Social Welfare Law Commons^™

Beyond Precedent: Leveraging Non-Precedential Writings In Pursuit Of Social Justice Advocacy, Marissa C. Meredith

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

The role of law in society is complex and often intersects with evolving societal norms, politics, technology, etc. Despite this complexity, students, especially our current Gen-Z students, enroll in law school, hoping to enact positive change within their communities through the legal system. As noted by recent studies, law students' reasons for attending law school have shifted from a “desire to have a challenging and rewarding career” to a focus on “helping others or uplifting their communit[ies]” and addressing “social justice” issues. With this change in purpose, students' expectations about the education they will receive in law school have shifted, …

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 …

Adoption And Parentage Inequality For Same-Sex Couples In Wisconsin In The Age Of Assistive Reproductive Technology, Isabella Barnard

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

In the age of assistive reproductive technology, same-sex couples have more avenues than ever before to become parents, but the law has failed to match pace. With the ever-growing number of same-sex couples conceiving children through artificial insemination, Wisconsin must take action to remedy the inequality of same-sex couples adopting their biological or intended children. As of the publication of this comment, it is recommended that same-sex couples follow the adoption process for their child, as a formal adoption constitutes a court order granting full parentage security because other more efficient options, such as a gender-neutral voluntary parentage acknowledgement, are …

The Urban Talented Tenth: Race, Higher Education, And The Law Of Opportunity, Walter A. Jean-Jacques

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

This Article reexamines W.E.B. Du Bois’s theory of the “Talented Tenth” through the lens of contemporary African American males in urban educational contexts. Drawing on historical origins, critical race theory, and modern jurisprudence surrounding higher education, it argues that law and policy have systematically overlooked those who form what this Article terms the “Urban Talented Tenth.” These students, often lacking traditional markers of privilege, navigate structural inequities while achieving academic excellence. By situating their experiences against the backdrop of landmark Supreme Court cases such as Brown v. Board of Education, Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, Grutter v. …

Balancing Acts: Student Rights, Parental Authority, And State Interests In Modern Sex Education, Linda S. Anderson

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

The article explores the complex interplay between parental rights, state authority, and student interests in the context of sex education in American public schools. It highlights the ongoing tension between abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education approaches, emphasizing the need for a student-centric framework that balances the rights and responsibilities of all stakeholders. The current legal landscape is examined through historical development, seminal court decisions, and recent legislative trends. Empirical evidence is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of comprehensive sex education in promoting public health and supporting adolescents' development. The article advocates for a framework that incorporates student autonomy, age-appropriate content, …

Legislating Loss: Bereavement And State Level Statutes Across The 50 United States, Julio Montanez

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Bereavement is an effectively inescapable experience. As such, many interventions (e.g., counseling) exist to support adaptation to life without a loved one. There are also legal interventions—such as laws—that carve out space, time, and resources for dealing with bereavement. Using an approach that blends three methodological techniques (i.e., evidence synthesis, policy surveillance, and grounded theory method), the current study explores the characteristics of bereavement statutes across the United States. Several thematic categories were constructed through exhaustive engagement with the qualitative statutory data: Health (e.g., Hospice), Responding (i.e., First Responding and Final Responding), Work Leave, Education, Observance/Commemoration, Government, and Miscellaneous. The …

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 …

Inviting The People Into People's Court: Embracing Non-Attorney Representation In Eviction Proceedings, Gregory Zlotnick

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Evictions often hide in plain sight—and so does one of the most effective responses. Studies uniformly confirm that represented tenants avoid evictions, and with it associated downstream effects, at appreciably higher rates than unrepresented tenants. Tenant representation is one of the most cost-effective anti-poverty interventions available in our housing system. Lawyers should support its expansion, even if and when it a non-lawyer serves as that intervenor in eviction court.

This paper argues that the legal profession should embrace and expand existing pathways for training eligible and interested individuals, regardless of whether they are licensed attorneys, to assist tenants facing eviction. …

The War On Drugs Or The War On Drug Users? Supervised Consumption Site In The United States As A Harm Reduction Strategy To Fight The Opioid Epidemic, Mary Crevello

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Exploring the U.S. response to the opioid crisis, this study critically examines supervised consumption sites (SCSs) as a pragmatic approach. The historical framework of the "war on drugs" is scrutinized, highlighting its limitations and the necessity to shift from punitive measures towards more effective harm reduction strategies. Due to escalating opioid-related fatalities and inadequate harm reduction methods, the potential of SCSs is evaluated for short-term intervention. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) role in facilitating temporary measures to enable SCS operations is assessed, underscoring the urgency for a stable legislative framework to comprehensively address the crisis.

This research advocates for embracing …

All Dogs Are Emotional Support Animals: The Timely Need To Reconsider The Rights Of Renters To Have Dogs Under The Fair Housing Act, Leigh Cummings

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

The lack of pet-friendly housing options in the United States and the current web of property-owner-imposed restrictions unfairly prevents renters and lower-income individuals and families from benefitting from dog companionship. The recent confusion and stigma around the term “emotional support animal” has led to misinterpretation of the requirements of a reasonable accommodation request under the Fair Housing Act. Interpreting “assistance animal” under the Fair Housing Act as a blanket classification that applies to all dogs would reverse this current bias. Restrictions should promote responsible pet caretaking, not limit dog ownership. Considering recent heightened protections for dogs in other areas of …

Without A Will, There Is Still A Way: A Statutory Solution To Increase The Value Of A Small Estate And Aid In Reducing The Racial Equity Gap In Wisconsin, Isabella V. Avila Perez

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

For generations, communities of color have struggled to increase their generational wealth. Lack of access to estate planning tools leaves minority groups and low-income families compromised and more likely to die intestate. While the current probate system creates a safety net for those that die intestate, this comment aims to address the need for a statutory solution to aid in combatting Wisconsin's racial equity gap. More specifically, this Comment suggests how increasing and indexing Wisconsin's summary settlement and summary assignment small estate values to include estates of $100,000 or less will allow for more minority and low-income families to qualify …

Pathways To Justice: Positive Rights, State Constitutions, And Untapped Potential, Dustin Coffman

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Positive rights, as a concept, are nothing new. Though they may not have always had such a deceptively unequivocal name, positive rights have existed in various forms and mediums throughout history. They've been utilized, underutilized, and, in some cases, outright ignored. At their core, positive rights are the imposition of an obligation upon the state to fulfill some declared right or benefit. One basis for this imposition is that because citizens give up certain rights by being parties to the "social contract," they should be entitled to certain positive protections guaranteed by the state created by way of said "contract." …

Who Bears The Burden? A Collectivist Approach To Resolving Pandemic Relief Overpayments, Allison R. Mastrangelo

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Unemployment rates soared when COVID-19 hit the U.S. While pandemic relief programs allowed millions to meet their basic needs, a new problem emerged: overpayments. Overpayments occur when state agencies give claimants benefits they were not entitled to. While most claimants were not at fault for these mistakes, millions are now expected to repay benefits they spent months ago. Thus far, the U.S. has prioritized fraud detection over this overpayment crisis. This misguided effort is representative of the destructive, individualistic American welfare culture at large. This note advocates for a solution rooted in collectivist European values: amending the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, …

Gender Confirmation Surgery And The Federal Prison System: Eighth Amendment Framework And Proposed Alternatives, Julie Barnett

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

As reform for individuals with gender dysphoria has developed, the prison system's accommodation of those individuals' needs has underperformed. There have been a number of cases in the past few years where inmates who are experiencing gender dysphoria have not received adequate care in the form of gender confirmation surgery. Four of the Federal Appellate Circuit Courts have decided that a physician's refusal to provide an inmate with gender confirmation surgery is not a violation of the 8th Amendment. One circuit ruled differently and held that denial of the surgery to an inmate experiencing gender dysphoria does violate the 8th …

Creating Broadband Equity In Rural Wisconsin, Brian T. Coe

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Over 430,000 people throughout the state of Wisconsin cur-rently do not have access to the internet. This "digital divide" is even more prominent in rural communities where broadband is either too slow, too expensive, or simply not available. Wisconsin state law cur-rently restricts local governments from providing this vital utility to their residents. The purpose of this Comment is to help readers un-derstand the impact of Wisconsin law surrounding local government public broadband programs, and how they can be changed to offer a more equitable menu of internet access to rural communities. This Comment will discuss the restrictive statutes that …

No Leave To Grieve: How Misfit Frameworks And America's "Grief Tsunami" Require Better Bereavement Policy, Katherine S. Hanson

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

The COVID-19 pandemic fueled America’s recent death surge: 2021 has become the deadliest year on record in the United States. Scholars and commentators claim that the American workplace re-mains unprepared for the impending “grief tsunami” in the wake of such pervasive loss. Likewise, American law is ill-equipped for workplace grief. Bereavement, while medically “normal,” lacks a substantial foothold in workplace benefits and in the law. Currently, organizations bear the burden of developing their own policies—and where available, these policies remain insufficient to accommodate the myriad logistical and emotional complexities associated with the loss of a loved one. In the event …

Certified Fair Wage®: Utilizing Certification Marks In The Fight Against Wage Theft, Anne E. Parrish

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

This paper argues utilizing certification marks in the fight against wage theft is a powerful consumer-side approach to the wage theft crisis, building public attention, fostering a social norm against wage theft, bolstering current approaches to the crisis, and spurring meaningful political action. Current approaches to the wage theft cri-sis are floundering, and certification marks, a subset of trademarks “used to show . . . goods and[] services . . . meet certain standards,” offer a unique approach to the problem. By highlighting certification marks’ unique attributes, showcasing other labor movements’ suc-cessful adaptation of certification marks, and utilizing a hypothetical …

Equal Opportunity In Remote Learning, Teramie Hill

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

Students with disabilities have always been a marginalized group. During the Covid-19 pandemic, this group was even more vulnerable to discrimination because many students simply could not receive services required to ensure equal opportunity in education. While Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act in order to ensure students with disabilities are fairly treated in the educational system, remote learning has created complications and more complex issues. Making this issue even more complex, many parents are demanding the end of remote learning while others …

The Impact Of Social Security Of Dependents And Financing Of Post-Secondary Education Of Dependents On Support Obligations In Particularly California Divorces After The Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Of 2017, John R. Dorocak

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made alimony in divorce decrees and separation agreements entered into after December 31, 2018, neither deductible by the payor nor income to the payee for federal income tax purposes. Likely, that change in the tax law will result in less income to payees in a divorce and higher taxes for payors. In California, support in divorces is basically calculated by the software program Dissomaster. With payors facing higher taxes, such payors may look for possible sources of additional income for paying support. Payors may receive a credit in California against the support obligation …

Wisconsin's 2011 Act 108, Legislative Inaction, And Severe Racial Disparity: A Recipe For A Fair Housing Violation, Taylor N. Haefele

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

When individuals are released from prison, the biggest predictor of whether they will reoffend or successfully reenter society is whether the recently released individual has access to stable housing. Unfortunately, nearly every avenue to housing requires passing a criminal background check. Recognizing this as posing a nearly insurmountable barrier to accessing stable housing upon release from prison, Seattle, Washington; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and San Francisco, California have all enacted ordinances regulating the use of background checks to help ensure access to stable housing for formerly incarcerated individuals. Madison, Wisconsin, and other Wisconsin cities had similar ordinances that regulated the use of …

A Critical Jeffersonian Mind For A Community Reinvestment Bind, Chaz D. Brooks

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 ("CRA") primarily sought to remedy decades of government sanctioned disinvestment in so-called “redlined communities.” Through the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation and later the Federal Housing Administration, the United States of America created from whole cloth a structure that encouraged and subsidized the explosion of homeownership in white American households. Following decades of racialized wealth generation, the United States had a change of heart. Congress determined that financiers needed a gentle push to invest fairly. Additionally, Congress wanted one thing clear in the drafting of this remedy— it must not allocate credit. This essay considers …

Effects On Employees' Compensation Under The Right To Disconnect, Tyler Jochman

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Joys Of Mentoring, Michael A. Mogill, Jd, Llm

Marquette Benefits and Social Welfare Law Review

No abstract provided.