Humanities & Society

Experts from Washington University in St. Louis offer perspectives on the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and the impact it will have on American law, people and politics.

While the ruling in the Maine case is unsurprising given the court’s recent decisions around freedom of religion, some of the rhetoric around the case misrepresents the role of constitutional protections for religion in a pluralistic society, said John Inazu, expert on law and religion at Washington University in St. Louis.

Federal district judges appointed by Republican presidents were found to be less likely to require mask wearing in the courtroom during the COVID-19 pandemic, finds a new study from the School of Law.

Ellie Stitzer, who is set to graduate in May with a law degree from Washington University School of Law, is a passionate advocate for disability rights.

If Florida’s action to strip Walt Disney World of its status as a special tax district is indeed retaliatory against the company for its opposition to the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, then Florida has plainly violated the First Amendment, says a constitutional law expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

Stephen Legomsky, the John S. Lehmann University Professor Emeritus at Washington University, testified at a March 15 hearing before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee about identifying and removing barriers to legal migration.

Although not every violation of the law of war amounts to a ‘war crime,” the facts emerging from the conflict thus far are deeply troubling, says international criminal law expert Leila Sadat.

Karen Tokarz, the Charles Nagel Professor of Public Interest Law & Policy, has received a 2022 What’s Right With the Region award from Focus St. Louis.

The St. Louis Mediation Project, co-founded by Karen Tokarz, the Charles Nagel Professor of Public Interest Law & Policy at Washington University, received a $1.4 million grant from the Missouri Housing Development Commission to provide free mediations in eviction court and in the community pre-filing.

Peggie Smith is a champion for strengthening the rights and legal protections of domestic workers, particularly Black women. Smith became interested in the issue while in graduate school, realizing that there was little research and effort at the time around such laborers’ particular concerns and perspectives. She credits her first-grade teacher, with whom she still keeps in touch, with inspiring her to go into teaching rather than practicing law.