Inequality Inquiry
Shorter Form Content from the Minnesota Journal of Law & Inequality
Who Is the Foreseeable User?: Manufacturers’ Duty to Warn Multilingual Users
January 11, 2022
by Abbie Maier* More than 350 languages are spoken in United States homes. In certain U.S. cities, Spanish speakers represent the majority of the population. In New York City and Houston, almost half of the people speak a language other than English at home, and in Los Angeles, the majority of the population speak languages…
Continue ReadingPreventing Bias with the Model Rules of Professional Conduct: An Interview with Professor Jon J. Lee
December 6, 2021
Interview conducted by JLI Vol. 40 Lead Online Editor Hannah Stephan Model Rule 8.4(g) of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Responsibility attempts to curb harmful bias and discrimination in the legal profession, but states ultimately decide which regulations govern members the local bar. In this interview, University of Minnesota Law School Professor Jon J. Lee…
Continue ReadingThe Sex Offender Registry is a Life Sentence for Juveniles
December 2, 2021
by Layni Sprouse* In 1990, in the wake of her 11-year-old son Jacob’s kidnapping, which grabbed the attention of the entire county, Minnesota native Patty Wetterling believed it crucial to take action to protect children against sexually violent offenders. Due to her efforts and the tragic story of her son, the first sex offender registry…
Continue ReadingNo Humans Involved: The Dehumanization of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
November 29, 2021
by Alida Weidensee* No Humans Involved. This was the unofficial term used by members of the Los Angeles Police Department and other public officials to describe the murders of people of color and those in other communities deemed nonhuman.[1] The use of this term came to light in 1992, following the acquittal of LAPD officers…
Continue ReadingThomas Jefferson: Derailing the Native American Future
November 23, 2021
Jefferson sought to play both sides of the conflict. On the one hand, he had to appease the zealous settlers who were eager to take Native American land. On the other, he wanted to “cultivate the love” of Native Americans even as he sought to rob them of their property.
Continue ReadingWhere is the U.S. Military?: An Update on the Department of Defense’s Efforts to Prevent Sexual Assault and to Protect Victims
November 17, 2021
by Thor Hawrey* Currently, a female military member is more likely to get post-traumatic stress disorder from being sexually assaulted or harassed than from actual combat. Due to this trauma, as well as the many other complex reasons associated with sexual assault, many victims feel trapped, have suicidal thoughts, and opt to leave the military. Those who desire to serve and protect us must forfeit their careers due to an inability for us to protect them.
Continue ReadingImmigration Under the Biden Administration: An Interview with Attorney Erin Schutte Wadzinski
November 15, 2021
Interview by Grace Anderson* After four years of anti-immigrant, “Build the Wall” rhetoric from the previous presidential administration, President Biden came into office with promises to revitalize our nation’s immigration system. Almost a year into the Biden administration, JLI Staff Member Grace Anderson checks in with immigration attorney Erin Schutte Wadzinski, owner of Kivu Immigration…
Continue ReadingThe Shadow of Buck v. Bell: How Ignoring the United States’ History of Forced Sterilization Has Fostered an Environment Ambivalent to Widespread Abuse
November 11, 2021
by Mercedes Molina* Since Buck v. Bell was decided in 1927, approximately 70,000 people have been legally forcibly sterilized. The legal framework put in place by that infamous 1927 case still exists, despite the repeal of most state’s compulsory sterilization laws.
Continue ReadingThe Supreme Court Vacated the CDC Eviction Moratorium – Now What?
November 2, 2021
Since the pandemic, some households have migrated away from large cities to smaller cities and suburbs. As the median rents rise in these areas, landlords are more eager to evict low-income renters and increase the rent.
Continue ReadingGeneral Counsel Abruzzo’s Memoranda Indicate a Bold, Pro-Worker Agenda at Biden’s NLRB
October 26, 2021
by Jon Erik Haines* National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo came into her role in somewhat unceremonious fashion, following the sudden sacking of Trump administration General Counsel Peter Robb. Her tenure also began under the auspices of then-candidate Biden promising that he would be the “most pro-union president” we have ever…
Continue ReadingMental Health & Criminal Justice: An Interview with Kelly Mitchell and Professor JaneAnne Murray
October 11, 2021
Interview by Sarah Coleman* October 3-9, 2021 was Mental Health Awareness Week. The United States’ prison and criminal justice systems are deeply interconnected with mental healthcare and mental illness. For many individuals, a mental illness diagnosis and subsequent treatment aren’t made available to them until after they come in contact with the criminal justice system.…
Continue ReadingConstitutional Arguments for the Legal Recognition of Bigamous Marriages
October 7, 2021
by Esther Raty* Introduction Bigamy, “the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another,”[1] is illegal in the United States.[2] If a person’s first marriage remains intact, their second marriage is not legally binding and can even lead to criminal charges.[3] Bigamy laws prohibit individuals in polygamous and…
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 ReadingA Discriminatory Definition of “Mother:” The Injustice of the British Birth Registry System
September 21, 2021
Sharon Beck* Freddy McConnell, a single father in the United Kingdom, is expecting his second child in early 2022. When they are born, they will join Freddy’s family, which also includes his first child, SJ. Since giving birth to SJ in 2018, Freddy has raised him as a single father, happily and by choice. But both of his children’s birth certificates will list Freddy as their mother, not father, which Freddy has been fighting since he gave birth to SJ.
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 TRACED Act: Encouraging Developments in the Fight Against Robocalls
September 13, 2021
by Caroline Headrick*[1] In the modern age, no individual with a cell phone, indeed even a landline, is immune from the threat of scam callers. If you have paid attention to your cell phone in the past year, you have likely noticed the “Scam Likely” call identification that accompanies calls from some unknown numbers. This…
Continue ReadingPower and Pay in the C-Suite
September 8, 2021
View/Download PDF Version Afra Afsharipour† and Darren Rosenblum†† Introduction The debate over executive pay has gripped corporate law scholars, regulators, and the national public for decades.[1] A C-Suite position provides uniquely lucrative financial benefits to executives, especially to Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). Over the past few decades, CEO pay has risen spectacularly,[2] as has debate…
Continue ReadingJoint Publication: Racial Inequality in the Legal System Locally and Nationally
August 5, 2021
View/Download Issue PDF A note from JLI Vol. 39 Editor-in-Chief Navin Ramalingam: This special joint online issue, Racial Inequality in the Legal System Locally and Nationally, is a collaborative work among the six student-run legal academic journals across the three law schools in the state of Minnesota. The objective of the collaboration is to use our…
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 ReadingWho’s Benefiting from Attorney General Settlement Agreements?
June 3, 2021
Anna Berglund* Lately, when we read about state Attorneys General (AGs) in the news, we hear about them suing battleground states to try to overturn election results[1] or suing the Trump administration 138 times—almost double the number of times the Obama and Bush administrations were sued—over various policies.[2] Although state AGs are increasingly ramping…
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 ReadingEnvironmental [in]Justice: Why Executive Order 12898 Falls Short in Creating Environmental Equity for Vulnerable Communities
May 18, 2021
View/Download PDF Version Sam Brower† “[I]t’s become achingly apparent that well before Trump, those who purported to champion environmental justice—primarily Democratic legislators and presidents—did little to codify the progress and programs related to it, even when they were best positioned politically to do so.”[1] Introduction “It’s not if it breaks, it’s when it breaks.”[2] These…
Continue ReadingThe Injustice of Inconsistency: Language Access in Judicial Proceedings
April 25, 2021
Rachel Pokrzywinski Judicial proceedings are often stressful. The stress is only compounded for an individual who must navigate the complex legal system in a language they are not proficient in. To ensure that these individuals receive adequate guidance and representation, federal law requires that, in all federal judicial proceedings, certified language interpreters must be provided…
Continue ReadingPPP Loans: A Plethora of Profits Program for the Big, A Penny-Pinching Peril for the Small
“The PPP loan program has undoubtedly helped businesses across America. However, in times of global panic, this country needs to come together and help those most in need, and that is not what the PPP loan program is doing today.”
Continue ReadingJLI’s Statement Regarding Chauvin Verdict and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice
April 21, 2021
Gabrielle Maginn, Heather Chang, Navin Ramalingam, and the JLI Editorial Board Yesterday, twelve jurors found Derek Chauvin, a White former Minneapolis police officer, guilty on all counts—third-degree murder, second-degree unintentional murder, and second-degree manslaughter—for killing George Perry Floyd, Jr., on May 25, 2020. This was an extraordinary case, bolstered by the bravery of the witnesses…
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