United States v. Virginia: A Rhetorical Battle between Progress and Preservation

Ruiz v. Hull: A Legal and Rhetorical Examination of “English-Only” Legislation

“…For example, Katie Gibson, in "United States v. Virginia: A Rhetorical Battle between Progress and Preservation," examines the impact of the United States Supreme Court opinion finding the Virginia Military Institute's men-only admissions policy unconstitutional, concluding that different methods of constitutional interpretation lead to different kinds of narratives about the role and place of women in our society. Gibson specifically examines Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's use of "a framework of 'progress' to justify [the Court's] decision in United States v. Virginia," 19 and concludes with a call to understand the law as a "rhetorical institution" capable of producing change for everyone, not just for those in power. 20 Gibson's stated purpose is to analyze how the rhetoric used in appellate opinions shapes our legal reality.…”