Sexuality and the Law Commons^™

Discrimination By Comparison, Suzanne B. Goldberg

Faculty Scholarship

Contemporary discrimination law is in crisis, both methodologically and conceptually. The crisis arises in large part from the judiciary's dependence on comparators – those who are like a discrimination claimant but for the protected characteristic – as a favored heuristic for observing discrimination. The profound mismatch of the comparator methodology with current understandings of identity discrimination and the realities of the modern workplace has nearly depleted discrimination jurisprudence and theory. Even in run-of-the-mill cases, comparators often cannot be found, particularly in today's mobile, knowledge-based economy. This difficulty is amplified for complex claims, which rest on thicker understandings of discrimination developed …

Dignifying Rights: A Comment On Jeremy Waldron’S Dignity, Rights, And Responsibilities, Katherine M. Franke

Faculty Scholarship

In Dignity, Rights, and Responsibilities1 Jeremy Waldron offers a characteristically thoughtful and elegant account of rights, or as he calls it, responsibility-rights. As Waldron rightfully acknowledges, rights understood as a form of responsibility are not meant to capture every species of rights, but to provide us with a new analytic resource for better understanding a particular subset of rights that curiously entail a form of responsibility on the part of the rights holder. The link between rights and responsibility, Waldron argues, is built upon a strong foundational commitment to human dignity. The most compelling contribution of Waldron's paper is his …

The Curious Relationship Of Marriage And Freedom, Katherine M. Franke

Faculty Scholarship

This essay explores why and how today’s marriage equality movement for same-sex couples might benefit from lessons learned by African Americans when they too were allowed to marry for the first time in the immediate post-Civil War era. Why has the right to marry, rather than say, employment rights, educational opportunity or political participation, emerged as the preeminent vehicle by and through which the freedom, equality and dignity of gay men and lesbians is being fought in the present moment. Why marriage? In what ways are the values, aspirations, and even identity of an oppressed community shaped when they are …

The Lavender Letter: Applying The Law Of Adultery To Same-Sex Couples And Same-Sex Conduct, Peter Nicolas

Articles

In this Article, I explore the division in the courts over the question of whether same-sex sexual conduct constitutes adultery in four contexts: (1) criminal adultery prosecutions, (2) fault-based divorce actions, (3) civil tort actions for interference with the marital relationship, and (4) murder cases raising a provocation defense based on a spouse's act of adultery.

In so doing, I arrive at the following conclusions. First, as illustrated in Part I, there is a significant overlap between states that recognize same-sex marriage and states where adulterous conduct is legally relevant, making this more than an interesting theoretical exercise. Second, Part …

Is Ze An American Or A Foreigner? Male Or Female? Ze's Trapped!, Annette De La Torre

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note argues that the legal and medical frameworks governing the treatment of transgender and transsexual immigrant detainees in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities are inadequate, leading to violations of their Eighth Amendment rights. It contends that the legal system's reliance on narrow medical definitions and outdated gender roles fails to protect these detainees from unsafe and inhumane conditions. The analysis emphasizes the need for comprehensive reforms to address housing, medical care, and staff training to ensure dignity and safety for transgender detainees.

Protecting The Right To Choose: Regulating Conscience Clauses In The Face Of Moral Obligation, Huseina Sulaimanee

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Where Are The Grounds For The Legality Of Abortion? A 13th Amendment Argument, Laura Sjoberg

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article critiques the legal framework supporting abortion rights, arguing that privacy-based jurisprudence, as established in *Roe v. Wade*, is inadequate due to its roots in a gendered public/private divide that perpetuates inequality. It proposes a new constitutional basis for abortion rights under the Thirteenth Amendment, framing forced pregnancy as a form of involuntary servitude and emphasizing gender subordination rather than privacy or equality.

The Constitutionality Of And Need For Retroactive Civil Legislation Relating To Child Sexual Abuse, Jenna Miller

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note advocates for the constitutionality and necessity of retroactive child sexual abuse laws, arguing that they provide victims with a pathway to justice despite statutes of limitations. It supports this stance with Supreme Court rulings and examples of successful implementations in states like California and Delaware, emphasizing the balance between victims' rights and defendants' rights.

He's So Gay ... Not That There's Anything Wrong With That: Using A Community Standard To Homogenize The Measure Of Reputational Damage In Homosexual Defamation Cases, Abigail A. Rury

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The note examines the role of the community standard in determining defamation, particularly in cases involving false claims of homosexuality. It argues that the current application of the community standard often lacks clarity and may reflect judicial biases, leading to inconsistent rulings. The note proposes reforms to enhance the accuracy and transparency of defamation analysis by adopting a contemporary community standard, similar to that used in obscenity law, which considers specific geographic and social contexts.

Using Gender Equality Analysis To Improve The Wellbeing Of Prostitutes, Barbara Havelkova

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article presents a framework for analyzing prostitution through the lens of gender equality, aiming to improve the wellbeing of prostitutes by offering regulators and judges a tool for evaluation. It challenges the asymmetric legal treatment of prostitutes and clients, arguing that such treatment violates gender equality principles. The framework proposes symmetric treatment or measures benefiting prostitutes to address structural inequalities rooted in gender, class, race, and socioeconomic status. The analysis draws on European and common law jurisdictions, emphasizing the need for gender-conscious policies to ensure fairness and proportionality.

Common Law Same-Sex Marriage, Peter Nicolas

Articles

In this Essay, I demonstrate that, with the extension of the right to marry to same-sex couples in Iowa, the District of Columbia, and New Hampshire (all states that recognize common law marriage), there now exists the possibility that—for the first time in the United States—a same-sex couple may enter into a legally recognized common law marriage.

In the Essay, I first show, as a doctrinal matter, that same-sex couples have the right to enter into common law marriages in these three jurisdictions, and I explain and compare the criteria for entering into common law marriages in each of them. …

Same-Sex Marriage, Same-Sex Cohabitation, And Same-Sex Families Around The World: Why “Same” Is So Different?, Macarena Saez

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

National Report: Belgium, Frederik Swennen, Yves-Henri Leleu

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

National Report: Canada, Marie-France Bureau

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Amending The Defense Of Marriage Act: A Necessary Step Toward Gaining Full Legal Rights For Same-Sex Couples, Nancy Kubasek, Christy Glass, Kate Cook

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Public Sex, Same-Sex Marriage, And The Afterlife Of Homophobia, Katherine M. Franke

Faculty Scholarship

The summer of 2011 marked an important turning-point in the geography and politics of sex: public sex, previously a domain dominated by the specter of a hypersexualized gay man, became the province of the irresponsible, foolish, and self-destructive heterosexual man, such as Anthony Weiner. Meanwhile, homosexuals were busy domesticating their sexuality in the private domain of the family. Just as hetero-sex shamefully seeped out into the open, homo-sex disappeared from view into the dignified pickets of private kinship. In this essay I examine the panic that unfolded in connection with Representative Weiner’s tweets as a kind of afterlife of homophobia; …

Inside Out, Elizabeth F. Emens

Faculty Scholarship

Russell Robinson has done it again. With Masculinity as Prison: Sexual Identity, Race, and Incarceration, he has given us another provocative Article, which illuminates a phenomenon in the world and, indirectly, in ourselves. The Article represents much of what generally makes Robinson’s work so compelling. First, he writes about tremendously complex subjects and attends to their many complexities in remarkably lucid prose. Second, despite his critical perspective, he does not hesitate to make prescriptive arguments.

In this Article, he even ventures into the hallowed ground of constitutional argument, something he has not done since his first article on race-based …

What Happened In Iowa?, David Pozen

Faculty Scholarship

Reply to Nicole Mansker & Neal Devins, Do Judicial Elections Facilitate Popular Constitutionalism; Can They?, 111 Colum. L. Rev. Sidebar 27 (2011).

November 2, 2010 is the latest milestone in the evolution of state judicial elections from sleepy, sterile affairs into meaningful political contests. Following an aggressive ouster campaign, voters in Iowa removed three supreme court justices, including the chief justice, who had joined an opinion finding a right to same-sex marriage under the state constitution. Supporters of the campaign rallied around the mantra, “It’s we the people, not we the courts.” Voter turnout surged to unprecedented levels; the national …

Peaceful Penetration: Proxy Marriage, Same-Sex Marriage, And Recognition, Kerry Abrams

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Erotic Entitlements Part I: A Reply To Sex Therapy In The Age Of Viagra: “Money Can’T Buy Melove”, Adrienne D. Davis

Scholarship@WashULaw

This is the first of three inquiries into what might be thought of as erotic entitlement. It explores the role of the erotic in regulatory and distributive regimes. Conceived as a reply to Susan Stiritz and Susan Appleton‘s provocative and rich essay Sex Therapy in the Age of Viagra, it starts by summarizing the innovations of their argument. It next uses their paper to pose some questions. First, in this time of contentious feminist, constitutional, and human rights sexual discourse, how is the erotic defined? How is the erotic related to and distinct from desire, the sexual, and even the …