"Victim or Thug? Examining the Relevance of Stories in Cases Involving Shootings of Unarmed Black Males" by Sherri Lee Keene
Howard Law Journal, Vol. 58, No. 3, 2015 Forthcoming
U of Maryland Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2015-17
In recent years, the shootings of unarmed African American men and boys by individuals with real or purported police authority have garnered significant public attention. Moreover, studies about these incidents have revealed stark contrasts in perspectives between African Americans and White Americans concerning jury decisions not to charge or not to convict the shooters, and the role that race may have played in these cases. Recent polls reveal that African Americans express significantly greater dissatisfaction with these jury decisions and often share the belief that race has played a role. While it is not possible to know the extent to which race actually impacted recent jury decisions, this article explains how matters of race can find their way into jurors’ assessments of cases involving shootings of unarmed African American males. This essay focuses on what we now know about the role of stories in jury decision-making, and the opportunities that stories afford for jurors’ pre-existing attitudes and beliefs, including their biases and prejudices, to factor into their evaluations of cases. Ultimately, this essay argues that the quality of justice and public perceptions would be improved if courts reconsider how they address bias and prejudice in the courtroom. It encourages courts to acknowledge the role that jurors’ perspectives play in decision-making, and employ practices that raise jurors’ awareness of their own biases and encourage the selection of jurors who bring diverse perspectives.
"Colorism Among South Asians: Title VII and Skin Tone Discrimination" by Tauyna Lovell Banks
Forthcoming in Washington University Global Law Review
U of Maryland Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2015-19
In 2013 Nina Davuluri, an Asian Indian from Syracuse, NY, became the first South Asian-American Miss America. The largely congratulatory comments from South Asian bloggers while reveling in the significance of her win, also commented on her skin tone, characterizing the new Miss America as dark brown, some adding that Davuluri would have never won the Miss Indian America USA title because she is “too dark.” Early discussions of colorism, skin tone bias, by legal scholars focus on how the practice impacts black Americans or other persons with some African ancestry. Yet the comments from South Asians about Davuluri’s skin tone sound surprisingly similar to conventional American notions of colorism practices. South Asian commentators acknowledge a light-skinned preference within their communities but explain her selection as a national beauty queen as a preference by the dominant American culture for darker more “exotic” South Asians. Thus skin tone preferences impacting South Asians operate within and outside of their communities. What is not clear is whether intra-group or inter-group skin tone preferences involving South Asians carry over to workplace decisions. This inquiry is important because South Asians comprise a significant portion of this country’s growing non-white population. Focusing on Title VII employment discrimination cases this article asks whether colorism among or between racialized groups impacts immigrants from South Asia and their American-born offspring in the same way studies suggest that skin tone discrimination adversely impacts black Americans and Latinos in the workplace.
"Race, Place and Historic Moment – Black and Japanese American World War II Veterans: The G.I. Bill of Rights and the Model Minority Myth" by Tauyna Lovell Banks
Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation (Robert S. Chang & Greg Robinson eds.), Forthcoming
U of Maryland Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2015-20
The most commonly touted social change in the United States following the end of World War II is the expansion of the American middle class. The more frequently invoked narrative holds that the G.I. Bill, by providing veterans previously unavailable educational opportunities, elevated the socioeconomic status of a substantial segment of the American population as they entered their most productive working years. Black and Japanese American soldiers who fought abroad in racially segregated units to “make the world safe for democracy,” returned to fight, with others, for full citizenship rights at home in the civil rights movements of the mid twentieth century. During this period second generation Japanese Americans (Nisei), but not blacks, achieved near economic parity with whites causing some to characterize them as a “model minority.” Historian Roger Daniels, writing that “the transformation [of Japanese Americans] from ‘pariah to paragon’ [was not] merely a mechanical adjustment of market forces,” urged historians to more closely examine the factors contributing to the relative post-war economic success of Japanese Americans. This chapter takes on an aspect of Daniels’ challenge. It asks whether the advantages allegedly conferred on WWII veterans who received G.I. Bill benefits explains the current socio-economic status of Japanese Americans, or whether other factors better explain their relative postwar success.
"Post-Katrina Suppression of Black Working-Class Political Expression" by Tauyna Lovell Banks
Journal of Public Management and Social Policy, 2015 Forthcoming
U of Maryland Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2015-21
New Orleans politicians, with the aid of the federal government, used the destruction and displacement caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 to implement policies that discouraged low-income and working class black residents from returning to New Orleans. Impacted communities felt the need to revitalize street parades (second-line parades), a traditional communal neighborhood activity, as an instrument of political protest. In response the City used minor municipal ordinances to more vigorously regulate these parades, doubling the fees imposed for street parades and effectively shutting them down. The City’s response raised important constitutional questions about government suppression of speech and freedom of association. This article is an examination of how the racially biased use of city permitting structures impacted working-class blacks in New Orleans post-Katrina. It is a cautionary tale about how cities can enforce social control by manipulating tiny details in municipal laws. It is a lesson for other diverse communities about what can happen to minority subcultures in the wake of recovery efforts after a natural disaster.
"Respect and Dignity: A Conceptual Model for Patients in the Intensive Care Unit" by Leslie Meltzer Henry and others
Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics, vol. 5.1A, pp. 5A-14A
U of Maryland Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2015-22
Although the concept of dignity is commonly invoked in clinical care, there is not widespread agreement — in either the academic literature or in everyday clinical conversations — about what dignity means. Without a framework for understanding dignity, it is difficult to determine what threatens patients’ dignity and, conversely, how to honor commitments to protect and promote it. This article aims to change that by offering the first conceptual model of dignity for patients in the intensive care unit. The conceptual model we present is based on the notion that there are three sources of patients’ dignity — their shared humanity, personal narratives, and autonomy — each of which independently warrants respect. The article describes each source of dignity and draws on examples to illustrate how clinician attitudes, actions, and behaviors can either contribute to, or detract from, expressions of respect for patient dignity.
"Just Compensation: A No-Fault Proposal for Research-Related Injuries" by Leslie Meltzer Henry and others
Journal of Law and the Biosciences, pp. 1-24, 2015, DOI: 10.1093/jlb/lsv034
U of Maryland Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2015-23
Biomedical research, no matter how well designed and ethically conducted, carries uncertainties and exposes participants to risk of injury. Research injuries can range from the relatively minor to those that result in hospitalization, permanent disability, or even death. Participants might also suffer a range of economic harms related to their injuries. Unlike the vast majority of developed countries, which have implemented no-fault compensation systems, the United States continues to rely on the tort system to compensate injured research participants — an approach that is no longer morally defensible. Despite decades of US advisory panels advocating for no-fault compensation, little progress has been made. Accordingly, this article proposes a novel and necessary no-fault compensation system, grounded in the ethical notion of compensatory justice. This first-of-its-kind concrete proposal aims to treat like cases alike, offer fair compensation, and disburse compensation with maximum efficiency and minimum administrative cost. It also harmonizes national and international approaches — an increasingly important goal as research becomes more globalized, multi-site trials grow in number, and institutions and sponsors in the United States move to single-IRB review.
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