Awakening From the Dream

by Morgan, Denise C.; Godsil, Rachel D.; Moses, Joy

• ISBN13: 9781594600746
• ISBN10: 1594600740
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-12-01
• Publisher: Carolina Academic Press

Summary

Awakening from the Dream: Civil Rights Under Siege and the New Struggle for Equal Justice exposes the Supreme Court's methodical dismantling of federal laws that advance inclusion, equal membership, political participation, and economic mobility in our diverse national community. The ongoing Federalism Revolution has crippled Congress's legislative powers and made it difficult for individuals to bring suit to enforce their civil rights. Activists, law professors, public interest lawyers, and students discuss some of the Americans who have been deprived of justice by this rollback, making vivid the impact of the increasingly right-wing federal judiciary.The book, which stems from a Columbia Law School conference celebrating the birth of the National Campaign to Restore Civil Rights, is divided into five parts. Part I places the Federalism Revolution into historical perspective and explains the relationship between federalism-the struggle for power between the states and the federal government-and civil rights. Part II illustrates how the rollback of civil rights has affected the lives of all Americans-the elderly, workers, language minorities, women, the disabled, immigrants, people of color, and sexual minorities. Part III discusses how those decisions have, in addition, restricted access to courts to ensure the fair provision of government services, including education, health care, the environment, our criminal justice system, and immigration. Part IV exposes the incoherency of the Court's appeal to federalism-which has veiled its campaign to dismantle federal protections for individual rights. Part V offers readers hopeful approaches to revitalizing civil rights and democracy.The foreword is written by Professor Erwin Chemerinsky of Duke University School of Law.

Author Biography

Denise C. Morgan is a professor of law at New York Law School. Rachel D. Godsil is a professor of law at Seton Hall Law School. Joy Moses is a staff attorney with the Education Project at the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Introduction	xv
Part I The Rehnquist Court's Federalism Revolution and Civil Rights
What is Federalism and What Does It Have to do with Civil Rights?
Federalism: The Double-Edged Sword of Liberty and Oppression	3	(22)
Paul Finkelman
The NCRCR Conference Introduction
Reversing the Retreat on Civil Rights	25	(14)
Wade Henderson
Janell Byrd-Chichester
Part II The Impact of the Federalism Revolution on the Lives of Americans
African Americans
The Rehnquist Court, the Resurrection of Plessy, and the Ever-Expanding Definition of ``Societal Discrimination''	39	(16)
Lia B. Epperson
Latinos
Un Pasito Pa'lante, Un Pasito Pa'tras: Latinos and the Rollback of Civil Rights	55	(12)
Sandra Del Valle
Asian Americans
Asian Americans under the Rehnquist Court: A Protracted and Ongoing Struggle for Justice and Recognition	67	(12)
Vincent A. Eng
Julianna Lee
Women
Making a Federal Case out of Women's Concerns: The Supreme Court's Hostility to Civil Rights for Battered Women	79	(10)
Emily J. Martin
Older Americans
``Narrowing the Nation's Power'': The Impact on Older Americans	89	(16)
Simon Lazarus
Americans with Disabilities
Judicial Revision of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990: Mere Fine-Tuning? Or Ideological Backlash?	105	(16)
Caroline Palmer
Sexual Minorities
The Federalism Revolution and the Sexual Minority Federal Legislative Agenda	121	(14)
Arthur S. Leonard
Language Minorities
Language Rights and Loss of Judicial Remedy: The Impact of Alexander v. Sandoval on Language Minorities	135	(14)
Rose Cuison Villazor
Immigrant Workers
The Rollback of Immigrant Workers' Civil Rights	149	(16)
Marielena Hincapie
Ana Avendano-Denier
Part III The Impact of the Federalism Revolution on Access to Courts to Protect Essential Services and Fundamental Rights
Public Education
Reneging on the Promise of Brown: The Rehnquist Court and Education Rights	165	(14)
Denise C. Morgan
Health Care
The Civil Rights Rollback: It's Bad for Your Health	179	(14)
Jane Perkins
The Environment
Permitted to Pollute: The Rollback of Environmental Justice	193	(12)
Olga Pomar
Rachel D. Godsil
Our Criminal Justice System
Federalism, Race, and Criminal Justice	205	(14)
Michelle Alexander
Our Civil Liberties
Who's Watching the Home Front?	219	(10)
Barbara J. Olshansky
Immigration
Abuse of (Plenary) Power? Judicial Deference and the Post-9/11 War on Immigrants	229	(10)
Lori A. Nessel
Anjum Gupta
Part IV The Federalism Revolution: Principle or Politics?
It's Not About States' Rights
Double-Talk by the Activist Supreme Court Majority	239	(12)
Herbert Semmel
Workers' Rights
Federalist Hypocrisy and the Preemption of State Labor Laws	251	(16)
Nathan Newman
Part V Strategies for Reversing the Civil Rights Rollback
Lessons from the Right
Fighting the Civil Rights Rollback: Lessons from the Right	267	(16)
Lee Cokorinos
Alfred F. Ross
Restoring the Balance of Power in the Federal Courts
Saving the Courts	283	(14)
Susan Lerner
Revitalizing Federal Civil Rights Legislation
Protecting Ideals of Equality and Justice for All: Progressive Legislation in a Conservative Era	297	(20)
Joy Moses
State Reform Strategies
State Strategies to Reverse the Civil Rights Rollback	317	(12)
Dennis D. Parker
Activist Strategies
We Shall Be Moved: Community Activism as a Tool for Reversing the Rollback	329	(20)
Andrew Friedman
Robert Garcia
Erica Flores Baltodano
Julie Hyman
Brad Williams
Tracie Crandell
Student Advocacy
Building a Student Movement: Lessons Learned and Suggestions for the Future	349	(14)
Lisa Zeidner
Luke Blocher
Litigation Strategies
Lawyering and Litigation during the Rollback: Legal Strategies to Pursue Social Justice	363	(16)
Marianne Engleman Lado
Appendix A Glossary of Terms	379	(14)
Appendix B Websites with Information about Federal Judicial Nominations	393	(2)
Appendix C The Constitution of the United States	395	(24)
About the Contributers	419	(16)
Index	435	(14)
Table of Cases	449