Unequal Inequalities? Poverty, Sexual Orientation, and the Dynamics of Constitutional Law

Details

Author(s):
Publish Date:
October 1, 2014
Publication Title:
Utah Law Review
Format:
Journal Article Volume 2014 Page(s) 867
Citation(s):
  • Jane S. Schacter, Unequal Inequalities? Poverty, Sexual Orientation, and the Dynamics of Constitutional Law, 2014 Utah Law Review 867 (2014).

Abstract

To start where we began, there are many differences that distinguish these two movements. The point is decidedly not to flatten these differences or to treat them as more alike than they are. Instead, the fact that some broad themes link even these disparate cases suggests that there are institutional insights here that can help us think critically about the role of courts going forward. Perhaps the clearest takeaway is that courts rarely act in a vacuum. They act in the context of other actors (other courts, political bodies, public opinion), and their decisions are given meaning, in part, by how these other actors, along with social movements, react. For this reason, thinking about the role of courts in 2020 means thinking about the interacting roles of these other actors, as well.