NCJ Number
107141
Editor(s)
L L Crites,
W L Hepperle
Date Published
1987
Length
256 pages
Annotation
Ten papers discuss U.S. Supreme Court decisions pertaining to women's rights; women as victims, litigants, and offenders; women as judges, lawyers, administrators, and jurors; and overcoming gender bias in the courts.
Abstract
The opening paper examines the U.S. Supreme Court's record in sex discrimination cases, focusing on progress, if any, made by the justices in overcoming sex-role stereotypes. Papers on women as victims, litigants, and offenders include one that examines the judicial record in responding not only to battered wives and their abusers but also to legislation to protect women from abuse. Other papers in this section address the courts' interpretation of legislation to counter trial proceedings that abuse female and child victims of sexual assault, the effect of no-fault divorce legislation on women and their children, the impact of female juveniles of court action on status-offender legislation, and the paternalistic treatment of female offenders. Papers on women as judges, lawyers, administrators, and jurors examine the opportunities for women on the bench, as court administrators, and as attorneys, as well as their equal access to jury participation. The concluding paper on educating judges about gender bias in the courts describes the development, progress, and results to date of the National Judicial Education Program to Promote Equality for Women and Men in the Courts. Chapter notes and references.