Litigation politics
Social Movement Activity in Campus Sexual Assault Litigation
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4917232 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sandra R Levitsky (0000-0002-5965-7854, University of Michigan, corresponding author), James Yeh (0000-0001-9014-8540, University of Michigan), E A Armstrong (0000-0003-3860-8743, University of Michigan) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 58 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 505-534 |
| Publication date | 2024-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Law & Society Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0023-9216 • E-ISSN: 1540-5893 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/lsr.2024.28 |
| OpenAlex | W4403890205 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
Critics point to increasing private lawsuits filed by students accused of campus sexual assault as evidence that Obama-era Title IX guidance overcorrected and favored victims at the expense of the due process rights of the accused. This overcorrection narrative powerfully reshaped the debate surrounding campus sexual assault and ultimately contributed to the rescinding of the guidance. Existing analytical tools from legal mobilization scholarship - emphasizing the deployment of litigation by social movement actors - are not equipped to identify the origins and dissemination of this political narrative. Drawing from legal complaints, media coverage and interviews with lawyers, we show how private practice attorneys with no visible movement ties helped craft the overcorrection narrative from individual lawsuits by (1) embedding political claims in legal filings, (2) amplifying the narrative in media and (3) collaborating with advocates in quantifying the litigation trend. We extend prior scholarship and illustrate how lawsuits can be both a vehicle of political storytelling and the story itself. We further argue that the ideology of liberal legalism can mask the politics of private lawsuits, making litigation a useful tool for social movement efforts to mobilize support for legal reform
Art · Criminology · Medical emergency · Movement (music · Poison control · Political science · Politics · Sexual assault · Sociology · Suicide prevention · Law · Legal Education and Practice Innovations · Legal Issues in Education · Medicine · Psychology · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |