As more and more women enter the field of electoral politics and become candidates for federal and state office, they will continue to bring their unique perspectives to the myriad of policy questions and challenges of governing. The increased number of women in electoral politics will indelibly reshape our nation’s laws. To that end, and quite fittingly, before a new generation of female lawmakers reshape our halls of legislation in both state capitals and in Washington D.C., they are first changing the ways in which they arrive in those very halls.
Continue reading “Women, Motherhood, and the Quest for Easier Entry Into Campaigns for Elected Office”The Crimes of Digital Capitalism
The European Union (“EU”), among other polities, has illuminated the ways in which hegemonic digital platforms like Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Uber have disrupted the way the public understands competition, democracy, information, and data privacy. As detailed in a recent EU Commission report, the market power enjoyed by these and other digital monopolies entails not only risks to competition but also to consumer well-being itself. Tribunals from diverse countries such as Australia, the U.S., and the UK reached similar conclusions. In fact, multiple court rulings and public investigations have established that the data of 85 million Facebook users were traded, exposed, and commodified for political purpose in violation, not only of Facebook’s own terms and conditions, but of various national and international laws and treaties. Such data exploitation threatens the privacy of users. And although these privacy concerns are serious, they are not the only threat.
Continue reading “The Crimes of Digital Capitalism”Boarding Mental Health Patients in Minnesota Emergency Departments-The Unintended Consequence of an Inadequate Mental Health System
Mental illness has become increasingly prevalent throughout our society. It is estimated that one in five adults already suffer from a mental health condition each year. The situation has undoubtedly worsened with twice as many adults now reportedly struggling with their mental health due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Mental health issues are soaring at an all-time high for adults and children alike. Unfortunately, Minnesota lacks the magnitude of mental health services necessary to appropriately care for all these patients in need, resulting in numerous heartbreaking stories across the state. People in mental health crises frequently go to local emergency departments, desperately seeking help, only to find themselves languishing in emergency rooms for days, even weeks, waiting for an inpatient psychiatric bed to open. This devastating practice is known as “boarding.”
Continue reading “Boarding Mental Health Patients in Minnesota Emergency Departments-The Unintended Consequence of an Inadequate Mental Health System”Legacies of a Pandemic: Remote Attestation and Electronic Wills
The coronavirus pandemic has compelled governors and legislatures to fast-track remote attestation laws, a previously prohibited form of witnessing that has largely been left out of the thoughtful, nearly two-decades-long but largely unsuccessful, effort to validate electronic wills. This Article examines the unforeseen problems that have arisen in the rush to institute remote attestation in the current crisis, urges lawmakers to interpret the presence requirement as encompassing remote attestation, and predicts that the current experiment with remote attestation will speed the enactment of electronic-will legislation.
Continue reading “Legacies of a Pandemic: Remote Attestation and Electronic Wills”Race-Based Hostile Work Environment Claims in Federal and Minnesota Courts: A Historical Perspective on the “Severe or Pervasive” Standard
The two primary statutes that protect Minnesotans against race-based harassment in the workplace are the Minnesota Human Rights Act (“MHRA”), enacted in 1955, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Since their enactment, courts have seemingly narrowed their protections and applied increasingly stringent standards. One such standard is the “severe or pervasive” standard, a federal case created measure used to determine whether workplace harassment in a given case is actionable.
Continue reading “Race-Based Hostile Work Environment Claims in Federal and Minnesota Courts: A Historical Perspective on the “Severe or Pervasive” Standard”Botched Statistics on Botched Executions: Refuting Austin Sarat’s Claims
Alt text: syringe and gavel
Michael Conklin*
Introduction
In 2014, Austin Sarat presented findings on the botch rates of various execution methods.[1] Sarat’s statistics on death penalty botch rates have been cited by law review articles promoting various policies, including the use of firing squads over lethal injections.[2] The statistics have also been cited by the United States Supreme Court.[3] The conclusion of Sarat’s statistics is that there exists a 0% botch rate for firing squads and a 7.12% botch rate for lethal injection.[4] These frequently cited statistics are—at best—highly misleading. The claimed firing squad botch rate leaves out blatant examples of botched firing squad executions.[5] Conversely, the lethal injection statistic arbitrarily implements a definition of “botched” execution so expansive as to render the ultimate result completely meaningless. Examples of what Sarat considers a “botched” lethal injection include inmates who resist,[6] difficulties inserting the IV,[7] passage of fourteen minutes before official death is declared,[8] and prison officials opening the curtain too early.[9] This essay documents Sarat’s inaccurate statistics and considers potential motivations for promoting the resulting misinformation.
Continue reading “Botched Statistics on Botched Executions: Refuting Austin Sarat’s Claims”How To Be Biased in the Classroom: Kwayeskastasowin – Setting Things Right?
As an Indigenous person, I know introductions are important. Introductions place you. They provide others with an understanding of where you come from and what values or perspectives you might have
because of this placement. Introductions provide your legitimacy, your credibility, and your “authenticity” as an Indigenous person. The introduction of myself has changed throughout my life because of this placement of self. It has shifted as I have shifted from place to place, from space to space, and have gained and lost “knowledge” and family. Therefore, this Article will start with an introduction of myself to you.
Some Reflections of a Métis Law Student and Assistant Professor on Indigenous Legal Education in Canada
This Article is a reflection on some of my experiences as a Métis law student and assistant professor on the subject of Indigenous legal education in Canada. I introduce myself and what brought me to law school and describe some of my experiences as a law student, as a co-president of an Indigenous Students Association, and as a student organizer for an Indigenous law camp. I argue that a significant barrier to Indigenization and decolonization of Canadian legal education is the perseverance of an ideology rooted in settler colonialism and an individual affective commitment to its future, which is facilitated by racism. The existence and nature of this barrier is highlighted through an exploratory discussion of some of the experiences that are commonly shared by Indigenous law students and professors. I describe my approach to Indigenous legal education at the Lincoln Alexander School of Law (“Lincoln Alexander”) at X University in Toronto, Ontario, as one way to work towards facilitating
efforts towards Indigenization and decolonization
Storytelling and Truth-Telling: Personal Reflections on the Native American Experience in Law Schools
In January of 2021, the American Association of Law Schools (“AALS”) theme was Freedom, Equality and the Common Good. The Indian Nations and Indigenous Peoples Section of the AALS embraced the theme and announced a call for personal reflections incorporating the experiences of Native Americans in law schools. The theme of striving for academic freedom and equality allows for an in-depth questioning of
whether Native Americans have been adequately and appropriately represented in legal curricula in the nation’s approximately two hundred law schools. The aspirational goal of realizing the common good must be inclusive of Native American voices as students, faculty, staff, and graduates and in curricula choices in law schools across the country.
A Look at the Rise of Anti-BDS Laws in the United States
Alt text: Gavel with Israeli flag between the words Boycott Israel
Monica Shaffer
I. Introduction
Over the last ten years, bills that prohibit freedom of expression have been proposed and even passed at disturbingly high rates by both state and federal legislative bodies, but they slide under the radar. They go ignored because they are passed to “support” one of the United States’ greatest allies, Israel.[1] These bills, known in activist circles as “anti-BDS” bills, are passed to prevent government agencies (including schools, legislatures, and employers) from contracting with anyone (a person or entity) that supports the “BDS” movement, a form of nonviolent resistance against the state of Israel. These bills are passed under the guise of curbing antisemitism[2] and anti-Israel sentiment. However, this Article will demonstrate that the purpose of these bills has not been achieved and, in fact, the bills are unconstitutional and should be struck down.
Continue reading “A Look at the Rise of Anti-BDS Laws in the United States”