This paper examines recent court decisions that indicate the extent of constitutional protection extended to opinionated statements made during broadcast commentaries. A brief overview of both the common law and constitutional privileges protecting the expression of opinion is also included in the paper. Specifically, the paper evaluates the…

This case is significant because it goes further than any other earlier decision in describing the outlines of the substantive due process concept as it applies to school discipline. (Author)

Seventh Circuit cases are examined that have considered the question of whether "state action" is present as stated in section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act of 1871. Standards used by the Seventh Circuit to determine the existence of "state action" are also analyzed. (LBH)

Reviews pertinent Supreme Court affirmative action cases since "Bakke" and several lower federal court cases, including "Gratz v. Bollinger" and "Grutter v. Bollinger," two University of Michigan affirmative action cases. Discusses how the Supreme Court will likely rule in "Gratz" and "Grutter."…

What judges are doing "with increasing boldness," in fact, is telling school people to solve their own cases instead of bringing them to court. (Author)

Two recent cases in which federal courts held plaintiffs liable for defendants' attorney fees illustrate the courts' impatience with students and parents lodging suits judged frivolous. The conclusion is that, while school authorities must remain sensitive to students' constitutional rights, caution is urged in taking complaints to federal court.…

Through an analysis of the Supreme Court's post-1973 rulings, argues that the Court has not repudiated any doctrine that it had adopted before 1973 but has exhibited a reluctance to extend previously announced legal principles to claims for new remedies. Available from Duke University Press, Box 6697 College Station, Durham, NC 27708. (Author/IRT)

The Supreme Court's ruling in a flag-burning case raises questions about whether antiharassment policies that colleges and universities have adopted, penalizing slurs and epithets used by students to harass others, violate the First Amendment to the Constitution. If public college policies were found unconstitutional, private colleges would not…

Examines four issues involved in "Webster v. Reproductive Health Services:" (1) the preamble to the 1986 Missouri statute on abortion, (2) prohibiting public employees from performing abortions, (3) public funds for encouraging abortion, and (4) gestational age and viability provision. Focuses on the effects on the continuing vitality of…

Takes issues with Gregory Hauser's previous article positing a constitutional right of social fraternities to formal recognition at public institutions of higher education. Reanalyzes each of the associational cases cited by Hauser, cites additional cases, adds a waiver argument, and wraps up with a public policy comparison of higher education…

Serious constitutional problems arise when the contempt power of judges clashes with other compelling interests such as those of the First Amendment. The "collateral bar" rule--which requires that court orders, even those later determined to be unconstitutional, must be complied with until amended or vacated--in effect, calls for…

"State action" is a term used to describe claims arising under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act for which a private party is seeking damages because the state has violated that party's civil rights. Cases are summarized illustrating the doctrine's evolution over the past century. The 1875 Civil…

Three major Supreme Court cases concerning Bible reading and prayer in the public schools are discussed. The constitutional bases for the court cases are the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The former expresses that Congress may make no laws to establish or to prohibit the free exercise of religion and the latter provides that no state shall…

A U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld significant portions of an arrangement allowing Rutgers University faculty to pay agency fees in lieu of union dues and still be covered by a collective bargaining contract, despite contention that aspects of the agreement violated their constitutional rights to free speech. (MSE)