Law and Race Commons^™

Session 6: Ai Regulation: The Role Of Washington State Legal Organizations, Alicia Burton, Michele Carney, Ryan Harkins, Craig Shank, Drew Simshaw, Christon Skinner, Leslie Veloz

SITIE Symposiums

In session six of the SITIE 2025 Symposium, the panelists discuss how legal institutions in the State of Washington are responding to the challenges surrounding artificial intelligence (AI). Being aware that AI is continuing to evolve and will inevitably be integrated more into the legal field, this session discusses the benefits and concerns of AI and what legal institutions like the Board of Judicial Administration, Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Committee on Professional Ethics, and the Washington State Bar Association Legal Technology Task Force are doing to educate lawyers and what changes, if any, are being done to address AI …

Session 5: Ai Regulation From Domestic Sources: From Where And When?, Mark Geistfeld, Margaret Hu, Emile Loza De Siles

SITIE Symposiums

In the wake of high-profile calls for AI regulation from tech leaders like Sam Altman and Brad Smith, domestic efforts to shape AI governance in the U.S. are becoming more urgent. Moderated by Professor Steve Tapia, this panel of legal scholars examined the evolving field of AI regulation, here from domestic sources, focusing on gaps in legal literacy, the limits of tort law, and the promise of more transparent frameworks. Panelists explored the challenges posed by the “Black Box” nature of AI, including trade secret protections, opaque algorithms, and their impact on tort causation and discrimination. They highlighted tensions between …

Session 4: Analyzing The Benefits Of Artificial Intelligence To Racially Inclusive Democracy, Spencer Overton, Jeffrey Omari

SITIE Symposiums

This keynote discussion explored the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), race, and democratic governance, focusing on the challenges and opportunities AI presents for creating a racially inclusive democracy. Professor Overton argued that while AI has transformative potential, it is currently influenced by actors and systems that may unintentionally (or intentionally) weaken racial equity. The spread of AI technologies—without proper safeguards—has opened new pathways for reinforcing structural inequalities, especially in the democratic process.

Session 3: Conference Spotlight- Politics In A World Of Ai Misinformation: Regulatory Approaches, Richard Painter, Mark Verstraete

SITIE Symposiums

Considering developments regarding AI-generated media, fake news, and impersonations, panelists discuss the challenges in regulating AI-generated media, particularly in the context of deepfakes and political misinformation. Panelists discuss the evolution of content from a text-based presentation to video-based manipulations, along with broader concerns, including the role of social media platforms, how platforms are becoming more focused, confirmation bias of individual voting publics, and the potential conflicts of interest in regulating AI-generated content. Panelists suggest solutions involving a proactive method to warn the public about AI-generated misinformation. Further, the panelists also call for greater inter-disciplinary collaboration to develop flexible and forward-thinking …

Session 2: The Cases For Industry Self-Regulation And Government Regulation Of Ai, Boaz Ashkenazy, Kevin Bartholomew, Kevin De Liban, Christopher Yoo

SITIE Symposiums

In Session Two of the SITIE 2025 Symposium titled “The Cases for Industry Self-Regulation and Government Regulation of AI,” moderated by Seattle University Technology Ethics Initiative Director and Professor Onur Bakiner, the panelists discuss their perspectives and experiences with AI regulation. They share observations about the industry and delve into the topics of AI complexity, concerns around accountability, the shift to agentic AI, the current state of AI regulation, existing legal guardrails, and their outlook on AI regulation.

Session 1: Guidance From International Regulation Sources, Charlotte Tschider, Marie-Charlotte Roques-Bonnet

SITIE Symposiums

In Session One of the SITIE 2025 Symposium titled “Regulating Artificial Intelligence: From Where and When?”, Professor Mark Chinen moderated a panel featuring Professor Charlotte Tschider and Dr. Marie-Charlotte Roques-Bonnet. The discussion focused on international AI regulation, privacy, data governance, and the EU’s regulatory approach to AI oversight.

8th Annual Innovation And Technology Law Conference: Regulating Artificial Intelligence: From Where And When?, Steven Bender

SITIE Symposiums

Since 2018, the Seattle University School of Law has presented an annual late spring/summer conference on innovation and technology, shifting to a virtual conference in 2020. The virtual format fosters inclusion of national and even international speakers (as this year with Marie-Charlotte Roques-Bonnet, Data Protection/AI Consultant & Research Lead, ID side.eu, joining from France), and participation from a broad base audience, which this year included over 200 registrants who joined live or watched the recording.

The Objective Observer: The Washington State Supreme Court's Remedial Aspirations And Experience On The Ground, David B. Owens

Washington Law Review

The Washington State Supreme Court has adopted an “objective observer rule” for addressing whether race impacted jury selection and extended this rule to evaluating all aspects of Washington courts, including jury trials. The objective observer rule allows courts to evaluate whether decisions in those courtrooms could be viewed as the result of racial bias, even where there is no evidence of specific racial animus and in the absence of racial slurs. The rule, which covers a form of disparate impact, has now existed for over half a decade. This Article outlines the Washington State Supreme Court’s development of the objective …

Whose Truth Commission, Lehlohonolo January

Notre Dame Journal of International & Comparative Law

It is often said that the victor always dictates the narrative and thus dictates how history is represented. The end of Apartheid in South Africa wasn’t a result of an outright victorious defeat of the Apartheid State together with its institutions of coercion but rather came about as a result of a culmination of a series of events. If this adage holds true, then why is it that the narrative seems to paint a picture of a victor’s perspective? This assertion is not made lightly but is no less reflective of how the facts seem to portray themselves in that …

The New Redlining: How Progressive Policies Restrict The Development Of Housing Supply And Perpetuate America's Racist Property Law Past, Steve Calandrillo, Kelsey Dunn

Articles

Recent scholarship has exposed America’s racist property law past. During the twentieth century, decades of deliberate state-sponsored discrimination (a.k.a., “Redlining”) made homeownership—and the accumulation of wealth—more difficult for people of color. In 1948, the Supreme Court outlawed these practices in the seminal case, Shelly v. Kraemer. However, the damage had been done, and has proven to be long-lasting. Redlining slowed economic mobility for people of color and exacerbated the racial wealth gap. As a result, America is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis that disproportionately impacts people of color.

Readers well versed in economics and public policy …

Belonging Against The Odds: Exploring Restorative Justice Practices As Pathways To Foster Belonging In New York City Transfer Schools, Miguel Rodriguez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The U.S. education system perpetuates structural inequities that disproportionately affect Black students with the School-to-Prison Pipeline (STPPL) criminalizing them through Zero-Tolerance policies. Transfer schools are often a last resort for students pushed out of traditional schools provide a lens to examine the impact of Restorative Justice Practices (RJP) and Black student representation on belonging. This quantitative dissertation study analyzes secondary data from the NYC Department of Education using multivariate models to explore the relationship between RJPs and sense of belonging (SOB). Model 1 found that discussing feelings and emotions at school (Tier 1 RJP) had the strongest association with SOB …

Law School News: Rwu Law Faculty Honored With National Award For Advancing Diversity In Legal Education 05-22-2025, Helga Melgar

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

How Atlanta's Use Of Eminent Domain Displace Low-Income Peoplestown Residents, Babafemi Fatade

Tennessee Journal of Race, Gender, & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Montana Environmental Information Center V. Montana Department Of Environmental Quality, Alexis Karbowicz

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Shaping A More Equitable Election System: A Canadian Approach To Solving The Voting Rights Crisis In America, Michelle Gutowski

Journal of Law and Policy

In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed, ushering in a new era of voting freedom. The Act brought an end to many of the overtly discriminatory practices that had persisted for nearly two centuries. Over time, however, states began to introduce more subtle and complex voting regulations that gradually undermined the gains achieved through the civil rights movement. In 2021, the Supreme Court dismantled an essential safeguard for voters, significantly weakening the protections the Act once guaranteed. This erosion of protections is largely attributable to a single doctrinal standard within the Act, known as the totality of the circumstances …

A View From Inside: The Federal Government's Pivotal Role In Securing And Advancing Access To Justice, Kalpana Kotagal

University of Cincinnati Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Deterrence Dilemma: Is It Time For Canada To Abandon General Deterrence As A Sentencing Objective?, Caitlin Salvino

Dalhousie Law Journal

When Canada first codified its sentencing framework in the Criminal Code, Parliament included deterrence as a sentencing objective. The sentencing objective of deterrence encompasses two aspects: specific deterrence for the individual offender and general deterrence for other potential offenders. I engage with the concept of general deterrence and its incorporation into Canadian sentencing law throughout this article. I argue that Parliament should abandon general deterrence as a sentencing objective under the Criminal Code. After reviewing the jurisprudence on general deterrence and conducting a systematic review of its current application in Ontario sentencing decisions, I argue that general deterrence should be …

Ben Crump And Racialized Professionalism, Katherine A. Macfarlane

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Benjamin “Ben” Crump is the country’s most influential civil rights lawyer. His advocacy led to the arrest and prosecution of George Zimmerman. He has represented the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and many others, negotiating record-breaking settlements despite a body of civil rights precedent that is overwhelmingly pro-defendant. Crump is also a modern lawyer who uses press conferences and social media to advance his clients’ cause. To his clients, he is a lawyer, confidante, and friend. Yet, based on the way national media covers him, his significance isn’t always clear. When his work isn’t being erased, it’s …

Barred From The Profession, Mischaracterized As Unfit By Law, Julia Mizutani

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

There is growing recognition that the bar examination can have racial and social effects when determining who can be an admitted and barred attorney in the United States. This Essay explores the history and current racialized issues with the other portion of bar admission—the character and fitness process. The simultaneously rigid and fluid definition and subjective enforcement of “good moral character” is only one example of how the law continues to reproduce and maintain racial and class hierarchy by creating barriers to entry. This Essay does not come to any direct conclusions or specific solutions. This Essay is a …

The Gatekeepers: How State Bar Associations' Disciplinary Process Is Racialized And Classist, Brooke Girley, Jonathan Barry-Blocker

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Modern U.S. legal ethics and attorney regulations exist for three ostensible goals: to protect clients from unprofessional lawyers, to compel ethical performance from all licensed attorneys, and to safeguard the legal profession’s freedom to self-regulate. However, a recent study conducted by the California Bar Association revealed attorney regulation is more racialized and classist than these objectives suggest. The study explored attorney disciplinary action and found significant disparities in probation and disbarment along race and class. Put simply, the Bar functioned more to police the “other” than to protect the rights of consumers and the profession. These disparities are not …