Law and Race Commons^™

Building On Best Practices–Call For Ideas And Authors, Antoinette M. Sedillo Lopez

Faculty Scholarship

The Clinical Legal Association Best Practices Implementation Committee is planning a follow-up publication to Best Practices for Legal Education by Roy Stuckey and others. The vision of the book is to build on ideas for implementing best practices, and to develop new theories and ideas on Best Practices for Legal Education.

Leveling Localism And Racial Inequality In Education Through The No Child Left Behind Act Public Choice Provision, Erika K. Wilson

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

School district boundary lines play a pivotal role in shaping students' educational opportunities. Living on one side of a school district boundary rather than another can mean the difference between being able to attend a high-achieving resource-enriched school or having to attend a low-achieving resource-deprived school. Despite the prominent role that school district boundary lines play in dictating educational opportunities for students, remedies formulated by the federal judiciary-the institution frequently looked upon to address issues of school segregation and inequality-are ineffective in ameliorating disparities between school districts. They are ineffective because the federal judiciary evidences a doctrinal preference for localism …

New Financial Regulation Reform: A Good Measure For African Americans, Alexander J. Chenault

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

Defending Profiling While Combating Racism: A Companion To Ogletree's Presumption Of Guilt, Amos N. Jones

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.

Finding A Cure In The Courts: A Private Right Of Action For Disparate Impact In Health Care, Sarah G. Steege

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

There is no comprehensive civil rights statute in health care comparable to the Fair Housing Act, Title VII, and similar laws that have made other aspects of society more equal. After Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VI served this purpose for suits based on race, color, and national origin for almost four decades. Since the Supreme Court's 2001 ruling in Alexander v. Sandoval, however, there has been no private right of action for disparate impact claims under Title VI, and civil rights enforcement in health care has suffered as a result. Congress has passed new legislation …

Dynamic Patent Governance In Europe And The United States: The Myriad Example, Kali Murray, Esther Van Zimmeren

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

This Article examines the emerging elements of a new model for patent governance. It is divided into four parts. In Section One, we develop a model of dynamic patent governance. This model extends the theoretical framework of network governance, to explain the emergence of networks in the decisionmaking infrastructure for the public and private actors in the patent system. Dynamic patent governance widens this theoretical framework in two key ways. First, dynamic patent governance, within its formal dimensions, is based on the idea that heterogeneous administrative actors regulate the grant and enforcement of patents. This challenges a perspective that sees …

Addressing Human Trafficking Along The United States-Mexico Border: The Need For A Bilateral Partnership, Rocio Garza

Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law

The note argues that human trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border is a complex issue rooted in economic disparities, weak legal frameworks, and the challenges of distinguishing trafficking from smuggling. It advocates for a bilateral partnership between the United States and Mexico to address the transnational nature of the crime, emphasizing the need for coordinated efforts in prosecution, victim protection, and prevention.

Mary Jane's New Dance: The Medical Marijuana Legal Tango, Michael Berkey

Cardozo Public Law, Policy & Ethics Journal

The note examines the legal and social dynamics surrounding medical marijuana, tracing its historical use, the evolution of regulatory policies, and the ongoing conflicts between federal, state, and local laws. It highlights the shift in societal perception and the growing acceptance of medical marijuana, despite persistent legal challenges.

Some Women's Work: Domestic Work, Class, Race, Heteropatriarchy, And The Limits Of Legal Reform, Terri Nilliasca

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

This Note employs Critical Race, feminist, Marxist, and queer theory to analyze the underlying reasons for the exclusion of domestic workers from legal and regulatory systems. The Note begins with a discussion of the role of legal and regulatory systems in upholding and replicating White supremacy within the employer and domestic worker relationship. The Note then goes on to argue that the White, feminist movement's emphasis on access to wage labor further subjugated Black and immigrant domestic workers. Finally, I end with an in-depth legal analysis of New York's Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, the nation's first state law to …

Urgent Reform 'In The Name Of Our Children': Revamping The Role Of Disproportionate Minority Contact In Federal Juvenile Justice Legislation, Atasi Satpathy

Michigan Journal of Race and Law

Disproportionate minority contact ("DMC") has plagued the United States juvenile justice system for decades, but federal legislation has lacked the clarity and guidance to battle this affliction. A strong partnership must exist between state and federal entities in order to directly target DMC and thereby decrease the appallingly disproportionate number of minority children who come into contact with the juvenile justice system. This Note discusses the problem of DMC, identifies state and private efforts to combat the crisis, and indicates deficiencies in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act as well as its reauthorization bill, S. 678. The Note urges …

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word: The Fair Sentencing Act Of 2010, Crack, And Methamphetamine, Kyle Graham

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Seven Principles: Increasing Access To Law School Among Students Of Color, Catherine E. Smith

Scholarly Articles

In Fall 2010, I became one of the first tenured professors in the nation to hold a deanship dedicated exclusively to diversity in a school of law. As the Associate Dean of Institutional Diversity and Inclusiveness at the University of Denver's Sturm College of Law ("SCOL"), I am charged with strengthening access to the legal academy, particularly among, but not limited to, students and faculty of color. This Essay describes the evolution of my role and the seven principles that currently guide student pipeline and recruitment efforts at the SCOL. These principles help the SCOL focus those efforts, work strategically, …

Perpetuating The Marginalization Of Latinos: A Collateral Consequence Of The Incorporation Of Immigration Law Into The Criminal Justice System, Yolanda Vazquez

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

Latinos currently represent the largest minority in the United States. In 2009, we witnessed the first Latina appointment to the United States Supreme Court. Despite these events, Latinos continue to endure racial discrimination and social marginalization in the United States. The inability of Latinos to gain political acceptance and legitimacy in the United States can be attributed to the social construct of Latinos as threats to national security and the cause of criminal activity.

Exploiting this pretense, American government, society and nationalists are able to legitimize the subordination and social marginalization of Latinos, specifically Mexicans and Central Americans, much to …

Rethinking The Fourth Amendment: Race, Citizenship, And The Equality Principle, Bennett Capers

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Respecting Language As Part Of Ethnicity: Title Vii And Language Discrimination At Work, Carlo A. Pedrioli

Faculty Scholarship

This article argues that, in the absence of a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason or a business necessity, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act can protect employees from language-based discrimination in the workplace. Language is a part of one’s ethnicity, which refers to one’s culture. Ethnicity, much as race already does, should receive protection under Title VII. Plaintiffs, however, have the burden of proof in litigation, and so a plaintiff who sues under a discrimination theory should have to make his or her case to the appropriate fact-finder. Drawing upon the insights of critical theory, particularly to explore concepts like …

Suffering Without Suffrage: Why Felon Disenfranchisement Constitutes Vote Denial Under Section Two Of The Voting Rights Act, Matthew E. Feinberg

UC Law Journal of Race and Economic Justice

This article explores state felon disenfranchisement laws and proposes a new way for felons to challenge the legality of excluding them from the democratic process. Despite the seemingly explicit grant of authority in the Fourteenth Amendment to exclude felons from the voting process, this article posits that the Voting Rights Act provides an alternative, and more attractive, vehicle for felons to secure the right to vote. This article examines the current Circuit split on whether the Voting Rights Act even allows for or contains a cause of action to challenge felon disenfranchisement laws. Concluding that it does, the article moves …

The "Asian" Category In Mcas Achievement Gap Tracking: Time For A Change, Philip Lee

Journal Articles

Data gathered on Asian American students in public school by the Massachusetts Department of Education are aggregated into one general “Asian” category, which may skew the results, both perpetuating an enduring myth and masking any true gaps that may exist for certain Asian American subgroups. As explored in this article, achievement gap tracking for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System is an apt example.

In this article, I posit that this aggregation of many subgroups into one general “Asian” category perpetuates the myth of Asian Americans as a model minority, while downplaying any achievement gap that exists for certain Asian American …

Class, Classes, And Classic Race Baiting: What’S In A Definition?, Angela Onwuachi-Willig, Amber Fricke

Faculty Scholarship

Overall, in this Article, we briefly lay out each of our challenges to Sander's arguments in Class in American Legal Education. In Part I, we first address the very problems that Sander's article highlights about the difficulties of defining class and SES, problems that may make classbased affirmative action programs less feasible and effective than Sander suggests. In so doing, we identify what we consider to be defects in Sander's class/SES groupings. We also highlight the complexities around class and race that already exist within law student populations, answering in part the important questions about to whom black law students …

When Will Race No Longer Matter In Jury Selection?, Bidish Sarma

Michigan Law Review First Impressions

We are coming upon the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court's opinion in Batson v. Kentucky, which made clear that our Constitution does not permit prosecutors to remove prospective jurors from the jury pool because of their race. The legal question in Batson-when, if ever, can governmental race discrimination in jury selection be tolerated?-was easy. The lingering factual question, however-when will prosecutors cease to discriminate on the basis of race?-has proven far more difficult to answer. The evidence that district attorneys still exclude minorities because of their race is so compelling that it is tempting to assume that race will …

Social Reconstruction Of Race & Ethnicity Of The Nation's Law Students: A Request To The Aba, Aals, And Lsac For Changes In Reporting Requirements, Kevin Brown, Tom I. Romero Ii

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.