Category Archives: Blog

Learn More About Joining CUNY Law Review

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Fellow CUNY Law students,

We encourage you to pause from studying for finals to scream into the wind and learn more about joining us this fall as staff editors working together on social justice scholarship.

You can stop by our tabling sessions on the second floor of the law school from May 1 through May 10 or join us on Zoom by clicking https://bit.ly/LRSEF23. Staffing permitting, we will be at the tabling sessions and on Zoom from 12:30-1:30 pm and 5:45-6:45 pm.

Applications are due by June 1. We look forward to chatting!

Reconceptualizing Bodily Autonomy: Forging Radical Politics of Life and Livelihood

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Chaumtoli Huq

Miki Jourdan CC/Flickr

“There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives. Our struggles are particular, but we are not alone.”

Audre Lorde 

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Constructing Immorality: Abortion and Family Policing

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Jasmine Wali

When Roe v. Wade was overturned, advocates across the political spectrum declared that the foster care system would be overwhelmed by an influx of “unwanted” children. Adoption became a central talking point. Anti-abortion proponents stated that adoption was a solution for these families, and that foster and adoption systems needed to be strengthened. Supporters of reproductive choice pointed out the seeming hypocrisy of the “pro-life” movement by highlighting all the children awaiting adoption in foster care.

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Roe Is Gone. What Happens for Trans Men?

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Elias Fox Bova Schmidt

When the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision was leaked on May 2, 2022, I was sitting at my desk, studying for my final exam in my last semester of law school. I had just accepted a fellowship at a reproductive justice organization but I knew that, as a trans man, I was somewhat out of place. I had already felt the hesitancy from many within the reproductive rights landscape to acknowledge that, like cisgender women, trans men require safe and legal access to abortion. As soon as I got the Twitter notification about the leak, I knew that trans men would be among some of the first communities to be further erased in the reactions to the decision. 

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Enough With the Insular Cases! The Tragedy of Vaello Madero

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Lía Fiol-Matta

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court delivered a strong blow to Puerto Rico by ruling that its neediest residents are not eligible for Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI). U.S. v. Vaello Madero challenged the exclusion of otherwise eligible residents of Puerto Rico from receiving SSI, a national benefit for needy aged, blind, and disabled individuals. Jose Luis Vaello Madero, a disabled U.S. citizen, received SSI while living in New York and continued getting payments after relocating to Puerto Rico in 2013. 

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Black Migrants Need Us, Too

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Florence Otaigbe

As an immigration attorney, I have worked with people from many different backgrounds. Anyone can be an immigrant. However, whenever I see mainstream advocacy and media regarding immigration, I rarely see Black migrants. According to the International Organization for Migration, migrant is defined in part as the following:

“An umbrella term, not defined under international law, reflecting the common lay understanding of a person who moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether within a country or across an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons.” 

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The Chaos and Uncertainty after Dobbs Is a Feature, Not a Bug

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Amanda Allen

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overruled a half century of precedent with its decision in Jackson Women’s Health Organization v. Dobbs. The Dobbs ruling eliminated the constitutional right to abortion and has had immediate, devastating impacts on the ground. One of the focuses of The Lawyering Project since Dobbs has been to advise abortion providers, abortion funds, and practical support organizations on the risks involved in continuing to provide care—and support patients accessing care—in this increasingly hostile environment. Our perspective on the catastrophic impacts of this ruling on the ground is based on our partnership with these groups.

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Whistling Dixie

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Peggy Cooper Davis, Aderson Francois, and Colin Starger

Content warning: this article quotes a decision that includes the n-word1.

Dixie is a song with a complicated history. Versions of it were sung by both Confederate and Union troops during the Civil War. Historian Karen Cox carefully documented the song’s lingering popularity and its mixed social and racial signaling in Dreaming of Dixie. Over the years – and for reasons that are not entirely clear – “just whistling Dixie,” a slang expression based on the song, came to stand for bravado without follow-through. A seemingly overblown statement might cause listeners to wonder whether the speaker was speaking truth or “just whistling Dixie.” A threat might cause listeners to wonder whether the speaker was actually dangerous or “just whistling Dixie.”

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After Dobbs, Are Rights for Zygotes, Embryos, and Fetuses Next?

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By Cynthia Soohoo

Justice Alito’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey marks a watershed shift in the way that the country treats people who are pregnant versus an “unborn life.” By stripping constitutional protection from the decision to have an abortion, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization equates pregnant people’s right to control their bodies and the state’s interest in protecting prenatal life.

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How Coronavirus Created and Exposed Issues with Supplemental Security Insurance and the Social Security Administration

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By Emma Mendelson1

The pandemic left many poor and working-class people in precarious financial positions. The federal government attempted to alleviate some of these financial burdens through Economic Impact Payments (“EIP”) providing people with three stimulus checks in 2020 and 2021. As paltry and unrealistic as these payments were (a maximum of $1,200, $600, and $1,400 for households of one, $2,400 for a married couple, and up to $500 additional for each qualifying child) in supporting the financial loss felt by many, it was at least an act meant to mitigate some of that burden. However, this caused some unforeseen damage to recipients of Supplemental Security Insurance (“SSI”).

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