Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes in 2019

Court Trials: The Plot Drives the “Story”

Trials create narratives that are "plot-driven." When judges attempt to see them as "character-driven," real people can be denied justice.
A gavel against a black background

Fact-Based Courts, but What Facts?

US courts operate as "informationally disabled" institutions that may lack (or intentionally exclude) important facts when making complex legal decisions.
White bucks shoes

White Shoes, WASPs and Law Firms

Law firms founded on Protestant identity necessitated the creation of firms that would hire those shut out by WASP gatekeeping.
Vintage engraving of The Bench, by William Hogarth. 1758, depicts four judges listening to a case in the Court of Common Pleas.

Does Law Exist to Provide Moral Order?

Is social cohesion possible in plural societies? Philosopher H. L. A. Hart weighed in amid debates on abortion and same-sex relationships.
A rather reluctant-looking girl is given an injection of vaccine

What Makes Vaccine Mandates Legal?

Historically, the Supreme Court has held that forgoing vaccines is a threat to public health and therefore beyond the bounds of liberty.
Illustration: Head of a man with a severe disease affecting his face by Christopher D' Alton, 1858

Source: https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.24834473

The Ugly History of Chicago’s “Ugly Law”

In the nineteenth century, laws in many parts of the country prohibited "undeserving" disabled people from appearing in public.
Image from a poster for safe sex awareness

Gay Bars and Gay Rights

One of the flash points in the LGBTQ+ movement was liquor licenses, which were the subject of important legal cases.
Print shows men and women riding bicycles and tricycles to a fair, 1819

Are Cyclists Reckless Lawbreakers?

Three researchers investigate whether bicyclists deserve their negative reputation.
Kimberlé Crenshaw

Kimberlé Crenshaw’s Intersectional Feminism

Legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw broke new ground by showing how women of color were left out of feminist and anti-racist discourse.