Law and Race Commons^™

Editor In Chief: Foreword, Virginia Millacci

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

No abstract provided.

Muslims And Islam In U.S. Public Schools: Cases, Controversies And Curricula, Engy Abdelkader

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

In recent years, controversies surrounding curriculum and instruction about Muslims and Islam in U.S. public schools have become more common. In some instances, Muslim American parents and students have challenged representations that spread and reinforce denigrating stereotypes and misconceptions about their faith and co-religionists. In a seemingly growing trend, however, some non-Muslim students and parents are objecting to courses and programs due to perceived favorable or neutral treatment of the Islamic faith. Such cases, controversies and curricula illustrate how popular anxieties surrounding the integration of immigrant populations, particularly Muslims, are increasingly infecting classrooms, school districts and communities. They also provide …

When They Hear Us: Race, Algorithms And The Practice Of Criminal Law, Ngozi Okidegbe

Faculty Scholarship

We are in the midst of a fraught debate in criminal justice reform circles about the merits of using algorithms. Proponents claim that these algorithms offer an objective path towards substantially lowering high rates of incarceration and racial and socioeconomic disparities without endangering community safety. On the other hand, racial justice scholars argue that these algorithms threaten to entrench racial inequity within the system because they utilize risk factors that correlate with historic racial inequities, and in so doing, reproduce the same racial status quo, but under the guise of scientific objectivity.

This symposium keynote address discusses the challenge that …

Complicity In The Perversion Of Justice: The Role Of Lawyers In Eroding The Rule Of Law In The Third Reich, Cynthia Fountaine

St. Mary's Journal on Legal Malpractice & Ethics

A fundamental tenet of the legal profession is that lawyers and judges are uniquely responsible—individually and collectively—for protecting the Rule of Law. This Article considers the failings of the legal profession in living up to that responsibility during Germany’s Third Reich. The incremental steps used by the Nazis to gain control of the German legal system—beginning as early as 1920 when the Nazi Party adopted a party platform that included a plan for a new legal system—turned the legal system on its head and destroyed the Rule of Law. By failing to uphold the integrity and independence of the profession, …

Masthead

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

No abstract provided.

Building Social And Human Capital In The Black Community By Increasing Strategic Relationships, Cooperative Economics, The Black Marriage Rate, And The Level Of Educational Attainment And Targeted Occupational Training, W. Sherman Rogers

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

This is a multi-disciplinary article that focuses on the power of strategic relationships and cooperative economics in strengthening the human and social capital of the black1 community. It involves studies emanating primarily from the fields of law, economics, history, political science, and sociology. The recommendations set-forth in this article, however, are relevant to all people in America. The central thesis that underlies the entirety of this article can be found in the simple exhortation of the African Proverb—“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together .”

African Americans can significantly expand the …

Mistreating Central American Refugees: Repeating History In Response To Humanitarian Challenges, Bill Ong Hing

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

In the 1980s, tens of thousands of Central Americans fled to the United States seeking refuge from civil unrest that ravaged their countries. In a largely geopolitical response, the Reagan administration labeled those fleeing Guatemala and El Salvador as “economic migrants,” detained them, and largely denied their asylum claims. The illegal discrimination against these refugees was exposed in a series of lawsuits and through congressional investigations. This led to the reconsideration of thousands of cases, the enlistment of a corps of asylum officers, and an agreement on the conditions under which migrant children could be detained.

Unfortunately, the lessons of …

Teaching Professional Responsibility Through Theater, Michael Millemann, Elliott Rauh, Robert Bowie Jr.

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

This article is about ethics-focused, law school courses, co-taught with a theater director, in which students wrote, produced and performed in plays. The plays were about four men who, separately, were wrongfully convicted, spent decades in prison, and finally were released and exonerated, formally (two) or informally (two).

The common themes in these miscarriages of justice were that 1) unethical conduct of prosecutors (especially failures to disclose exculpatory evidence) and of defense counsel (especially incompetent representation) undermined the Rule of Law and produced wrongful convictions, and 2) conversely, that the ethical conduct of post-conviction lawyers and law students helped to …

The Legal Needs Of Nonprofits: An Empirical Study Of Tax-Exempt Organizations And Their Access To Legal Services, Raymond H. Brescia, Bahareh Ansari, Hannah Hage

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

This empirical study, using quantitative and qualitative techniques, attempts to assess the state of the legal needs of nonprofit organizations, with an emphasis on the ways in which nonprofit organizations are or are not accessing assistance addressing their legal services needs. While most research into the extent to which Americans may or may not be accessing legal services focuses on the legal needs of individuals and families, this study focuses on the legal needs of nonprofit groups. Our goal with this research project is to contribute to the growing literature on the scope of unmet legal needs in the United …

Secure The Smartphone, Secure The Future: Biometrics, Boyd, A Warrant Denial And The Fourth And Fifth Amendments, Aaron Chase

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

The growing use of biometric technology—fingerprints, facial recognition and beyond—for data safekeeping—particularly for smart phones, personal computers, and identification—has raised a number of questions for Constitutional scholars. What Constitutional protections, if any, does biometric information have? Does biometric information require a warrant for law enforcement officers to compel its production? Would compelling production of a biometric password effectively force defendants to testify against themselves? Should the growing use of biometric information, by both private third parties and law enforcement, lead courts to reexamine prior precedents regarding privacy interests in personal technology and personal physical characteristics? This paper examines turns to …

The Case For A Federal Statute Authorizing Compensation For Legally Imposed Segregation, Thomas B. Stoel Jr.

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

This article, “The Case for a Federal Statute Authorizing Compensation for Legally Imposed Segregation,” proposes enactment of a law to provide reparations to the African Americans who suffered economic, physical, and psychological harm because they were victims of legally imposed racial segregation.

In 1973, Yale Law School Professor Boris Bittker published The Case for Black Reparations, a perceptive, legally rigorous analysis of the issue. Bittker concluded that a focus on reparations for slavery was likely to prove unproductive, and concentrated instead on the prospect for achieving broad- scale reparations for legally imposed segregation. Bittker reached no definitive conclusions; he ended …

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

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

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 …

Korean Americans, The Protestant Christian Church, And The Future Of Asian American Lgbtq Rights, Josiah Pak

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

This paper focuses on the Korean American Protestant Christian church and their past, present, and future support for LGBTQ rights. It explores both first-generation Korean American immigrants and their children, native-born second-generation Korean Americans. Specifically, it recounts the process of emigration for many first-generation Korean American immigrants and how it carried over the conservative, traditionalist, and religious frameworks that contribute to stonewalling future LGBTQ equality rights. Additionally, this paper addresses second- generation Korean Americans swinging between ideologies and social underpinnings of the older generation and a new “American” identity. By recounting Korean immigration to the United States, the role of …

The Emerging Legal Architecture For Social Justice, Luz E. Herrera, Louise G. Trubek

Faculty Scholarship

Lawyers advocating for social change are now front and center in newspapers and social media. This article discusses how a new breed of progressive lawyers envision social justice law practice today. These “critical lawyers” are diverse in background, gender, ethnicity and race. They see law as a complex, contradictory tool rather than a necessary and sufficient route to justice. Their practices differ from the traditional non-profit public interest firms of the earlier generation that assumed justice would result if law and lawyers were accessible. To highlight the differences, the article discusses the law practices of Beyond Legal Aid, Law for …

Webinar: Should Uf Mandate A Race/Anti-Racism Course?: The Discussion Themes And Overview, Katheryn Russell-Brown, Christopher Busey, Lance Gravlee, Diedre Houchen, Aida Hozic, Patricia Hilliard-Nunn

Center for the Study of Race & Race Relations: Lectures and Events

On June 25, 2020, the CSRRR hosted a webinar discussion on whether UF should mandate a course on race/anti-racism. Prof. Katheryn Russell-Brown (Law and CSRRR Director) moderated the panelists, including Prof. Christopher Busey (College of Education), Prof. Lance Gravlee (Anthropology), Dr. Diedre Houchen, Postdoctoral Associate (CSRRR), Prof. Aida Hozic (Political Science), and Prof. Patricia Hilliard-Nunn (African American Studies). There were approximately 300 participants.

This document synthesizes the perspectives presented by the scholars. It is our hope that professors, educators, administrators, other groups, and members of the general public can utilize this information. We believe the issues raised in this discussion …

The Difference Of One Vote Or One Day: Reviewing The Demographics Of Florida’S Death Row After Hurst V. Florida, Melanie Kalmanson

University of Miami Law Review

As the federal appeals court with jurisdiction over Florida and Alabama—two leaders in capital punishment in the United States—the Eleventh Circuit reviews several claims each year related to capital punishment. Florida is home to one of the largest death row populations in the country. Thus, understanding Florida’s capital sentencing scheme is important for understanding capital punishment nationwide.

This Article analyzes the empirical demographics of Florida’s death row population and reviews how defendants are sentenced to death and ultimately executed in Florida. The analysis reveals that although age is not a factor upon which murder/manslaughter defendants are discriminated against in the …

Kidnapping Reconsidered: Courts Merger Tests Inadequately Remedy The Inequities Which Developed From Kidnapping's Sensationalized And Racialized History, Samuel P. Newton

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Racial Stereotypes, Respectability Politics, And Running For President: Examining Andrew Yang's And Barack Obama's Presidential Bids, Vinay Harpalani

Faculty Scholarship

In the wake of the pandemic, Andrew Yang’s response to anti-Asian American violence was criticized for placing responsibility on Asian Americans rather than those perpetrating the hate crimes. This article explores how "warring ideals for people of color can cause a lot of internal dissonance about what to say and how to act in certain situations.

See Original Blog Post on Internet.

Session 6: Innovating The Built Environment Post-Covid-19, Marc Palatucci, Richard Lyall, Timothy Harris, Steven Bender, Peter Smirniotopoulos, Ryan Mathesin

SITIE Symposiums

ABSTRACT: Innovating the Built Environment for a Post-COVID-19 World

It would seem an act of academic malpractice to teach a course titled Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change, and host an all-day symposium as an integral part of that course, and not endeavor to address the most-disruptive thing to happen to the built environment in more than 100 years: The coronavirus pandemic. This "disruption" to real estate is the proverbial elephant in the room. Hopefully, it will maintain a minimum six-foot distance from others as we address how it impacts the four Special Topics …

Session 5: Real Estate Tokenization, Joseph Vincent, Steven Bender, Peter Smirniotopoulos

SITIE Symposiums

ABSTRACT: Is “tokenization” the next great leap forward needed to make homeownership more appealing to Millennials and Gen Z’s?

If single-family homeownership and time-sharing had a love child, what would it look like? Is it possible to adapt successful models for office sharing to homeownership so renters who lament not owning an appreciating asset could have a stake in “something” while not being tied down to one specific residential structure or a single geographic location, to make homeownership more attractive to younger generations? And, if so, does blockchain technology hold the key (pun intended) to fractional ownerships in real …

Session 4: Atlanta Beltline, Art Lansing, Rob Turner, Jim Langford, Kristen Lohse, Claire Martini

SITIE Symposiums

ABSTRACT: What Would it Take to Connect All of Greater Seattle’s Neighborhoods with Walking and Biking Trails?

Major U.S. cities have endeavored, independently of each other, over the past several decades to create greenway systems connecting residents and visitors with neighborhoods and attractions, increasing opportunities for walking and biking and reducing their reliance on vehicular traffic. Atlanta’s BeltLine--a twenty-two-mile loop of historic railroad right-of-ways encircling the city’s downtown and midtown areas, seeks to reinvent the city if transformed into a green corridor—is perhaps one of the best examples of how a Seattle Greenway might be accomplished (although Atlanta’s concerted …

Session 3: Virtual Luncheon Session, Student Submissions

SITIE Symposiums

A Working Lunch brainstorming discussion, moderated by Professor Smirniotopoulos, to discuss “What Comes Next?” in the context of Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change.

Registered students in Prof. Smirniotopoulos’s Innovating the Built Environment course will take one-to-two minutes each to present their initial project ideas for their Final Projects in the course, as well as outlining and moderating a discussion of the Challenges and Opportunities presented by their ideas. Symposium participants are encouraged to set up lunch in front of their computers and participate actively in discussing each student’s project idea, providing relevant …

Session 2: Wework, Ryan Mathisen, Peter Smirniotopoulos, Paul Swegle

SITIE Symposiums

ABSTRACT: When Worlds Collide: How an 86-Year Old Federal Law (The Securities Act of 1933) Exposed the Flaws in WeWork’s “Innovative Business Model.”

Co-working pioneer WeWork, a wholly owned subsidiary of The We Company, grew meteorically through an extremely aggressive building and master-lease acquisition strategy over the past several years. Substantial, early stage funding from SoftBank, a Japan-based high-tech venture capital investment bank, reinforced WeWork’s unicorn status. But was WeWork’s business model truly unique, bringing with it the promise of a very profitable real estate operating company in the future? Or was it the company’s early stage, venture …

Session 1: Crew Seattle Presentation, Emily Alvarado, Jeanne Marie Coronado, Tory Laughlin Taylor, Colin Morgan-Cross

SITIE Symposiums

ABSTRACT: Is there Still a Place in Seattle for the Single-Family Detached Housing Typology, Given the Acute Need for Affordable Housing?

This expert panel will explore the intersection between existing zoning laws and well-established neighborhood patterns of development, on the one hand, and the acute need for the increased production and availability of affordable housing, in the greater Seattle area, including in and near the City of Seattle’s Central Business District, as well as other close-in employment centers, on the other hand. The genesis of this Special Topic in the Innovating the Built Environment SITIE2020 course came out of …

Opening Session, Annette Clark, Steven Bender, Peter Smirniotopoulos

SITIE Symposiums

The SITIE2020 Symposium: Innovating the Built Environment was offered entirely online, through the Zoom platform. Each of six (6) symposium sessions, outlined below, were offered in a continuous Zoom session with breaks throughout the day, allowing our audience to select those sessions of greatest interest to them. Students enrolled in Professor Smirniotopoulos’s Summer Institute course—Innovating the Built Environment: How the Law Responds to Disruptive Change—participated all day.

Proceedings Of The Sitie2020 Symposium, Seattle Journal Of Technology, Environmental, And Innovation Law

SITIE Symposiums

Complete Summary of Proceedings.

Less Talk, More Action: How Law Schools Can Counteract Racial Bias Of Lsat Scores In The Admissions Process, Latasha Hill

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

Reassessing Aspects Of The Contribution Of African States To The Development Of International Law Through African Regional Multilateral Treaties, Tiyanjana Maluwa

Michigan Journal of International Law

For decades, debates about Africa’s contribution to the development of international law have been dominated by two opposing schools of thought. First, that European colonial powers deliberately erased Africa and Africans from the history of the creation and use of international law. Second, that, on the contrary, over the last six decades (since the emergence of the newly independent African states in the late 1950s and early 1960s), Africa has contributed to the making of international law and has not been merely a passive recipient of a Eurocentric international law.

This article underscores the role of the postcolonial periphery in …

The Eighth Amendment Power To Discriminate, Kathryn E. Miller

Washington Law Review

For the last half-century, Supreme Court doctrine has required that capital jurors consider facts and characteristics particular to individual defendants when determining their sentences. While liberal justices have long touted this individualized sentencing requirement as a safeguard against unfair death sentences, in practice the results have been disappointing. The expansive discretion that the requirement confers on overwhelmingly White juries has resulted in outcomes that are just as arbitrary and racially discriminatory as those that existed in the years before the temporary abolition of the death penalty in Furman v. Georgia.1 After decades of attempting to eliminate the requirement, conservative justices …

The Balance Of Safety And Religious Freedom: Allowing Sikhs The Right To Practice Their Religion And Access Courthouses, Karamvir Dhaliwal

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.