discover truth, and diversify knowledge about race and racism. Although I was aware of then-President Trump’s executive order barring federal diversity training and bills modeled after it, nothing had prepared me for the realization that my academic subfield had become so widely criticized that it was now the subject of T-shirt slogans. A few …

Barriers To Legal Help In The Transgender Rights Movement, Alexander Chen, Amanda Goad, Jazzmun Crayton

Loyola Interdisciplinary Journal of Public Interest Law

This transcript was taken from the Loyola Interdisciplinary Journal of Public Interest Law's second annual panel at the LMU Loyola Law School Public Interest Palooza, hosted by the Loyola Public Interest Law Foundation on Saturday, March 23, 2024.

Panelists

Alexander Chen, Founding Director, Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic

Amanda Goad, Audrey Irmas Director, LGBTQ, Gender, and Reproductive Justice Project, ACLU of Southern California

Jazzmun Crayton, Associate Director, Access to Prevention Advocacy Intervention and Treatment Health Center

Moderator

James Gilliam, Director of Career Development & Public Interest Programs, Western State College of Law; Adjunct Professor, LMU Loyola Law School; …

Indiana Law Supporting Newly Established Indiana Innocence Project, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

Law students from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law will have the opportunity to help exonerate wrongfully convicted Hoosiers through the newly established Indiana Innocence Project, which officially launched Saturday (Aug. 17).

Established in association with the national Innocence Project—which has helped free more than 240 wrongfully convicted prisoners since 1992—the Indiana Innocence Project (INIP) has been made possible through the support of the Herbert Simon Family Foundation, along with the Law School and IU’s Department of Criminal Justice.

The Indiana Innocence Project will screen and investigate cases with meritorious innocence claims, secure DNA testing when biological evidence …

We Are The Ai Problem, Tonja Jacobi, Matthew Sag

Emory Law Journal Online

This Essay describes what we call “the Black Nazi Problem,” a shorthand for the sometimes-jarring text and images produced by AI, from the incongruous—such as female Indian popes—to the outrageous—such as depicting minorities as their own historical oppressors, including Black Nazis. These images were the result of overzealous efforts by AI developers to correct for a lack of diverse representation in the training data used to create Generative AI models. The overrepresentation of white, fully-abled, Western men in images of high status categories, and the invisibility of women, people of color, and the disabled, except in low status categories, and …