Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute
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Segregation Autopilot: How the Government Perpetuates Segregation and How to Stop It
Get PDFHousing segregation is a defining feature of the American landscape. Scholars have thoroughly documented the government’s historic collusion in segregating people by race. But far from correcting its reprehensible past, the government continues to perpetuate housing segregation today. As if on autopilot, its spending and regulatory activities routinely reinforce housing segregation. Not only is this immoral and bad policy, it is against the law. The government has a statutory duty to conduct its business in a manner that reduces housing segregation. This duty arises from a unique civil rights directive passed by Congress over fifty years ago in the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The “affirmatively furthering fair housing” (“AFFH”) mandate imposes an overlooked and under-enforced obligation on every federal agency—not just HUD—to take affirmative steps to reduce segregation. This article explores new ground by looking beyond HUD to expose how agencies across the government sustain housing segregation, then proposes an administrative law framework to counteract the government’s segregative influence
How Existing Securities Law Authorizes the SEC to Mandate and Regulate Sustainability Reporting
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Rules vs. Standards in Private Ordering
Get PDFThe tradeoff between bright-line rules and general standards is one of the bedrocks of law design. This tradeoff determines how legal norms are composed. The tradeoff between rules and standards pervasively affects private ordering as well: it determines how contractual norms are composed. Yet, scholars exploring the rule vs. standard dichotomy have either entirely overlooked the tradeoff taking place in private orderings or equated it with the public tradeoff that dominates lawmaking.
This Article is the first to systematically examine the rule vs. standard tradeoff in private orderings. The Article carries out this task by identifying and analyzing the fundamental asymmetries between the contractual rule vs. standard tradeoff and the parallel tradeoff taking place in lawmaking. The two tradeoffs differ from each other in three fundamental respects: (1) contractual standards, unlike legal standards, do not gradually transform into rules over time; (2) the standards’ indeterminacy at the onset of contractual relationships allows the parties to generate and realize the benefits of mutual trust and collaborative knowledge acquisition—a benefit never present in legal standards; and (3) the enforcement of contractual rules and standards does not generate a linear aggregation of social welfare: rather, it involves a strategic give-and-take bargaining that accounts for the benefits of all contractual parties.
The Article explains these asymmetries and unfolds a comprehensive analysis of the rule vs. standard tradeoff in private orderings. This analysis generates a recipe for the choice between contractual rules and standards and yields several insights critical for understanding the design and interpretation of contracts generally and, in particular, for understanding the design and interpretation of sophisticated corporate contracts. Specifically, the Article reveals the impact of the rule vs. standard tradeoff on the choice between debt and equity financing and governance and on the design of the most intensely negotiated provisions in corporate acquisition agreements
Title IX in Historical Context: 50 Years of Progress and Political Gamesmanship
Get PDFOn the fiftieth anniversary of Title IX, it is important to recognize both its historic nature and how it has evolved in political and social context. This Article will begin by examining the history of women’s athletics pre–Title IX, focusing on what activities women participated in, why, and how societal norms shaped their ability to do so. Next, the Article will examine the status of women’s athletic opportunities as Title IX was first proposed, with an emphasis upon its nexus to the women’s rights movement and the Equal Rights Amendment initiative. The Article will then provide historical background for key moments in the passage and application of Title IX, including specifically the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, the role of the Office of Civil Rights and the approach of the various presidential administrations in enforcing Title IX. The Article will then assess key data metrics, such as the number of women in collegiate coaching and administrative positions prior to 1972, in 1997, and finally, in 2019, to determine the impact of Title IX upon coaching opportunities for women. The Article will conclude by recommending concrete steps that should be taken in the current social and political environment to address continuing inequities in opportunities for women in athletics
