About
Over the last fifty years, the Chicanx-Latinx Law Review (CLLR) has provided an essential forum for the discussion of issues affecting the Latinx community, and other marginalized communities, that mainstream law journals continue to ignore. In publishing Volume One, CLLR introduced to the nation the first legal journal that recognized how common law, statutes, legislative policy, and political propositions impact the Latinx community. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Nevada Supreme Court, and New Jersey Superior Court have cited CLLR.
Volume 33, Issue 1, 2015
Front Matter
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Foreword
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Articles
CREATING WISE CLASSROOMS TO EMPOWER DIVERSE LAW STUDENTS: Lessons in Pedagogy from Transformative Law Professors
Many of today’s law students experience a triple-threat. They suffer from the solo status that accompanies being a member of an underrepresented group, the stereotype threat that accompanies being a member of a stereotyped group, and the challenges that attend lacking a background in the law before beginning law school. But today’s law schools often fail to create safe1 environments, teach foundational content and skills, or take basic steps toward providing instruction that ensures students from all backgrounds are empowered to thrive. While much has been written about improving legal education and about the failure of current pedagogies to provide a sound education to students experiencing this triple-threat, little has been written about approaches that ensure that these students succeed. This article is an attempt to identify an initial pathway forward. It builds off of research regarding legal pedagogy, inclusive pedagogy, and the results of eleven in-depth-interviews with “transformative professors” who UC Berkeley Law students identified as being skilled at creating safe spaces and ensuring that individuals from all backgrounds succeed academically. This rich data can inform professors and institutions across the state and country in their efforts to provide a legal education that, instead of simply benefiting the most privileged, provides a transformative education to all.
“COMO UNA JAULA DE ORO” (IT’S LIKE A GOLDEN CAGE): The Impact of DACA and the California DREAM Act on Undocumented Chicanas/Latinas
This study utilizes a Latina/o Critical Theory (LatCrit) framework to examine how undocumented and formerly undocumented Chicana/Latina college graduates are impacted by the California DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, S 1291) and DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), recent state and federal policies meant to increase educational and economic opportunities for undocumented youth who meet certain requirements regarding age, education, criminal record and time in the U.S. Findings indicate that the historical contradictions of access and restriction of legal protections and opportunities for the undocumented continue with these policies and become lived in the daily experiences of the study participants. Longitudinal data includes a series of two interviews conducted in 2008 with 10 undocumented Chicana/Latina undergraduates, and a series of two additional follow-up interviews conducted in 2013-2014 with 9 of the original 10 participants, a total of 38 interviews.