AALS Open Source Program

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Session Type: AALS Open Source Programs

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Understanding the law and whether it serves justice requires that we understand its rhetoric. Austin Sarat has noted that rhetoric shapes “the way power is exercised in and by law.” The panelists will apply rhetorical analysis to the Supreme Court’s use of the words “racism” and “racist;” discuss the use of the word “tax” to describe perceived injustices (i.e. the “pink tax”); evaluate the language in the oral dissents of Justices Scalia and Ginsburg that address the rights of minority and vulnerable groups; and analyze Justice Kennedy’s reputation among scholars for a jurisprudence of rational liberty.