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Kirsten K. Davis, Reading Legal Writing Together: Reading Groups Can Build the Disciplinary Community of Legal Writing Scholars, 23 Legal Writing 31 (2019)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
This essay describes how a reading group of scholars can help develop community in a scholarly discipline.
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Ellen S. Podgor, A Small Slice of the Chicago Eight Trial, 50 Loy. U. Chi. L.J. 821 (2019)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
The Chicago Eight trial was not the typical criminal trial, in part because it occurred at a time of society’s polarization, student demonstrations, and the rise of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Charges were levied against eight defendants, who were individuals that represented leaders in a variety of movements and groups during this time. This Essay examines the opening stages of this trial from the lens of a then relatively new criminal defense attorney, Gerald Lefcourt. It looks at his experiences before Judge Julius Hoffman and highlights how strong, steadfast criminal defense attorneys can make a difference in protecting key constitutional rights and values. Although judicial independence is crucial to a system premised on due process, it is also important that lawyers and law professors stand up to misconduct and improprieties.
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Michèle Alexandre, Calling for a Community Economic Development Code of Ethics, 28 J. Affordable Housing & Commun. Dev. L. 219 (2019)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
On January 5, 2019, a group of legal scholars convened a Discussion Group at the AALS 2019 Annual Meeting to examine “race and privilege in Community Economic Development (CED)” with the goal of identifying how CED practice, in general, and experiential and doctrinal law school courses incorporating CED themes, more specifically, “serve to build bridges across racial and socioeconomic boundaries.” Comprised of both clinicians and non-clinicians, this group of scholars was asked to present elements of their individual research that spoke to this and related questions. Many insights were revealed and tested during this discussion. This essay reflects on a notion during the discussion around which there seemed to be consensus and enthusiastic support: that the sustainability of CED practice, as social movement, academic discipline, and legal service could be enhanced by articulating new guiding principles or a code of ethics to ground CED practice in normative principles applicable to communities across the country. The authors of this essay seek to memorialize that discussion and offer a roadmap for the creation of these principles/code of conduct by surfacing and exploring three specific questions:
(1) Why does this endeavor seem crucial?;
(2) How should CED practitioners create and formalize this statement of principles or code of ethics?; and
(3) What would be appropriate CED outcomes in light of the adoption of this statement of principles/code of ethics?
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Michael S. Finch et al., Federal Courts: Context, Cases, and Problems (3rd ed., Aspen Publishers, 2019)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
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Ellen S. Podgor, Bennett Gershman on the Prosecutor’s Role as “Minister of Justice”, 16 Ohio St. J. Crim. L. 399 (2019)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
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Robyn Powell et al., Adaptive Parenting Strategies Used by Mothers with Physical Disabilities Caring for Infants and Toddlers, 27 Health & Social Care in the Community 889 (2019)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
There is a paucity of information concerning adaptive parenting strategies utilised by mothers with physical disabilities, particularly during early motherhood. The purpose of this study is to describe the adaptive strategies used by mothers with physical disabilities during early motherhood. This qualitative study included semi-structured telephone interviews between January and March 2014 with US mothers with a range of physical disabilities who had a baby within the past 10 years (N = 25). Interviews were audio-recorded, professionally transcribed, and coded using content analysis. Analysis revealed five broad themes indicating important adaptive parenting strategies for mothers with physical disabilities caring for infants and toddlers: They are as follows: (a) acquiring or modifying baby-care equipment, (b) adapting the home environment, (c) accessing information and supports, (d) developing communication strategies to facilitate safety, and (e) receiving assistance from others. This study indicates that mothers with physical disabilities employ a variety of adaptive strategies during early motherhood. The findings from the study suggest the need for more availability of supports and equipment for mothers with physical disabilities as well as information for prospective mothers with disabilities. In addition, healthcare and social work professionals must receive training about adaptive parenting strategies.
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Jason S. Palmer, Emotional Intelligence and Homophobia, 54 Wake Forest L. Rev. 1135 (2019)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
Emotional intelligence dictates that individuals react in a certain way because they are wired to respond emotionally to certain triggers. These emotional triggers can be either positive or negative. Those who understand the use of negative emotional intelligence can channel manipulative behavior into concrete outcomes as a direct result of the feelings created. Negative emotional intelligence thus can be used to perpetuate groupthink, which leads to bias, prejudice, stereotypes, and stigmatization.
Bias, both deliberate and implicit, is still prevalent with regard to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (“LGBT’) community despite the strides and advances that have occurred since the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. This proposition is demonstrated in “religious freedom” arguments presented in the Supreme Court case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. It is also apparent in the Department of Defense’s “national security” approach to transgender individuals. The use of these terms — “religious freedom” and “national security” — allows people to mask their implicit bias and permits marginalization of this minority group.
This Article will demonstrate that by using the lenses of religious freedom, religious speech, and national security, anti-LGBT bias can be disguised and the dignity of LGBT individuals harmed. These lenses allows individuals to argue that it is not homophobic to refuse to bake a cake or take wedding photos, or that it is not transphobic to ban transgendered individuals from military service, but rather it is a principled stand based on religious beliefs and national security. To counter these negative attacks, positive emotional intelligence must be reinforced through reiterating and reflecting on how values such as equality and dignity should uphold the social good and not be used to harm a disenfranchised and minority group.
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Ellen S. Podgor, Bruce Jacob: A leading Voice in Public Defense, 48 Stetson L. Rev. 305 (2019)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
This Essay examines the events that led to Dean Emeritus Bruce Jacob being the recipient of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ (NACDL) prestigious Champion of Indigent Defense Award. Dean Jacob represented the State of Florida in the Gideon v. Wainwright case, arguing for adherence to Betts v. Brady which did not provide the right to counsel for indigent state defendants absent special circumstances. After arguing Gideon in the Supreme Court, he spent much of his career advocating for indigent defendants’ rights to effective assistance of counsel. Although some may find an irony in these two roles, this Essay notes the symmetry when looking at Dean Jacob as a true “minister of justice.”
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Michèle Alexandre, Race, Space and Democracy: Locally-Based Strategies for Development, 44 The Harbinger 1 (2019)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
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Renee Nicole Allen et al., The Pink Ghetto Pipeline: Challenges & Opportunities for Women in Legal Education, 96 U. Det. Mercy L. Rev. 525 (2019)Clicking on the button will copy the full recommended citation.
The demographics of law schools are changing and women make up the majority of law students. Yet, the demographics of many law faculties do not reflect these changing demographics with more men occupying faculty seats. In legal education, women predominately occupy skills positions, including legal writing, clinic, academic success, bar preparation, or library. According to a 2010 Association of American Law Schools survey, the percentage of female lecturers and instructors is so high that those positions are stereotypically female.
The term coined for positions typically held by women is “pink ghetto.” According to the Department of Labor, pink-collar-worker describes jobs and career areas historically considered “women’s work,” and included on the list is teaching. However, in legal education, tenured and higher-ranked positions are held primarily by men, while women often enter legal education through non-tenured and non-faculty skills-based teaching pipelines. In a number of these positions, women experience challenges like poor pay, heavy workloads, and lower status such as by contract, nontenure, or at will.
While many may view this as a challenge, looking at these positions solely as a “pink ghetto” diminishes the many contributions women have made to legal education through the skills faculty pipelines. Conversely, we miss the opportunity to examine how legal education has changed and how women have accepted the challenge of being on the front line of educating this new generation of learners while enthusiastically adopting the American Bar Association’s new standards for assessment and student learning. There is an opportunity for women to excel in these positions if we provide them with allies who champion for equal status and provide the requisite support.
This article focuses on the changing gender demographics of legal education, legal education pipelines, and the role and status of women in higher education with an emphasis on legal education. The final section applies feminist pedagogy to address challenges, opportunities, and aspirations for women in legal education.