Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Law Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 16 of 16

Full-Text Articles in Law

Campus Speech And Harassment, Alexander Tsesis Jul 2019

Campus Speech And Harassment, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

No abstract provided.


Multifactoral Free Speech, Alexander Tsesis Jul 2019

Multifactoral Free Speech, Alexander Tsesis

Alexander Tsesis

This Article presents a multifactoral approach to free speech analysis. Difficult cases present a variety of challenges that require judges to weigh concerns for the protection of robust dialogue, especially about public issues, against concerns that sound in common law (such as reputation), statutory law (such as repose against harassment), and in constitutional law (such as copyright). Even when speech is implicated, the Court should aim to resolve other relevant individual and social issues arising from litigation. Focusing only on free speech categories is likely to discount substantial, and sometimes compelling, social concerns warranting reflection, analysis, and application. Examining the …


Hush Don't Say A Word: Safeguarding Student's Freedom Of Expression In The Trump Era, Laura R. Mcneal May 2019

Hush Don't Say A Word: Safeguarding Student's Freedom Of Expression In The Trump Era, Laura R. Mcneal

Laura R. McNeal

The controversy surrounding NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s act of kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality against people of color continues to permeate public discourse. In March 2017, President Trump referenced Colin Kaepernick’s symbolic act during a rally in Louisville, Kentucky, in an effort to illustrate his strong opposition to anyone kneeling during the national anthem. In this speech, President Trump stated that although many NFL franchise owners were interested in signing Colin Kaepernick, many were afraid of receiving a nasty tweet from him. Likewise, in another speech, President Trump stated, “I think it’s a great lack …


Can Dna Be Speech?, Jorge R. Roig Dec 2015

Can Dna Be Speech?, Jorge R. Roig

Jorge R Roig

DNA is generally regarded as the basic building block of life itself. In the most fundamental sense, DNA is nothing more than a chemical compound, albeit a very complex and peculiar one. DNA is an information-carrying molecule. The specific sequence of base pairs contained in a DNA molecule carries with it genetic information, and encodes for the creation of particular proteins. When taken as a whole, the DNA contained in a single human cell is a complete blueprint and instruction manual for the creation of that human being.
In this article we discuss myriad current and developing ways in which …


Holmes And Brennan, Howard M. Wasserman Dec 2015

Holmes And Brennan, Howard M. Wasserman

Howard M Wasserman

This article jointly examines two legal biographies of two landmark First Amendment decisions and the justices who produced them. In The Great Dissent (Henry Holt and Co. 2013), Thomas Healy explores Oliver Wendell Holmes’s dissent in Abrams v. United States (1919), which arguably laid the cornerstone for modern American free speech jurisprudence. In The Progeny (ABA 2014), Stephen Wermiel and Lee Levine explore William J. Brennan’s majority opinion in New York Times v. Sullivan (1964) and the development and evolution of its progeny over Brennan’s remaining twenty-five years on the Court. The article then explores three ideas: 1) the connections …


Sharing Stupid $H*T With Friends And Followers: The First Amendment Rights Of College Athletes To Use Social Media, Meg Penrose Nov 2015

Sharing Stupid $H*T With Friends And Followers: The First Amendment Rights Of College Athletes To Use Social Media, Meg Penrose

Meg Penrose

This paper takes a closer look at the First Amendment rights of college athletes to access social media while simultaneously participating in intercollegiate athletics. The question posed is quite simple: can a coach or athletic department at a public university legally restrict a student-athlete's use of social media? If so, does the First Amendment provide any restraints on the type or length of restrictions that can be imposed? Thus far, neither question has been presented to a court for resolution. However, the answers are vital, as college coaches and athletic directors seek to regulate their athletes in a constitutional manner.


Lane V. Franks: The Supreme Court Clarifies Public Employees’ Free Speech Rights, Thomas A. Schweitzer May 2015

Lane V. Franks: The Supreme Court Clarifies Public Employees’ Free Speech Rights, Thomas A. Schweitzer

Thomas A. Schweitzer

No abstract provided.


A Quantum Congress, Jorge R. Roig Dec 2014

A Quantum Congress, Jorge R. Roig

Jorge R Roig

This article tries to address the problem of a corrupt and broken electoral system that has been captured by special interests through big money spending in political campaigns, while at the same time preserving the spirit of the Free Speech Clause of our Constitution. In doing so, this article first reviews and summarizes the different alternatives proposed as potential fixes for the campaign finance problem. It then explains why none of the proposed alternatives can accomplish the dual goals set out above. Finally, the article briefly sketches a proposal for a fundamental reworking of our representative democracy by substituting legislative …


A Comprehensive Approach To Bridging The Gap Between Cyberbullying Rules And Regulations And The Protections Offered By The First Amendment For Off-Campus Student Speech, Vahagn Amirian Aug 2013

A Comprehensive Approach To Bridging The Gap Between Cyberbullying Rules And Regulations And The Protections Offered By The First Amendment For Off-Campus Student Speech, Vahagn Amirian

Vahagn Amirian

No abstract provided.


"Dignitizing" Constitutions Worldwide: On The Proliferation Of Human Dignity In National Constitutions, Guy E. Carmi, Doron Shultziner Jan 2013

"Dignitizing" Constitutions Worldwide: On The Proliferation Of Human Dignity In National Constitutions, Guy E. Carmi, Doron Shultziner

Guy E Carmi

Human dignity became widely used in national constitutions after WWII. This Article explores the scope of this increase of uses in constitutions worldwide, and within constitutions, and the different functions that the term serves at present. Our research demonstrates that human dignity is rapidly gaining more place and functions in national constitutions, some of them liberal and some are not. This Article also analyses three functions of human dignity: symbolic-declaratory uses for political purpose; guidelines to the implementation of rights; and also a limitation on fundamental rights. This Article demonstrates the increase in the use of dignity in constitutions over …


What Is The Meaning Of Like: The First Amendment Implications Of Social-Media Expression, Ira P. Robbins Dec 2012

What Is The Meaning Of Like: The First Amendment Implications Of Social-Media Expression, Ira P. Robbins

Ira P. Robbins

Everywhere the Internet goes, new legal problems are sure to follow. As social media expands and infiltrates our daily lives, society must grapple with how to extend the law to modern situations. This problem becomes increasingly pressing as more and more of our social interactions take place online. For example, Facebook has become a colossal gathering place for friends, families, co-workers, frenemies, and others to disseminate their ideas and share information. Sometimes Facebook replaces old institutions; other times it augments them. Where once a neighbor would show allegiance to a political candidate by staking a sign on the front lawn, …


Obscenity, Internet, Free Press And Free Speech - Constitutions Of India And The United States, Khagesh Gautam Prof. Dec 2012

Obscenity, Internet, Free Press And Free Speech - Constitutions Of India And The United States, Khagesh Gautam Prof.

Khagesh Gautam

No abstract provided.


A Tale Of Two Ironies: In Defense Of Tort, David Partlett, William Gill Dec 2011

A Tale Of Two Ironies: In Defense Of Tort, David Partlett, William Gill

William Gill

Charles Dickens likely never imagined that he would be quoted so often in legal discourse.' Yet it is not surprising that he resonates in the world of legal theory, rich as his work is with ironies that operate on personal as well as political levels. Take, for example, A TALE OF TWO CITIES, in which a revolution fought in the name of liberty turns to tyranny, and stable, tradition-bound Burkean ideals provide the means to freedom for those terrorized in the name of liberty.2 The seeds of such ironies have also taken root in the law of our two "cities," …


Bleeeeep! The Regulation Of Indecency, Isolated Nudity, And Fleeting Expletives In Broadcast Media: An Uncertain Future For Pacifica V. Fcc, Danielle Weatherby Dec 2011

Bleeeeep! The Regulation Of Indecency, Isolated Nudity, And Fleeting Expletives In Broadcast Media: An Uncertain Future For Pacifica V. Fcc, Danielle Weatherby

Danielle Weatherby

This article posits that regulating in an area of speech that raises questions about its social value and potential harm will be extremely difficult under the Roberts Court. Government restrictions targeting the content of low value, but protected, expression will be reviewed under the exacting standards of core First Amendment speech. Even though the broadcast indecency policy is shrouded in administrative agency deference standards, it is unlikely that the Court will give the FCC free-wheeling reign to enforce its new policy, which is much more speech-restrictive than the FCC’s enforcement policy of the past forty years. While the Court may …


Holocaust Denial And Governmentally Declared "Truth": French And American Perspectives, Russell L. Weaver Mar 2008

Holocaust Denial And Governmentally Declared "Truth": French And American Perspectives, Russell L. Weaver

Russell L. Weaver

This article examines the free speech implications of France's Gayssot Law prohibiting Holocaust Denial. Necessarily, the article examines competing considerations (e.g., the right to human equality and dignity).


Wrestling With God: The Courts' Tortuous Treatment Of Religion, Patrick Garry Dec 2005

Wrestling With God: The Courts' Tortuous Treatment Of Religion, Patrick Garry

Patrick M. Garry

The relationship between church and state is both controversial and unsettled. For decades, the courts have vacillated dramatically in their rulings on when a particular governmental accommodation rises to the level of an impermissible state establishment of religion. Without a comprehensive theory of the First Amendment establishment clause, religion cases have devolved into a jurisprudence of minutiae. Seemingly insignificant occurrences, such as a student reading a religious story or a teacher wearing a cross on a necklace, have led to years of litigation. And because of the constant threat of judicial intrusion, a pervasive social anxiety exists about the presence …