This article discusses concerns about how Neil M. Gorsuch, a U.S. Supreme Court nominee, might influence decisions regarding cases involving the appropriate scope of services guaranteed by federal special-education law, government aid to religious institutions providing educational services, and how intellectual property law applies to sports…

Fifty years ago, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." In exploring the story of the events behind the essay, and the Supreme Court case that resulted, "Walker v. Birmingham", 399 U.S. 307 (1967), educators will find a pedagogically powerful lens through which to review the seminal…

March 18, 2013, marked the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's unanimous 1963 decision in "Gideon v. Wainwright." "Gideon," a petty criminal, accused of suspicion of breaking and entry was the seminal Supreme Court case that ruled that defendants in criminal cases have the right to an attorney even if they cannot afford to…

Reading U.S. Supreme Court opinions can be intimidating. Yet, in the digital age, it has never been easier to access them. The average opinion is about 4,750 words, and is one of approximately 75 issued by the Court each year. It might be reassuring to know that opinions contain similar parts and tend to follow a similar format. There are also…

The author reports on how U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' opinions in youths'-rights cases reflect his "originalist" thinking. Justice Thomas, 63, marks two decades on the court Oct. 23, and a hallmark of his tenure is his willingness to carve out a solitary stance on certain issues. Particularly in cases involving schools…

By the end of the 2008-2009 term, Justice David Souter's decision to return to New Hampshire and President Obama's nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to replace him on the bench had taken over the Supreme Court news cycle. In the end, the consensus has been that, with the possible exception of criminal justice issues, swapping out Souter for Sotomayor…

This dissertation is a "public forum" legal case study on the federal court case "Madison v. Wolf" (2005) involving a conflict over the exercise of First Amendment speech rights on the Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC) campus in Denver, Colorado. The dissertation involves the content analysis of the "Mason v.…

In September, Oxford University Press published "Not a Suicide Pact: The Constitution in a Time of National Emergency," written by Richard Posner, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Judge Posner's book, which explores how people might strike a balance between constitutionally protected liberties and security concerns…

Judicial activism raises the question whether the people, through their elected representatives, should make decisions about social policy issues or whether these decisions will be made by appointed members of the federal judiciary. Through a series of judicial decisions, many basic social problems have become nationalized. Yet the U.S.…

Sets forth and considers educational beliefs explicitly stated by the justices of the Supreme Court in major court opinions rendered in the 1980s. The justices' educational viewpoints, in general, have turned to an emphasis on control, discipline, order, authority, and the inculcation of traditional values. (60 references) (MLF)

The purpose of this article is to 1) examine the interpretive method applied to the United States Constitution referred of as"Original Intent" and the degree, if any, to which it is superior in objectivity than other methods, 2) discuss whether the application of the interpretive method would have an effect preferred by conservative or…

A federal judge's specifications for desegregating Mississippi's state colleges are excerpted from a recent court ruling. Issues addressed include the state's formula for financing colleges, whether the case should focus on students or institutions, the missions of historically black colleges and predominantly white institutions, and campus…

A federal appeals court ruled that judges may not dismiss handicapped-discrimination lawsuits against universities solely on the basis of official university statements that allegedly discriminatory practices are appropriate for the academic programs involved. The decision keeps alive a case in which a dyslexic student could not take a…

Reactions to the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and debate over the president's replacement nomination, Judge John Roberts, Jr., of the D.C. Circuit, dominated this summer's Supreme Court recess. Subsequently, after Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's death on September 3, 2005, President Bush nominated Roberts for the chief justice…

It is widely believed that the judiciary can maintain the rule of law and guarantee fundamental rights only if it is independent from political and other pressures. Most countries have provisions in their constitutions guaranteeing an independent judiciary. Usually, this independence has two faces: institutional measures that separate the…