Challenging Discrimination in the Law

Graduate / Professional

This graduate seminar examines how US criminal law and procedure address claims of racial discrimination through the doctrines of discriminatory purpose and disparate impact. Although racial disparities pervade policing, prosecution, sentencing, and punishment, constitutional law requires proof of intentional discrimination and generally rejects impact-based claims. Many such laws, though facially neutral, continue to exacerbate racial inequality. However, in Village of Arlington Heights v. Metro Housing Development Corporation , the United States Supreme Court recognized the historical record as one of the only evidentiary sources that can be used to prove discriminatory intent. Archival sources, government documents, and municipal records can provide critical insight into the legislative intent behind, and subsequent impact of, civil and criminal laws. The course brings together law students and Ph.D. students to explore discrimination in the law and avenues to challenge it. We analyze facially neutral criminal statutes that generate racially disparate outcomes through four case studies: the Armed Career Criminal Act, the § 924(c) Firearm Enhancement, California’s Racial Justice Act, and the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. A central objective of the course is learning how to identify and analyze relevant archival materials that may aid in challenging such laws. Readings combine history, constitutional doctrine, statutory interpretation, and legal theory. Students are asked to complete archival annotations and information requests throughout the semester, and student teams lead one class discussion. The seminar culminates in a collaborative, statute-centered, and historically grounded research memo and final presentation. M 1:30pm-3:25pm