Tag: Civil Rights

Civil Rights

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The Survey period produced four appellate decisions under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and five appellate decisions under the Whistle-blowers’ Protection Act, counting separately the court of appeals and supreme court’s decisions in Debano-Griffin v. Lake County. The court of appeals’ decision in Weishuhn v. Catholic Diocese of Lansing actually involved claims under both the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, supra, and the Whistle-blowers’ Protection Act, supra, but other decisions like Mortimer v. Alpena County Probate Court also have implications for claims under both statutes. Read More …

The Practice of Medical Repatriation: The Privatization of Immigration Enforcement and Denial of Human Rights

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In February 2000, Luis Alberto Jiménez was returning home from a day’s work as a landscaper in Florida when the car he was riding in was struck by a drunk driver with a blood alcohol level four times the legal limit. While the drunk driver was a U.S. citizen with a significant criminal history, Luis Jiménez was a 35 year old undocumented gardener that had left his family behind in Guatemala two years ago and immigrated to the United States in pursuit of his dream of working hard, earning significantly more money, and ultimately being able to buy land and cultivate his own garden back home to support his family. As a result of the head-on crash, Mr. Jiménez was catastrophically injured and two of his fellow immigrant landscapers in the car with him died instantly. Mr. Jiménez was rushed to Martin Memorial Medical Center (a not for profit hospital) and was diagnosed as having sustained traumatic brain damage and severe physical injuries, with his prognosis described as “poor.” Mr. Jiménez was treated and remained hospitalized at Martin Memorial for approximately four months. In June 2000, Martin Memorial transferred Mr. Jiménez to a nursing home for ongoing care and rehabilitation. Because the accident left Mr. Jiménez incapacitated, both physically and mentally, a court appointed Mr. Jiménez’s cousin, Montejo Gaspar Montejo, as his legal guardian. Read More …

Essay: U.S. Immigration Law: Where Antiquated Views On Gender And Sexual Orientation Go To Die

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This Essay examines the paradoxical approaches to gender and sexual orientation bias within the U.S. immigration system. On the one hand, the immigration system has managed to convey benefits to same-sex partners despite federal law prohibiting the recognition of same-sex unions for immigration purposes. Immigration law also provides benefits for victims of crimes disproportionately committed against women, such as human trafficking and domestic violence, although the systems in place for adjudicating these benefits are flawed. On the other hand, immigration law favors antiquated notions of gender roles that disadvantage U.S. citizen men and their children, and has failed torecognize domestic violence as a basis for asylum. Read More …

Distinguished Lecture: Surveillance and the Constitution

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Today I want to talk about the extent of this surveillance and why it is so easy for the government to carry it out. I will also talk about why government surveillance should be more heavily regulated. Finally, I will briefly discuss what a new regulatory regime might look like. My focus will be on the extent to which the Constitution limits government surveillance activities. The details of regulation should be statutory, but the basis for that statutory regulation must be founded on constitutional principles to ensure that it cannot be legislatively nullified during the next moral panic, the next terrorist attack, or not to put too fine a point on it, the next time a Dick Cheney comes into power. Read More …