In 2014, Tennessee became the first state to criminalize the use of narcotics during pregnancy. While women have been prosecuted for the outcomes of their pregnancies and for the use of drugs during their pregnancies in the past decades, Tennessee is the first state to explicitly authorize prosecutors to bring criminal charges against pregnant women […]
A “Hot” and “Cool” First Amendment: Analyzing Speech Effects in a Shifting Media Environment
The First Amendment’s usually strict protection of the right to free speech sometimes appears to give way when listeners would have difficulty evaluating a given communication. But it is far from clear when or why courts relax the dictates of the Speech and Press Clauses in light of the effects of speech on listeners. Courts’ […]
The Poultry Products Inspection Act and California’s Foie Gras Ban: An Analysis of the Canards Decision and Its Implications for California’s Animal Agriculture Industry
In 2012, California banned the sale of force-fed foie gras—the “fatty liver” of ducks and geese. Just three years later, a federal district court overturned that ban in Association des Éleveurs de Canards et d’Oies du Québec v. Harris (Canards). Animal rights activists decried the decision as a step backwards in ethical eating. Industry groups […]
The Racial Politics of Protection: A Critical Race Examination of Police Militarization
Across the country, police departments are using aggressive, military-style tactics and weapons to enforce the law. More recently, the state of police militarization displayed in cities like Ferguson and Baltimore raises deep questions about the ethics of paramilitary policing and its consequences for minority citizenship and inclusion. This Note examines police militarization as the result […]
When Loving Is Not Enough
Loving v. Virginia is a landmark case that banned antimiscegenation laws over forty years ago. Today, we credit Loving with dismantling legal barriers to interracial relationships. Despite this legacy, the incidence of interracial coupling and multiracial families is still low. Scholars have acknowledged this disconnect and have attributed the low rates of interracial relationships to […]
Stars, Dragons, and the Letter “M”: Consequential Symbols in California Prison Gang Policy
California prison policy relies on symbols to identify prison gang affiliated inmates. This policy leads to many false positives and results in long-term solitary confinement of individuals who, in fact, are not affiliated with any gang at all. This Note examines the evolution of California’s symbol-driven policy, including regulations before 2012, after 2012, and the […]
Access to Justice: Reducing the Implicit Pushback Burden on Working-Class Pro Se Plaintiffs in Employment Law Cases
This Note applies social identity threat literature to the legal context in order to improve access to justice. Social identity threat literature indicates that stereotypes, associations, and similar methods center environments on particular identities. Social identity threat occurs when an individual who does not have the centered identity enters the environment, implicitly perceives marginalization, and […]
Statelessness and Child Marriage as Intersectional Phenomena: Instability, Inequality, and the Role of the International Community
In 2013, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a stand-alone resolution tackling the international problem of child marriage for the first time. Such a historic gesture by the international community was a welcome step, but not necessarily a surprise. Efforts to promote women’s empowerment have rapidly gained traction on the international stage in recent years, […]
When “Disruption” Collides with Accountability: Holding Ridesharing Companies Liable for Acts of Their Drivers
When Uber launched in San Francisco in 2010, it took the city by storm. Here was a high-tech transportation service that seemingly did everything better than taxicabs: it was more convenient, more accessible, more comfortable, and even cheaper in many instances. Uber’s initial success inspired a number of lower-cost, non-professional “ridesharing” options, which have flourished. […]
The Other War at Home: Chronic Nuisance Laws and the Revictimization of Survivors of Domestic Violence
This Note discusses the unlikely intersection of local chronic nuisance ordinances and domestic violence. It posits that chronic nuisance law grants law enforcement, or third parties acting in a police capacity, the ability to revictimize survivors of domestic violence, disproportionately impacting women of color and poor women. Using the example of Lakisha Briggs, a Black […]