Jordan Patterson has posted Ending a War Waged by Deed of Title: How to Achieve Distributive Justice for Black Farmers (Ohio State Law Journal, Vol. 82, No. 2, 2021) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
This Note examines the history surrounding the Pigford v. Glickman litigation and concludes that Congress should enact a Distributive Justice Fund based on the structure of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund (VCF). Part II briefly discusses the history of Black farmland ownership—from Reconstruction to the present day—and the harm inflicted by the mass dispossession of Black-owned farmland. Part III describes the broad racial discrimination by the USDA and the settlement agreements in Pigford and Black Farmers litigation (collectively going forward, Black Farmers cases). Part IV argues that the VCF should be used as a model to set up a Distributive Justice Fund for Black farmers and their descendants. Without intervention by the federal government Black farmers and their descendants will continue to suffer from gross injustice. Part V then explains how and why the VCF model should be altered to address the needs of and provide equitable relief to Black farmers. Lastly, Part VI briefly concludes by advocating for a Distributive Justice Fund to help provide relief for the Black farmers and their descendants.
