Law Commons^™

San Filippo V. Bongiovanni: The Public Concern Criteria And The Scope Of The Modern Petition Right, Kara E. Shea

Vanderbilt Law Review

If the "person on the street" were asked to name a right guar- anteed to all Americans by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, freedom of speech would likely come quickly to mind, along with the concomitant right of free press. The rights to practice one's religion and peaceably assemble, even the judicially created right of free association might follow closely behind. Few people, how- ever, would mention the "right of the people.., to petition the government for redress of grievances."' Fewer still would be able to give a good definition of petitioning, or to describe the types …

Taking Liberties With The First Amendment: Congress, Section 5, And The Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Jay S. Bybee

Vanderbilt Law Review

In July 1788 the North Carolina legislature was considering ratification of the Constitution, a constitution that did not contain a Bill of Rights. As the delegates reached the Religious Test Clause, Henry Abbot remarked:

"Some are afraid... that, should the Constitution be received, they would be deprived of the privilege of worshiping God according to their consciences, which would be taking from them a benefit they enjoy under the present constitution. They wish to know if their religious and civil liberties be secured under this system, or whether the general government may not make laws in- fringing their religious liberties.... …

A Restatement Of The Supreme Court's Law Of Religious Freedom: Coherence, Conflict Or Chaos?, Carl H. Esbeck

Faculty Publications

Religious freedom as guaranteed in the First Amendment makes religious pluralism more likely, while pluralism makes the maintenance of religious freedom as a fundamental civil right more necessary. It seems there is a limit, however, to the expansion of America's religious pluralism that, when exceeded, shatters cultural consensus thus rendering impossible the political and civil discourse necessary to sustain democratic institutions.1 This follows because pluralism promises freedom but exacts a price in civic disunity and moral confusion. The question thereby resolves itself into just how a religiously diverse people are to live together, despite their deepest differences, while sharing in …

Interpretation And Interdependence: How Judges Use The Avoidance Canon In Separation Of Powers Cases, Brian C. Murchison

Scholarly Articles

None available.

Rhetoric, Evidence, And Bar Agency Restrictions On Speech By Attorneys, Lloyd B. Snyder

Law Faculty Articles and Essays

There are two problems with permitting litigation about attorney speech to proceed without requiring bar disciplinary agencies to present empirical data or other evidence to support claims that restrictions on attorney speech are necessary. First, the history of bar association restrictions on attorney speech should make us skeptical that the bar rules are based on lofty ideals about protection of the public. The restrictions began as rules promulgated by elite corporate lawyers whose effect was to limit the activities of their less affluent brethren who were representing criminal defendants and other impoverished clients. The purpose of the rules was to …

What's Happening With Respect To The Second Circuit, Hon. George C. Pratt

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Frreedom Of Religion

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Public Institutions Of Culture And The First Amendment: The New Frontier, Lee C. Bollinger

Faculty Scholarship

The general subject of my lecture today is the relationship between the First Amendment and public institutions of culture, which I take to be those sponsored and supported by the state with the clear purpose of preserving and promoting high culture in the United States. These include universities, museums, theaters, libraries, public broadcasting networks, programs for art in public places, and the national endowments for the arts and the humanities. All of these institutions or programs are vested with the responsibility of insuring the preservation of high human achievement in the areas to which they are devoted (knowledge, art, music, …