Sexuality and the Law Commons^™

On Making Anti-Essentialist And Social Constructionist Arguments In Courts, Suzanne B. Goldberg

Faculty Scholarship

One of my most intense disagreements with another lawyer during nearly a decade of lesbian and gay rights litigation concerned social constructionism. The lawyer (a law professor, if truth be told) wanted to argue in an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court that sexual orientation, like race, was a social constructed category. He reasoned that since the Court had condemned race discrimination even while recognizing the "socio-political, rather than biological" nature of race, it would similarly be willing to invalidate a measure discriminating against lesbians, gay men and bisexuals, even while recognizing the socially constructed nature of sexual …

Dissecting Axes Of Subordination: The Need For A Structural Analysis, Darren L. Hutchinson

Faculty Articles

This Essay addresses two important issues related to the task of unveiling and challenging the institutional nature of anti-gay bias. In Part II, this Essay explains in greater detail how a structural analysis of judicial bias can lead to a richer understanding of subordination by uncovering the subtle, hidden, and ideological roots and manifestations of oppression. Part III argues that law and sexuality scholars must conduct a multidimensional reading of judicial heterosexism- that is, in order to appreciate fully the structural dimensions of judicial bias against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individuals, we must recognize that this bias exists as …

A New Look At Sexual Harassment Under The Fair Housing Act: The Forgotten Role Of §3604(C), Robert G. Schwemm, Rigel C. Oliveri

Law Faculty Scholarly Articles

Sexual harassment in housing is a significant national problem. Although less visible than the comparable problem in employment, sexual harassment in housing may be as prevalent and probably more devastating to its victims.

Nevertheless, relatively little attention has been paid to this issue or to the law that should govern it. Indeed, the law of sexual harassment in housing developed well after and in virtual lock-step with the law of sexual harassment in employment. Thus, courts have simply interpreted the Fair Housing Act (FHA) to prohibit sexual harassment to the same degree—and only to the same degree—as it is prohibited …

Bicentennial Man -- The New Millennium Assimilationism And The Foreigner Among Us, Lolita K. Buckner Inniss

Publications

No abstract provided.

Immigration Sponsorship Rights For Gay And Lesbian Couples: Defining Partnerships, Desiree Alonso

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note advocates for the passage of the Permanent Partners Immigration Act (PPIA) to address the inequality faced by same-sex couples in U.S. immigration law. It argues that the PPIA would provide a parallel system allowing same-sex partners to sponsor each other for immigration without challenging the traditional definition of marriage under the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The note emphasizes the importance of recognizing same-sex partnerships to uphold the principle of family reunification and equality.

Supreme Court To Hear Internet Sex Offender Registry Case, Lara I. Vaive

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Marriage And Belonging, Ann Laquer Estin

Michigan Law Review

Marriage is a quintessentially private institution. Justice Douglas put the point this way in 1965, writing for the Supreme Court in Griswold v. Connecticut: "We deal with a right of privacy older than the Bill of Rights - older than our political parties, older than our school system. Marriage is a coming together for better or for worse, hopefully enduring, and intimate to the degree of being sacred. It is an association that promotes a way of life, not causes; a harmony in living, not political faiths; a bilateral loyalty, not commercial or social projects. Yet it is an association …

Adjudication According To Codes Of Judicial Conduct, Jennifer Gerarda Brown

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Affirmative Action For The Female Entrepreneur: Gender As A Presumed Socially Disadvantaged Group For 8(A) Program Purposes, Athena S. Cheng

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

The Ethics Of Narrative, Muneer I. Ahmad

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

The Ethics Of Narrative, Muneer I. Ahmad

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

The Complex Uses Of Sexual Orientation In Criminal Court, Abbe Smith

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Introduction To The Symposium: Homophobia In The Halls Of Justice: Sexual Orientation Bias And Its Implications Within The Legal System, Brenda V. Smith, Pamela Bridgewater

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The gay moment is unavoidable. -Andrew Kopkind

Gay activist, journalist and political commentator Andrew Kopkind made this profound observation at a critical moment in the queer rights movement, in the midst of the March on Washington, pride rallies, queer organizing and the ever strengthening movement to address the AIDS crisis within the queer community. The moment, however, meant different things to participants in the movement. Over the years, the queer or sexual liberation movement transformed itself into a much more equality-based movement with the most energy focused on securing recognition of gay marriage and equal access to the military. As …

Lesbigay Identity As Commodity, David Skover, Kellye Testy

Faculty Articles

In America's popular culture, LesBiGay identities abound. In its political culture, however, they emerge more tentatively. The commercial and entertainment industries increasingly commodify and celebrate LesBiGay identities. The courts and legislatures generally discount and condemn them. Thus, there is a deep dissonance between the validation of LesBiGay identities in the economic marketplace of items and ideas, and their devaluation in the legal arena of rights and remedies. This piece explores the deep dissonance that exists today between the validation of American LesBiGays in the commercial marketplace and their devaluation in political and legal arenas, and questions the failure of legal …

Lesbigay Identity As Commodity, David M. Skover, Kellye Y. Testy

Articles

This Essay explores the deep dissonance that exists today between the validation of American LesBiGays in the commercial marketplace and their devaluation in political and legal arenas, and questions the failure of legal scholars and civil rights activists to account meaningfully for this dissonance in their theories and practices. I

n America's popular culture, LesBiGay identities abound. In its political culture, however, they emerge more tentatively. The commercial and entertainment industries increasingly commodify and celebrate LesBiGay identities. The courts and legislatures generally discount and condemn them. Thus, there is a deep dissonance between the validation of LesBiGay identities in the …

Law As A Reflection Of Her/His-Story: Current Institutional Perceptions Of, And Possibilities For, Protecting Transsexuals' Interests In Legal Determinations Of Sex, Jody L. Madeira

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Complex Uses Of Sexual Orientation In Criminal Court, Abbe Smith

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Times may or may not be changing for gay people in the criminal justice system--and for the import of sexual orientation in criminal law. It depends on the nature of the case and, more importantly, exactly whose sexual orientation we are talking about.

Signs of positive change include the recent high profile Matthew Shepard and Diane Whipple cases, in which gay and lesbian homicide victims were mourned not only by the gay community, but also by the entire country. It was no doubt helpful that both Shepard and Whipple presented very appealing images of gay people: each was young, attractive, …

Protecting Plaintiffs' Sexual Pasts: Coping With Preconceptions Through Discretion, Jane H. Aiken

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Part I of this Article traces the development of the civil application of Rule 412, the so-called “Rape Shield Rule”. Part II analyzes the inconsistencies within the cases decided under the new civil rule and links those inconsistencies to the language of the rule. It identifies the trends within the cases about what constitutes probative value for purposes of the rule and how courts assess prejudice. The Article concludes that rules of evidence designed to remedy bias of fact finders should not be cast as discretionary. Many of the problems that arise in the interpretation of Rule 412 could be …

The Rhetorics Of Legal Authority Constructing Authoritativeness, The “Ellen Effect,” And The Example Of Sodomy Law., Kris Franklin

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Reacting To Ashcroft V. Free Speech Coalition And The Burial Of The Cppa: An Argument To Regulate Digital Child Pornography Because It Incites Imminent Lawless Action, Justin Leach

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Part I discusses the nature and origin of digital child pornography and how child pornography has traditionally fit into First Amendment analysis. Part II discusses Congress' reaction to digital innovations in child pornography by passing the Child Pornography Prevention Act and, Part II further explains the federal appellate courts' treatment of the CPPA. Part III discusses the history and arguments made for each side in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition. Part IV discusses the legal and constitutional analysis of the Supreme Court in striking down the regulations that banned digital child pornography. Finally, Part V makes an additional constitutional argument, …

Illegalized Sexual Dissent: Sexualities And Nationalisms, Katherine M. Franke

Faculty Scholarship

In this essay, Katherine Franke explores how dissent becomes a different, and in some ways more interesting, phenomenon when the dissenter emerges not from outside the political horizon drawn by the state, but rather from within it, and as an integral part of the state's project of governance. In these cases, the state calls up a set of subjects who are in some fundamental sense positioned to gain state, if not public, disfavor. These subjects are then isolated, excised or otherwise managed in ways that further state interests. Three cases are discussed in which the production of sexual outlaws proves …

Evaluating The Sex Discrimination Argument For Lesbian And Gay Rights, Edward D. Stein

Articles

The sex discrimination argument for lesbian and gay rights analyzes laws that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in terms of sex discrimination. For example, sodomy laws that prohibit only same-sex sexual activities are analyzed as discriminating on the basis of sex because they prohibit women from doing something men are permitted to do, that is, have sex with women. This argument has been championed by some scholars and litigators, and it has persuaded some judges. Edward Stein shows that there are sociological, theoretical, moral, and practical problems facing the sex discrimination argument. He suggests that there are better …

Civil Rights For Gays And Lesbians And Domestic Partner Benefits: How Far Could An Ohio Municipality Go , Mark A. Tumeo

Cleveland State Law Review

It can be seen from the analyses in this Article that ordinances which grant domestic partnership benefits and/or civil rights to gays and lesbians will probably face a complex gambit of legal challenges under state law, federal law, and both State and U.S. Constitutions. Current law and current common practice in the State, however, indicates that municipalities probably have almost unfettered power to pass ordinances that either grant protection or deny protection to gays and lesbians in the area of employment and housing discrimination within the municipalities jurisdiction. The situation is not as clear when it comes to domestic partnership …

Sexual Harassment And Disparate Impact: Should Non-Targeted Workplace Sexual Conduct Be Actionable Under Title Vii?, Kelly Cahill Timmons

Faculty Publications By Year

No abstract provided.