American Journal of Law and Equality Symposium on the 70th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
The symposium includes contributions by many prominent legal scholars. I am among the contributors.
Race Discrimination
Illinois Scholarship Program Explicitly Excludes White Applicants
The Minority Teachers for Illinois Scholarship Program is blatantly unconstitutional.
Public Defender Disqualified from Case for Race-Related Statement in Plea Bargain Negotiations
A California appellate panel interprets California's Racial Justice Act.
Justice Department Sues To Force South Bend To Hold Police to Lower Standards
The Department of Justice alleges that the South Bend Police Department is violating the Civil Rights Act due to disparate acceptance rates for female and black applicants.
Was the Federal Government's Defense of Race-Based Debt Relief for Farmers and Ranchers "Substantially Justified"?
An interesting question divides a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
The 70th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education
The anniversary is today. The American Journal of Law and Equality is publishing a symposium on Brown to mark the occasion. I am one of the contributors.
Racially Discriminatory Enforcement Lawsuit Against Duluth Police Officer Can Go Forward
A black resident called the police to complain about alleged racial harassment by white neighbor; the resident alleges the police arrested him for leaving the scene after the police arrived, but didn't arrest the neighbor for doing the same thing.
Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case Involving Use of Race-Neutral Means to Facilitate Anti-Asian Discrimination at Selective Public High School
Justice Alito wrote a strong dissent to denial of certiorari. The issues the case raises are likely to recur. In the meantime, the lower court ruling in the case sets a dangerous precedent.
White University Administrator's Race Discrimination Case Can Go Forward
The administrator, at Texas A & M University Texarkana, alleges he was pushed out because of his race, and because he had declined to discipline a student who "had used the word 'Nigga' in [a classmate's] presence while on a trip to the mall."
ACLU Sues Ronald McDonald House for Refusing To House People Convicted of Assault
The ACLU's lawsuit is filed on behalf of a New York man whose application to stay in a Ronald McDonald House was denied because of his 12-year-old felony assault conviction.
Oklahoma Bill Would Specially Target Hispanic Gang Members
No, you can't do that.
Freedom Towns: A Vast but Largely Forgotten Movement of Black Self-Rule
Zora Neale Hurston’s hometown of Eatonville, Florida, was one of the first all-black municipalities incorporated in the U.S.
Sandra Day O'Connor, RIP
She was the first woman Supreme Court justice, and played a key role in changing the Court's jurisprudence for the better on several issues.
Federal Agencies Neglect Anti-Asian Discrimination in Education
My wife Alison Somin, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, outlines the problem.
Old gun controls that were constitutionally repealed are not precedents for modern gun control
Amicus brief in Supreme Court's Second Amendment Rahimi case
Banning Criminal Background Checks Will Lead To More Housing Discrimination, Not Less
The best reforms would correct the real problems of overcriminalization and overincarceration, as well as removing all artificial barriers to building more homes.
Race Discrimination/Harassment Lawsuit Against Seattle Related to Its "Race and Social Justice Initiative" …
can go forward, says a federal court.
Martin Luther King's Lofty Dream Turns 60
Is our country getting closer to living out the true meaning of its creed, "All men are created equal"?
Court Rejects Lawsuit Claiming Police Discriminatorily Refused to Prosecute Rapist
The opinion was decided July 21, but was originally issued sealed; it was just unsealed today, in response to my motion to unseal.
Immigration Restrictions as Affirmative Action for Natives
Cato Institute immigration policy expert Alex Nowrasteh explains the close parallels between a policy most conservatives hate, and one most them reflexively support.
Cross-Ideological Common Ground on Exclusionary Zoning
Policy analyst Justin Hayes summarizes the reasons why conservatives, progressives, and libertarians all have reason to support zoning reform.
Debating the Legacy of Justice John Marshall Harlan
A critical column by Jamelle Bouie prompts an extensive reply from Peter Canellos.
Affirmative Action Is Racist and Therefore Wrong
If activists want to help young people, they should start before college.
My New Washington Examiner Article on the Supreme Court's Ruling on Racial Preferences in College Admissions
The article assesses strengths and weaknesses of the Court's decision, and what it will take to implement Chief Justice Roberts' admonition that "[e]liminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it."
What it Will Take to Make Government Color-Blind
Achieving this goal will require a lot more than banning racial preferences in college admissions. That includes some measures that will make the political right uncomfortable, as well as the left.
Three Cheers for the Supreme Court
Plus: A listener question on the potential efficacy of congressional term limits.
The Case for Abolishing Legacy Preferences in College Admissions
They probably aren't illegal under current law. But they are nonetheless wrong for many of the same reasons as racial preferences.
The Lower Court "Found that [Defense Lawyer's] Comments Played on Stereotypes About the 'Angry Black Woman'"
"and the 'victimhood' of white women." "In support of its decision, the court ... pointed to defense counsel's description of Henderson as 'quite combative' on the witness stand and her description of Thompson as 'intimidated and emotional about the process.'"
If "Any Government Again Resorts to Racial or Ethnic Classifications to Ration Medical Treatment,"
"there would be a very strong case for prompt review by this Court."
Thoughts on the Supreme Court's Ruling in the Harvard and UNC Racial Preferences Cases
A preliminary assessment of today's decisions. The majority rightly struck a blow against the use of racial preferences for purposes of advancing "diversity" in education. But there are some flaws in its reasoning.
Supreme Court on Affirmative Action: 'Eliminating Racial Discrimination Means Eliminating All of It'
In a 6–3 decision, the Court ruled that race-based affirmative action in college admissions violates the 14th Amendment.
How America's Growing Diversity Weakens the Case for Racial Preferences in Education
Affirmative action becomes harder to defend when it entails discrimination against a variety of racial and ethnic minority groups.
Fourth Circuit Ruling in Anti-Asian Discrimination Case Sets a Dangerous Precedent
The decision sets a dangerous precedent licensing the use of facially neutral policies to discriminate against minorities in various contexts.
