Civil Rights and Liberties
Will Minnesota’s New Automatic Expungement Laws Have an Effect on Federal Sentences?
February 14, 2024
By Britane Hubbard* On January 1, 2025, Minnesota’s new automatic expungement statutes will go into effect.[1] Under this new law, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will identify eligible people and grant them expungement relief if they qualify.[2] Offenses eligible for expungement range from petty misdemeanors to felonies.[3] The possibility of a new wave of expungements…
Continue ReadingThe Deportation Marketplace: The Unethical and Potentially Illegal Deal with El Salvador’s Mega-Prison
April 1, 2025
By: Jane Genske, Volume 43 Staff Member View/Download PDF Version: The Deportation Marketplace (Genske) The outsourcing of asylum responsibilities by wealthier nations through financial incentives—often termed “the commodification of refugees”—is not a new phenomenon. Countries have long paid others to accept and detain migrants, effectively shifting their obligations elsewhere. A recent agreement between the United…
Continue ReadingA Solution to Hoffman’s Choice for Unauthorized Workers: Creating New Incentives to Report Unlawful Workplace Discrimination
October 4, 2016
by Andrew J. Glasnovich
In 2012, the United States was home to 11.7 million people who did not have legal authorization to reside in the country. Of those, approximately 8 million people were active in the work force. Unauthorized workers will likely contribute $2.6 trillion over the next decade to the U.S. economy. Those unauthorized persons are some of the most vulnerable members of society. Because of their status, some unauthorized workers fear that their choice to report employer misconduct will lead to their deportation or imprisonment. State and federal laws prohibit employers from class-based discrimination against their workers—whether these workers are authorized or unauthorized. Despite those laws, some employer misconduct is notably egregious and includes wage theft, unsafe labor conditions, race and sex discrimination, and sexual assault. However, some unauthorized workers are brave enough to risk deportation and challenge their employers’ unlawful practices.
Does the Minneapolis Police Department Traffic Stop Data Reveal Racial Bias?
November 24, 2020
This study analyzed Minneapolis Police Department traffic stop data from 2016 to 2020 to determine if racial bias influences MPD behavior. Results of the analysis showed that Black drivers are 10.8% percent more likely to be stopped during the day, when officers can observe the driver’s race for profiling, than when Black drivers’ race is not observable during darkness. The effect was highly statistically significant and demonstrated that Minneapolis Police Department traffic stops are racially biased.
Continue ReadingConstitutional Avenues for Challenging Social Media Monitoring by Law Enforcement
May 25, 2021
Stephen Earnest* Introduction Most Americans use social media on a regular basis.[1] Indeed, according to a recent report from the Global World Index, the average American allocates more than two hours a day to social media interaction, and that number appears to be increasing.[2] It should then come as no surprise that law enforcement agencies…
Continue ReadingAttack on the Right to Choose
April 12, 2022
By Laura Gustafson* A person’s right to choose has been under attack by state actions for some time, making headlines as the Supreme Court rules on bills restricting access to abortion. These bills can inflict great harm on people and attack the right to choose, but there is another very real threat that often goes…
Continue ReadingAll in the Family: How Polyamorous Families Can Use Businesses Models and Contracts to Secure Legal Benefits
February 9, 2023
JLI Staff Member Jacqueline R. Brant explores the legal challenges of polyamorous and plural families, including child custody, tax filing, government benefits, and housing rights, and the methods these families use to build a life outside of legal marriage.
Continue ReadingA Civil Gideon? The Case for Universal Representation in Immigration Courts
March 5, 2024
A Civil Gideon? The Case for Universal Representation in Immigration Courts By: Meg Keiser* In 1932, the Supreme Court began considering the right to counsel as a due process concern in Powell v. Alabama, holding that in capital cases where a defendant is unable to independently secure counsel, the Court must appoint counsel.[1] From Powell…
Continue ReadingMinneapolis Organization Spotlight: New Justice Project MN
April 11, 2025
By: Fariza Hassan, Volume 43 Editor-in-Chief View/Download PDF Version: Minneapolis Organization Spotlight – New Justice Project MN (Hassan) During a long-time friend’s going away picnic at Boom Island Park earlier this summer, we noticed that under the nearby chateau was a lively group hosting some sort of celebratory, yet informative, event. While we reminisced our stories…
Continue ReadingProscribing Prescriptions: A Legal Analysis of State Off-Label Restrictions on Medication Abortion
November 21, 2016
by Kaiya A. Lyons
Since its decision in Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court has consistently upheld the right of a woman to choose to terminate a pregnancy before viability and without undue burden. However, the ability of a woman to exercise that right today is as intimately connected to her economic privilege and geographic location as it was in the days preceding that landmark ruling. Under the guise of protecting women from the “harms inherent in abortion,” major conservative gains in the 2010 midterm elections resulted in hundreds of anti-abortion measures flooding a majority of state legislatures. In the aftermath of that year’s midterm elections, the bulk of state legislatures passed an unprecedented number of harsh new restrictions on when, how, and even whether women may access abortion services. Because these laws are also substantially more obstructive than their predecessors, for low-income women, the economic impact of these restrictive regulations is extremely harmful.
Why a Tuesday in November? An Original Intent Argument for Increased Voter Accessibility
November 25, 2020
What is so important about a singular “Election Day” and why is it some Tuesday in November? To reinforce the original intent of legislators in 1845, we should make adjustments to election day to make it more convenient for voters, just as they did for farmers in the 1800’s.
Continue ReadingThe Long Scalpel of the Law: How United States Prisons Continue to Practice Eugenics Through Forced Sterilization
June 7, 2021
Brenna Evans* The modern discussion of reproductive rights—especially surrounding women’s reproductive rights—often focuses on the idea of the right not to reproduce, such as the right to abortion or the right to birth control.[1] However, one topic that seems to be left out of discussion is that of people who have had their ability to…
Continue ReadingWhat’s Wrong With My Hair?: Discrimination Against Black Hair in the Workplace
April 26, 2022
By Jocelyn Rimes* I spent the days leading up to my first day of my summer law clerk position agonizing over how I would do my hair. While still unsure, I eventually decided that I would do a twist-out, sectioning my hair in small twists and untwisting it the next day for defined curls. On…
Continue ReadingPolice Questioning of Juveniles
February 9, 2023
By Emma Kruger Police interrogation can be intimidating even for adults, but the experience of police questioning for a juvenile suspected of committing or witnessing a crime can be even more overwhelming. Police interrogation practices often do not differ for children, but children’s experience of them and their capacity to adequately make choices in the…
Continue ReadingSeneca Re-Ad Industries Reinforces Why Congress Should Eliminate 14(c) Certificates
March 29, 2024
Seneca Re-Ad Industries Reinforces Why Congress Should Eliminate 14(c) Certificates By: Matthew Schmitz* Early this year the District Court for the Northern District of Ohio reviewed the application of a key component of American minimum wage law: Section 14(c) certificates.[1] The case, brought by workers with disabilities and appealed by their employer, seems to represent…
Continue ReadingThe Case for Preserving Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Health Care Protections
December 5, 2017
by Bailey Metzger
On May 18, 2016, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published the final rule implementing § 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the Federal Register. The final rule addressed a wide variety of discrimination in the health care context, including discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability. Perhaps the most notable part of the rule finds that discrimination on the basis of gender identity constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex.
2020 Summit for Civil Rights – Awards Ceremony
December 1, 2020
Thanks for joining us, your support, and for engaging in an important and timely conversation. We look forward continuing on the journey of establishing a more just and equitable society.
Continue ReadingThe Prison Phone Industry Exemplifies How Eliminating Private Prisons is Insufficient to Protect Inmates from Being Exploited for Profit
September 15, 2021
Anne Bolgert* Awareness of the exploitation of the private prison industry has been growing in both popular culture and political discussions. However, focus on only eliminating private prisons ignores the impact of private industry in public prisons and jails, as exemplified by the prison phone industry.
Continue ReadingThe Constitutionality of SB 1142
April 28, 2022
By Chase Lindemann[1] On March 1, 2022, Oklahoma State Senator Rob Standridge introduced Senate Bill 1142 to the Oklahoma Senate Floor.[2] SB 1142’s title states that this bill is an act “prohibiting certain schools and school libraries from maintaining or promoting certain books.”[3] If a parent believes that there is a violation of SB…
Continue ReadingNot-So Affordable Housing: Regulatory Blocks on Accessory Dwelling Units in the Twin Cities
March 3, 2023
JLI Vol. 41 Staff Member Jacque Randolph explains the benefits of and barriers to using Accessory Dwelling Units for affordable housing in the Twin Cities.
Continue Reading“Mind Your Own Damn Business”: Why Governor Walz Is Right that The Right to Control Your Body Should Not Be Based on Geography
October 19, 2024
By: Claire Cavanagh View/Download PDF Version: _Mind Your Own Damn Business_ – Why Governor Walz Is Right that The Right to Control Your Body Should Not Be Based on Geography (Cavanagh) Minnesota Governor, Tim Walz (Walz), has been selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. Throughout the campaign, especially during the vice presidential…
Continue ReadingThe Newclear Family: The Broadening Recognition of Non-Traditional Families and Where to Draw the Line
April 11, 2018
by Ally Nicol
In the past fifty years, American politics and public opinion have shifted regarding parentage and what constitutes a family. In the wake of cases such as Holtzman v. Knott, Johnson v. Calvert, K.M. v. E.G., Obergefell v. Hodges, and In re M.C., the rights of same-sex and other “non-traditional” parents have been clarified and expanded. Biology and marriage have long been the most commonly used means of establishing parental rights, and now those recognitions, particularly in the wake of Obergefell, are widely available to most couples. While this recognition has been long-awaited in the LGBT community, issues remain regarding legal parent status based solely on biology and the legal status of non-traditional families. As the law expands to recognize a more diverse spectrum of parents, new issues will arise regarding when parental status should not be granted, as opposed to how parental rights should be expanded.
An American Caste System: A Conversation with Professor Sheryll Cashin
December 30, 2020
Is there a caste system in the United States? Check out this video for a thought-provoking conversation with Professor Sheryll Cashin, Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law, Civil Rights, and Social Justice at the Georgetown University Law Center.
Continue ReadingChildren’s Online Privacy in the Age of Influencers
September 24, 2021
The children of family vloggers are often on-screen from the moment they are born—“birth vlogs” are a popular subgenre. Pregnancy is chronicled in excruciating detail, often with a focus on “gender reveals” and a highly anticipated buildup to the reveal of the child’s name.
Continue ReadingGentrification, Displacement, and Disparate Impact Liability: How Gentrification Theory is Not Cognizable Under the Fair Housing Act
May 2, 2022
by Adam Mikell* In the United States, the topic of housing has an ugly history comprised of decades of government-sanctioned discrimination and segregation carried out through racially-motivated practices such as “neighborhood composition” rules, racial covenants, steering, and redlining. In 1968—the tail end of the Civil Rights Movement—the Fair Housing Act (FHA) was passed to…
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