Journal

LJSJ Volume XIX

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Editor’s Note:

The Law Journal for Social Justice Spring 2024 publication presents six articles covering a range of timely social justice issues. These articles were carefully selected by the Article Review Committee, made up of Law Journal for Social Justice members. The Committee was disbanded during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic but was revived by Managing Editor Tyler DeMers. Volume Nineteen represents a true team effort and highlights diverse perspectives on the topics of health, criminal justice, and constitutional law. The authors bring attention to these urgent and complex issues through thoughtful analysis and meaningful recommendations for reform.

Volume Nineteen begins with Examining the Impact of the Arizona Sober Living Home Crisis in Relation to Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples: A Legal and Media Analysis by Leonard Mukosi, Rachel Carroll, and Kathleen A. Fox. In the article, the authors explore current federal and state policies regulating Sober Living Homes with a focus on Arizona and the disproportionate effect these homes have on Native Americans. Their media study links Sober Living Homes to the wider crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Peoples. They conclude with policy recommendations to prevent further abuses by Sober Living Homes.

Next, To Negotiate or Not to Negotiate? A Legal Analysis of Prescription Drug Pricing Under the Inflation Reduction Act by Max Mashal and Alyannah Buhman explores prescription drug pricing in the United States and the complex reasons why some medication costs are currently outpacing what patients are able to spend. It advocates for the drug pricing reforms present in the provisions of the embattled IRA that strike a better balance between affordable access to prescription drugs and an innovative pharmaceutical market.

In Competency to Stand Trial in the Ninth Circuit: Clarity, Ambiguity, and Vagueness, author Patrick James Flanagan creates a bridge between health care and criminal justice. In the article, Flanagan advocates for less ambiguous and vague statutory competency schemes in Ninth Circuit jurisdictions to better protect the due process rights of vulnerable defendants.

In Comparative Corrections: How Adopting European Policies Can Improve the United States Corrections System, author Tommi Mandell argues that the United States should learn from various European policies to improve its current prison system. By prioritizing rehabilitation over punishment, governments give individuals who are incarcerated a better chance of reintegrating into society upon their release.

In Decentralized Disenfranchisement: State Solutions for a State Issue by Amelia Jacobs, the author takes a deep dive into how disenfranchisement arising from a felony conviction affects the voting rights of millions of Americans across the United States, but disproportionately affects people of color. Jacobs proposes solutions at the state level to curb this growing issue and restore voting rights for more individuals who were incarcerated and disenfranchised as a result.

Lastly, in Cancel Culture for Compassionate Change: Addressing the Systemic “isms” in the Constitution, author Eric D. Yordy argues for compassionate change by amending the U.S. Constitution using an integrative approach rather than appending amendments at the end of the Constitution. The end result is an inclusive document that better reflects modern U.S. values of equality and justice. He includes an appendix to demonstrate these changes and what an inclusive U.S. Constitution could look like.

LJSJ would like to thank the authors of this volume for their dedication to social justice and willingness to share their knowledge. I would also like to extend my deepest gratitude to the members of the LJSJ Board and Associate Editors whose efforts this past semester made this publication possible.

Megan Ealick | Editor-in-Chief (Spring 2024)

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LJSJ Volume XVIII

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Editor’s Note:

Now in its fourteenth year, the Law Journal for Social Justice continues to pursue its mission to promote diverse voices and advance important conversations around timely social justice issues. The articles within this volume were thoughtfully curated to provide academic analysis on a variety of social justice topics as well as calls to action for students and practitioners in the legal community. With a broad focus on environmental, educational, and criminal justice, the articles in this volume bring attention to the pervasiveness of injustice in our society, offer new perspectives, and present thoughtful solutions to difficult issues.

Volume Eighteen begins with A Tale of Two Committees: Comparing Police Officer Standard and Training (POST) Bodies by Nino Monea. In the article, Monea pulls back the curtain on how Police Officer Standard and Training Post Bodies operate in the context of decertifying officers for wrongdoing. In analyzing the POSTs of Oregon and Kansas, Monea highlights a troubling lack of accountability and transparency in the current police oversight system. Monea concludes by offering policy suggestions to improve public safety and policing outcomes. While POSTs have a valuable role to play in keeping misbehaving police officers accountable, there is still work to be done.

Next, Cayley Balser, Erin Weaver, Stacy Rupprecht Jane, Gabriela Elizondo-Craig, Tate Richardson, and Antonio Coronado at Innovation for Justice present their research and propose regulatory reform suggestions to improve access to justice for marginalized communities in Leveraging Unauthorized Practice of Law Reform to Advance Access to Justice. The authors emphasize the need for diverse voices to be included in the design and implementation of regulatory reform efforts and advocate for improving access to legal training within community-based organizations.

In Prison Siting from an Environmental Justice Perspective: The Toxic Cycle of Mass Incarceration, Jacqueline Cochrane shifts the conversation to environmentally hazardous prisons—an emerging issue where environmental justice and criminal justice intersect. Cochrane argues for increased accountability for state and federal actors in toxic prison siting. Additionally, Cochrane proposes an Eighth Amendment claim for the environmental harms that people who are incarcerated are forced to endure.

In Answering the Question of Intent in Structural Racism: A Tortious Framework for Establishing Intentional Discrimination in Environmental Justice, Mai Rubin proposes a new legal framework for environmental justice claims involving discriminatory siting. Rubin suggests tort law holds the answer for improved legal outcomes for marginalized communities where the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment has fallen short.

Lastly, Esteban Ortiz argues for meaningful educational opportunities for all in K-12 schools in Educational Equality, Educational Adequacy: A Conjunction for the Future. He urges that proper education must include both an adequate and equal education experience for all students. In doing so, it will be possible to achieve equity in K-12 education.

LJSJ would like to thank the authors of this volume for their dedication to social justice and willingness to share their knowledge. I would also like to extend my deepest gratitude to the members of the LJSJ Board and Associate Editors whose efforts this past semester made this publication possible.

Megan Ealick | Editor-in-Chief (Fall 2023)

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LJSJ Volume XVII

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Editor’s Note:

Each year, LJSJ works internally towards fostering action-orientated legal discourse. To this end, our Symposium was an in-person panel discussion titled Innocent Behind Bars: A Symposium on Over-Criminalization, a multi-panel discussion centered around Professor Valena Beety’s book Manifesting Justice, which discusses the overcriminalization of vulnerable populations and how women and vulnerable populations are uniquely impacted by incarceration. Our panelists included Professors Maybell Romero, Aya Gruber, Yvette Butler, Leigh Goodmark, Daniel Medwed, Omavi Shukur, Russ Covey, Jessica Henry, Wendy Bach, Ji Seon Song, Priscilla Ocen, Eve Hanan, Seema Saifee, Jordan Woods, and Carla Laroche. The Symposium would not have been possible without the generous contributions of the Academy for Justice and the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. 

This volume starts off with a Keynote Address for Innocent Behind Bars: A Symposium on Over-Criminalization, where author Valena Beety expands our ideas of wrongful convictions to include miscarriages of justice, bias, and faulty forensic evidence. Professor Beety argues that these wrongful convictions are convictions that should be reversed.

In Women and No-Crime Wrongful Convictions: The Misclassification Error, author Jessica Henry examines the numerous types of non-criminal events that have resulted in no-crime wrongful convictions of innocent people. Throughout her piece, she considers the intersectional factors that make women particularly vulnerable to no-crime wrongful convictions.

In Not Just Mercy: The Untapped Potential of Clemency to Right Wrongful Convictions, author Daniel Medwed provides an overview of executive clemency, arguing that it is “by no means a fail safe that some apologists for judicial inaction consider it to be.” Professor Medwed concludes by discussing how to alter clemency to best support factual innocence claims.

In Criminalized Survivors and the Promise of Abolition Feminism, author Leigh Goodmark argues that to protect criminalized survivors of gender-based violence, we must dismantle the carceral system. Abolition feminism, instead, is the only practice that can undo the damage that has been done to these survivors.

In Manifesting Feminism, author Aya Gruber explores how the feminist approach to gender violence is invariably endorsing tougher criminal law. Professor Gruber argues that to manifest justice, more feminists should explore non-carceral remedies that reject the penal system, a system antithetical to feminism.

Finally, in Prosecuting Poverty, Criminalizing Care, author Wendy A. Bach analyzes a Tennessee law that made it a crime for a pregnant woman to transmit narcotics to a fetus. In this excerpt from her book, Professor Bach focuses on the structural mechanisms that merge punishment and care, arguing that criminalizing care is a steep cost; individuals have to pay in incarceration, in fines, in separation from their family and community and in many other ways that incarceration and conviction make life difficult.

I would to like to thank Valena Beety, Jessica Henry, Daniel Medwed, Leigh Goodmark, Aya Gruber, and Wendy Bach for contributing excerpts of their powerful books, as well as all the scholars who joined our Symposium. Finally, I would like to thank my Executive and Editorial Board for their continuous hard work and support. Your passion and knowledge are needed out in the legal sphere, and I look forward to seeing how you reshape the law to create a more just world.

Kylie Love | Editor-in-Chief (Spring 2023)

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LJSJ Volume XVI

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Editor’s Note:

In following our mission to foster important conversations about social justice issues, the Law Journal for Social Justice’s sixteenth volume encompasses diverse perspectives spanning across a variety of timely issues. Each article was thoughtfully compiled with the idea that the Law Journal for Social Justice must use our privilege and platform to center marginalized communities and spur action among legal practitioners, students, and professors. To this end, the articles within Volume XVI combine academic analysis, diverse perspectives, and potential solutions.

In What Miranda Can Learn from Batson: The Need to Eliminate Arbitrary Judicial Analysis of Vulnerable Constitutional Rights, author Sydney Plaskett compares the downfall of the Miranda doctrine to that of the Batson challenges, arguing that decades of case law have made it essentially impossible to protect oneself against self-incrimination. Plaskett concludes with an analysis of the state-specific solutions to Miranda’s downfall, including interrogation policy reform, enacting rule changes, or creating constitutional amendments in hopes of reviving the spirit of Miranda.

In Corrective Lenses: Seeing the U.S. Constitution Clearly, author Russell Facente embarks on a historical analysis of the United States Constitution, arguing that the document does not truly uphold the concepts of equal rights, liberty, justice, or democracy. Instead, the Constitution was created to consolidate power and wealth among United States conglomerations.

In The Argument Against Affirmative Consent, LJSJ Symposium Chair Madison Benson explores the harm that affirmative consent laws can have on both suspects and victims of rape. Benson proposes passing legislation which recognizes that coerced consent is not true consent, and a renewed focus on dispelling cultural rape myths.

In The Unfairness of Fair Housing: How BYU Weaponized the Law to Discriminate Against the LGBTQ+ Community and What Can Be Done About It, author Danny Chung analyzes how religious freedom has allowed BYU to engage in discriminatory housing practices to the detriment of the LGBTQ+ community. Though past individuals have been barred from litigating relief, Chung advises of ways BYU can effect change internally, or alternatively, how amendments the Utah Constitution to address this religious discrimination and foster inclusivity.

I would like to thank LJSJ’s Board and Associate Editors for their hard work this past semester. Your efforts are needed, and appreciated, as we work towards reshaping the legal landscape to uplift and amplify historically marginalized groups and promote diversity and equity. Thank you for your work and your willingness to share your knowledge.

Kylie Love | Editor-in-Chief (Fall 2022)

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LJSJ Volume XV

Click here to view LJSJ Volume XV.

Editor’s Note:

In legal spaces, academic discussions about social justice are often theoretical exercises divorced from the lived experiences of marginalized communities. This volume rejects the idea that academic discourse can be unmoored from action and inclusion. Instead, the articles within were thoughtfully compiled with the idea that the Law Journal for Social Justice must use our privilege and platform to center marginalized communities and spur action among legal practitioners, students, and professors. To this end, the articles within Volume XV combine academic analysis, diverse perspectives, and calls to action.

In “[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, author Stephanie W. DiDomizio-Ray discusses the harmful impact of voter identification laws on trans* and gender-nonconforming people. DiDomizio-Ray concludes with an analysis of whether adopting gender neutral identification markers would ameliorate the discrimination and harassment that trans* and gender-nonconforming individuals face at the polls.

In The Intersection of Strategic Settlement Practice, Bad Precedent, and Bad Lawyering in Intersectional Discrimination Claims, author Katherine E. Miller analyzes intersectional discrimination employment claims and provides practical guidance for attorneys pleading such claims. Miller also urges the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to “publish charge and settlement statistics specific to intersectional and multiple bases claims” to decrease judicial hesitancy in this area.

In At the Intersection of Competing Social Values: Evaluating the Criminal Law Approach Addressing the Opioid Crisis, Bingzi Hu explores the tension between two competing public health concerns: the opioid overdose crisis and widespread chronic pain. Hu addresses current criminal legal approaches to these concerns and proposes solutions that balance both public health problems.

In Planting the Seeds of Justice: Developing Effective Incentives for Urban Gardening, LJSJ Articles Editor Isaac Kort-Meade advocates for city governments to expand the incentivization of community gardening. He proposes amendments to zoning codes that would facilitate community gardening as a way to promote food justice, racial justice, and environmental justice.

In Breaking the PATTERN: A Critique of the Department of Justice’s Newest Risk-Assessment Tool and its Use for Home Confinement Reviews During the COVID-19 Pandemic, author Abigail H. Mason critiques the Prisoner Assessment Tool Targeting Estimated Risk and Needs (PATTERN) used by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for determining the risk of recidivism by people who are currently incarcerated. Mason calls for a rehabilitative approach to justice and more transparent information about PATTERN from the DOJ.

In Using Private Law as a Vehicle for Social Change: A Feminist Approach, author Professor Susan M. Chesler argues that private contract law can be used to create social change. Professor Chesler specifically posits feminist perspectives in contract drafting—such as employment agreements that protect against gendered and sexual violence or prenuptial agreements that account for gendered economic inequalities—as a way to drive this change.

In Collateral Consequences or Normative Values? Reentry Concerns and the Racial Hierarchy, author Victoria Hawley Crittenden explores the harm that collateral consequences—such as housing limitations and requirements to disclose criminal records to employers—create for people who have experienced incarceration, with a particular focus on how collateral consequences uphold White supremacy and racism. Hawley Crittenden proposes reforms such as elected parole boards, informing people experiencing incarceration of collateral consequences, automatic expungement and sealed records, and defunding prisons to reallocate funding to reentry support. 

In Harming, Not Healing: How Well-Intentioned COVID-19 Law Exploits the Most Vulnerable, author Kendra J. Muller evaluates the effects of COVID-19 emergency laws on people who are disabled, medically high-risk, and elderly. Muller argues that harmful consequences for people with disabilities can be prevented by incorporating their voices and needs into the lawmaking process.

LJSJ has also worked internally toward fostering action-oriented legal discourse. To this end, our Symposium was a virtual and in-person panel discussion titled Education & Access that was moderated by Professor Angela Banks and included Professor Thalia Gonazález, Professor Rachel F. Moran, Professor Kip M. Hustace, and practitioner Danny Adelman.

As we enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic and collectively experience accompanying academic, personal, and professional burnout, we are grateful for the continued work of LJSJ’s Board and Associate Editors. Your efforts to reshape the legal landscape in a way that recognizes the needs of historically marginalized groups and individuals, centers diversity and intersectionality, and encourages on-going learning is needed. Thank you for your work and your willingness to share your knowledge.

Kacie Fountain | Editor-in-Chief (Spring 2022)

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LJSJ Volume XIV

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Editor’s Note:

The summer of 2020 incentivized important conversations regarding social justice issues, with the death of George Floyd awakening fervent discussion as millions of people in the United States gathered to protest police brutality. During a time where the coronavirus pandemic created an unprecedented mantra of distancing, the nation managed to come together in the hopes of advocating for justness and equality. In the same spirit, Volume Fourteen brings attention to topical issues deserving redress.

First, in Eternal Punishment: The Cruel and Unusual Practice of Deporting Noncitizen Juvenile Offenders, Maya Reisman challenges the deportation of juveniles that have been criminally prosecuted in adult courts. After offering a thoughtful analysis as to why the practice of juvenile deportation should be considered a punishment subject to the limitations of the Eighth Amendment, Reisman concludes by advocating for a comprehensive agenda eliminating juvenile transfer to adult criminal court.

Livan Davidson continues to shed light on the institutional errors in our criminal justice system by examining how lenient statutes across the nation dictating law enforcement use of lethal force have enabled unjustified killings of civilians. In Peace Officers’ Lack of Peace: A Higher Standard of Care for Police Use of Lethal Force in Florida, Texas, and Other States, Davidson proposes stricter state laws will help alleviate improper officer training, suggesting that other states mirror their statutes to model the California Act to Save Lives.

Third, in A Compensation System for Gun Deaths and Injuries, Frank Vandall exposes the lack of meaningful gun control efforts and legislative solutions to end gun violence. In response, Vandall argues that victims of gun violence should be able to obtain some semblance of justice through the creation of a compensation system funded by the federal government, state governments, and the NLRA coupled with gun manufacturers.

Additionally, Allyce Bailey, Esq., provides a primer on implicit bias and explores the hidden race-based justifications offered to overcome a Batson Challenge. 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 addresses why this issue unbalances the scales of justice in both criminal and civil litigation, applauds Washington General Rule 37 for its efficacy in addressing the issue, and urges for its nationwide implementation.

In Envirodemic: Unconstitutional Restrictions on Environmental Protests from the Attacks of 2001 to the Struggles of 2020, Benjamin Cramer dissects the anti-environmental protest statutes proposed and enacted by several states, as well as their historical and political influences. After considering how the statutes have avoided judicial review, the article discusses why the state laws should be reevaluated and rejected due to their constitutional violations.

Next, Alexander Medina’s Enforcement of Tribal Witness Subpoenas on Non-Indians: How the UCCJEA Provides for the Impossible, analyzes how a tribe’s sovereign immunity can be a weakness when needing to enforce subpoenas for testimony from Non-Indians. Medina then explores the ability of tribes to utilize the UCCJEA and other means of agreement between tribes and states to issue and enforce any necessary subpoenas for witness testimony in child custody proceedings.

Last, Judith Stinson, Tara Mospan, and Marnie Hodahkwen scrutinize how outsider distrust in the tribal court system creates a number of problems, including decreasing the effectiveness of tribal judicial systems, inhibiting tribal economic development, and ultimately undermining tribal sovereignty. After responding to critics of tribal court systems, Trusting Tribal Courts: More Lawyers is Not Always the Answer argues that non-lawyer judges and lay advocates can be as effective as law-trained judges and advocates in other court systems.

I would like to thank my Executive and Editorial Board for their hard work and support. Though our Journal had to continue its mission remotely, we managed to host our annual symposium in a virtual setting to discuss climate migration. Moderated by ASU Professor of Law Angela Banks, our symposium featured three speakers who spoke about climate change’s effect on immigration to the U.S. and the movement of peoples within the U.S. and around the globe. Although our world has not yet returned to a sense of complete normalcy, it remains important to amplify the voices of the underserved and underrepresented. The Law Journal for Social Justice thanks its authors for continuing to do so.

Julieta Carrillo | Editor-in-Chief (Spring 2021)

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LJSJ Volume XIII

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Editor’s Note:

Volume thirteen begins with two articles closely connected to our local Arizona community. First, in A Case for Broadening Arizona’s Approach to Compassionate Release, Dr. Sarah Cooper critically examines Arizona’s compassionate release procedures in prisons. With Arizona grappling with extremely high incarceration rates, Dr. Cooper provides a critical analysis of current procedures in the state and potential alternatives. Dr. Cooper concludes by advocating and providing for broader compassionate release legislative reform in Arizona. 

Second, in Violating the Inviolate, Mikel Steinfeld, dissects the constitutionality of the Arizona Legislature authorizing trial judges to decide the existence of prior convictions, taking the decision away from juries. Steinfeld explores the history of Arizona’s recidivism scheme and analyzes the Arizona Constitution to argue the court’s error of approving judicial fact-finding of prior convictions. Steinfeld concludes by advocating for the court to revisit the issue to hold the Arizona Constitution protects a defendant’s right for a jury to find for prior convictions, invalidating current Arizona law. 

Next, Lauren K. Garretson, in Giving Immigrants the Cold Shoulder: Potential Legal Challenges and Policy Considerations for Trump’s Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds Rule,discusses the legal challenges to the Trump Administration’s new Inadmissibility on Public Charge Grounds rule. Garretson analyzes the evolution of the Public Charge Doctrine in the United States. Garretson then explores the Trump Administration’s new version of the rule and discusses the detrimental effects the rule will have on lawfully present non-citizens, American employers of immigrants, and immigrant communities.

Last, Michael L. Perlin, Esq., in “Deceived Me into Thinking/I Had Something to Protect:” A Therapeutic Jurisprudence Analysis of When Multiple Experts are Necessary in Cases in which Fact-Finders Rely on Heuristic Reasoning and “Ordinary Common Sense,” explores the disconnect between the “ordinary common sense” of fact-finders and the scientific evidence that can inform decisions in cases. Perlin argues by providing two experts in situations where common-sense is flawed, legal systems can correct this erroneous behavior to create a fairer and just system.  

The Law Journal for Social Justice would like to thank the authors in this volume. Their work is important, and we appreciate the opportunity to publish and share it. Additionally, we’d like to thank all who contributed in putting this volume together. We hope you enjoy the Law Journal for Social Justice’s volume thirteen.

Ashley E. Fitzgibbons | Editor-in-Chief (Spring 2020)

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LJSJ Volume XII

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Editor’s Note:

In keeping with our mission to foster important conversations about social justice issues, the Law Journal for Social Justice’s twelfth volume shares diverse voices and perspectives to discuss issues timely to our society. Volume twelve covers a broad spectrum of issues—from the alt-right’s use of media and the law to recruit individuals, to a critique of school disciplinary measures, to an analysis of the Voting Rights Act, to a historical perspective of punishment and the Eighth Amendment. Each article provides a critical understanding of an issue deeply rooted in our society in the hope readers also critically engage with these issues and act toward creating solutions.

Volume twelve begins with The Kids are Alt-Right: How the Media and the Law Enable White Supremacist Groups Recruit and Radicalize Emotionally Vulnerable Individuals. In this article, Eleanor Boatman explores the influential factors that contribute to rising violence among white supremacist groups. Boatman discusses ways the media and the law enable these groups to recruit and radicalize individuals. Boatman uses this exploration to discuss ways to prevent this rising violence. In an age where violence and mass shootings have become frequent to our society, Boatman’s critical perspective provides empowering solutions for advocates who seek to end this violence.

Next, Paul Davis critically analyzes the Voting Rights Act in The Root of the Problem: Enforcing the Voting Rights Act in Modern Settings. Davis argues preclearance in Section 3(c) of the Act is the best solution for addressing election discrimination, an issue relevant to our society today. Robert J. McWhirter and Jeremy L. Bogart in “Baby Don’t Be Cruel:” The Non-Retributive Eighth Amendment Versus Vengeful Victimsprovide a historical analysis of punishment and the Eighth Amendment to argue retribution was not the original goal of punishment. McWhirter and Bogart find punishment focused on pure retribution is actually not aligned with the original intent of the Eight Amendment.

Last, Jose Cruz Zavala-Garcia in The Battle Between Schools’ Disciplinary Measures and Students’ State Constitutional Right to an Education: A Discussion on School Discipline and a Call for Reformdiscusses how zero-tolerance and harsh disciplinary measures in schools have a significantly negative impact on minority students. Zavala-Garcia argues that harsh disciplinary measures can be challenged as a deprivation of constitutional rights. Zavala-Garcia concludes by proposing ways legislatures, school boards, and schools can reform their own disciplinary procedures to prevent disproportionate effects on minority students.

 Ashley E. Fitzgibbons | Editor-in-Chief (Fall 2019)

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LJSJ Volume XI

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The Law Journal for Social Justice’s Symposium, “What’s Next for the Death Penalty?” explored recent developments in death penalty jurisprudence from the perspective of exonerees, defense attorneys, prosecutors, and victim advocates. The symposium opened with keynote speaker Ha’im Sharif, who was exonerated from death row after serving more than twenty-eight years. Next, Larry Hammond moderated a discussion with prosecutors about the decision to seek death in a homicide case. Panelists included Hon. Mike McVey, Deputy Chief of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, and Hon. Ron Reinstein, retired judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court. Afterwards, Timothy Agan of the Arizona Justice Project moderated a conversation between victim advocates Dan Levey and Leslie James about victims’ rights in capital cases. Finally, Professor Paul Bender moderated a discussion between defense attorneys Susan Corey, Garrett Simpson, and Mikel Steinfeld about emerging challenges to the death penalty, including the recent United States Supreme Court opinion Hidalgo v. Arizona. Special thanks to our Symposium Editor, Shannon Brien, for her hard work planning and organizing this marvelous event.

Our eleventh volume begins with Beyond Impressionistic Analysis: An Empirical Evaluation of 21^st Century Non-lawyer Courts. In this article, Alisa Smith explores the history of non-lawyer judges in the United States, analyzes the constitutional and practical problems of non-lawyer judges from publications and empirical data, and offers an answer on whether the practice of non-lawyer judges should be continued. Next, Meghan Vumback examines the effectiveness of the Eighth Amendment in protecting the rights of incarcerated individuals during states of emergency and natural disasters in Evacuating the Incarcerated: The Intricacies of Keeping Prisoner’s Eighth Amendment Rights Intact During Natural Disasters.

Katelyn Ringrose’s article, Eternal Sins: The Case for Extending Statutes of Limitation Regarding Childhood Sexual Abuse Nationwide discusses the emergence of child sexual abuse cases and the Catholic Church, proposes a method to extend statutes of limitation for child victims, and advocates that an extended statute of limitations would benefit all child victims. Finally, this volume concludes with an article by one LJSJ’s own. In Cultural Resources in a Developing World, Alysha Green examines how courts have failed to address the destruction of ancestral lands, explores solutions to protect ancestral lands from extractive industries, and advocates that ancestral lands should be classified as a cultural resource to ensure greater protection.

 Katherine A. Nelson | Editor-in-Chief (Spring 2019)

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LJSJ Volume X

Click here to view LJSJ Volume X.

Editor’s Note:

Continuing with last year’s goal, the Law Journal for Social Justice will publish twice a year. Very special thanks to our staff and editors who are integral to accomplishing our mission of bringing social justice scholarship to the public.

Our tenth volume begins with Blazing a New Trail: How First-Generation Law Students Perform in and Experience Law School. This article examines how first-generation law students experience law school and dispels myths about their performance. First-generation students help diversify the legal profession, which in turn helps bring social justice issues to the forefront of the legal profession. Next, two articles discuss pressing issues in our criminal justice system. Daniel Rosenfeld examines the decision of charging juveniles as adult criminal defendants versus resolving the cases in juvenile court in A Child Until the End: Moving the Decision to Waive Juvenile Court Jurisdiction Until After Trial. Further, Megan Reed examines When Injustice Becomes Law: Legal Philosophy Principles Applies to Actual-Innocence Claims in Federal Habeas Petitions.

Next, the intersection of environmental rights and the First Amendment is examined by Kacee Benson in Pipelines, Protects, and Possible Punishment: Environmental Rights and the First Amendment in the United States. Finally, this volume concludes with an examination of the Violence Against Women Act and Special Domestic Violence Criminal Jurisdiction, which allows Native American tribes to exercise jurisdiction over select non-Indians.

Katherine A. Nelson | Editor-in-Chief (Fall 2018)

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LJSJ Volume IX

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Editor’s Note:

The 2018 Law Journal for Social Justice Symposium, “Activism and the Law,” explored both the proper role and potential of the law to be a tool for activism whether wielded by legal professionals or laypeople. The symposium opened with keynote speaker Tempe Councilmember Lauren Kuby discussing her life in advocacy, and progressed to explore the perspectives of lawyers and non-legal activists in two panels moderated by Professor Howard Cabot and Associate Dean Zachary Kramer. Panelists included Julie Gunnigle, solo-practitioner in Midwifery and Birth Law; Jon Ruybalid Of Counsel, Gammon & Grange and Assistant Professor, GCU; Camellia Bellis, Education and Training Specialist, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, University of Arizona College of Medicine; and Jessalynne Howard, Volunteer Coordinator, International Rescue Committee. Special thanks to our Symposium Editor, Katherine Montgomery, for her hard work in organizing and orchestrating this amazing event.

This volume of the Law Journal for Social Justice concludes a very special year for us. As previously mentioned in our Fall 2017 volume, we began this year striving to publish twice in one year for the first time in our journal’s history. With the publication of this Spring 2018 volume, we have achieved that goal and have thus brought another successful academic year to a close. Special thanks to our staff who methodically and commendably handled double the workload and led us to the completion of our goal. With the dedication of our staff, we were able to bring even more quality social justice legal scholarship to the public, and as such, further our mission.

This issue begins with an examination of how local over-incarceration can be addressed and remedied in Fixing Arizona’s Mass Incarceration Dilemma. Next, Chance Meyer reflects on the ways in which the President’s explicit views can affect public opinion in Death Penalty “Trump Effect”. Amy Albert examines how a current deficiency in understanding animal hoarders harms policy in Animal Hoarding: A Response to HARC. Brittany S. Brown reflects on the ways in which U.S. prisons fail to adequately diagnose and treat the mentally ill, to the detriment of public health in The Epidemic of Mental Illness in America’s “New Asylums”. This issue concludes with two of LJSJ’s own. Michael Gorelik argues for a more critical perspective of the ways criminal courts use and defer to technology in Descending bxack into Plato’s Cave: The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Criminal Sentencing. Finally, Danielle Ser explains How to Combat High Animal Shelter Dog Euthanasia Rates in Maricopa County, Arizona.

John A. Burnett | Editor-in-Chief (Spring 2018)

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LJSJ Volume VIII

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Editor’s Note:

For the first time in the history of the Law Journal for Social Justice, we are publishing two volumes in one year. This first issue, Fall 2017, is also special in that it deals exclusively in one topic: the proliferation of, and the issues surrounding, private for-profit prisons. Over-incarceration is a pressing issue in the United States and while this problem has advanced, an industry of private prisons has stepped in to cover the overflow and perpetuate the trend.

While social justice is a perennial concern in society, recent political events have accelerated the urgency and necessity of law and legal literacy as a bulkhead against a wave of regression. It is this journal’s mission to provide accessible legal thought and scholarship to motivate people to those ends. Thanks goes out to the LJSJ executive board, editors, and to the wonderful authors without whom this issue would not exist. Special thanks also to Yvonne Lindgren of Indiana Tech School of Law for putting us in touch with the authors and institutions you will see featured in this article.

This issue begins with an examination of the growth and consequences of private, for-profit prisons in Private Prisons: Profiting from, and Contributing to, Mass Incarceration, written by Cynthia Elaine Tompkins, JD. Next, Caroline Isaacs, MSW, reflects on the ways in which for-profit prison companies are adapting to maintain profits to a similarly detrimental effect in The Treatment Industrial Complex: How the For-Profit Prison Industry is Hijacking Sentencing Reform for Corporate Gain. Jayanti Singh and Sayan Kundu examine how the abundant supply of private detention facilities is being used to dictate immigration policy in Profiteering from the Suffering of Immigrants – An Analysis of Judicial Responsibilities and Legislative Burdens. Finally, Hillel Sommer and Guy I. Seidman reflect on two monumental Israeli Supreme Court decisions that have shaped basic standards for funding and treating prisoners in Courts, Prisons, Budgets, and Human Dignity: An Israeli Perspective.

John A. Burnett | Editor-in-Chief (Fall 2017)

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LJSJ Volume VII

Click here to view LJSJ Volume VII.

Editor’s Note:

The 2017 Law Journal for Social Justice Symposium, “Criminal Justice System Reform,” focused on mandatory minimums, mass incarceration, and issues in policing in two panels moderated by Professor Charles Calleros and former Phoenix Mayor and former Attorney General of Arizona Terry Goddard.  Panelists included Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, State Senator Martin Quezada, Federal Public Defender Jon Sands, 2016 Pima County Attorney Democratic candidate Joel Feinman, Will Gaona, Maricopa County Deputy Sheriff Ben Henry, Phoenix Police Department Commander Kevin Robinson, and civil rights attorney Steve Benedetto. Special thanks to our Symposium Editor, Jane Ahern, for her hard work on this wonderful event.

This academic year, the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law relocated to its new home at the Beus Center for Law and Society in downtown Phoenix, a ‘monument to inclusion and accessibility’ where the public may learn about the law. Similarly, it is the mission of this journal to publish accessible legal literature for the public to engage with. Special thanks to our staff for their hard work and dedication in bringing these important legal issues into the public domain.

This issue begins with a discussion on the opportunity cost between diversity and electoral competitiveness in Competing Liberal Values: The Effects of VRA Sec. 2 Litigation on Electoral Competitiveness, written by Dr. Mathew Manweller, Dr. George Hawley, and Kristen Evans Hawley, JD. Next, Raneta Lawson Mack, J.D., reflects on the trials and tribulations of one of the most important cases in our constitutional history in Miranda V. Arizona in From the Sublime to the Ridiculous and Everything In-Between: Fifty Things You May or May Not Know About Miranda V. Arizona. Zachary Williams, J.D. weaves stories from actual victims of racial discrimination into the War on Drugs narrative in Race and the War on Drugs: It’s Story Time. Katherine Spindler then reflects on her experience managing a misdemeanor caseload as a Public Defender intern in Bethel, Alaska, an off-road bush community with a predominantly Yup’ik Native Alaskan population in Ask Me First: Why Making Plea Offers to Unrepresented Yup’ik Defendants in Bethel, Alaska Before Securing Counsel Perpetuates Racial Harm and Violates the Law and Professional Ethics. Next, in Black Death, Shannon Prince provides a literary tour through aspects of prejudice that African American writers have observed, while complementing black authors’ artistic depictions of the criminal justice system with legal scholarship. This issue ends with two of LJSJ’s own. Elisabeth Friedman argues for the explicit protection of transgender students’ rights under Title IX in Informal Rulemaking and “Sex”: How the Federal Government Defined Gender Identity as “Sex Discrimination” While Relying on the Unstable Auer Deference. Finally, Catherine Fu explains How Federal and State Law Enforcement Agencies Can Effectively Use Social Media in Their Cooperative Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking.

Chrisanne M. Gultz | Editor-in-Chief (Spring 2017)

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LJSJ Volume VI

Click here to view LJSJ Volume VI.

Editor’s Note:

The 2016 Law Journal for Social Justice Symposium, “Promising Practices in Criminal Justice” focused on current programs regarding re-entry and rehabilitation. Discussions ranged from specialty court programs like the Veteran’s Court and Homeless Court, victim-oriented rehabilitation for trafficking victims, and re-entry programs. Panelists included judges, practicing attorneys, and community organizers.

Social justice is an evolving, broadening concept, finding new meaning throughout the academic community. This journal, and the articles found herein, is designed to present these emerging concepts in a manner that allows both the jurist and the layperson to engage them. The issue begins with Zoning and Regulating for Obesity Prevention and Healthier Diets: What Does the South Los Angeles Fast Food Ban Mean for Future Regulation?, written by Kim Weidenaar, an article commenting on local zoning ordinances as tools for preventing obesity in disproportionately affected populations. However, with the second article, Eating Mascots for Breakfast: How Keeping Native Faces off Labels Can Grow Tribal Economies, Leah K. Jurss concentrates on food sovereignty in tribal communities and labeling of Native food products. Alex D. Ivan then shifts the focus by studying how electronic monitoring may be used to empower victims while reducing burdens of imprisonment spending in Utilizing Electronic Monitoring to Enhance Domestic Violence Victim Safety. Next, in Constitutional Protection of Domestic Violence Victims Reinforced by International Law Marina Kovacevic argues ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in the United States. Sara Movahed, in Devastating Effects of the International Failure to Recognize Refugees of Gender Based Persecution, then examines legal shortcomings resulting when asylum based solely on a history of gender-based persecution is not considered. Through Kennedy’s Law: The Hidden Constitutionally-Protected Classification, Nicole Fries explores the necessity of Supreme Court action to provide lower courts the ability “to apply a suspect class framework to non-marriage sexual orientation laws.” Next, Erin Iungerich, in My Nurse is a Pornstar: Should Discrimination Law Protect Moonlighting in the Adult Industry?, considers protections for at-will employees participating in adult industry activities after-hours. Finally, Secrecy, Espionage, and Reasonable Efforts Under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act – An Unbalanced Mass by Peter L. Krehbiel concludes the issue by analyzing concerns that shifting costs related to trade secrets may undermine public policy and society at large. Collectively, the unique perspectives of these articles present important domestic and international issues that must be examined in today’s changing landscape.

Special thanks to the Law Journal for Social Justice Editorial Board for their hard work and dedication.

Asha McManimon | Editor-in-Chief (Spring 2016)

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LJSJ Volume V

Click here to view LJSJ Volume V.

Editor’s Note:

The 2015 Law Journal for Social Justice Symposium, “Contemporary Discrimination” focused on current concerns regarding civil rights and civil liberty. Discussions ranged from the political legislative process, resistance in enforcement of civil rights judgments, and sexual orientation employment discrimination. Panelists included politicians, scholars from diverse backgrounds, practicing attorneys and community organizers.

Drawing on broader considerations, this issue features articles analyzing an array of concerns in the criminal, civil and international tribunals. The first article, You Have Your Whole Life in Front of You…Behind Bars, written by Rachel Forman, beings this issue by discussing a need to ban life without parole sentences for juvenile non-homicide offenders. Inalvis M. Zubiaur, in Death Row: Mentally Impaired Inmates and the Appeal Process, continues the focus on sentencing by engaging concerns regarding capital punishment. Next, in Injection and the Right of Access, Timothy F. Brown argues for increased access to lethal injection procedures to understand its constitutionality. Shifting consideration to the civil sphere, Victor D. Lopez & Eugene T. Maccarrone raise issues about privacy, due process, public policy and the basic fairness of traffic enforcement by camera, in Traffic Enforcement by Camera. Beginning the focus on international concerns, Fictitious Labeling, by Efe Ukala, discusses “recommendations that may help curb constitutional issues resulting from deportation.” Brittany Fink, in Increase Quota, Invite Opportunities, Improve Economy, proposes amendments to the DREAM Act that extend the path to citizenship.” Katharine Villalobos then focuses on the sociology of immigration in The Crucible, using historical examples to discuss the War on Terror. Falling Through the Cracks by Marissa N. Goldberg changes the focus to international law and unique considerations of women in the drug trade industry. Finally, Seeking Truth in the Balkans by Erin K. Lovall and June E. Vutrano concludes the issue by discussing the role of international law in seeking justice following the wars in the Balkans. Together these articles analyze issues that raise important questions about fairness and civil rights in the domestic and international contexts.

Special thanks to the entire staff of the Law Journal for Social Justice, who helped create this edition.

Kristyne Schaaf-Olson | Editor-in-Chief (Spring 2015)

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LJSJ Volume IV

Click here to view LJSJ Volume IV.

Editor’s Note:

The 2013 Law Journal for Social Justice Symposium, “Just/Justice: Valuing Fairness and Efficiency in the Criminal Justice System” brought together a collection of interdisciplinary scholars, attorneys and community members to discuss theoretical and practical concerns in the United States’ Criminal Justice system.  Discussions ranged from the ethics of attorneys within the system, theoretical concerns of criminal justice, mental health, and community support.  Panelists included scholars from Law, History, Justice Studies, Social Work, and Criminology, alongside practicing attorneys, judges and community organizers.

This issue echoes those discussions in a series of articles that analyze prosecutorial ethics, the provocation defense in cases with LGBTQ victims, the racialized effects of mass incarceration and resistance, and intimate partner violence in LGBTQ communities.  The first article, Testing the Death Penalty, comes from the “Just/Justice” keynote speaker, Paul Charlton, written with Quintin Cushner and William Knight, and sets the tone of this issue by presenting new ideas in thinking about the operation of the criminal justice system.  Each article analyzes a sector of criminal justice practice to raise important questions about fairness and efficiency in the criminal justice system.

Special thanks to the entire staff of the Law Journal for Social Justice, past and present, who helped to create this edition, particularly Executive Articles Editor Erin Lungerich, Executive Managing Editor Natali Segovia, Notes and Comments Editor Timothy Brody, and Former Editors Janette Corral, Jose Carrillo, Laura Clymer, and Michael Malin.

Jeremiah Chin | Editor-in-Chief (Spring 2014)

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LJSJ Volume III (B)

Click here to view LJSJ Volume III – Spring 2013 Edition.

Editor’s Note:

This is the first time since our journal’s inception that we have produced consecutive issues in a single academic year. We want to thank our authors for their thoughtful approaches to the law and for examining how the law impacts underrepresented segments of our population — from immigrants to the elderly, from child porn victims to family pets.

Thanks to our dedicated LJSJ staff members, and in particular, Executive Managing Editor Tara Williams and Executive Articles Editors, Janette Corral and Jose Carrillo.

Lastly, be on lookout for our Symposium Issue this fall. It features articles from our “Just/Justice: Valuing Fairness and Efficiency in the Criminal Justice System” Symposium held March 1.

Laura Clymer & Michael Malin | Editors-in-Chief (Spring 2013)

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LJSJ Volume III (A)

Click here to view LJSJ Volume III – Fall 2012 Edition: Legally Gay – The Symposium Issue.

Editor’s Note:

The 2012 Law Journal for Social Justice symposium, Legally Gay, brought together speakers from around the country in a discussion touching on the wide range of legal issues affecting the American LGBT community. The symposium itself included speakers from a diverse set of backgrounds, from the General Counsel of the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) to the director of outpatient services at a major Arizona hospital. In addition to law professors from around the country, the discussion included professors of Religious Studies, Justice & Social Inquiry, and Chicano/a Studies, and practicing lawyers from the fields of taxation, immigration, and estate planning. Similarly, the written product of the symposium features a diverse collection of topics and writers, making it a unique look at the legal and sociopolitical landscape for LGBT persons in America in 2012.

The greatest success of the symposium was its diversity of perspectives. The varied backgrounds of our speakers enriched the quality of the conversation, and we hope you’ll think the same thing of the written product.

Laura Clymer & Michael Malin | Editors-in-Chief (Fall 2012)

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LJSJ Volume II

Click here to view LJSJ Volume II.

Timothy Koch & Austin Gaylord | Editors-in-Chief (Fall 2011)

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LJSJ Volume I

Click here to view LJSJ Volume I: Liberty and Justice for Some? A Symposium on Recent Arizona Legislation.

(Spring 2011)