Law and Gender Commons^™

The “Social Magic” Of Merit: Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion In The English And Welsh Legal Profession, Hilary Sommerlad

Fordham Law Review

The discourse of merit is central to the “boundary” practices deployed by the white male elite of the English legal profession to exclude outsiders. The official discourse of government and regulatory body reports presents merit as an objectively verifiable and quantifiable property, synonymous with “excellence,” the salience of which in the recruitment process is indicative of the modernization of the profession. In this form it is mobilized to deflect criticism of the slow progress toward diversity. Critical interrogation of the discourse of merit reveals that it operates rather differently as a key structuring principle of the profession. The alternative meaning …

Naming Men As Men In Corporate Legal Practice: Gender And The Idea Of “Virtually 24/7 Commitment” In Law, Richard Collier

Fordham Law Review

This Article seeks to reframe and turn the conversation about gender equity in the legal profession on its head, taking up Hannah Brenner’s recent call to reconceptualize problems and rethink solutions around gender equity in the profession. It does so by moving beyond the frame of the retention of women and exploring selected aspects of the gendered practices of men in relation to this notion of the ideal legal professional in large transnational “city” law firms. The Article traces how particular ideas about men and gender are, on closer examination, implicated in a broader recasting of lawyer professionalism within the …

The Role Of Political And Social Movements On Women’S Entry Into The Legal Profession In Maryland (1902-1918), Jane C. Murphy

All Faculty Scholarship

The rise of women in the legal profession in Maryland was shaped by a wide range of factors, including national, state, and local political and social movements. As one scholar has noted, "[W] omen's lives are complex and .. . region, period, personality, and circumstance crucially influence what a subject is able to make of herself."' In this chapter, I explore how those circumstances-- personal and political-influenced the first group of eight women admitted to the Maryland Bar between 1902 and 1920. These women-Etta Maddox, Anna Grace Kennedy, Emilie Doetsch, Marie Elizabeth Kirk Coles, Mary Virginia Meushaw, Helen F. Hill, …

The Stereotyped Offender: Domestic Violence And The Failure Of Intervention, Carolyn B. Ramsey

Publications

Scholars and battered women's advocates now recognize that many facets of the legal response to intimate-partner abuse stereotype victims and harm abuse survivors who do not fit commonly accepted paradigms. However, it is less often acknowledged that the feminist analysis of domestic violence also tends to stereotype offenders and that state action, including court-mandated batterer intervention, is premised on these offender stereotypes. The feminist approach can be faulted for minimizing or denying the role of substance abuse, mental illness, childhood trauma, race, culture, and poverty in intimate-partner abuse. Moreover, those arrested for domestic violence crimes now include heterosexual women, lesbians, …

Toward A Political Sociology Of Conjugal-Recognition Regimes: Gendered Multiculturalism In South African Marriage Law, Michael W. Yarbrough

Publications and Research

While conjugal-recognition policies are often a subject of political debate, scholarly attempts to explain such policies are relatively rare and typically focused on discrete policies—same-sex marriage, no-fault divorce, etc.—with comparatively little investigation of potential connections among policies. This article begins to develop a more holistic approach focused on explaining and understanding what I call conjugal-recognition regimes. Adapting the concept from the existing literature on welfare regimes, I argue that conjugal-recognition regimes exist when an identifiable pattern or principle organizes an institution’s conjugal-recognition policy and thereby shapes social relations at multiple levels, from the individuals in conjugal relationships to the multiple …

Report From The Restorative Justice Process At The Dalhousie University Faculty Of Dentistry, Jennifer Llewellyn, Jacob Mcissac, Melissa Mackay

Reports & Public Policy Documents

In December 2014, female students in Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Dentistry filed complaints under the University’s Sexual Harassment Policy after they became aware some of their male colleagues had posted offensive material about them in a private Facebook group. The select materials revealed from the Facebook group reflected misogynistic, sexist and homophobic attitudes. At the complainants’ request, the University began a restorative justice process to investigate the matter, address the harms it caused and examine the climate and culture within the Faculty that may have influenced the offensive nature of the Facebook group’s content. Twenty-nine students from the class of …

5th Circuit Likely To Strike Down Gay Marriage Bans: An Analysis Of The Hearing, Ari Ezra Waldman

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

Lesbian Palimony Claim Can Proceed In Illinois, Arthur S. Leonard

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

No Religious Out For Firefighters Staffing Engine In Pride Parade, Arthur S. Leonard

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

Incarcerated Child Birth And “Broader Birth Control”: Autonomy, Regulation, And The State, Deborah Ahrens

Faculty Articles

In recent years, the scholarly literature, the journalistic press, and even pop culture have begun to grapple with the many ways in which prison life works to degrade and dehumanize female prisoners, particularly pregnant women and new mothers. These voices are drawn — quite understandably — to the worst abuses, to practices (such as the shackling of laboring women) that underscore the dichotomy between the brutality of prison life and the allegedly autonomous norms governing pregnancy and parenting in the outside world. This article supplements — and in crucial places challenges — the narrative implicit in those depictions by, first, …

Transitions: From Danielle To Daniel, From Victim To Advocate, Daniel Bryner, Starcia Ague

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Girls’ Court: A Gender Responsive Juvenile Court Alternative, Wendy S. Heipt

Seattle Journal for Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Compelling Interests And Contraception, Neil S. Siegel, Reva B. Siegel

Faculty Scholarship

On the eve of Griswold v. Connecticut’s fiftieth anniversary, employers are bringing challenges under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) to federal laws requiring them to include contraception in the health insurance benefits that they offer their employees. In Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, five Justices asserted that the government has compelling interests in ensuring employees access to contraception, but did not discuss those interests in any detail. In what follows, we clarify those interests by connecting discussion in the Hobby Lobby opinions and the federal government’s briefs to related cases on compelling interests and individual rights in the areas …

The Evidentiary Rules Of Engagement In The War Against Domestic Violence, Erin R. Collins

Law Faculty Publications

Our criminal justice system promises defendants a fair and just adjudication of guilt, regardless of the character of the alleged offense. Yet, from mandatory arrest to "no-drop" prosecution policies, the system's front-end response to domestic violence reflects the belief that it differs from other crimes in ways that permit or require the adaptation of criminal justice response mechanisms. Although scholars debate whether these differential responses are effective or normatively sound, the scholarship leaves untouched the presumption that, once the adjudicatory phase is underway, the system treats domestic violence offenses like any other crime.

This Article reveals that this presumption is …

Gendering The Compliance Agenda: Feminism, Human Rights And Violence Against Women, Megan Louise Pearce

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article argues that while the due diligence standard in international human rights law has been a significant step forward in addressing violence against women, it has not yet delivered real change. The gap between legal promise and reality persists, and the article contends that addressing this gap requires integrating feminist insights into compliance theories. By applying feminist critiques to these theories, the article seeks to illuminate why the due diligence standard has been ineffective in eliminating violence against women and to highlight areas for future research.

Accident Of Birth Or Matter Of Choice: Legal Recognition Of Transsexual People In The Common Law, Kevin K.S. Tso

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The purpose of the Article is to look at the recognition-or lack thereof-of transsexual people at common law in relation to the "proper" sex and gender with which they associate themselves. This Article will begin by addressing and defining transsexualism and how the medical community's position on this topic has evolved over the years. It will then look at the historical foundations of transsexualism in the common law, especially at the Corbett decision that held sway in England and Wales for over thirty-five years and was followed internationally. The Article will then provide an overview of the current positions in …

Challenge It, Choose It, Or Change It: Ethics Of Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapy For Minors, Scott Mccoy, Tia Powell, Hayley Gorenberg, Matthew Shurka, Stephen Hayford, Brad Hoylman, Edward Stein

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

To Pee Or Not To Pee? "Where" Is The Question: Transgender Students And The Right To Use Public School Restrooms, Melissa Sterling

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Dressed To Oppress? An Analysis Of The Legal Treatment Of The First Amendment And Its Effect On Muslim Women Who Wear Hijabs, Nida Alvi

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note examines the legal treatment of Muslim women's right to wear hijabs in the United States, arguing that while the First Amendment protects religious expression, Muslim women often face discrimination and undue burdens in schools, employment, and public spaces. The analysis highlights how courts and institutions frequently question the sincerity of their religious beliefs and impose assimilationist pressures, undermining true religious freedom.

Annotated Legal Bibliography On Gender

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.