Juvenile Law Commons^™

On Protecting Children—From Censorship: A Reply To Amitai Etzioni, Marjorie Heins

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Etzioni's argument for censorship of minors ignores the fundamental problem with Internet filters, misstates the results of media-effects research, and uses emotional terms like "protection" and "harm" to mask moral judgments about what is appropriate for youth.

Given the size and constantly changing character of the Internet, filters necessarily rely on key words and phrases. As a result, thousands of valuable Web pages are mistakenly blocked by filters, even at their narrowest settings. The problem is inherent in the system.

Most media-effects studies do not show a causal link between violent content and violent (or "aggressive") behavior. The studies that …

On Protecting Children From Speech, Amitai Etzioni

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Are children entitled to the same First Amendment rights as adults? This Article explores the constitutionality of limiting children's access to objectionable materials assuming that both free speech rights and the protection of children are two core values that, like all other social values, must be balanced. When used to assess specific court cases and public policies, the balancing principle is a helpful guide in determining whether voluntary or incentives-based programs are sufficient to remedy the problems at hand or whether government regulation of free speech is necessary. The Article analyzes five court cases involving Internet filters in libraries, the …

The Speech-Enhancing Effect Of Internet Regulation, Emily Buss

Chicago-Kent Law Review

In this Article, the author suggests that certain speech-reducing regulations will, in fact, be speech-enhancing for children. This is because children are vulnerable to far greater censorship at the hands of their parents than at the hands of Internet regulators. Regulations that inspire parents to relax their grip on their children's access to information are likely to produce significant net speech gains for children. Viewed this way, regulations designed to protect children can be conceived as pitting the speech interests of adults against the speech interests of children. The Article suggests a number of reasons we might value the children's …

When Well-Being Trumps Liberty: Political Theory, Jurisprudence, And Children's Rights, William Galston

Chicago-Kent Law Review

Compared to most adults, children are dependent and vulnerable and therefore require special protection. Efforts to safeguard their well-being often collide with one or more of the liberty guarantees of the First Amendment. Professor Etzioni fears that current jurisprudence has tipped the balance too far towards individual liberty, making it difficult to extend children the legal protection they need. Drawing on a theoretical account of constitutionalism as well as existing case law, the author argues that mainstream jurisprudence is up to the task of balancing the well-being of children against the liberty of adults. The Supreme Court's recent decision in …

Response, Amitai Etzioni

Chicago-Kent Law Review

No abstract provided.

Congress And The Courts Battle Over The First Amendment: Can The Law Really Protect Children From Pornography On The Internet?, 21 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 141 (2003), Mitchell P. Goldstein

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

Litigation and court action have provided little in the way of providing solutions to anyone dealing with inappropriate content on the Internet. In Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973). The court refused to establish a national standard and instead relied on community standards. Because the Internet has no geographic limitations, one cannot determine community standards because the Internet is so far reaching. Goldstein discusses in detail these Congressional enactments: Communications Decency Act of 1996, the Child Online Protection Act, and the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996, finding that none of them give children protection from pornography. The challenge …

The U.S. Supreme Court Addresses The Child Pornography Prevention Act And Child Online Protection Act In Ashcroft V. Free Speech Coalition And Ashcroft V. American Civil Liberties Union, Sue Ann Mota

Federal Communications Law Journal

Both the Child Pornography Prevention Act ("CPPA") and the Child Online Protection Act ("COPA") were intended by Congress to protect minors. The CPPA was intended to protect minors from the harmful effects of virtual child pornography. The COPA was intended to protect minors from pornography currently available commercially on the World Wide Web. However, in 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the constitutionality of both statutes: The Court struck down sections of the CPPA as overbroad and unconstitutional in Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition. In Ashcroft v. ACLU, the Court upheld some sections of COPA as not unconstitutionally overbroad, but …

Does Censorship Really Protect Children?, Michael Grossberg

Federal Communications Law Journal

Book Review: Not In Front of the Children, “Indecency,” Censorship, and the Innocence of Youth, Marjorie Heins, New York: Hill and Wang, 2001, 402 pages.

Marjorie Heins spent much of her career as a lawyer battling censorship with the American Civil Liberties Union. Today, she continues the fight as Director of the Free Expression Policy Project of the National Coalition Against Censorship. In an effort to understand the people who work to constrict the free flow of information, she stepped out of the trenches and into the library to do some research. Not In Front of the Children is the …

Reflecting On The Virtual Child Porn Decision, 36 J. Marshall L. Rev. 211 (2002), David L. Hudson

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Courts' Inconsistent Treatment Of Bethel V. Fraser And The Curtailment Of Student Rights, 36 J. Marshall L. Rev. 181 (2002), David L. Hudson

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Constitutionality Of Mandatory Public School Community Service Programs, Rodney A. Smolla

Law Faculty Publications

Proposals for public service programs have long had currency in America, and may be gaining a certain millennium momentum in current public debate. While proposals for national public service programs of varying ambition and scope continue to be debated, at the local level a growing number of U.S. public school districts are implementing community service programs for high school students. Community service programs generally require students to complete a specified number of hours of service as a condition for graduation. In a typical program, a student may be required to complete forty to sixty hours of community service with organizations …

The First Amendment, Children, The Internet, And America's Public Libraries, Fred H. Cate

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

The Best Of Both Worlds: Financing Software Filters For The Classroom And Avoiding First Amendment Liability, 16 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 659 (1998), Peter G. Drever Iii

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

As the Internet expands, educational institutions have become interested in the medium for the purpose of expanding learning opportunities. Information that may be objectionable to some members of the community, however, would then be available to children in schools with Internet access. Attempts to regulate the content of the Internet have yet to pass a First Amendment challenge. Concern over what children will be exposed to when the Internet is introduced in the classroom is currently being addressed by educators and legislators alike. The Communications Decency Act was the first to attempt to address the issue of Internet access in …

The Constitutionality Of Congressional Efforts To Ban Computer-Generated Child Pornography: A First Amendment Assessment Of S. 1237, 14 J. Marshall J. Computer & Info. L. 483 (1996), Ronald W. Adelman

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

This article addressed the constitutionality of the Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1995 (Hatch Bill) in regard to computer-generated child pornography. The Bill outlaws a visual depiction that is or appears to be of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. The author claims the comments of David B. Johnson and John C. Scheller regarding the constitutionality of the Bill are analytically flawed because they focus on dicta from New York v. Ferber and Osborne v. Ohio. The author then engages in his own assessment of the Bill using a First Amendment approach and suggests what findings Congress should make …

God, Money, And Schools: Voucher Programs Impugn The Separation Of Church And State, 30 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1 (1996), Harlan A. Loeb, Debbie N. Kaminer

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Nation Of Robots - The Unconstitutionality Of Public School Uniform Codes, 28 J. Marshall L. Rev. 645 (1995), Alyson Ray

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Warning: Television Violence May Be Harmful To Children; But The First Amendment May Foil Congressional Attempts To Legislate Against It, Laura B. Schneider

University of Miami Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Children's Hour Revisited: The Children's Television Act Of 1990, Diane Aden Hayes

Federal Communications Law Journal

The Children's Television Act of 1990 was created to reduce advertising during children's programming and increase the number of educational programs for children. But by 1993 media watchers found that violations were frequent, and that what was purported to be educational television was often little more than cartoons. This Note argues that the apparent failure of the Act stems primarily from its vague standards. To correct these problems, more explicit regulations are necessary. Because new regulations can only go so far before they invade broadcasters' First Amendment rights, broadcasters and the FCC will have to compromise to create a workable …

The Enforceability Of Religious Upbringing Agreements, 25 J. Marshall L. Rev. 655 (1992), Martin Weiss, Robert Abramoff

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Engaging The Spectrum: Civic Virtue And The Protection Of Student Voice In School Sponsored Forums, 24 J. Marshall L. Rev. 339 (1991), Robert R. Verchick

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Science In School: From Antireligion To Scientific Cult, 21 J. Marshall L. Rev. 449 (1988), Elizabeth Freidheim

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Hazelwood School District V. Kuhlmeier: How Useful Is Public Forum Analysis In Evaluating Restrictions On Student Expression In The Public Schools, 22 J. Marshall L. Rev. 403 (1988), Mark N. Bonaguro

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Reporter's Privilege And Juvenile Anonymity: Two Confidentiality Policies On A Collision Course, Diane Geraghty, Alan Raphael

Loyola University Chicago Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Essay--Fighting For Their Lives: The Applicability Of The Fairness Doctrine To Violence In Children's Television Programming, Thomas Barton

West Virginia Law Review

No abstract provided.

Children And The First Amendment, John H. Garvey

Scholarly Articles

If children possess moral and political rights against the state, theories about these rights have scarcely progressed beyond first principles. The state must retain power to regulate education and some aspects of family life. Parents sometimes have a final say concerning what a child may do and experience. Professor Garvey offers an account of the way in which these and other realities shape the child's rights of free expression under the first amendment.

Blood Transfusions And Elective Surgery: A Custodial Function Of An Ohio Juvenile Court, M. J. Zaremski

Cleveland State Law Review

Juvenile Court has traditionally been though of, within American jurisprudence, as an appendage of the state acting as parens patriae. This obligation dates back to the ancient role of the sovereign as protector of helpless children. An abundance of case law has con- strued and reinterpreted this doctrine, but none has significantly deviated from the general definition. Therefore, the description given in Black's Law Dictionary that parens patriae refers ". . to the sovereign power of guardianship over persons under disability . . . such as minors . . ." will suffice for the purposes of the ensuing discussion. These …

The Role Of Law In Educational Decision Making, John H. Vanderzell, Donald W. Dowd, Matthew W. Finkin, Mark R. Shedd

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Student Discipline In Public Schools Under The Constitution, William D. Valente

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Authorization Of Involuntary Blood Transfusion For Adult Jehovah's Witness Held Unconstitutional--In Re Brooks' Estate, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

Despite serious illness, plaintiff requested, in accordance with her religious beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness, that blood transfusions not be administered to her. Upon the request of her physician and several assistant state's attorneys, a court-appointed guardian was authorized to consent to a blood transfusion for the plaintiff, and a transfusion was administered. On appeal of the court's action to the Supreme Court of Illinois, held, order reversed. The authorization of a blood transfusion for an adult Jehovah's Witness who has only adult children is an unconstitutional interference with the patient's right to the free exercise of her religion.

Obscene Literature, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Law Review

Obscene Literature

In 1959 the United States Supreme Court in Smith v. California'held a city and county ordinance unconstitutional for failure to require scienter on the part of a defendant. That ordinance, like many other ordinances and state statutes, subjected a bookseller to criminal prosecution for the sale of obscene literature regardless of whether he knew that it was obscene. The Court reasoned that such an ordinance would result in a bookseller's refusal to sell many publications which would not be legally suppressible but which the seller suspected of being obscene, perhaps without having read them. This self-censorship would constitute …