Law Commons^™

From Garcetti To Kennedy: Teachers, Coaches, And Free Speech At Public Schools, Emily G. Waldman

Belmont Law Review

This Article analyzes Kennedy’s implications for educators’ free speech rights at school. It is important to note, at the outset, that the Kennedy majority’s description of the actual facts at issue is highly debatable. Indeed, the majority presented a sanitized account of what actually occurred on the ground, minimizing the highly public nature of Kennedy’s prayers and the football players’ involvement in them. That said, if we take the facts as the majority presented them, and then move to the majority’s assessment of those facts, we emerge with an interesting gloss on Garcetti. Synthesizing Garcetti and Kennedy points toward a …

The Great "White" Way: Reconsidering Comprehensive Color-Conscious Casting Plans Through Affirmative Action, Commercial Speech, And Statutory Amendment, Jacob Franklin Greene

Belmont Law Review

This Note discusses the theatrical casting process from publishing a breakdown through audition day type outs and how this process exposes productions, theater companies, and Actor’s Equity Association (“AEA”) to potential liability. Part I provides a background on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, and 42 U.S.C. § 1981, as these are the federal antidiscrimination laws under which a lawsuit is most likely to arise. Part II explores the language of breakdowns, defines the concept of theatrical typing, and discusses the two predominant methods the theater industry frequently utilizes in casting shows. Likewise, …

The First Amendment To The Constitution, Associational Freedom, And The Future Of The Country: Alabama’S Direct Attack On The Existence Of The Naacp, Helen J. Knowles-Gardner

Seattle University Law Review

Sixty years ago, on Wednesday, April 8, 1964, Professor Harry Kalven, Jr., gave the second of three lectures at The Ohio State University College of Law Forum. These lectures were published two years later in a book entitled The Negro & the 1st Amendment. In the second lecture, Kalven distinguished between direct and indirect threats to the associational freedom of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Kalven categorized the 1958 decision in NAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson as an indirect effort to control the NAACP.

With the benefit of material obtained from numerous archival sources, …

The Paradox Of The Paradox Of Democracy, Raymond H. Brescia

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

In The Paradox of Democracy: Free Speech, Open Media, and Perilous Persuasion, authors Zac Gershberg and Sean Illing argue that democracies contain the capacity for their own destruction because they promote open communication but such communication can be manipulated by authoritarian forces. They argue further that with contemporary communications technologies the descent into fascism is even more likely. The authors argue that in order to confront these threats, democratic nations must increase media literacy within the citizenry and strengthen local journalism. Given the grave nature of the threats the authors have exposed, these solutions do not appear up to …

The Presumption Of Constitutionality And The Demise Of Economic Liberties, James Huffman

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

For over two centuries the United States Supreme Court has embraced a presumption of constitutionality that places the burden of proof on those challenging the constitutionality of governmental actions. Usually, the presumption is stated as a given, but when explained it is most often said to be founded in republicanism and due respect for the co-equal branches of government. Thus, the presumption constitutes a deference to the constitutional interpretations of the elected branches of government. This majoritarian view of the Constitution’s foundational principle is counter to the dominant view of the Constitution’s founders. They designed a government constituted of numerous …

Taking Exception To Assessments Of American Exceptionalism: Why The United States Isn’T Such An Outlier On Free Speech, Evelyn Mary Aswad

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

One of the most significant challenges to human freedom in the digital age involves the sheer power of private companies over speech and the fact that power is untethered to existing free speech principles. Heated debates are ongoing about what standards social media companies should adopt to regulate speech on their platforms. Some have argued that global social media companies, such as Facebook and Twitter, should align their speech codes with the international human rights law standards of the United Nations (“U.N.”). Others have countered that U.S.-based companies should apply First Amendment standards. Much of this debate is premised on …

Disappearing Act: Are Free Speech Rights Decreasing?, Michael Conklin

St. Mary's Law Journal

Abstract forthcoming.

Private Interests, Public Law, And Reconfigured Inequality In Modern Payment Card Networks, Stephen Wilks

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

This Article examines two phenomena contributing to the racial stratification of consumers in credit card markets. The first phenomenon pertains to the longstanding conflict between card issuers and merchants over payment processing cost allocation. If successful, First Amendment challenges to existing statutory surcharge bans will allow merchants to impose an additional fee when consumers use credit cards as a form of payment. The Article relies on the interplay between socioeconomic class and behavioral theory to suggest subsistence borrowers would be more likely to pay surcharge fees than wealthier consumers. This arrangement disfavors the poor to support a hierarchy of borrowers, …

Whose Market Is It Anyway? A Philosophy And Law Critique Of The Supreme Court’S Free-Speech Absolutism, Spencer Bradley

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

In the wake of Charlottesville, the rise of the alt-right, and campus controversies, the First Amendment has fallen into public scrutiny. Historically, the First Amendment’s “marketplace of ideas” has been a driving source of American political identity; since Brandenburg v. Ohio, the First Amendment protects all speech from government interference unless it causes incitement. The marketplace of ideas allows for the good and the bad ideas to enter American society and ultimately allows the people to decide their own course.

Yet, is the First Amendment truly a tool of social progress? Initially, the First Amendment curtailed war-time dissidents and …

Free Conscience In Decline: The Insignificance Of The Free Exercise Clause And The Role Of The Religious Freedom Restoration Act In The Wake Of Hobby Lobby, John Fahner

Belmont Law Review

Unfortunately, the modern Free Exercise Clause doctrine favors a progressive interpretation concerned more with efficiency and practicality than meaningful protection of conscience. Individual liberty of conscience, once present in the American legal understanding of free exercise, is no longer a concern of the First Amendment. A truly panacean remedy requires an introspective look into the foundations of the Free Exercise Clause and a careful evaluation of the justifications for the jurisprudential departure therefrom. To that end, this note seeks to reinforce the importance and historical understanding of the Free Exercise Clause and highlight the incongruities of the modern doctrine in …

Constitutional Law And Values—Version ’08 (Not Necessarily An Upgrade), Nadine Strossen

NYLS Law Review

No abstract provided.