Editor\u2019s Preface
\n<\/b>By Dalia Fuleihan<\/b><\/p>\n
The Trump Administration\u2019s judicial appointments had a devastating effect on courts across the country. Across the board, we are seeing courts leaning to the right and failing to defend fundamental rights. While litigation should not be the main mechanism to achieve change, it has at times provided a useful avenue to challenge unjust laws. However, our currently conservative leaning judiciary necessitates a reevaluation of the utility of litigation to progressive movements. Some of the Supreme Court\u2019s recent decisions\u2014most notably the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women\u2019s Health<\/i> which overturned Roe v. Wade<\/i>, provide a needed reminder of the importance of grassroots organizing and community directed action in progressive movements. In this issue of the Review, we are excited to present three articles that both analyze the problems with our ineffective judiciary, but also provide alterative paths towards protecting rights and pursuing the structural change that this country sorely needs.<\/p>\n
In \u201cFrustrated Federalism: Daimler v. Bauman <\/i>and the Entrenchment of Supranational Corporate Sovereignty,\u201d Jake Romm, takes a deeper look at the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in Daimler<\/i>, which famously limited the state\u2019s general jurisdiction over corporations operating within their borders\u2014holding that corporations may only be subject to general jurisdiction in their state of incorporation and the state of their principal place of business. While such a decision may seem obscure and academic, Romm masterfully discusses the devastating real-world consequences of such a decision\u2014the declining ability of the general population to hold supranational corporations accountable for their actions. In a world where the power of supranational corporations increases daily, decisions like Daimler<\/i> only further empower supranational corporations by giving them a degree of sovereignty and insulating them from suit in the majority of states.<\/p>\n
In \u201cInvitation Accepted: Challenging Anti-Education Laws at the Intersection of Critical Race Theory, Academic Freedom, and Labor Rights,\u201d Simon X. Cao takes a closer look at the many anti-critical race theory laws that have been introduced and passed in state legislatures. The right has been disturbingly successful in passing legislation that proscribes all historical interpretations of the United States\u2019 founding except those that describe the founding of the U.S. as \u201cthe creation of a new state based on the universal principles in the Declaration of Independence.\u201d Meanwhile the courts have been woefully ineffective when it comes to protecting the academic freedom of K-12 educators. While Cao\u2019s article analyzes the acquiesce of the courts in the right\u2019s anti-critical race theory crusade, he also provides a model for future action. Cao discusses the potential for collective action, specifically through teachers\u2019 unions to combat anti-critical race theory laws. Cao\u2019s article masterfully highlights the importance of collective action to combat unjust laws, particularly when the court system does not fulfill its obligations.<\/p>\n
In this issue\u2019s final article, \u201cRacial Reckoning in a \u201cWhite Utopia\u2019: Oregon\u2019s 2021 Criminal Justice Reform Bills,\u201d Sierra Paola analyzes the flurry of criminal justice reform bills passed in Oregon in the wake of the 2020 George Floyd protests. The onslaught of criminal reform bills in Oregon was remarkable, particularly considering the racist history of the state. Paola describes in detail the different categories of bills passed\u2014police reform bills, downstream harm reduction bills, and upstream prevention bills\u2014as well as the different organizing strategies that led to the bills\u2019 success. As Paola points out different categories of bills have different effects. While police reform bills focus more on eliminating \u201cbad apples\u201d without addressing systematic overhaul, other types of bills such as the upstream prevention bills aim to prevent people from interacting with the criminal system in the first place through decriminalization efforts, among other tactics. All the bills passed were the direct result of organizing strategies including mass demonstrations, BIPOC representation in the state legislature, and lobbying for bipartisan support. Paola\u2019s article is a masterful analysis of the importance of organizing, and of maintaining diverse organizing strategies to achieve progressive change.<\/p>\n
While our current economic and political systems designed to maintain a white supremacist status quo and attempts at change are repeatedly thwarted by the ineffectiveness of our elected representatives and judiciary, it is more important than ever that we look to alternative mechanisms for challenging entrenched injustice. <\/b>This issue of the Review provides us not only with a demonstration of the shortfalls of our current institutions, but also a demonstration of how mass demonstrations and organizing can be engines for progressive change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Editor\u2019s Preface By Dalia Fuleihan The Trump Administration\u2019s judicial appointments had a devastating effect on courts across the country. Across the board, we are seeing courts leaning to the right and failing to defend fundamental rights. While litigation should not be the main mechanism to achieve change, it has at times provided a useful avenue […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":22,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"issuem_issue":[138],"class_list":["post-552","article","type-article","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","issuem_issue-nlg-review-vol-78-no-3-fall-2022","post"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t