Law and Society Commons^™

Voting Rights In A Politically Polarized Era . . . And Beyond, Mark E. Rush

Washington and Lee Law Review

This Article places the impact of the Voting Rights Act (“VRA”) in historical and futuristic context. There is no gainsaying that the VRA has had a tremendously positive impact in reversing or, at least, buffering the impact of discrimination throughout United States history. This is particularly—and sadly—manifest in the actions taken by some states to restrict access to the polls and voter registration in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Shelby County decision. A healthy democracy requires free and fair elections. Therefore, it is necessary to roll back such discriminatory laws. Yet, the battle over voting rights now takes place …

Foreword: Voting Rights In A Politically Polarized Era, Maureen Edobor, Christopher B. Seaman

Washington and Lee Law Review

American democracy is under profound stress. Increasing polarization and a winner-take-all mentality to politics have led to increased conflict both within the halls of Congress and nationwide. In an era of exceedingly close elections where control of the Presidency, Congress, and state governments can turn on a relative handful of votes, the laws and processes governing democracy have themselves become a battleground.

Capitalism And The Challenge Of Inequality, Andrzej Rapaczynski

Faculty Scholarship

Rapidly rising income and wealth inequality in the United States and other Western countries has been commonly identified as an inherent and nefarious feature of the capitalist system. In fact, however, rising inequality within the economically advanced countries has been accompanied by both a significant relative improvement of the economic and social position of the previously disadvantaged groups, such as women and ethnic minorities, and an unprecedented reduction of the inequalities between the people living in the advanced countries and the rest of the world. This change is largely due to the phenomenon of globalization that brought the advantages of …

Negotiating Police Reform, Cynthia Alkon

Faculty Scholarship

In the summer of 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, the national conversation around police reform intensified and was part of a conversation with students at Texas A&M University School of Law. Students wanted more discussion and teaching about police, police misconduct, police reform, and defunding the police. Following those discussions, I created a simulation on local level police reform that, as of this writing, I have used twice in my negotiation class. Simulations are helpful teaching tools in a variety of settings, including law schools. Simulations can be particularly useful to help students discuss difficult topics in different …

Dobbs And Sterilization Decision-Making: Understanding The Coercive Spillover Effects In Reproductive Choice, Thomas Williams

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The Supreme Court majority in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization argued their decision would have limited impact beyond abortion rights. This Article examines how Dobbs and subsequent state abortion restrictions are likely to increase women’s reliance on permanent sterilization procedures, particularly among already marginalized populations. Drawing on emerging data and historical context, I argue that some post-Dobbs sterilizations should be understood as effectively coerced by state policies, implicating reproductive justice concerns and potentially undermining fundamental rights established in Skinner v. Oklahoma. Then, I demonstrate how interdisciplinary bioethics frameworks and methodologies can help courts better understand the full implications of …

Civic Education And Democracy's Flaws, Robert L. Tsai

Faculty Scholarship

Today, liberalism and democracy are beset by competitors that seek to return power to religious traditionalists or partisans masquerading as civic republicans. In such an environment, can civic education do some good, and even help bridge our society’s deepening divides?

Seana Shiffrin has characteristically brought deep learning and penetrating insight to the project of civic education in a modern democracy. Against a “dominant” model of citizenship in which “citizens vote and hand off power to their representatives”— which she believes encourages the people to maintain an unhealthy distance from government— she proposes a richer account of political community in which …

Pembangunan Sebagai Proses Eksklusi: Kajian Hukum Dan Ekonomi-Politik Atas Proyek Strategis Nasional, Agung Wardana, Dzaki Aribawa Darmawardana

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Indonesia’s National Strategic Project (NSP) is a priority development agenda of Joko Widodo’s administration. Claiming to serve the public interest, they impact people's livelihoods in order to produce new spaces for the circulation of capital. This article aims to examine PSN by situating it within development discourse and practice. The authors argue that PSN is a mode of development that works through the power of exclusion because it is derived from certain assumptions about class, race, and gender, resulting in different consequences among social groups in society that have unequal power relations. Therefore, the authors suggests that a critical examination …

Stevens Foundation Selects Four Law Students As 2024 Fellows, James Owsley Boyd

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

The John Paul Stevens Foundation has chosen four Indiana University Maurer School of Law students to serve as 2024 Stevens Fellows this summer. The Foundation made the announcement today (June 26).

Selection as a Stevens Fellow comes with $12,000—half from the Foundation, half from the Law School—to help offset the cost of unpaid public interest work over the summer. This year’s Stevens Fellows are Kristal Davis ’25, from Lansing, Michigan; Allegra Maldonado ’25, from Indianapolis; James Monroe ’25, from Naperville, Illinois; and Niara Wakaba ’26, from Louisville.

20th Annual Diversity Symposium Dinner 3-26-2024, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Lecture 1-26-24, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Authority With Procedural Justice: The Establishment And Enforcement Of Expectations Of Public Trust, Paris Desiree Eikanger Stoops

University Honors Theses

This thesis supposes all police officers should exercise authority with procedural justice, where implementation of nationwide procedural justice standards should explicitly prioritize establishing and enforcing expectations of public trust--justitia erga omnes. A qualitative temporal literary argument morally, ethically, socially, and democratically supported by a broad spectrum of criminal justice research, analyzed alongside traumatically racialized experiences, at the intersectionality of five administrations worth of sequent presidential crime policies and earth-shattering junctures in the lives of everyday Americans. Five brief companion analyses follow, exploring overlapping moral and ethical perspectives of dignity, respect, and fairness within contemporary policing in America.

A Model For Understanding Cedaw’S Impact On Implementing Gender Equality Reforms: Lessons From Canada And India, Amanda L. Stephens

Cleveland State Law Review

This Article provides a model for examining the impact of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (“CEDAW”) on implementing gender equality reforms using Canada and India, two CEDAW State Parties, as case studies. It also explores the influence of heteropatriarchy, deeply-rooted cultural norms perpetuating gender inequality, on hindering CEDAW’s ratification in the United States, as well as CEDAW’s effectiveness in implementing reforms in Canada and India. The analysis showcases how non-governmental organizations (“NGOs”) in these countries have nevertheless achieved limited successes through their mobilization of CEDAW to address specific gender injustices, such as gender …

Letter From The Editor, Reeve Lanigan

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

To foster dialogue and encourage community engagement surrounding these issues, this year The Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal (DRLJ) hosted its annual symposium in collaboration with the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and the Weinstein International Foundation to explore how elements of alternative dispute resolution can apply to community policing strategies to prevent and deescalate crime. The symposium, “The Tactics of Resolution: Exploring International Innovation in Law Enforcement and Conflict Resolution,” brought students, law enforcement officials, academics, and policymakers together to engage in enriching conversations on how to establish safer and more harmonious global community

Deserts Still Need Water: Using Adr Processes To Support Rural Residents And Counter The Challenges Stemming From The Shortage Of Lawyers In The “Great American Legal Desert”, Whitney Heuermann

Pepperdine Dispute Resolution Law Journal

Researchers dub rural America the “Great American Legal Desert,” deriving its nickname from the fact that roughly 20% of the nation's population lives in rural America while only 2% of small law practices are located in rural areas. This comment proposes that an increase in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programming and usage serves as a viable avenue to alleviate the lawyer shortage’s harmful effects in rural America. This note begins by generally identifying ADR’s pros, such as cost, privacy, and community preservation, and then correlating these advantages to various aspects of rural America. ADR programming in Kentucky, Idaho, and Kansas …

Law School News: Professor Tara I. Allen Announced As Federal Public Defender 6-5-2024, Helga Melgar

Life of the Law School (1993- )

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.

Thusi Selected As John Hope Franklin Prize Recipient, James Owsley Boyd

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

The Law and Society Association will honor an Indiana University Maurer School of Law professor this week at its 2024 Annual Meeting in Denver from June 6-9.

Professor India Thusi will receive the John Hope Franklin Prize, recognizing exceptional scholarship in the field of Race, Racism and the Law.

Thusi’s winning work, “The Racialized History of Vice Policing,” was published in the UCLA Law Review in 2023.

“The article provides an enduring scholarly contribution at the intersection of policing, abolition, and legal history,” according to the LSA. “Thusi adopts an abolitionist framework and provides a much-needed analysis of vice policing …

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

University of Miami Race & Social Justice Law Review

No abstract provided.

Women Police Chiefs: A Self-Perception Of Women Officers In Law Enforcement, Tianshi Hao, Jesse Llamas, Kayleigh Axtell, Anshu Lal, Michael Llamas, Mira Fadel, Amor Roma

Education Division Scholarship

A large body of literature substantiates women’s difficulties integrating into all levels of law enforcement. To understand the experiences of women police officers in the force, and to understand how law enforcement leaders view the role of women in leadership positions, this study focused on the perception of six women police officers–specifically, women police chiefs towards women who already assumed leadership positions, overcame challenges entering law enforcement and advancing into leadership positions, and collected their input on organizational decisions, policy, and recruitment of women officers. This study employs a qualitative phenomenological methodology and interviews six women police chiefs in depth. …

Radical Visions For The Law Of Peace: How W.E.B. Du Bois And The Black Antiwar Movement Reimagined Civil Rights And The Laws Of War And Peace, Andrew J. Lanham

Washington Law Review

This Article reconstructs the history of Black antiwar activism in the twentieth-century United States and argues that Black antiwar activists played a significant but largely forgotten role in the development of both modern civil rights law and the international law of war and peace. The Article focuses on the career of W.E.B. Du Bois, tracing how he built coalitions between civil rights and antiwar organizations to pursue a series of shared legal campaigns. Du Bois’s antiwar work was also representative of a larger tradition, and his career illuminates how a range of Black activists and civil rights lawyers like Pauli …

A Survey Of Slavery & The Slave Trade Law, Cardozo Law Institute In Holocaust And Human Rights (Clihhr), Benjamin B. Ferencz Human Rights And Atrocity Prevention Clinic

CLIHHR Reports & Policy Submissions

This comprehensive report, compiled by the Benjamin B. Ferencz Human Rights and Atrocity Prevention (HRAP) Clinic at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law from 2020 to 2024, surveys domestic slavery and slave trade laws across States Parties to the Rome Statute. Law students conducted comparative legal research examining how national legislation defines and criminalizes slavery, the slave trade, sexual slavery, and related practices such as trafficking and forced labor. Organized by region, the report presents constitutional and penal code provisions, assesses compliance with international humanitarian law, and highlights legal trends and gaps. It serves as a vital resource for …

State Constitutional Prohibitions Of Slavery And Involuntary Servitude, Michael L. Smith

Washington Law Review

In recent years, the Thirteenth Amendment has drawn sustained criticism for its “Punishment Clause,” which exempts those duly convicted of criminal offenses from the Amendment’s prohibition of slavery and involuntary servitude. Citing the Punishment Clause, courts have struck down challenges by those sentenced to forced labor, arguing that such involuntary servitude is explicitly permitted for those convicted of crimes. Recent criticism draws on concerns over mass incarceration and expansive forced labor practices—urging that the Thirteenth Amendment be revised to remove the Punishment Clause.

Prompted by increased attention to and criticism of the Punishment Clause, some states have taken matters into …

Caught In The Middle: Providing Obstetric Care When Pregnant Women Have Complications, Ellen Clayton, Luke Gatta

Utah Law Review

Physicians in abortion-restrictive states who care for pregnant women who become ill are facing new challenges as they try to meet their patients’ needs while avoiding criminal prosecution on the one hand or civil litigation if there is a bad outcome, especially when care is affected by the threat of vague statutes, on the other. All these legal actions will occur in the public eye. Unfortunately, the proposed changes to HIPAA do not protect against criminal prosecution when the medical exception for the woman’s health is at issue.

Two changes are needed. The first is amending the state statutes to …

Ai And The Legal Puzzle: Filling Gaps, But Missing Pieces, Joseph Anderson

Mercer Law Review

One of the foremost concerns arising from artificial intelligence’s penetration into the legal realm revolves around accountability and transparency. Traditional legal processes entail a human-driven decision-making paradigm, with judges, lawyers, and legal professionals accountable for their judgments and actions. However, as artificial intelligence systems grow more complex, they often operate as ‘black boxes,’ making it challenging to decipher the rationale behind their decisions. This opacity raises questions about how to attribute legal liability when AI-powered systems make errors or biased judgments. Striking a balance between the efficiency of artificial intelligence and the transparency required in legal proceedings is a pressing …

Critical Race Theory Bans And The Changing Canon: Cultural Appropriation In Narrative, Susan Ayres

Faculty Scholarship

Thirty-five states have enacted critical race theory bans at the level of elementary and secondary public education, and seven states have extended these to the university level. One way to resist these attempts to repress a healthy democracy by whitewashing history is through a pedagogy of antiracism, including literary works. The question of what that would look like involves questions of cultural appropriation, which occurs when one takes from another culture, such as a writer creating a narrative about a character outside of the writer’s cultural identity. This Article considers the story of Ota Benga, brought from the Congo to …

The Subfederal In Immigration Polarization, Huyen Pham, Pham Hoang Van

Faculty Scholarship

The framing of subfederal immigration regulation as a red- blue divide is conventional wisdom. As more states, cities, and counties have engaged in the regulation of immigrants within their jurisdictions, it is not particularly surprising to see deep-red states like Texas enacting laws that restrict the rights of immigrants in their jurisdictions (e.g., requiring police within the state to honor detainers issued by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)) or deep-blue states like California enacting laws that protect immigrants’ rights (e.g., issuing driver’s licenses without requiring proof of lawful immigration status).

Rather than only reflecting national polarization on immigration …

We Cannot Police Systemic Racism And Systemic Poverty: Why Policing Is Not A Solution To Our Public Health Crisis, Semir Bulle

Utah Law Review

From drug addiction to issues with homelessness, the mental health crisis, community disputes, traffic violations and more, there does not seem to be any evidence that increased police budgets and spending are the best use of limited resources. Criminalization in substitution for measured and targeted interventions has not worked in structurally vulnerable and marginalized communities and it is far past the time to accept tangible alternatives, such as funding initiatives like TCCS. Instead of perpetually increasing our police budget, let’s instead invest in healing our communities. Let’s invest this money in education, recreation, childcare, housing, health; measures that are proven …