Reconsidering Prejudice in Alternative Dispute Resolution for Black Work Matters

Authors

Michael Z. Green, Texas A & M University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Book Section

Publication Date

7-2022

ISBN

9781479805938

DOI

10.18574/nyu/9781479805938.003.0040

Abstract

Despite the impact that civil procedure has on marginalized people, discussions of systemic inequality are frequently viewed as beyond the scope of law-school courses on the subject—a detour from supposedly neutral black-letter law. But it is not possible to fully understand or fairly apply procedural rules without awareness of the potential impact of those rules on vulnerable members of our communities. Considerations of equity and justice belong at the center of the study and application of civil procedure—and at the center of the promulgation and interpretation of procedural law by judges, scholars, and rule makers. Indeed, the very perception of these issues as marginal to civil procedure perpetuates exclusion. This book represents our efforts, and the efforts of our contributors, to center questions of inequality in the teaching, learning, and practice of civil procedure. The chapters represent voices of a diverse group of scholars that includes longtime leaders in the field as well as new voices. The contributions draw on a range of literatures—from critical theory to social science, from doctrinal examination to empirical analysis. The critical perspectives expressed are diverse as our authors and subjects. And the chapters take on many different procedural topics. But the authors, through the subjects they address, share an overarching goal: to shine a light on the ways in which civil procedure may privilege—or silence—voices in U.S. courts. Each chapter shows how the seemingly dry and technocratic tone of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the litigation process may conceal—or perpetuate—apathy, injustice, brutality, poverty, abuse of power, or discrimination.

First Page

359

Last Page

367

Num Pages

9

Publisher

New York University Press

Editor

Brooke Coleman, Suzette Malveaux, Portia Pedro & Elizabeth Porter

Book Title

A Guide to Civil Procedure: Integrating Critical Legal Perspectives

Recommended Citation

Michael Z. Green, Reconsidering Prejudice in Alternative Dispute Resolution for Black Work Matters, in A Guide to Civil Procedure: Integrating Critical Legal Perspectives 359 (Brooke Coleman, Suzette Malveaux, Portia Pedro & Elizabeth Porter eds., 2022).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/1807