Law teaching at colleges of further education

Scholars have long agreed upon the interrelated rationales for a diverse law faculty, which include the recognition of the value of multi-perspective and multicultural education and scholarship, the promotion of non-discrimination and prevention of discrimination in the legal academy and legal community at large, and the benefits of minority mentors and role models for minority students. This article will make use of the United States Supreme Court’s 2003 landmark decision in Grutter v Bollinger to illuminate how its diversity rationale in the admission of law students should extend to the hiring of minority law faculty members. Further, it will argue that “racial minorities” should include not only African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans, but also Asian Americans. Finally, law schools should include foreign professors in their affirmative action hiring efforts in this era of globalisation. Although this article focuses more upon faculty hiring than student admission, to the extent that it appropriates the Grutter rationale to discuss affirmative action hiring, affirmative action admission will also be a significant part of the discussion. After all, a diverse law faculty and a diverse student body are inseparable components of a supportive and friendly law school environment.     

Women in Law Enforcement

ABSTRACT

Despite equal employment opportunity laws, affirmative action policies, and studies which demonstrate the capability of females, women account for only 8% of all municipal police officers in this country. The underrepresentation of social groups in policing is not a new phenomenon and can be explained through the “denial hypothesis.” The present study uses tobit regression techniques to examine the variation in female employment as law enforcement officers in municipal police departments within the State of Florida. The findings indicate that the distribution of sworn female officers does not resemble local labor market conditions. Neither the degree of parity between men and women in local economic conditions nor the availability of a qualified female applicant pool affect agency gender composition.     

The Joint Impact of Race and Gender on Police Department Employment Practices

ABSTRACT

In this study of police departments in southern California we examine the joint effects of race and gender on hiring practices. Although we find some similarities between the employment patterns of African-American and Hispanic officers, our most noteworthy findings involve the sharp differences between the factors which affect the hiring of different groups of individuals for sworn officer positions. The research presented here also improves on previous studies by showing the impact of violent crime rates on police hiring practices.     

Women Corrections Officers in Men's Prisons

ABSTRACT

Women have worked as corrections officers (COs) in some adult male prisons in most states for the past two decades. However, the degree of acceptance of women COs and the perception of women officers' job performance by men officers have varied greatly. This study was based on the results of a survey of men and women officers working in men's prisons in a midwestern state. Comparisons of the officers' responses about women's acceptance, safety, and perceived job performance revealed some significant gender differences. The results indicated that while women faced some resistance among men officers, it was not to the extent suggested by previous research studies, and the resistance came primarily from more experienced men officers. Women officers were confident of their ability to work effectively in men's prisons. The resistance to women that persists among some men officers is likely to provide an obstacle for women seeking opportunities for advancement and promotion in adult male prisons.     

Affirmative Action in the Legal Profession

This article examines whether the legal profession should use quotas and decision-making preferences in recruitment and promotion in favour of women, ethnic minorities, and those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds. It argues that this is necessary to eradicate current patterns of discrimination and disadvantage. It also argues that quotas and decision-making preferences do not necessarily conflict with appointment or promotion on merit, and hence that consequent unfairness to other applicants is more apparent than real. Moreover, any potential stigmatization of the beneficiaries of affirmative action is outweighed by the advantages in reversing the under-representation of women, ethnic minorities, and those from socially disadvantaged background, thereby challenging perceptions of their inferior qualities as lawyers. Finally, practical problems in the implementation of affirmative action are considered and argued to be insufficiently serious to stand in the way of its introduction.     

Women's views on affirmative action: A new look at preferential treatment

The first part of this paper sketches a profile of women who endorse affirmative action, showing that women who approve of affirmative action identify with a nontraditional image of women and experience discontent when perceiving discrimination on the basis of sex. We also examine the impact of the implementing procedure. Studies conducted with French-Canadian women show that those who fit the above profile readily endorse equal opportunity policies. What about policies that advocate preferential treatment? Early studies indicated that women did not endorse these policies. Recent studies, however, revealed a dramatic change in the pattern of responses. Women who were dissatisfied with their collective situation and identified with a nontraditional image of their group predominantly approved of preferential treatment. What factors triggered this change in attitudes? Are the merit principle and preferential treatment policies truly incompatible? We address these questions in the second part of this paper as well as the implications of this shift in attitudes.     

Affirmative Action: A German Perspective on the Promotion of Women's Rights with Regard to Employment

This paper discusses affirmative action policies in Germany. After German reunification, women from both east and west had hoped for a new codification of their rights, including positive obligations on the state to promote gender equality. However, the amendments to the Basic Law in November 1994 did not clearly endorse this approach. Opinions still differ as to whether Articles 3(2) and 3(3) of the Constitution allow for affirmative action with regard to women's employment. In 2001 quotas for the public employment sector were finally introduced, but the use of quotas for private sector employment still faces serious opposition. Nevertheless, the concept of affirmative action is not new to the German legal system: since the eighteenth century, quota schemes have been used to ensure the employment of (war-) disabled persons. This article examines the different approaches to employment quotas for women and disabled persons, and critically evaluates the reasons for divergence.     

Preferential Treatment, Social Justice, and the Part-time Law Student – The Case for the Value-added Part-time Law Degree

There has been growing pressure to increase diversity in legal education and the legal profession in England and Wales. While this has focused upon the absence of certain groups such as women, ethnic minorities, and the disabled, there has been no specific discussion of part-time law students. Drawing on questionnaires and focus groups with part-time law students across England and Wales, this article examines how their background and experiences may hamper their ability to participate and succeed in higher education and legal practice. In response to the consistent omission of part-time students' needs from attempts to enhance social diversity in universities and the legal profession, it also argues that affirmative action is now necessary and justified in respect of these students. Pragmatic suggestions are made for a contextual approach to affirmative action for part-time law students which adds value to their degree. Finally, the potential effects of affirmative action on part-time law students themselves and upon the gatekeepers to the legal profession are explored.     

Legal Ambiguity and the Politics of Compliance: Affirmative Action Officers' Dilemma

Equal employment opportunity and affirmative action mandates, like many other laws regulating organizations, do not clearly define what constitutes compliance. Thus compliance depends largely on the initiative and agenda of those persons within organizations who are charged with managing the compliance effort: in the case of civil rights, "affirmative action officers." This paper draws on case studies of affirmative action officers to suggest that the political climate within which affirmative action officers work, together with the officers' interpretations of the law, their role conceptions, and their professional aspirations have important implications for the nature and extent of organizational compliance with law. We conclude that compliance should be understood as a process that evolves over time rather than as a discrete event or non-event.     

Probation Officers' Views on Supervising Women Probationers

Abstract

At the end of 2002, the number of women probationers was substantially higher than the number of women inmates. However, much less is known about women probationers than women inmates. We surveyed and interviewed probation officers to examine their perceptions about the special needs of women probationers and explored officers' experiences with women probationers. Probation officers believe women and men on probation have different needs and therefore require different supervision strategies. Results suggest that the multiple problems and challenges female clients present to their officers, and the greater emotionality they express in their interactions with officers, often place considerable demands on officers' time, energy and skills.     

Affirmative Action in an Institutional Context: The Antecedents of Policy Preferences and Political Support

This study broadens the framework within which the psychology of support for affirmative action policies is examined to include the institutional framework within which such policies are developed and implemented. This broader framework includes concern with electoral support for those who implement affirmative action policies, as well as considering the impact of implementing such policies on the overall legitimacy of government. It also includes evaluations of the fairness of the two key social institutions shaping such policies—government authorities and markets. The results of a survey of Americans suggest that this institutional framework had an important influence on reactions to affirmative action policies that was distinct from direct reactions to policies themselves. In particular, people were more supportive of policies intervening in markets when they believed that markets represented unfair social allocation procedures. Those politicians who supported such policies received greater electoral support when people viewed market procedures as being unfair and when they felt that government decision-making procedures were fair. Evidence suggests that outcomes did not directly shape electoral support or judgments about the legitimacy of government.     

Police hiring and retention of sexual minorities in Georgia and Texas after Lawrence v. Texas

In this telephone interview study, hiring and retention policies and practices relevant to sexual minority officers among twenty selected police departments in Georgia and Texas were examined. The authors examined policies and practices in place before and after the U.S. Supreme Court's 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas, in which the Court struck down Texas' sodomy law on grounds that it violated due process and the right to privacy, in effect decriminalizing homosexual conduct throughout the nation. Conclusions and policy implications for law enforcement hiring practices in light of this landmark decision are discussed.     

Enforcement of Civil Rights Law in Private Workplaces: The Effects of Compliance Reviews and Lawsuits Over Time

Has federal antidiscrimination law been effective in moving women and minorities into management? Early studies show that government affirmative action reviews improved the numbers, and rank, of blacks, but evidence of what has happened since 1980 is sparse. There is little evidence that civil rights lawsuits improved the employment status of women or African Americans. We examine establishment‐level effects of compliance reviews and lawsuits on the percentage of women and blacks in management. We find that compliance reviews, which alter organizational routines, had stronger and more lasting effects than lawsuits, which create disincentives to discriminate. We also find that deregulation was more consequential for compliance reviews than for lawsuits: Compliance reviews initiated in the 1980s were less effective than those initiated in the 1970s. Not so for lawsuits. Compared to lawsuits, compliance reviews appear to have a greater capacity to elicit lasting organizational change, but their effects are mediated by the regulatory environment.     

Walking the Thin Blue Line

ABSTRACT

While the proportion of female officers in law enforcement is increasing, upper level administrative positions continue to be held overwhelmingly by male officers. This paper attempts to provide a fuller depiction of the barriers women may encounter within police departments resulting from the dynamics associated with the ‘tokenism’ phenomenon. It is concluded that tokenism-combined with factors such as family commitments and organizational structures-plays a large role in determining upward mobility, serving to reduce the frequency of the promotion of women to higher rank/supervisory positions in police departments.     

The inchoate nature of community policing: Differences between community policing and traditional police officers

Over the past 20 years, police departments across America have adopted a community—or problem-oriented—policing philosophy. Community policing has not been implemented wholesale, however. Most departments have assigned some officers to community policing roles but kept the majority in traditional motorized patrol assignments. Pertinent literature suggests that these two groups do not see eye to eye on their respective roles and duties. In this study, work-redesign theory is used as a conceptual framework to explain officer functioning in both community policing and traditional motorized policing settings. Findings indicate key similarities between community policing officers and officers assigned to traditional motorized patrol, despite differences in job satisfaction, perception of impact, and policing style.     

Judicial scrutiny of gender-based employment practices in the criminal justice system

Purpose

This article examines employment practices of criminal justice agencies within state and federal court decisions that have interpreted sex discrimination claims under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Methods

After collecting and analyzing appellate court cases through the LEXIS-NEXIS and WESTLAW databases, the article examines lower state and federal court decisions that have been applied by the U.S. Supreme Court to criminal justice workplaces.

Results

The findings show that employment practices are valid if the employer can demonstrate: first, the disputed discriminatory action is based on considerations not solely dependent on the plaintiff's gender; and second, such considerations are more than mere pretext, making them justifiable under the circumstances.

Conclusions

Courts have considered a wide range of employer practices in both law enforcement and corrections agencies at various stages of the employment process, such as hiring, assignment of duties, promotion, discipline, and termination. Title VII is violated when the employers’ adverse employment action is motivated by discriminatory intent and is based on gender stereotypes. Even so, employment actions are legal when employers prove their employment actions are not based on sex stereotypes, but are either business-related or justified by “legitimate,” “important,” or “compelling” interests.     

Recording of offences on police domestic violence call outs

ABSTRACT

Due to new legislation passed in 2011, Finnish police have been legally obligated to record and investigate all assaults, including petty assaults, occurring in close relationships. Referred to as domestic violence (DV), these assaults can be prosecuted even without victim consent. Much like pro- and mandatory arrest policies, this reform was aimed at decreasing victim and police discretion, based on the assumption that recording and preliminary investigation of every DV incident would help prevent further violence. Comparison between police call outs and the number of offences indicate that in reality not every DV incident is recorded. Using Police and Emergency Call Database data merged with 410 police officer survey responses, the current study presents the first empirical results on legal and extra-legal factors associated with recording DV as an offence in Finland. Factors explaining non-recording are discussed based on police officers’ free-text comments, and implications for policy and practice are presented.     

Reflections of African-American Women on their Careers in Urban Policing. Their Experiences of Racial and Sexual Discrimination

This article examines the social organizational relationships and interactions that position African-American policewomen as outsiders within their own department. Their exclusion arises not only from dominant white males but from other subordinated groups such as white female and black male officers. The authors found persistent and pervasive patterns of sexual and racial discrimination. This qualitative research is based on data obtained from a population of all 21 black female police officers in a large urban city. The work experiences of black women in policing highlight several problematic areas. These women often experience gender discrimination related to professional abilities, job performance, and supervisory responsibilities. They experience racism in the form of derogatory remarks, and in the areas of hiring and promotion. Their marginality based on gender and race also is readily apparent in relationships among officers.     

Toward a psychological ecology of affirmative action

Research-based knowledge of the effects of affirmative action has been little help to policy makers. That is the case because there has been no means through which to organize into a policy-relevant whole the findings that have come from a variety of disciplinary sources. A heuristic schematic of the psychological ecology of affirmative action is proposed as a step toward developing a conceptual framework that can reduce this problem. A psychological ecology of affirmative action consists of the mutual relations between policy interest groups and the procedures used to implement these policies. A critical point that the ecological framework leads to is that the nature of affirmative action procedures has a major influence on the material and subjective links between interest groups. Given that claim, the schematic is used to categorize, review, and critique the multidisciplinary research on affirmative action. From that overview, a set of general guidelines for the design of effective affirmative action programs is proposed. Finally, a call is made for a shift in the unit of policy analysis from a focus on group justice to relational justice.