Stris & Maher Helps Leading Scholars Urge Supreme Court to End Sex Discrimination in Immigration Cases

Stris & Maher is proud to have assisted Professor Suzanne B. Goldberg of Columbia Law School, and a group of leading population and family scholars, by filing an amicus brief in Lynch v. Morales-Santana, No. 15-1191. The case is about a U.S. immigration law that makes it harder for fathers than mothers to pass their U.S. citizenship along to their children. Relying on national and international data, the amicus brief provides empirical support for the argument that the law in question violates the equal protection clause.

The brief was authored by Professor Goldberg. At Columbia Law School, she serves as the Executive Vice President for University Life, the Herbert and Doris Wechsler Clinical Professor of Law, and the Director of the Center for Gender and Sexuality Law. The amici are the following prominent population and family scholars:

Sara S. McLanahan, William S. Tod Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, Princeton University

Natasha J. Cabrera, Professor of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland College of Education

Marcia J. Carlson, Professor of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Kathryn Edin, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Department of Sociology, Zanvyl Krieger School, Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University

Irwin Garfinkel, Mitchell I. Ginsberg Professor of Contemporary Urban, Columbia School of Social Work

Ronald B. Mincy, Maurice V. Russell Professor of Social Policy and Social Work Practice, Columbia School of Social Work

Lenna Nepomnyaschy, Associate Professor, Rutgers School of Social Work

R. Kelly Raley, Christine and Stanley E. Adams, Jr. Centennial Professor in Liberal Arts, The University of Texas at Austin

Pamela J. Smock, Professor of Sociology and Research Professor, Population Studies Center of the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan

A copy of the brief is available here. For more information, please read Columbia Law School’s press release.

Media coverage:
Scholars Tell Justices Citizenship Law Biased Against Men (Law360, October 4, 2016) (subscription required)
Law School’s Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic Urges Supreme Court to End Sex Discrimination in U.S. Immigration Law (Columbia Law School, October 4, 2016)