Discrepancies between court and professional association views of licensing examinations are discussed. Litigation associated with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and constitutional law is considered. Courts should examine professional standards and apply those that are consistent with the court's determination of the proper…

Describes a course on the tension between individual rights and the powers of government. Explores the differences between the Anti-Federalists and Federalists conceptions of rights and the role of government. Discusses contemporary problems of rights as limits to democratic outcomes. Questions the traditional interpretations of the U.S.…

Analyzes four recent Supreme Court parochaid decisions, as well as two rulings dealing with equal educational opportunity, and three concerned with racial discrimination. Observes an ominous turn by the Court toward the use of judicial restraint to promote a conservative social agenda. (MLF)

An Oregon court case in which American Indians disputed a state law against use of peyote for ritual practices is reviewed, and its implications for free exercise of religion on college campuses are examined. In this context, the impact of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 is also considered. (MSE)

Maintains that Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King, Jr. fundamentally altered the tradition of protest and reform. Compares and contrasts the role of each man in U.S. social and constitutional history. Concludes that while Thoreau lacked the broad influence of King, his writings influenced both King and Mohandas Gandhi. (CFR)

The Supreme Court ordered a lower court to reexamine the free-speech case of a controversial City University of New York black studies professor, demoted from department chairman for making racially biased statements seen as disruptive. The rights of public universities to make such decisions was a central issue. (MSE)

A number of state supreme courts have decided cases involving challenges to state public school financing. Summarizes the reactions of courts to plaintiffs' proof concerning the negative impact of inadequate funding on the educational opportunities provided to students in poor school districts. (43 references) (MLF)

Examines the origins of the U. S. Bill of Rights and constitutional guarantees, focusing on trial rights, tracing them to English antecedents and the colonial period. Explains changes in understanding and the application of trial rights, highlighting the U.S. Supreme Court's evolving influence since the nineteenth century. Outlines contemporary…

It is argued that universities are pervasively and necessarily engaged in regulation of speech, which complicates many existing claims about hate speech codes on campus. The ultimate test is whether the restriction on speech is a legitimate part of the institution's mission, commitment to liberal education. (MSE)

Provides background information for two Supreme Court decisions that can be used to teach the concepts of due process and student rights. Lists vocabulary and suggests document analysis and student research activities. Includes a copy of the Goss v. Lopez decision and explains how school systems are required to provide students a minimum of due…

Presents a lesson plan designed to teach upper grade level secondary students about nationalism and civil rights in post-Cold War Europe. Examines the rise of nationalism and discrimination against ethnic minorities in eastern Europe since the end of Communist rule. Includes a map of Europe, suggested teaching procedures, and follow-up activities.…

The Pope called upon Roman Catholic institutions of higher learning to "make known their Catholic identity" by integrating Catholic teaching and discipline in all university activities. Religious institutions find themselves facing precarious legal challenges, where the constitutionality of government appropriations could be challenged,…

Discusses school administrators' legal-affairs management responsibilities regarding legal advice, law versus ethics, and sources of law. Suggests strategies for retaining and managing legal counsel and avoiding situations involving litigation, torts, and conflict resolution. Explains general counsel services; outlines education,…

Examines development of the equalization idea in American public education, discusses theorists' applications of equalization to school finance, reviews the literature on school-finance reform-litigation effects, and concludes that U.S. history has not strongly supported equalization of educational opportunities. Education is not a fundamental…

The general conversation today about the USA PATRIOT Act and its historical and legal significance must be contextualized with reference to a series of 1970s U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding the U.S. Border Patrol that directly undergird the PATRIOT Act. The Supreme Court long ago turned the U.S. borderlands adjoining Mexico into a permanent…