Volume 51, Issue 3

Constitutional equal rights amendments (ERAs) at both the federal and state levels have been at the heart of civil-rights advocacy for over a century. The federal equal rights amendment was drafted in 1923, and in 1972 Congress submitted the federal ERA to the states to ratify. The language of the proposed federal ERA reads: Section…

Today, Minnesota district courts infrequently allow deaf litigants to receive in-person American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting services, significantly impairing access to justice for this vulnerable population. The COVID-19 pandemic drove Minnesota district courts to almost exclusively conduct court proceedings via video technology, and the practice of connecting with interpreters via video technology has continued in…

Many consider Minnesota a great place to live, but above all, the state is beloved for its lakes—its clean lakes. The overdevelopment of lakefront shorelines pollutes Minnesota’s water and negatively impacts the environment. Nearly half of Minnesota’s natural shorelines are gone, leaving residents with manicured lawns and vanishing species. Each decade, around 1–2% of Minnesota’s shorelines vanish.…

Hundreds of millions of women and girls around the world have experienced the excruciating pain of their genitalia being cut by trusted community members. Female genital mutilation/circumcision (FGM), the partial or total removal of external female genitalia, is a human rights violation that demands immediate and ongoing attention. The practice of FGM denies women autonomy…