Sexuality and the Law Commons^™

Brief Of The National Lesbian And Gay Law Association Et Al. As Amici Curiae In Support Of Petitioners, Lawrence, Et Al. V. Texas, No. 02-102 (U.S. Jan. 16, 2003), Chai R. Feldblum

U.S. Supreme Court Briefs

No abstract provided.

Lawrence V. Texas: Brief Of Amici Curiae Constitutional Law Professors Bruce A. Ackerman, Jack M. Balkin, Derrick A. Bell, Jr., Paul Brest, Evan Caminker, Erwin Chemerinsky, David D. Cole, David B. Cruz, Thomas C. Grey, Pamela S. Karlan, Kenneth L. Karst, Andrew Koppelman, Sanford Levinson, Frank Michelman, William B. Rubenstein, Steven H. Shiffrin, Geoffrey R. Stone, And Kenji Yoshino In Support Of Petitioner, Evan Caminker

Appellate Briefs

The law professors named below teach and write about Constitutional law. Both basic and advanced constitutional law courses, as well as a wide range of scholarship on constitutional issues, regularly consider the rights of gay men and lesbians. Amici are among the many scholars who have spent a considerable amount of time thinking, writing, and teaching about the issues before the Court in this case. A selected list of their scholarship on these issues is contained in an Appendix to this brief.

Based on this expertise, and on careful review of this Court's decisions, amici argue in this brief that …

Is Marriage Obsolete?, Lynn D. Wardle

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Is legal marriage obsolete? Wardle thinks not. In order to understand why not, it is necessary first to grasp the significance of the focus of the discussion on the legal status of marriage. As this Introduction suggests, lack of legal marriage status does not prevent families and communities from treating couples as married nor does the law forbid couples from voluntarily providing each other "marital benefits." Nevertheless, whether marriage is obsolete at the beginning of the twenty-first century is an important question. This article analyzes four dimensions of that question.

Feminist Inquiry And Action: Introduction To A Symposium On Confronting Domestic Violence And Achieving Gender Equality: Evaluating Battered Women & Feminist Lawmaking By Elizabeth Schneider, Ann Shalleck

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Freedom Of Discrimination?:The Conflict Between Public Accommodations' Freedom Association And State Anti-Discrimination Laws, 37 J. Marshall L. Rev. 125 (2003), Gregory J. Wartman

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Quandary Of Megan's Law: When The Child Sex Offender Is A Child, 37 J. Marshall L. Rev. 73 (2003), Timothy E. Wind

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The New European Union Directive On Sexual Harassment And Its Implications For Greece, Mary Ellen Tsekos

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

From Presumed Fathers To Lesbian Mothers: Sex Discrimination And The Legal Construction Of Parenthood, Susan E. Dalton

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

In Part I of this article, Dalton briefly reviews the way legal scholars commonly define sex-based discrimination, particularly as it pertains to issues of reproduction. Part II is a brief historical review of legal constructions of parenthood. In Part III, Dalton examines two legal concepts: retroactive legitimation and presumed fatherhood. Both concepts were introduced in 1872 and each independently encouraged judges to think of fatherhood as consisting of two distinct spheres, the biological and the social. She then traces the legal development of these concepts through a series of presumed father, retroactive legitimation, and putative father cases. In Part IV …

Does The Texas Homosexual Conduct Law Violate The Fourteenth Amendment, Dale Carpenter

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

A Bad Subject, Daria Roithmayr

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article explores the concept of the "bad subject" in legal discourse, arguing that women are often categorized as such because they do not fit the legal definition of a "good subject," which requires full autonomy and self-direction. Women's experiences, influenced by systemic oppression such as patriarchy and racism, complicate this binary, leading to their exclusion from legal protections and recognition of their agency.

Nietzschean Critique And Philosophical Hermeneutics, Francis J. Mootz Iii

Scholarly Works

This article appears as part of a Symposium on "Nietzsche and Legal Theory" published by the Cardozo Law Review. It addresses connections between philosophical hermeneutics and Nietzschean critique, and the relevance that these connections might have for legal theory.

Legal practice inevitably is hermeneutical, with lawyers and judges interpreting governing legal texts and the social situations in which they must be applied. Hans-Georg Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics describes this practice well, but he treats the question of the possibility of a critical hermeneutics in an ambiguous and under-developed manner. Consequently, Gadamer is frequently (and unfairly) accused of conventionalism and quietism. At …

The Law Is Straight And Narrow, How American Courts Define Families, Elisa Laird

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article argues that American law is inherently biased toward traditional heterosexual family structures, creating significant barriers for same-sex couples and non-traditional families seeking legal recognition and rights. The legal system's "straight and narrow" framework often excludes these families from accessing benefits and protections granted to heterosexual families, reflecting deeply entrenched religious and historical influences.

The Closet Becomes Darker For The Abused: A Perspective On Lesbian Partner Abuse, Marnie J. Franklin

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article argues that lesbian partner abuse is systematically overlooked in both academic discourse and legal systems, which predominantly rely on heteronormative frameworks that fail to account for same-sex relationships. This exclusion perpetuates the marginalization of abused lesbians, who face unique barriers due to societal homophobia, internalized shame, and the legal system's reliance on heterosexual models of domestic violence.

Cincinnati's Addition Of Sexual Orientation To Hate Crime Sparks Controversy, Molly Mack

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Supreme Court To Examine The Criminalization Of Consensual Sodomy, Kevin J. Mccloskey

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Former Health Commissioner Indicted Under California Law Criminalizing Hiv Transmission, Michelle Lammers

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

Protections For Transgender Employees, Jennifer L. Levi

Media Presence

Many transgender employees routinely face demotions, unfavorable conditions of employment, and even discriminatory terminations--due not to job-related problems but to employers' discomfort with and animus against transgender people. Lawyers may look to several sources of law in order to redress the rights of transgender clients who face adverse treatment in such situations, including transgender-specific nondiscrimination laws, state and federal sex discrimination laws, and state disability laws. Although courts historically have found transgender people excluded from coverage under certain laws, developing case law supports the arguments of transgender employees who face workplace discrimination.

Protecting Transgender Families: Strategies For Advocates, Taylor Flynn

Media Presence

This Article discusses the difficulties involving divorce for married transgender women and men in the United States. For a transgender (trans) man or woman, what begins as the dissolution of a relationship may be transformed into a public nightmare in which the individual is forced to defend the authenticity of his or her gender in the face of relentless, brutal, and humiliating questions about the most intimate details of personal anatomy and sexual practices.

The Author suggest that the courts should point to the medical standards of care, which conclude that sex is determined by gender identity: the court then …

Not Whistlin' Dixie: Now, More Than Ever, We Need Feminist Law Journals, Carlin Meyer

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Breastfeeding Or Bust: The Need For Legislation To Protect A Mother's Right To Express Breast Milk At Work, Elissa Aaronson Goodman

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that current federal legislation, including Title VII, the ADA, and the FMLA, fails to adequately protect women's rights to express breast milk in the workplace. It advocates for a federal statute specifically addressing this issue, as existing laws are insufficient due to narrow interpretations and lack of explicit protections. The note emphasizes the importance of breastfeeding for infant health and maternal well-being, while also highlighting the benefits for employers, such as reduced absenteeism and healthcare costs. Without federal legislation, women face significant barriers to expressing breast milk at work, perpetuating disparities in breastfeeding rates.

Justice Kennedy's Libertarian Revolution: Lawrence V. Texas, Randy E. Barnett

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This brief article explains why Lawrence v. Texas could be a revolutionary case if the Supreme Court follows Justice Kennedy's reasoning in the future. As in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Justice Kennedy finds a statute to be unconstitutional, not because it infringes a right to privacy (which is mentioned but once), but because it infringes "liberty" (a word he uses at least twenty-five times). In addition, Justice Kennedy's opinion protects liberty without any finding that the liberty being restricted is a "fundamental right." Instead, having identified the conduct prohibited as liberty, he turns to the purported justification for the …

Six Opinions By Mr. Justice Stevens: A New Methodology For Constitutional Cases?, Robert F. Nagel

Publications

No abstract provided.

Burdened By Proof: How The Australian Refugee Review Tribunal Has Failed Lesbian And Gay Asylum Seekers, Catherine Dauvergne, Jenni Millbank

All Faculty Publications

Our argument in this paper is that the evidentiary practices and procedures that have been developed by the Australian Refugee Review Tribunal are operating at a routinely low standard. Such practices contribute to decisions that are manifestly unfair and potentially wrong in law. Our conclusions are drawn from our detailed study of more than 300 refugee tribunal decisions made in Canada and Australia in response to asylum claims brought by lesbians and gay men.

"They Say He's Gay": The Admissibility Of Evidence Of Sexual Orientation, Peter Nicolas

Articles

This Article seeks to fill an existing gap. Part II of this Article discusses the ways in which the sexual orientation of a victim, party, or witness is relevant within the meaning of Federal Rule of Evidence 401 and its state-law analogues, as well as when such evidence, although relevant, is nonetheless excluded due to its potential prejudicial impact.

Part III of this Article examines the hearsay rule and its exceptions to determine when, if ever, a person's assertion that he is gay can be admitted into evidence. Part IV of this Article discusses the applicability of the spousal privileges …

Transgender Jurisprudence: Dysphoric Bodies Of Law, Jennifer L. Levi

Faculty Scholarship

This is a book review of Andrew Sharpe's "Transgender Jurisprudence: Dysphoric Bodies of Law." The Author discusses the contribution Sharpe makes to the transgender rights movement as invaluable for two reasons. First, it provides the first in-depth and full-length comprehensive treatment of the topic of transgender jurisprudence, and emerges as the foundational work by which others will be measured. Second, it exposes the homophobia underlying many of the key decisions, particularly in the area of marriage and family law, and provides an important link between the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender movements which should not be ignored by activists from …

Stealing The Natural Language: The Fiction Of The Social Contract And Legality In The Light Of Nietzsche's Philosophy, Jiří Přibáň

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Prescription For Gender: How Medical Professionals Can Help Secure Equality For Transgender People, Jennifer L. Levi

Faculty Scholarship

Transgender people have made tremendous legal gains in the last several years. We live in a period of rapid social change, hopefully approaching a time when transgender individuals and our families enjoy the same legal rights and privileges afforded to other members of society. However, we are not there yet. This essay discusses the role medical professionals must play if transgender people are to achieve full humanity in light of legal developments in the areas of employment and family law. Medical professionals are at the heart of directing and implementing policies that have an enormous effect on the lives of …

Applying The Discrimination Model To Violence Against Women: Some Reflections On Theory And Practice, Sally F. Goldfarb

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Protecting Transgender Families: Strategies For Advocates, Taylor Flynn

Faculty Scholarship

For a transgender (trans) man or woman, what begins as the dissolution of a relationship may be transformed into a public nightmare in which the individual is forced to defend the authenticity of his or her gender in the face of relentless, brutal, and humiliating questions about the most intimate details of personal anatomy and sexual practices. This Article discusses this reality in the case of Michael Kantaras, a transsexual man in Clearwater, Florida in 2002.

Protections For Transgender Employees, Jennifer Levi

Faculty Scholarship

This Article discusses protections for transgender employee rights and how many transgender employees routinely face demotions, unfavorable conditions of employment, and even discriminatory terminations--due not to job-related problems but to employers' discomfort with and animus against transgender people. The Author points out that although courts historically have found transgender people excluded from coverage under certain laws, developing case law supports the arguments of transgender employees who face workplace discrimination.