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Articles 31 - 53 of 53
Full-Text Articles in Law
Toward A Universal Standard: Free Exercise And The Sanctuary Movement, Troy Harris
Toward A Universal Standard: Free Exercise And The Sanctuary Movement, Troy Harris
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Note will first look at the combination of circumstances and beliefs that compel members of the Sanctuary Movement to break the law. Second, it will examine current free exercise doctrine that may provide first amendment protection to Sanctuary workers, concluding that the cases reflect two parallel, yet incompatible, rationales. Following one line of cases, Sanctuary activity should be protected; following the other line, it should be condemned. Third, this Note will resolve the inconsistency of these rationales by proposing a new universal test for free exercise claims. Fourth, it will explore the details of recent cases involving Sanctuary workers …
Brief Amici Curiae Of Feminist Anti-Censorship Taskforce, Et Al., In American Booksellers Association V. Hudnut, Nan D. Hunter, Sylvia A. Law
Brief Amici Curiae Of Feminist Anti-Censorship Taskforce, Et Al., In American Booksellers Association V. Hudnut, Nan D. Hunter, Sylvia A. Law
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The document that follows represents both a legal brief and a political statement. It was written for two purposes: to mobilize, in a highly visible way, a broad spectrum of feminist opposition to the enactment of laws expanding state suppression of sexually explicit material; and to place before the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit a cogent legal argument for the constitutional invalidity of an Indianapolis municipal ordinance that would have permitted private civil suits to ban such material, purportedly to protect women. Drafting this brief was one of the most demanding and exhilarating assignments either author has yet …
Introduction, Lillian R. Bevier
Introduction, Lillian R. Bevier
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The Articles in this Symposium vividly demonstrate that the reason that the pornography debate is no longer at the forefront of national consciousness is surely not that the phenomenon itself has disappeared. Nor is it that we have achieved anything approaching consensus, for we cannot seem to agree even about what pornography is, much less about its harms or benefits. Nor is it even that we have suddenly discovered and begun to deploy, from tools long available in our legal arsenal, enforcement strategies promising cures less harmful than the disease. Quite the . contrary. As the editors of this journal …
Hard-Core Pornography: A Proposal For A Per Se Rule, Bruce A. Taylor
Hard-Core Pornography: A Proposal For A Per Se Rule, Bruce A. Taylor
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Part I of this Article discusses the history and pervasiveness of the pornography problem. Part II explains the current legal test for obscenity, as evolved from Miller v. California, with an emphasis on terms commonly used in the definition of obscenity. Part III examines the problems in applying Miller that suggest that the application of a per se hard-core pornography rule may be appropriate. Finally, Part IV presents a proposal for a per se hard-core pornography rule, similar to child pornography laws existing in many jurisdictions and upheld by the Supreme Court in New York v. Ferber. This Article concludes …
The Right To Speak, The Right To Hear, And The Right Not To Hear: The Technological Resolution To The Cable/Pornography Debate, Michael I. Meyerson
The Right To Speak, The Right To Hear, And The Right Not To Hear: The Technological Resolution To The Cable/Pornography Debate, Michael I. Meyerson
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Article concludes that the power of government to regulate cable pornography is limited to that which is legally obscene. Part I reviews Supreme Court cases delineating the relationship between the rights of privacy in the home and of freedom of speech. Part II demonstrates that the technology of cable television provides the solution to the pornography dilemma. Cable television preserves both privacy and speech interests because individual subscribers can be given the physical means to block out programming they find personally offensive without affecting the ability of others to receive that programming. Where such accommodation of interests is permissible, …
Pornography And Obscenity Sold In "Adult Bookstores": A Survey Of 5132 Books, Magazines, And Films In Four American Cities, Park Elliott Dietz, Alan E. Sears
Pornography And Obscenity Sold In "Adult Bookstores": A Survey Of 5132 Books, Magazines, And Films In Four American Cities, Park Elliott Dietz, Alan E. Sears
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
During the eighteen months that the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography (the Commission) conducted public hearings, public discussion, and staff research, one of the most common types of inquiry directed to the staff consisted of questions as to the content of pornography currently available in the United States. Critics of the Commission's work asserted that the pornography used as exhibits by witnesses at the public hearings was extreme, not commonly available, or unrepresentative of that sold in pornography retail outlets; The only pertinent, quantitative data available to the Commission appeared in a single report in the American Journal of Psychiatry …
Prurient Interest And Human Dignity: Pornography Regulation In West Germany And The United States, Mathias Reimann
Prurient Interest And Human Dignity: Pornography Regulation In West Germany And The United States, Mathias Reimann
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Article examines the regulation of pornography in West Germany and compares it to regulation in the United States. Part I provides an overview of the legal framework- constitutional and statutory-of pornography regulation in West Germany. Part II then traces the evolution of the concept of human dignity as a standard for defining pornography in West Germany, and Part III illustrates the practical impact of the idea in two widely debated recent cases. Part IV argues that West Germany's human dignity approach to pornography regulation raises important questions about how to view pornography, but that cultural and constitutional differences between …
Cable Television Rights Of Way: Technology Expands The Concept Of Public Forum, Lawrence E. Spong
Cable Television Rights Of Way: Technology Expands The Concept Of Public Forum, Lawrence E. Spong
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Note argues that the public forum analysis is the proper standard for evaluating a cable television company's claim of access to public rights of way. Part I discusses the constitutional basis for this standard. Part II examines the ideological justifications for the public forum doctrine and argues that public rights of way are public forums for cable television purposes. In addition, it explains the application of the public forum doctrine to cable access questions and the doctrine's advantages over other standards.
"In Stark Contravention Of Its Purpose": Federal Communications Commission Enforcement And Repeal Of The Fairness Doctrine, Michael J. Bolton
"In Stark Contravention Of Its Purpose": Federal Communications Commission Enforcement And Repeal Of The Fairness Doctrine, Michael J. Bolton
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Note analyzes current FCC policy to determine whether the agency violated its statutory purpose and acted unlawfully by restricting and later repealing the fairness doctrine. Because the Commission's attack on the doctrine has been based, in part, on conclusions drawn from the doctrine's history, Part I examines prior FCC enforcement of the fairness doctrine. Part II views the Commission's contemporary enforcement and repeal of the doctrine. Finally, Part III assesses Commission action in light of its legislative mandate and administrative law standards of judicial review to conclude that the FCC both violated its administrative responsibilities by deemphasizing enforcement of …
Expanding The Scarcity Rationale: The Constitutionality Of Public Access Requirements In Cable Franchise Agreements, Debora L. Osgood
Expanding The Scarcity Rationale: The Constitutionality Of Public Access Requirements In Cable Franchise Agreements, Debora L. Osgood
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Note argues that public access requirements should be upheld because they are constitutional and because they further the goals of the first amendment. As background for the debate over public access, Part I provides a brief description of cable television's history and regulation and discusses the case law concerning public access requirements. Part II examines the nature of the first amendment interests at stake in public access requirements. Before resolving the question of which interests should be protected, Part III argues that an expanded scarcity rationale should be used to justify cable regulation under the first amendment. Part IV …
Soliciting Sophisticates: A Modest Proposal For Attorney Solicitation, Victor P. Filippini Jr.
Soliciting Sophisticates: A Modest Proposal For Attorney Solicitation, Victor P. Filippini Jr.
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Note advocates an amendment to the ethical standards governing attorneys that will permit the personal solicitation for pecuniary gain of sophisticated prospective clients - that is, those persons having general knowledge of their legal needs and the expertise to assess adequately the information and presentation of an attorney. Part I of this Note shows that lawyer solicitation is a form of commercial speech under recent Supreme Court decisions. It also asserts that, though the traditional reasons for banning lawyer solicitation still have some validity, these reasons do not justify prohibiting the solicitation of sophisticated clients. Part II suggests some …
Protecting The Free Speech Rights Of Insurgent Teachers' Unions: Evaluating The Constitutionality Of Exclusive Access To School Communications Facilities, Stephen E. Woodbury
Protecting The Free Speech Rights Of Insurgent Teachers' Unions: Evaluating The Constitutionality Of Exclusive Access To School Communications Facilities, Stephen E. Woodbury
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Part I examines the traditional and limited public forum doctrines designed to guarantee speakers a right of access to public places, and finds these theories inadequate in the school union setting. Part II explores a recent addition to the free speech/equal protection analysis: the content neutrality doctrine. This doctrine mandates that when a school board allows one union to express its viewpoints, a duty is created to provide equivalent access to all unions, absent a compelling state interest. Part III reviews several justifications for limiting non-EBA access, and finds most of them without merit and none of them adequate to …
The Doctrine Of Prior Restraint Since The Pentagon Papers, James L. Oakes
The Doctrine Of Prior Restraint Since The Pentagon Papers, James L. Oakes
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The purpose of this speech is to examine how the doctrine against prior restraint has evolved since the Pentagon Papers case. I intend to demonstrate that while traditional antipathy to prior restraint has for the most part remained strong, several recent cases foreshadow a dangerous expansion of well-established exceptions to the doctrine. To understand fully the significance of these recent cases, I will begin this lecture with a general discussion of the historical origins of the doctrine against prior restraint. I will then proceed with a critical overview of the landmark Pentagon Papers case, more formally called New York Times …
Teaching The Theories Of Evolution And Scientific Creationism In The Public Schools: The First Amendment Religion Clauses And Permissible Relief, J. Greg Whitehair
Teaching The Theories Of Evolution And Scientific Creationism In The Public Schools: The First Amendment Religion Clauses And Permissible Relief, J. Greg Whitehair
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Note explores the propriety of teaching the theory of evolution and the scientific creation model in public elementary and secondary schools. Part I discusses the powers of the state and its political subdivisions to set public school policy and curriculum content and the extent to which those powers are circumscribed by the religion clauses of the first amendment. Part I concludes that the religion clauses permit the teaching of evolutionary theory in public schools. Part II examines the variety of judicial and legislative relief potentially available to creationists where the teaching of evolution theory interferes with their religious beliefs …
Comparison Evidence In Obscenity Trials, Marguerite Munson Lentz
Comparison Evidence In Obscenity Trials, Marguerite Munson Lentz
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This Article critiques the approach endorsed in Hamling, particularly regarding the Court's failure to consider how the presentation of proof in an obscenity trial affects the defendant's constitutional rights. The Article urges that relevant comparison evidence should be admissible despite the risk of confusion or the opportunity to present expert testimony, and furthermore, that a court should be required to make explicit its findings regarding the relevancy of comparison evidence. Part I of the Article demonstrates the constitutional significance to the obscenity defendant of evidence, particularly comparison exhibits, bearing on prevailing community standards. Part II considers the assessment of …
The Public Broadcasting Act: The Licensee Editorializing Ban And The First Amendment, John C. Grabow
The Public Broadcasting Act: The Licensee Editorializing Ban And The First Amendment, John C. Grabow
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This article contends that the public is deprived of an important source of information on public affairs issues as a result of the section 399(a) prohibition on editorializing. After an examination of the legislative history of Section 399(a), and the heritage of broadcast regulation in the United States, the article concludes that the prohibition on editorializing is an improper restriction on free expression in violation of the First Amendment.
Regulation Of Indecency In Political Broadcasting, Jonathan Golomb
Regulation Of Indecency In Political Broadcasting, Jonathan Golomb
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The article considers both the constitutional and statutory aspects of the regulation of indecency in political broadcasting. The discussion is limited to considering "indecency," a term excluding obscenity or incitement to violence, because the government's power to regulate these types of speech is well established. Indecent speech would be protected if used in the print media, since it does not fall within the established First Amendment exceptions. The basic constitutional question, therefore, is whether the broadcast media are inherently different from the print media, so as to justify different treatment of indecent political speech. This article will contend that they …
Public Broadcasting And The Problem Of Government Influence: Towards A Legislative Solution, Oscar G. Chase
Public Broadcasting And The Problem Of Government Influence: Towards A Legislative Solution, Oscar G. Chase
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
This article will explore the problems raised by the emergence of the federal government as a television "sponsor." It will argue that fundamental structural reform is needed to promote the constitutional values at issue, that such reform will also promote the interests of local control sought by the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, and that legislative action in furtherance of this structural solution is desirable. In this context this article will consider the proposed Public Broadcasting Financing Act of 1974 and will argue that any bill modeled on it would not eliminate the problems despite its salutary innovations. Not considered, …
Political Candidates' Loyalty Oaths, Jeffrey F. Liss
Political Candidates' Loyalty Oaths, Jeffrey F. Liss
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
When Washington mustered his revolutionary army, when South Carolinians called for secession, and when Senator Joseph P. McCarthy kindled fears of Communist infiltration, many people affirmed their loyalty to the nation by swearing oaths. Perhaps the oath givers hoped to subdue the anxieties of those anxious times by reducing the ambiguities in the behavior and beliefs of others. Candidates for political office have not escaped suspicion; eight states still require political candidates to swear oaths of loyalty before their names can appear on the ballot. But constitutional doctrine and changing times have diminished the loyalty oath's scope and significance. This …
Broadcasting, The Reluctant Dragon: Will The First Amendment Right Of Access End The Suppressing Of Controversial Ideas?, Donald M. Malone
Broadcasting, The Reluctant Dragon: Will The First Amendment Right Of Access End The Suppressing Of Controversial Ideas?, Donald M. Malone
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
The scope of this article will be limited to one aspect of electronic media programming-the extent to which the public is and should be exposed to an accurate cross section of public opinion and a broad range of controversial ideas. Many people, including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), have acknowledged that a desirable goal for the broadcast media, particularly television, is to provide a marketplace for controversial ideas. Part II of this article will identify the principal reasons why that goal has not been achieved. Part III will examine the fairness doctrine, the antecedents of which have been traced back …
Drug Songs And The Federal Communications Commission, Sammuel Bufford
Drug Songs And The Federal Communications Commission, Sammuel Bufford
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
A "public notice" concerning the broadcasting of drug-related popular songs by radio stations issued from the Federal Communications Commission on March 5, 1971. While this notice could be generally taken to prohibit the playing of such songs, its actual message, upon further analysis, is more complex and less direct. This article will examine the notice to ascertain its likely meaning, determine its legal status, and examine three constitutional issues it raises: whether the songs are protected as speech under the first amendment; whether the statement of the prohibition (if that be the import of the notice) is sufficiently precise to …
Campus Pamphleteering: The Emerging Constitutional Standards, Morton M. Rosenfeld
Campus Pamphleteering: The Emerging Constitutional Standards, Morton M. Rosenfeld
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
Beginning with Lovell v. City of Griffin, the Supreme Court has consistently held the distribution of handbills to be a fundamental right under the first amendment. Since Lovell, the Court has liberally construed the concept of a public forum where first amendment rights can be properly exercised. More recently, the Court has held that schools cannot arbitrarily or absolutely regulate students' constitutional rights of expression. These three principles would suggest great protection for handbilling rights on state university campuses. A further analysis of case law indicates that broad free speech standards governing such rights exist and that the …
Constitutional Problems Of Population Control, Bettye S. Elkins
Constitutional Problems Of Population Control, Bettye S. Elkins
University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform
An analysis of the urgency and magnitude of the population problem would show that both national and human survival depend on limiting man's incredible ability to procreate. The world's resources are finite; man's consumption of them must be made so, too, or Malthus' four horsemen will balance the supply and demand for us. If we are not to starve our grandchildren, to leave them with no immunity to the pestilence of overcrowding and hopelessness, to kill them with pollution, or to force war upon them as the only way to secure enough territory to feed a voracious population, we must …