Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

2023 Ruth Bader Ginsburg Essay/Art Contest, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Gender And Deception: Moral Perceptions And Legal Responses, Gregory Klass, Tess Wilkinson-Ryan

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Decades of social science research has shown that the identity of the parties in a legal action can affect case outcomes. Parties’ race, gender, class, and age all affect decisions of prosecutors, judges, juries, and other actors in a criminal prosecution or civil litigation. Less studied has been how identity might affect other forms of legal regulation. This Essay begins to explore perceptions of deceptive behavior—i.e., how wrongful it is, and the extent to which it should be regulated or punished—and the relationship of those perceptions to the gender of the actors. We hypothesize that ordinary people tend to perceive …

Supreme Court Interruptions And Interventions: The Changing Role Of The Chief Justice, Tonja Jacobi, Matthew Sag

Faculty Articles

Interruptions at Supreme Court oral argument have received much attention in recent years, particularly the disproportionate number of interruptions directed at the female Justices. The Supreme Court changed the structure of oral argument to try to address this problem. This Article assesses whether the frequency and gender disparity of interruptions of Justices improved in recent years, and whether the structural change in argument helped. It shows that interruptions decreased during the pandemic but then resurged to near-record highs, as has the gender disparity in Justice-to-Justice interruptions. However, although the rate of advocate interruptions of Justices also remains historically high, for …

Thinly Rooted: Dobbs, Tradition, And Reproductive Justice, Darren L. Hutchinson

Faculty Articles

In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey. These two cases held that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment encompassed a right of women to terminate a pregnancy. Roe reflected over 60 years of substantive due process precedent finding and reaffirming a constitutional right of privacy with several animating themes, including bodily integrity, equality, and dignity. The Court’s substantive due process doctrine had established that the analysis in such cases would involve multiple points of inquiry, such as tradition, contemporary practices, and …

Swipe Right Into A Disciplinary Hearing: How The Use Of Dating Apps Could Earn An Attorney More Than A Bad First Date, Zachary S. Aman

Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology

The Model Rules of Professional Conduct seek to police the conduct of attorneys. Each jurisdiction adopts its own rules of professional conduct to apply to the attorneys licensed within it. Notably, the model rules prohibit any sexual relationship between the attorney and client unless that relationship precedes the attorney-client relationship. Traditionally, defining a "sexual relationship" was simple, particularly if the attorney and client engaged in sexual intercourse. The introduction of dating apps, however, has blurred the line.

This article outlines the inherent risks of attorneys using dating apps at a time when most newly-licensed attorneys make up the majority of …

Twenty-First Century Split: Partisan, Racial, And Gender Differences In Circuit Judges Following Earlier Opinions, Stuart Minor Benjamin, Kevin M. Quinn, Byungkoo Kim

Faculty Scholarship

Judges shape the law with their votes and the reasoning in their opinions. An important element of the latter is which opinions they follow, and thus elevate, and which they cast doubt on, and thus diminish. Using a unique and comprehensive dataset containing the substantive Shepard’s treatments of all circuit court published and unpublished majority opinions issued between 1974 and 2017, we examine the relationship between judges’ substantive treatments of earlier appellate cases and their party, race, and gender. Are judges more likely to follow opinions written by colleagues of the same party, race, or gender? What we find is …

Reflections On “Personal Responsibility” After Covid And Dobbs: Doubling Down On Privacy, Susan Frelich Appleton, Laura A. Rosenbury

Scholarship@WashULaw

This essay uses lenses of gender, race, marriage, and work to trace understandings of “personal responsibility” in laws, policies, and conversations about public support in the United States over three time periods: (I) the pre-COVID era, from the beginning of the American “welfare state” through the start of the Trump administration; (II) the pandemic years; and (III) the present post-pandemic period. We sought to explore the possibility that COVID and the assistance programs it inspired might have reshaped the notion of personal responsibility and unsettled assumptions about privacy and dependency. In fact, a mixed picture emerges. On the one hand, …

Integrating Feminist Approaches In Counseling Work With Adult Women, Kristen M. Toole

Adultspan Journal

The scope of ‘women’s issues’ in counseling is an ever-evolving landscape. Recent events such as the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on women serve as powerful reminders of the necessity of this focus while underscoring a deep-rooted history of oppressive patriarchal structures. Therefore, counselors must remain informed of the unique considerations surrounding adult women in counseling and acquire proficiency in versatile techniques to meet this population’s nuanced needs. This article examines the complexity of contemporary womanhood and explores the fundamentals of Feminist Counseling Theory (FCT), a holistic, multiculturally conscious, social justice theory in counseling. …

Women’S Sexuality And The State: A Beginning Look At Virginity’S Relationship To The Law, Ariana Strieb

Senior Projects Spring 2023

This is a beginning look at the relationship the state has with women's sexuality in the United States, specifically looking at how virginity animate the way rape trials are prosecuted.

Title Ix's Trans Panic, Deborah L. Brake

Articles

Sport is an agent of social change, but that change does not always track in a progressive direction. Sport can be a site for contesting and reversing the gains of progressive social movements as much as furthering the values of equality and justice for historically marginalized groups. This dynamic of contestation and reversal is now playing out in a new wave of anti-transgender backlash that has gained adherents among some proponents of equal athletic opportunities for girls and women. In this latest twist in the debate over who deserves the opportunity to compete, the sex-separate athletic programming permitted by Title …

Why Are We Not Worth Saving? Latin American Immigrant Women's Experiences With Post-9/11 Crimmigration Policies And Asylum-Seeking In The United States, Kaye Romans

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis discusses Crimmigration—the convergence of criminal policies and immigration law—in a post-9/11 world as it relates to Latin American Immigrant women seeking asylum in the United States. Utilizing case law, legislation, and legal scholarship, I situate these policies in the broader context of immigration law both nationally and internationally, focusing on key post-9/11 legislation and policies such as Operation Streamline, Operation Liberty Shield, and Title 42, as well as key post-9/11 case law dealing with Latin American women seeking asylum in the United States. With these foundational understandings, I provide possible solutions that would lessen the harms presented to …

¿Por Qué No Vale La Pena Salvarnos? Experiencias De Mujeres Inmigrantes Latinoamericanas Con Políticas De Inmigración Post-9/11 Y Solicitantes De Asilo En Los Estados Unidos, Kaye Romans

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Esta tesis aborda la Crimmigration—la convergencia de las políticas criminales y la ley de inmigración—en un mundo post-9/11 en lo que se refiere a las mujeres inmigrantes latinoamericanas que buscan asilo en los Estados Unidos. Utilizando la jurisprudencia, la legislación y la erudición legal, sitúo estas políticas en el contexto más amplio de la ley de inmigración tanto a nivel nacional como internacional, centrándome en la legislación y políticas claves posteriores al 9/11 tales como la Operation Streamline, la Operation Liberty Shield y el Title 42, así como la jurisprudencia clave posterior al 9/11 que trata con las mujeres latinoamericanas …

The Human Environment: Awakening To The Indomitable Cuban Spirit--Government, Culture, And People, Berta Hernández-Truyol

FIU Law Review

My thoughts are to write about The Human Environment. I will address the recent events concerning the increased silencing of dissent and the criminal law reforms that prohibit peaceful gatherings.

The Expected Risks And Exacerbations Of Poverty, Mental Health Disorders, And Maternal Mortality From Abortion Bans: A Comparative Literature Analysis, Daniel J. Francisco

All Master's Theses

Background. Early termination of a pregnancy (hereinafter referred to as an “abortion”) has been debated in the United States (U.S.) for decades, without much regard to the negative outcomes that forced pregnancies have for those assigned female at birth regarding poverty, mental health and maternal mortality. In 1973, access to safe abortions was protected so long that the procedure was done within the legal gestational period and/or was necessary for the health and safety of the patient (Blackmun, 1972). Unfortunately, in 2022, the Supreme Court took that protection away and made it legal for states to determine the reproductive rights …

Beyond The Business Case: Moving From Transactional To Transformational Inclusion, Jamillah Bowman Williams

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

While workplace diversity is a hot topic, the extent to which the diversity management movement has effectively improved intergroup relations and reduced racial inequality remains unclear. Despite large investments in diversity and inclusion training and other company wide initiatives, historically excluded groups remain vastly underrepresented in leadership and the most lucrative careers, such as finance, law, and technology. This calls the efficacy of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts into question, particularly with respect to reducing racial inequality in the workplace.

This Article explains why it is time for organizational leaders to move beyond the transactional case for diversity and …

Appraising The Devos Tix Rule: Due Process In Campus Adjudication Processes, Athulya Nath

CMC Senior Theses

The increasing awareness and desire to fight sexual violence on college campuses have led to focusing campus adjudication processes on achieving justice. This thesis will analyze Betsy DeVos’s Title IX changes and explore whether she achieves due process protections in the new policy. This thesis will detail DeVos’s various changes – increased evidentiary standard, live hearing and cross-examination, narrowed definitions, reduction of responsible employees, and presumption of innocence for accused students – and how these changes are beneficial or detrimental to due process as a whole. This thesis will also explore the presence of rape culture on college campuses, the …

Gender And Corporate Crime: Do Women On The Board Of Directors Reduce Corporate Bad Behavior?, Ido Baum, Dalit Gafni, Ruthy Lowenstein Lazar

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Public debate on mandating gender representation on boards of directors in the United States is close to a boiling point. California introduced a mandatory quota in 2018 only to see it constitutionally disqualified in 2022, and the Nasdaq Stock Market followed suit with new diversity rules in 2021 for all corporations listed on the exchange. While public discourse focuses on corporate performance, not much is known about the link between gender diversity and corporate normative obedience.

In this study we explore the relationship between boardroom gender representation and corporate compliance with the law. We examine the impact of gender diversity …

Patriarchy’S Link To Intimate Partner Violence: Applications To Survivors’ Asylum Claims, Daniel G. Saunders, Tina Jiwatram-Negrón, Natalie Nanasi, Iris Cardenas

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Eligibility for asylum for survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) has recently been contested. We summarize social science evidence to show how such survivors generally meet asylum criteria. Studies consistently show a relationship between patriarchal factors and IPV, thereby establishing a key asylum criterion that women are being persecuted because of their status as women. Empirical support is also provided for other asylum criteria, specifically: patriarchal norms contribute to state actors’ unwillingness to protect survivors, and survivors’ political opinions are linked to an escalation of perpetrators’ violence. The findings have implications for policy reform and supporting individual asylum-seekers.

Judging From Above: French Feminists & Their Influence On The Veil Debate, Emma Caroline Delapré

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

Over the past two decades, the international community has found itself questioning France’s application of laïcité and the egalitarianism it supposedly ensures, particularly regarding veils associated with the Islamic faith. Integral to the face veil debate is the advocacy of French feminists, especially those who identify as pro-ban. Overarchingly, pro-ban feminists argue that the practice of wearing face veils or coverings undermines a French citizen’s obligation to foster cohesion in the public sphere through the acceptance of republican norms. This viewpoint informs the analysis of the state of social division in France undertaken here. The tools of analysis include a …

How Survivors Of Domestic Violence Seek Legal And Social Support Against Their Abusers In Ahmednagar District Of Maharashtra State In India: An Exploratory Study, Jonathan Israel

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This exploratory study sought to gather detailed information about women’s experiences surviving and rehabilitating from domestic violence. This information was used to identify factors that encourage survivors to stay in their relationships and factors that enable them to seek legal and social support against their abusive partners. Qualitative data was gathered through a series of in-depth interviews and panel discussions with survivors of domestic violence in Ahmednagar, Maharashtra (India). This data was analyzed with guidance from Indian feminist theory, local professionals, and contributing research mentors. Further examination of national survey data, past research on domestic violence in Indian contexts, and …

Online Legal Help-Seeking For Victims Of Intimate Partner Violence During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Christina S. Walker

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Legal, court, and criminal justice professionals regularly navigate court procedures and processes through online portals. They know where to locate applicable court rules, such as a specific section on a court website or a departmental contact. However, these tasks can be extremely daunting for laypersons seeking court assistance, especially for victims of violence who have limited time away from the abuser. To determine how state judicial branches make information available about protective order procedures and general information to a layperson, especially to victims of intimate partner violence, this study assessed court websites of five states where intimate partner violence (IPV) …

Disposable Immigrants: The Reality Of Sexual Assault In Immigration Detention Centers, Valerie Gisel Zarate

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming.

Where The Rainbow Ends: The Hidden Humanitarian Crisis For Members Of The Lgbtqia+ Community In International Business, John R. Krendel

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

Before pursuing an international career, members of the LGBTQIA+ community must be aware of the hardship that may be exacerbated by living and working abroad. This study addresses the trends in laws, including employment and anti-discrimination laws, that provide and restrict certain rights of members of the LGBTQIA+ community in eight countries. These nations, both progressive and discriminatory, include the United States, England, Switzerland, Germany, Taiwan, China, the Philippines and Kazakhstan. Eight LGBTQIA+ business professionals spoke on their experiences living and working in each of these countries and provided advice to members of the community wishing to pursue an international …

Protecting A Woman’S Right To Abortion During A Public Health Crisis, San Juanita Gonzalez

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

As COVID-19 infected our nation, states were quick to issue executive orders restricting various aspects of daily life under the pretense of public safety. It was clear at the outset that certain civil liberties were going to be tested. Among them, the constitutional right to an abortion.

This comment explores Texas’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the limitations it imposed on abortion access. It will attempt to address the legitimacy of the “public health concerns” listed in executive orders issued throughout numerous states and will discuss the pertinent legal framework and judicial scrutiny to apply.

According to the Fifth …

Identity Documents For Transgender Texans: A Proposal For A Uniform System For Correcting Gender Markers In Texas, Lydia R. Harris

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Texas’s lack of a codified gender correction process is unjust, illegal, and against public policy. This comment highlights the injustice faced by transgender Texans without gender concordant identity documents. These injustices include discrimination based on gender stereotypes, violation of the transgender individual’s right to privacy, and violations of public policy. This comment explores possible solutions to the injustices faced by transgender Texans due to the lack of a codified uniform way to correct gender markers in Texas modeled on other jurisdictions’ approaches to this problem.

First, this comment traces the history of the recognition of transgender people and transgender rights …

Sexual Profiling & Blaqueer Furtivity: Blaqueers On The Run, T. Anansi Wilson

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

This article has taken some time to recollect. I have been struggling to find the grammar to communicate a phenomenon that is both central to BlaQueer life and beyond BlaQueer living. This difficulty, the silences, the gaps, the nonsensical and agrammatical nature of this phenomena—that of BlaQueer furtivity, the strict scrutiny of Black life and sexual profiling—are central features not only of this project but of the legal, extralegal and social logics and powers that mark, make and remake BlaQueer folks as always, already furtive, subject to strict scrutiny and necessarily sexual profiling. I have been struggling with whether to …

Is Using Preferred Gender Pronouns Important In The Courtroom?, Golden Gate University School Of Law

Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality and Social Justice Law Journal

In relation to the Farmer v. Brennan, a case discussed in this blog, it is important to note that triggering language is used in the opinion, as the incorrect pronouns are used to refer to the petitioner throughout.

The use of proper gender pronouns is important to nearly every person in the world. In all cases, proper and preferred gender pronouns are the same. It is respectful and expected to use a person’s preferred pronouns e.g., the proper term for the person. Whether you are part of the LGBTQ+ community or not, the use of proper gender pronouns is only …

“A Sea Of White Faces”: How Courtroom Portraits Undermine Justice In Virginia, Lauren Miller

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The presence of Confederate symbols and other reminders of white institutional power in courtrooms introduces a risk that impermissible factors such as implicit bias, conscious prejudice, and sympathy for white supremacy will harm litigants’ rights. I compiled data for 210 of 328 courts (64%) in the Commonwealth and found that there are more than 617 portraits on display in Virginia courtrooms. At least 357 portraits depict white men, six depict Black men, fifteen depict white women, and twenty-eight depict people who served in the Confederacy, either in the government or the Confederate States Army (CSA). At least fourteen different courts …

The Current Status Of Women In Morocco And How It Can Be Improved, Amanda Maia

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My paper will explore the conditions of gender minorities in Morocco through representation, NGOs, social structures, and resources therein to support the progress of acquiring more rights for these demographics. With an emphasis on the status of women in Morocco. My main questions as it stands are: What are the living conditions for women in Morocco and how can they be improved? What progress has been and still can be made to improve the quality of life and foster joy for these demographics in Morocco? Since the 1990s, there has been significant progress in Morocco to improve Family Law and …

#Wetoo, Kimberly Kessler Ferzan

All Faculty Scholarship

The #MeToo movement has caused a widespread cultural reckoning over sexual violence, abuse, and harassment. “Me too” was meant to express and symbolize that each individual victim was not alone in their experiences of sexual harm; they added their voice to others who had faced similar injustices. But viewing the #MeToo movement as a collection of singular voices fails to appreciate that the cases that filled our popular discourse were not cases of individual victims coming forward. Rather, case after case involved multiple victims, typically women, accusing single perpetrators. Victims were believed because there was both safety and strength in …