Argues that the record of the United States Supreme Court hardly warrants a view of the Court as a special protector of minorities. The idea of the Court as guardian of minority rights obscures the more fundamental and lasting role of the Court as protector of property rights. (SLD)

An annotated bibliography lists 34 Supreme Court decisions since 1970 that have arisen in colleges and universities. They are organized according to the type of institution to which they appear to apply (public, general, private, and church-related), and according to their application to student or faculty affairs. The following decisions are…

The document describes the establishment, development, procedures, and some landmark cases of the U.S. Supreme Court. The objective is to explore the history of the court and to explain its role in the American system of government. The booklet is presented in four chapters. The first chapter, entitled "A Heritage of Law," offers…

This document outlines the constitutional protections available to public school teachers as a result of recent court decisions based on the First Amendment and the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The first and largest section cites legal cases relating to First Amendment guarantees as applied to 1)…

The legal theories with which students challenge academic dismissals, the impact of a recent court decision concerning the institution's right to discontinue a student's studies, and various methods to prevent litigation over academic dismissal are reviewed. (MSE)

The scenario: Pictures of children in various states of nudity are discovered in an elementary teacher's desk. What does one do? This paper offers guidance, much of it based on common sense, for administrators who may find themselves in a situation fraught with serious consequences if a mistake is made in determining the truth. Court decisions are…

Three landmark Supreme Court cases concerning affirmative action and racial discrimination within higher education institutions, and their interrelationships, are discussed: Hopwood vs. the State of Texas; Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke (1978); and Brown vs. Board of Education (1954). Treatment of the legal issues by the Center…

This article discusses the strategy that the University of Maryland pursued in defending the constitutionality of its race-based Benjamin Banneker Scholarship program for black students. It also analyzes the respective decisions of the district court and court of appeals, which recently declared the scholarships unconstitutional. (MDM)

In the context of recent Supreme Court litigation (Jeffries versus Harleston) concerning academic freedom at City College of New York, the nature and parameters of academic freedom are examined, and harms to an institution that might justify legal action against a professor are discussed. It is concluded that the professor's dismissal was neither…

Summarizes the most recent federal court opinions, statutes, and regulations that address the investigation, prosecution, and remedies for sexual harassment on college and university campuses. Implications of the court's decisions on the handling of sexual harassment and gender equity cases at historically black colleges and universities are…

During the last two decades, there has been a great increase in the use of litigation by social reform groups. This activity has been stimulated by the hospitality of the courts to the demands of social reform groups and the availability of subsidized young, activist lawyers. The paper examines the uses of the legal system by social reform groups…

In the United States Supreme Court ruling "City of Richmond v. J. A. Croson Co.," six separate opinions were issued by the Justices, indicating that the Court remains divided in the scope, rationale, and implication of its affirmative action decision. This commentary explains the Court's decision and provides some guidance to school…

Although certain constitutional rights do not apply to private institutions, striking similarities in employment problems exist between public and private colleges. Summarizes court litigation involving constitutional standards, established public policy, contractual problems, and financial exigency. Offers procedures for faculty dismissal that…

Explores six court cases in which the court addressed the permissibility of aid to higher education under the federal constitution. While state court interpretations may shift because of "Ex Corde Ecclesiae," the Papal constitution on higher education, it is seen as unlikely that federal or state taxing authorities will revoke…

After the appellate court decision in Hopwood versus State of Texas, overturning racial preference in law school admissions, supporters of continued affirmative action policy in higher education are finding conservatives on the offensive and a chilly climate for broad access, but are not planning an aggressive counterattack for fear of negative…