Public Interest Commons^™

Our Eviction Court Clients Need This Treaty: The U.S. Must Finally Ratify The International Covenant On Economic, Social, And Cultural Rights, Fran Quigley

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Anyone enduring poverty in the U.S. or working with persons enduring poverty–as we do in our law school eviction clinic–is aware that housing, healthcare, food, and sufficient income are essential to human survival and dignity. Yet those basic necessities are not rights guaranteed under U.S. law. Instead, discretionary, underfunded efforts to address economic needs have led to widespread U.S. poverty and a toxic one-step-forward/one-step-backward policy dance, characterized by safety net programs expanding only to be cut when political winds shift.

The U.S. should join nearly every other nation in the world by ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and …

Climbing The Family Tree To Solve Crime: The Statutory Regulation Of Investigative Genetic Genealogy In Wisconsin, Margaret B. Mullican

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Investigative Genetic Genealogy ("IGG") has emerged as a groundbreaking

tool that law enforcement agencies across the United States

are using to solve their most notorious criminal cases. IGG has led to

remarkable outcomes, such as identifying unknown victims, solving

decades-old violent crimes, and exonerating the innocent. While IGG

has transformed criminal investigations for the better, the tool has

also sparked concerns with the public regarding its haphazard regulation

and its constitutional implications. Despite the tool being

widely used by law enforcement, it remains relatively unregulated,

which has raised concerns about potential misuse, as well as a lack

of transparency and …

Accommodating Transportation To Work: How Courts Fail To Protect People With Disabilities By Inconsistently Interpreting The Ada’S Requirements To Provide Reasonable Accommodations To Employees, Tara Kniep

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has played a critical role in helping people with disabilities function with greater ease in an inaccessible world. However, it is not perfect and leaves many people without the accommodations they need. One of the many accommodations not directly and consistently protected by the ADA is transportation to and from work. While many Americans have enjoyed the work-from-home boom caused by the pandemic, there are many others that are forced to take remote jobs simply because they cannot secure safe and reliable transportation to and from work due to disability. This significantly narrows their …

High “Status”: Reforming Employment Protections For Medical Cannabis Users Based On Status, Benjamin P. Sheppard

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

This paper explores the inconsistencies in employment protections for medical cannabis users, with a focus on the divergent interpretations of protections based on “status” across different jurisdictions. The analysis begins with an overview of federal and state laws, followed by an examination of varying court approaches to the scope of protections afforded to medical cannabis users. Courts differ in interpreting whether "status" protections extend to cover positive drug test results, leading to significant variations in employment rights depending on jurisdiction. To address these disparities, this paper proposes two model statutes tailored to the level of protection each state may choose …

Leveraging The History And Tradition Framework In Support Of Transgender Americans’ Fundamental Right To Choose A Name, Abigail Franke

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Transgender people are facing waves of new legislation limiting their right to exist. However, there is an enormous amount of preexisting state laws which limit transgender people’s right to choose a gender affirming name on their own terms. Many current state laws severely restrict the ability of transgender people with prior felony convictions to change their name. These laws limit the ability of people with felony convictions from changing their name: based on the offense, pursuant a time limit, or force transgender people to out themselves. In this note I argue that these state-level laws place an unconstitutional barrier between …

A Better Path Forward: The Need For Restorative Justice In The Child Welfare System, Abigail Montalbo

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

The child welfare system in the United States often prioritizes punishment

over healing, failing both the children harmed by maltreatment

and the responsible parties. This Comment explores how incorporating

restorative justice within state child welfare systems

can shift the focus to repairing relationships, building trust, and

promoting healing of the parties harmed, the parties responsible for

the harm, and the community as a whole. Aimed at an audience

who is interested in, but not deeply familiar with restorative justice,

this Comment suggests for the mandatory inclusion of restorative

justice practices to create a more comprehensive and healing-centered

approach within the …

Vulnerable Consumers Left Behind In The Overdraft Fee Saga, Mary Claire Griffith-Mccrery

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Attention on the arguable pervasiveness of overdraft fees has

been increasing in recent years. Overdraft programs were originally

offered to banks’ trusted, high-dollar customers on a discretionary

basis. Technology brought about debit cards and electronic payment

methods along with direct deposit and enhanced the complexity of

processing transactions. Some practices increased the likelihood of

overdrafts. For example, reordering transactions such that they post

to the account from the largest to smallest dollar amount received

distinct scrutiny—and is discouraged by regulators. Today, the majority

of overdraft fees are paid by economically disadvantaged, vulnerable

consumers; more specifically, by Black and Hispanic consumers. …

Beyond Medicaid Expansion: Addressing The Sexual And Reproductive Health Crisis In Rural Appalachia, Cheyenne Peters

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

In addition to negatively impacting abortion access, the decision

in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has forced many

clinics in rural Appalachia that previously provided access to holistic

sexual and reproductive health services, such as contraception

management, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, and preventative

cancer screening, to close their doors entirely. This has left

many Appalachians living in rural communities with no option for

accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare. However, many people

were never able to access the care even before the recent provider

shortage due to a lack of adequate insurance coverage. This

article explores how Medicaid expansion …

From Margins To Center: Elevating The Voices Of Disadvantaged Families In Child Welfare, Jerron R. Wheeler

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

This essay sheds light on the systemic challenges faced by indigent,

minority families within the child welfare system, using personal experiences

from my time as a student at the University of Florida

Levin College of Law as a lens. This essay aims to highlight the intersection

of poverty, race, and the child welfare system, showing

how these factors can hinder parents' ability to reunite with their

children despite their best efforts. The essay seeks to underscore the

urgent need for a more nuanced, multidisciplinary approach to child

welfare advocacy that includes legal professionals, social workers,

and health professionals working collaboratively …

Litigation Landmines: Exclusionary Zoning And Sober Living Homes, Rachel L. Andersen

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

This article delves into the intricate landscape of sober living home ordinances within residential zoning districts, shedding light on exclusionary restrictions and requirements that have triggered extensive and costly discrimination litigation. Providing a concise history of the origins of modern-day sober living homes, the article examines legislative initiatives and ongoing litigation concerning zoning ordinances aimed at regulating these homes in residential neighborhoods. It explores the nuanced use or prohibition of specific terms and conditions within such ordinances and compares historical interpretations of regulatory provisions for recovery residences. The article presents examples of contentious terms and requirements that have fueled litigation, …

Addressing Educational Inequality In The United States: A Comparative Approach To The European System, Yi-Sheng Liu

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

This study compares educational inequality in the U.S. and Europe. Utilizing a comparative approach based on the Positive Obligations of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, we expand on social contexts and objective facts to address how the U.S responds to educational inequality issues in contemporary constitutional interpretation (digital transformation and disparity, for example). We examine emerging issues in social change and expectations and discuss the rationale for constitutional legal norms to explain how these contribute to constitutional change. We suggest that the nation’s confrontation with educational inequality should be guided by …