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Fighting Words Today, R. George Wright Jun 2022

Fighting Words Today, R. George Wright

Pepperdine Law Review

For some time, the familiar free speech exception known as the “fighting words” doctrine has been subject to severe judicial and scholarly critique. It turns out, though, that the fighting words doctrine, in general, is neither obsolete nor in need of radical limitation. The traditionally neglected “inflict injury” prong of the fighting words doctrine can and should be vitalized, with only a minimal loss, if not an actual net gain, in promoting the basic purposes of freedom of speech in the first place. And the “reactive violence” prong can and should be relieved of its historic biases and dubious assumptions. …


Contracts And The Constitution In Conflict: Why Judicial Deference To Religious Upbringing Clauses Infringes On The First Amendment, Elica Zadeh Jun 2020

Contracts And The Constitution In Conflict: Why Judicial Deference To Religious Upbringing Clauses Infringes On The First Amendment, Elica Zadeh

Pepperdine Law Review

When a Hasidic person files for divorce under New York law, either party to the marriage may invoke a declaratory judgment action to establish certain rights in a settlement agreement. If children are involved, such an agreement may include a religious upbringing clause, dictating that the child is to be raised in accordance with their then-existing religion—Hasidism. Deviation from the contract risks removal from the aberrant parent who intentionally or unwittingly allows the child to wane into secularism. Although the child’s best interest is the cornerstone of custodial analysis, a problem emerges when his or her best interest is couched …


Testing The First Amendment Validity Of Laws Banning Sexual Orientation Change Efforts On Minors: What Level Of Scrutiny Applies After Becerra And Does A Proportionality Approach Provide A Solution?, Clay Calvert Jan 2020

Testing The First Amendment Validity Of Laws Banning Sexual Orientation Change Efforts On Minors: What Level Of Scrutiny Applies After Becerra And Does A Proportionality Approach Provide A Solution?, Clay Calvert

Pepperdine Law Review

This Article examines the standard of scrutiny courts should apply when testing the validity of laws banning speech-based sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) against First Amendment challenges. Justice Clarence Thomas’s 2018 opinion for a five-justice conservative majority of the United States Supreme Court in National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra casts considerable doubt on whether a level of inquiry less stringent than strict scrutiny applies. The article analyzes how lower courts after Becerra that have reviewed anti-SOCE laws disagree on the issue. And yet, as the Article explains, the Supreme Court refuses to clarify the muddle. First, …


Foreign And Religious Family Law: Comity, Contract, And The Constitution, Ann Laquer Estin Feb 2015

Foreign And Religious Family Law: Comity, Contract, And The Constitution, Ann Laquer Estin

Pepperdine Law Review

The article focuses on role of the U.S. courts in confronting religious laws in dispute resolution of various cases of domestic relations, contracts, and torts. Topics discussed include role of secular courts in maintaining constitutional balance between the free exercise and establishment clauses, constitutional challenges faced by religious adherents, and importance of legal pluralism in the U.S.


Rethinking The “Religious-Question” Doctrine, Christopher C. Lund Feb 2015

Rethinking The “Religious-Question” Doctrine, Christopher C. Lund

Pepperdine Law Review

The “religious question” doctrine is a well-known and commonly accepted notion about the First Amendment’s Religion Clauses. The general idea is that, in our system of separated church and state, courts do not decide religious questions. And from this premise, many things flow — including the idea that courts must dismiss otherwise justiciable controversies when they would require courts to resolve religious questions. Yet a vexing thought arises. The religious-question doctrine traditionally comes out of a notion that secular courts cannot resolve metaphysical or theological issues. But when one looks at the cases that courts have been dismissing pursuant to …


The End Of Religious Freedom: What Is At Stake?, Nelson Tebbe Feb 2015

The End Of Religious Freedom: What Is At Stake?, Nelson Tebbe

Pepperdine Law Review

In recent work, Steven Smith argues that the American tradition of religious freedom is newly imperiled and may even be nearing exhaustion. This Review puts to one side the substance of that argument and focuses instead on what the stakes might be, should it turn out to be correct. It concludes that the consequences would not be as severe as many people fear.


The Last Chapter?, Steven D. Smith Feb 2015

The Last Chapter?, Steven D. Smith

Pepperdine Law Review

An essay is presented in which the author presents contrasting views of law professors at Stanford and Harvard University, Michael McConnell and Noah Feldman respectively on religious freedom. Topics discussed include requirement of special protection to religious freedom, protection of religious belief and expression under other constitutional provisions such as freedom of speech, and the failure of Obama Administration in providing special freedom of association to religious associations.


A Primer On Hobby Lobby: For-Profit Corporate Entities’ Challenge To The Hhs Mandate, Free Exercise Rights, Rfra’S Scope, And The Nondelegation Doctrine, Terri R. Day, Leticia M. Diaz, Danielle Weatherby Feb 2015

A Primer On Hobby Lobby: For-Profit Corporate Entities’ Challenge To The Hhs Mandate, Free Exercise Rights, Rfra’S Scope, And The Nondelegation Doctrine, Terri R. Day, Leticia M. Diaz, Danielle Weatherby

Pepperdine Law Review

Earlier this term, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in the consolidated case of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. v. Sebelius, the first of a litany of cases in which for-profit business entities are invoking the Religious Freedom Restoration Act ("RFRA") in support of their claim that the Affordable Care Act’s HHS Mandate violates their freedom of religion. In particular, these plaintiffs argue that the Mandate’s requirement that employer-provided health insurance covers the costs of contraceptives, the "morning after" pill, and other fertility-related drugs conflicts with their deeply-held religious belief that life begins at conception and is, therefore, unconstitutional. …


All For One, And One For All-Comers! University Nondiscrimination Policies In Light Of Hosanna-Tabor And The Ministerial Exception, Zach Tafoya Jan 2014

All For One, And One For All-Comers! University Nondiscrimination Policies In Light Of Hosanna-Tabor And The Ministerial Exception, Zach Tafoya

Pepperdine Law Review

In light of the more recent Hosanna-Tabor decision, this Comment seeks to answer these questions by extending the reasoning behind the ministerial exception to the university context in order to build a foundation upon which a future exception can be built to ensure that religious student groups are sufficiently free to choose their own leaders. Part II sets forth a brief history of the ministerial exception and its application in the circuit courts. Part III addresses two recent Supreme Court cases, Martinez and Hosanna-Tabor, and their practical effect on religious liberty, as well as the public’s perception of both cases. …


The Post-Tsa Airport: A Constitution Free Zone?, Daniel S. Harawa Jan 2014

The Post-Tsa Airport: A Constitution Free Zone?, Daniel S. Harawa

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


California V. Larue: The Demise Of The “Bottomless” Bar , Doris M. Felman May 2013

California V. Larue: The Demise Of The “Bottomless” Bar , Doris M. Felman

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Sarong Gals: Green Light For The Red Light Abatement Law, Donald Lewis Briggs May 2013

Sarong Gals: Green Light For The Red Light Abatement Law, Donald Lewis Briggs

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Justice O'Connor And The First Amendment 1981-84, Edward V. Heck, Paula C. Arledge Jan 2013

Justice O'Connor And The First Amendment 1981-84, Edward V. Heck, Paula C. Arledge

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Mapping The Forms Of Expressive Association, Randall P. Bezanson, Sheila A. Bentzen, C. Michael Judd Jan 2013

Mapping The Forms Of Expressive Association, Randall P. Bezanson, Sheila A. Bentzen, C. Michael Judd

Pepperdine Law Review

Freedom of expressive association is a relatively new right under the First Amendment, and as a result, its key definitional aspects are continually in flux. Scholarship to- date focuses on the Supreme Court’s treatment of expressive associations, but because the Court has never truly defined what an expressive association is, the Scholarship also fails to really define the boundaries and characteristics of an expressive association. This Article begins to fill this gap in the literature and takes on the task of “mapping” the forms of expressive association. Our goal is to begin the organizing, defining, and classifying task by identifying …


Saving The First Amendment From Itself: Relief From The Sherman Act Against The Rabbinic Cartels, Barak D. Richman Jan 2013

Saving The First Amendment From Itself: Relief From The Sherman Act Against The Rabbinic Cartels, Barak D. Richman

Pepperdine Law Review

America’s rabbis currently structure their employment market with rules that flagrantly violate the Sherman Act. The consequences of these rules, in addition to the predictable economic outcomes of inflated wages for rabbis and restricted consumer freedoms for the congregations that employ them, meaningfully hinder Jewish communities from seeking their preferred spiritual leader. Although the First Amendment cannot combat against this privately-orchestrated (yet paradigmatic) restriction on religious expression, the Sherman Act can. Ironically, however, the rabbinic organizations implementing the restrictive policies claim that the First Amendment immunizes them from Sherman Act scrutiny, thereby claiming the First Amendment empowers them to do …


Symposium Introduction: The Competing Claims Of Law And Religion: Who Should Influence Whom? , Robert F. Cochran Jr., Michael A. Helfand Jan 2013

Symposium Introduction: The Competing Claims Of Law And Religion: Who Should Influence Whom? , Robert F. Cochran Jr., Michael A. Helfand

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Ban On Nude Dancing Strips Away First Amendment Rights To Protect "Order And Morality" In Barnes V. Glen Theatre, Inc., Shannon Mclin Carlyle Nov 2012

Ban On Nude Dancing Strips Away First Amendment Rights To Protect "Order And Morality" In Barnes V. Glen Theatre, Inc., Shannon Mclin Carlyle

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Policy Against Federal Funding For Abortions Extends Into The Realm Of Free Speech After Rust V. Sullivan, Loye M. Barton Nov 2012

The Policy Against Federal Funding For Abortions Extends Into The Realm Of Free Speech After Rust V. Sullivan, Loye M. Barton

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


The Private Club Exemption From Civil Rights Legislation - Sanctioned Discrimination Or Justified Protection Of Right To Associate, Margaret E. Koppen Nov 2012

The Private Club Exemption From Civil Rights Legislation - Sanctioned Discrimination Or Justified Protection Of Right To Associate, Margaret E. Koppen

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Building The House On A Weak Foundation: Edenfield V. Fane And The Current State Of The Commercial Speech Doctrine, Dennis William Bishop Nov 2012

Building The House On A Weak Foundation: Edenfield V. Fane And The Current State Of The Commercial Speech Doctrine, Dennis William Bishop

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Madsen V. Women's Health Center, Inc.: Striking An Unequal Balance Between The Right Of Women To Obtain An Abortion And The Right Of Pro-Life Groups To Freedom Of Expression, Keli N. Osaki Oct 2012

Madsen V. Women's Health Center, Inc.: Striking An Unequal Balance Between The Right Of Women To Obtain An Abortion And The Right Of Pro-Life Groups To Freedom Of Expression, Keli N. Osaki

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Protected Petitioning Or Unlawful Retaliation? The Limits Of First Amendment Immunity For Lawsuits Under The Fair Housing Act, David K. Godschalk Oct 2012

Protected Petitioning Or Unlawful Retaliation? The Limits Of First Amendment Immunity For Lawsuits Under The Fair Housing Act, David K. Godschalk

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Disentangling Symmetries: Speech, Association, Parenthood, Laurence H. Tribe Oct 2012

Disentangling Symmetries: Speech, Association, Parenthood, Laurence H. Tribe

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Substance And Method In The Year 2000, Akhil Reed Amar Oct 2012

Substance And Method In The Year 2000, Akhil Reed Amar

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Liable For Your Lies: Misrepresentation Law As A Mechanism For Regulating Behavior On Social Networking Sites, Geelan Fahimy Sep 2012

Liable For Your Lies: Misrepresentation Law As A Mechanism For Regulating Behavior On Social Networking Sites, Geelan Fahimy

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


The First Amendment, Gaming Advertisements, And Congressional Inconsistency: The Future Of The Commercial Speech Doctrine After Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Ass'n V. United States, Nicholas P. Consula Jul 2012

The First Amendment, Gaming Advertisements, And Congressional Inconsistency: The Future Of The Commercial Speech Doctrine After Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Ass'n V. United States, Nicholas P. Consula

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Civil Rights, Erwin Chemerinsky Mar 2012

Civil Rights, Erwin Chemerinsky

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


"Raised Eyebrows" Over Satellite Radio: Has Pacifica Met Its Match?, Aurele Danoff Mar 2012

"Raised Eyebrows" Over Satellite Radio: Has Pacifica Met Its Match?, Aurele Danoff

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Goading A Reluctant Dinosaur: Mutual Recognition Agreements As A Policy Response To The Misappropriation Of Foreign Traditional Knowledge In The United States, Paul Kuruk Mar 2012

Goading A Reluctant Dinosaur: Mutual Recognition Agreements As A Policy Response To The Misappropriation Of Foreign Traditional Knowledge In The United States, Paul Kuruk

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.


Confronting The Shadow: Is Forcing A Muslim Witness To Unveil In A Criminal Trial A Constitutional Right, Or An Unreasonable Intrusion?, Steven R. Houchin Feb 2012

Confronting The Shadow: Is Forcing A Muslim Witness To Unveil In A Criminal Trial A Constitutional Right, Or An Unreasonable Intrusion?, Steven R. Houchin

Pepperdine Law Review

No abstract provided.