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Roy Balleste, The Earth Alliance Constitution: International Human Rights Law and Babylon, 10 Fla. Coastal L. Rev. 33 (2008)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
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Michèle Alexandre, Big Love: Is Feminist Polygamy an Oxymoron or A True Possibility?, 18 Hastings Women's L.J. 3 (2008)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
For the past few decades, Islamic reformists have attempted to reverse patriarchal set-ups in Islamic practices. In light of these efforts, the time is ripe to consider what role women's agency will play in the implementation of such reforms. The way we account for agency in advocating for women's rights is an issue with which feminist legal scholars struggle. It has been explored particularly when analyzing women's rights in the area of pornography and prostitution. As the reform movements in Islamic law become concrete, similar explorations will have to take place. Agency driven explorations in the area of Islamic law will have to be tailored to issues of particular relevance to Islamic women. In addition, Feminist legal scholars will have to take care not to project western-based analysis into unique Islamic settings. Borrowing from transformative arguments advocated by feminist legal scholars like Martha A. Fineman, the author attempts to explore the implications of recognizing the possibility for agency in Islamic polygamous structures. The central idea is to analyze the possibility for a feminist based form of polygamy for women who decide to live in a polygamous structure. This exploration in no way assumes that Muslim women are solely defined by their religion. On the contrary, it recognizes that women's identities are so diverse that, even when given options, a number of them might opt for polygamy rather than monogamy. In this context, an assessment of the value of monogamy compared to polygamy is irrelevant. What comes to matter, instead, is the fact that women who choose polygamy, like those who make any other legitimate choice, must be protected.
The rising number of pro-polygamous movements indicates that it is imperative that we investigate the possibilities for a women centric polygamy. Islamic women have diverse views regarding polygamy and do not all seem to view it as detrimental. There exist some Muslim women who are unequivocally against Polygamy, but want to remain faithful to their Islamic faith, while there are others who are not against polygamy but would like to reform the practice to fit their needs. The common denominator in these two camps, however, is that women in both camps yearn for more choice and control over the decisions that affect their family life. The desire to enter or remain in a polygamous union does not necessarily equate in their eyes with a diminishment of their rights and privileges. This article intends to show that equal rights for women and Islamic faith are not necessarily mutually exclusive if the allocation of rights is based on the spirit of Islam. Furthermore, the article will demonstrate that Islam's inherent concern with justice and equality for women necessitates that women's desires and wishes serve as foundation for any system of polygamy.
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Kelly Feeley, Hear a Song-Write a Wrong: Poor Grammar in Song Lyrics: An Old and New Enemy to Clear and Succinct Legal Writing, Scrivener 4 (2008)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
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D. Benjamin Barros, Natural Selection as a Mechanism, 75 Philosophy of Science 306 (2008)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
Skipper and Millstein (2005) argued that existing conceptions of mechanisms failed to "get at" natural selection, but left open the possibility that a refined conception of mechanisms could resolve the problems that they identified. I respond to Skipper and Millstein, and argue that while many of their points have merit, their objections can be overcome and that natural selection can be characterized as a mechanism. In making this argument, I discuss the role of regularity in mechanisms, and develop an account of stochastic (i.e., probabilistic) mechanisms. Explaining the phenomenon of adaptation through the mechanism of natural selection illustrates the power and flexibility of using mechanistic strategies to explain natural phenomena.
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Paul Boudreaux, Covert Opinion: Revealing a New Interpretation of Environmental Laws, 9 Vermont Journal of Envtl. L. 239 (2008)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
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Judith A.M. Scully, Rotten Apple or Rotten Barrel?: The Role of Civil Rights Lawyers in Ending the Culture of Police Violence, 21 Nat'l Black L.J. 137 (2008)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
This article addresses the problem of police violence that is persistent in American society and argues, despite the prevalence of police misconduct in general and police violence in particular, the predominant belief is that police violence is a rare occurrence and that “good” policing is the rule and police violence and corruption is the exception. From this perspective police officers who engage in illegal and/or violent activities represent a “few bad apples” and therefore their violent and corrupt actions are viewed as an anomaly for which the police force cannot be held accountable. This article contends, contrary to the view that violence in policing is a matter of a “few bad apples,” that violence is part of the institutional culture of policing and is therefore a function of a “rotten barrel.”
Part I of the article argues that violence is not a phenomena engaged in by a “few bad apples” but rather it is a phenomena that is embraced as a valuable part of police culture. No longer do police officers primarily view themselves as those who “serve and protect,” but rather view themselves as warriors in a battle against crime. This mentality results in violent actions on the part of the police.
Part II of the article examines the major legal recourse for addressing police violence; specifically Section 1983 civil rights litigation. Section 1983 civil rights litigation provides a means of legal redress for victims of police violence, but the author argues this remedy is ineffective because lawyers file cases against individual officers and fail to recognize patterns of violence among groups of officers. Further, it is maintained that offending officers who violate individuals’ civil rights generally return to their jobs only to continue similar acts of violence and to train inexperienced officers that the behavior is accepted and condoned by the police administration. It is contended that this pattern of aggressive policing fosters a cycle of condoned violence, which further supports the “rotten barrel” of police culture.
Part III of the article explores this phenomena by using the case of Jon Burge, the author discusses one of the most infamous examples of police violence and torture and delineates the violent and inhumane actions of Commander Jon Burger and the Area 2 police detectives in the city of Chicago, which resulted in over 150 African American men having been tortured within twenty years. The Jon Burge case is used to urge civil rights attorneys to work with community organizers, elected officials, criminal defense attorney, prosecutors, cooperating, police officials, the media, and members of the international community to effectuate meaningful change to eliminate police violence.
In Part IV of the article the author contends that community and human rights activists and attorneys must pursue alternative means to address and alleviate police misconduct and violence, asserts that it is imperative that civil rights attorneys embrace and involve the community to fight police violence and misconduct, states that lawyers must generate constant dialogue within the community and community groups to educate them about the issues of police misconduct and violence and to empower the community to think of these issues in terms of human decency and human rights, and maintains that lawyers can also demand police accountability through international agencies such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the United Nations Committee Against Torture, and the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
The article concludes with the argument that it is difficult to fight police violence through litigation alone. The author asserts that instead of litigation, lawyers and activists committed to social justice must fight their battles not only in the courtroom but in the community; and they must use their legal skills to empower members of the community to act on their own behalf. The author also contends that a consciousness of the limitations of U.S. law and a willingness to use legal skills outside the courtroom is necessary to effectuate permanent change in the policing culture and towards social justice.
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Catherine J. Cameron and Jeffrey J. Minneti, Using Student Learning Preferences to Compare and Contrast Objective Memo Writing with Essay Exam Writing, 22 Second Draft 10 (2008)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
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Brooke J. Bowman, Learning Citations: Just in Time and Through a Variety of Learning Styles, 22 The Second Draft 4 (2008)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
A citation exercise for the millennials and all types of learning styles.
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Luz Estella Nagle, Selling Souls: The Effect of Globalization on Human Trafficking and Forced Servitude, 26 Wis. Int'l L.J. 131 (2008)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
Globalization and regional integration have contributed to human trafficking becoming the fastest growing and the third most widespread criminal enterprise in the world after drugs and weapons trafficking. The rush to integrate trading blocs and to compete in the international marketplace has led unscrupulous entrepreneurs and international criminal organizations to create a supply chain of men, women, and children for exploitation in agriculture, manufacturing, services industries, construction, and worst of all, sexual servitude in the sex tourism industry. The crimes perpetrated by human traffickers constitute egregious human rights abuses and crimes against international law. This article examines the nexus between globalization and human trafficking, why human trafficking is growing at a alarming rate worldwide, and what can be done by nation states to control and stop this most insidious international crime.
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Kirsten K. Davis, The Jr. Faculty Forum: A Venue for Emerging Scholarship, AALS New Law Professors Section Newsletter (2007)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.