Critical Legal Theory: ASU Law Journals Publish on the Intersection of Law and Social Issues

Critical legal theory (CLT)—the idea that the law and social issues are inextricably related—has developed through decades of work from diverse and historically marginalized legal practitioners and scholars. CLT’s subcategories like critical race theory, feminist legal theory, intersectionality, and queer legal theory aim to center perspectives excluded by the traditional legal field.[1]

Despite its groundbreaking nature, CLT has been promulgated in a surprisingly traditional medium: law journals. Long (and still) considered bastions of elitism due to homogenous memberships that exclude diverse voices and public inaccessibility, law journals have unexpectedly been incubators and platforms for CLT scholarship since the 1970s.

Arizona State University’s law journals are no exception to this tradition. The following list, developed in partnership with the Black Law Students Association, includes recently published ASU law journal articles that draw on CLT concepts, either implicitly by focusing on the intersection of law and social issues or explicitly by directly citing prominent CLT theories.

Our hope for this list is two-fold. First, we hope it encourages students who feel marginalized by the law journal community to see that there is a space for their voices and experiences. Second, we hope it encourages law journals at ASU to both continue and expand their publication of historically excluded voices and perspectives.

Law Journal for Social Justice

R. Allyce Bailey, Bias Within Bias: How Washington General Rule 37 Addresses Disguised Racial Discrimination in Jury Selection and a Blueprint for Rule 37’s Nationwide Implementation in All American Courtrooms, 14 Law J. Soc. Just. 55 (2021).

Benjamin W. Cramer, Envirodemic: Unconstitutional Restrictions on Environmental Protests from the Attacks of 2001 to the Struggles of 2020, 14 Law J. Soc. Just. 79 (2021).

Forthcoming from LJSJ:

Stephanie W. DiDomizio-Ray, “[Sir,] [T]his Isn’t Your ID . . . It Has An ‘F’ On It.”—The Lack of Gender Inclusivity in the 19^th Amendment and the Systematic Suppression of Trans* Voters, 15 Law J. Soc. Just. __ (2022).
Katherine E. Miller, The Intersection of Strategic Settlement Practice, Bad Precedent, and Bad Lawyering in Intersectional Discrimination Claims, 15 Law J. Soc. Just. __ (2022).
Abigail H. Mason, Breaking the P.A.T.T.E.R.N.: A Critique of the Department of Justice’s Newest Risk-Assessment Tool and its Use for Home Confinement Reviews During the COVID-19 Pandemic, 15 Law J. Soc. Just. __ (2022).
Isaac Kort-Meade, Planting the Seeds of Justice: Developing Effective Incentives for Urban Gardening, 15 Law J. Soc. Just. __ (2022).
Victoria Hawley, Collateral Consequences or Normative Values?, 15 Law J. Soc. Just. __ (2022).
Kendra J. Miller, Harming, Not Healing: How Well-Intentioned COVID-19 Law Exploits the Most Vulnerable, 15 Law J. Soc. Just. __ (2022).
Susan M. Chesler, Using Private Law as a Vehicle for Social Change: A Feminist Approach, 15 Law J. Soc. Just. __ (2022).