Legal
Update Archives 2001
Below are archived
updates regarding legal issues affecting individual freedoms: U.S.
Supreme Court First Amendment Cases Other Noteworthy
Cases.
Controversy
Over Race-Based Admission Policies Continues
Lawsuits
challenging the use of race-based admission policies by state universities
are continuing to move through the court system...[more]
Government
as Private Profit Center
With
government budgets shrinking and contributions to private organizations
shifting, government and private entities are looking for increased
opportunities to generate revenue. Some have turned to existing
laws and our courts to find these revenue sources...[more]
State
v. Oakley: Deadbeat Dads and the Right to Procreate
by Tom Goldstein, esq.: The Wisconsin Supreme
Courts recent opinion in State v. Oakley, No. 99-3328-CR (Wis.
July 20, 2001), presents important and novel questions regarding
how far the government may go in imposing a criminal sanction or
condition of parole that restricts an individuals ability
to have children...[more]
First
Amendment Umbrella Shields Online Journalists
In a resounding
First Amendment victory for Internet media, a New York state court
ruled on December 10, 2001, that online journalists have the same
heightened protections against charges of libel as their print and
broadcast media counterparts...[more]
Entertainment
Industry Wins Its Day in Court
For
those following the debate over "free speech" vs. intellectual
property rights on the Internet, Wednesday, November 28, 2001, was
a day to remember. What occurred was a confluence of legal decisions
from federal courts in New York and New Jersey that dealt a severe
blow to those seeking to overturn key provisions of the much-maligned
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)...[more]
Vanessa
Leggett Redux
We do not
know what is meant by pundits who proclaim the "death of irony,"
post 9-ll. To us, the height of irony is an American journalist
in an American jail, put there in July by a Justice Department which
now seeks expanded powers to battle terrorism, while pledging not
to trample civil liberties
[more]
To read the
legal brief in this case, click here.
Barbie,
a Blender, and the First Amendment
Barbie,
Americas first lady of plastic, has recently found herself
the subject of a nude photo shoot in what some would call compromising
positions. And, a federal judge recently ruled that the pictures
of the buxom blonde are protected by the First Amendment, therefore,
her sometimes over-protective parent, toy manufacturer Mattel, can
do nothing to stop them...[more]
Court
Allows Minute of Silence to Continue in Virginia Schools
A
federal appeals court ruled that a Virginia law implementing a mandatory
minute of silence in public schools is constitutional. A panel from
the 4th Circuit US Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 opinion
in the case Brown v. Gilmore, rejecting a constitutional challenge
to the Commonwealths "minute of silence" law...[more]
Judicial
Candidates Take Free Speech Case to Supreme Court
The
Supreme Court announced on December 3rd to decide
whether candidates for judicial office may run full-scale political
campaigns. The case, Republican Party of Minnesota v. Kelly (No.
01-521), arrives at the Supreme Court from an Eighth Circuit Court
of Appeals decision which upheld a Minnesota canon of judicial
ethics restricting on the content of campaign speech by candidates
for elective judicial office...[more]
Continuing
Challenges to First Amendment Rights
The
United States Supreme Court has long recognized the critical value
that society has placed on free speech. Both the First Amendment
itself and Supreme Court cases interpreting it afford maximum protection
to certain forms of speech, including direct speech and association...[more]
Eighth
Circuit Court of Appeals Reverses Itself on Campaign Finance
Under
order of the United States Supreme Court, a three-judge panel of
the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit revisited
an earlier decision in a campaign finance case challenging limits
placed on contsibutions from political parties to candidates...[more]
US
Supreme Court Allows Washington State Anti-Spam Law to Stand
On
October 29, the US Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to
Washington States law restricting unsolicited commercial e-mail
("Spam"), allowing to stand a ruling by the Washington
Supreme Court that the 1998 law was constitutional..[more]
Supreme
Court Update - Week of October 29, 2001
Amid
apprehension of anthrax contamination, the Supreme Court announced
on Monday three cases chosen for this terms docket. Since
then, the Supreme Court Building has been closed, and the Justices
have been hearing oral arguments in a ceremonial courtroom at the
US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. With another anthrax related
blip affecting its schedule, the Court has postponed granting review
to any additional cases until next week Friday...[more]
Supreme
Court Update - Week of October 15, 2001
Its
the middle of October and the US Supreme Court continues to stay
busy granting review in a number of cases. This week,
the Court added three more cases to the docket...[more]
Supreme
Court Preview (October Term 2001)
On September
25, 2001, the US Supreme Court returned to work from its summer
recess and rolled up its sleeves for what may prove to be a landmark
term. The Justices sat for what is called their long conference
to decide which cases they would hear out of the hundreds that had
been filed over the summer...[more]
Supreme
Court Grants Future Generations Right
To Challenge Unreasonable Limits on Land Use and Value
The
United States Supreme Court closed its 2000 term with a favorable
decision for property rights, albeit a somewhat lengthy set of confusing
opinions that provides only a partial victory for the property owner...
[more]
Appeals
Court Halts Microsoft Breakup; Disqualifies District Judge
The
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has reversed U.S.
District Judge Thomas Penfield Jacksons ruling to split Microsoft
into two companies... [more]
Supreme
Court Hands a Victory to Free-lance Writers in Copyright Case
In
a dispute involving the application of copyright law to the digital
age, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in New York Times v. Tasini that
free-lance writers own the rights to their works that were initially
published in print editions and subsequently distributed electronically...[more]
New
Twist in The Cell Phone Wars
The
latest legal and legislative bell ringer involves the use of hand
held cell phones while driving. On December 1, New York will become
the first state to ban the use of such devices while driving an
automobile. Meanwhile, more than 38 other states are considering
some type of restrictions of their own on cell phones and driving...
[more]
Supreme
Court Rejects First Amendment Challenge to Party Spending Limits
In
a very close decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled 5-4
to uphold party limits on coordinated expenditures. The Court found
that limiting coordinated spending by a party does not impose a
unique First Amendment burden on parties and that coordinated expenditures
of unlimited money donated to a party dilute and therefore undermine
the contribution limits... [more]
Supreme
Court Finds Mandatory Ad Campaign Unconstitutional
In
the long-awaited decision in United
States
v. United Foods, Inc., the Supreme Court took significant
strides in undoing some of the damage caused by its much-criticized
1997 decision in Glickman v. Wileman Brothers & Elliot. In scoring
a victory for the First Amendment, The Court held, in an opinion
by Justice Kennedy, that a federal statute requiring mushroom growers
to pay for generic advertisements to promote mushrooms violated
the First Amendment by compelling support for speech with which
at least some of the growers disagreed
[more]
Alabama
Supreme Court Rules That Campaign Speech Restrictions on Judicial
Candidates Violate the First Amendment
The
Alabama Supreme Court ruled in favor of Supreme Court Justice Harold
See on May 15, 2001, stating that Canon 7B.(2) of the Alabama Canons
of Judicial Ethics is facially unconstitutional and that Canon 2A
is unconstitutional as applied in Justice Sees case against
the Alabama Judicial Inquiry Commission (JIC)... [more]
The
Race to End Race as a Factor in Achieving Educational Diversity
is Canceled (Temporarily?)
On May 29,
2001, the United States Supreme Court declined to get involved in
a race-based admissions policy case. By denying certiorari in Smith
v. University of Washington School of Law (No. 00-1341) the
Court let stand the lower courts decision that the Fourteenth
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution permits university admissions
programs which consider race and that educational diversity is a
compelling governmental interest... [more]
Federal
Court Rules First Amendment Protects Professor's Right to Post Fliers
at University
The
U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that former University
of Montana-Northern theater professor Douglas Giebels free
speech rights were violated when fellow professor Stephen Sylvester
tore down Giebels handbills
[more]
Giebel
v. Sylvester: The Plaintiffs StoryI
In his own words, Doug Giebel recounts the intriguing story behind
his case
[more]
Alaskas
Limit on Contributions to Political Parties Ruled Unconstitutional
In
a victory for the First Amendment, a federal judge recently ruled
that Alaskas $5,000 limit on soft money contributions to political
parties is unconstitutional
[more]
Update:
Federal Judge Strikes Down Alaska's "Soft Money"
Ban
U.S.
District Judge James Singleton on June 11 struck down a section
of Alaskas political contributions law that banned corporate
and union contributions to political parties ("soft money
contributions"). Finding the ban violated the First Amendment
of the U.S. Constitution, Judge Singleton ruled that corporations
and unions can give unlimited amounts of "soft money"
to political parties, as long as none of the money goes towards
getting specific candidates elected. According to Judge Singleton,
contributions to a political party do not raise undue influence
issues. However, the judge let stand Alaskas ban against
corporate contributions to individual candidates.
This
decision reverses in part an April 10th opinion from
this judge, wherein he found it constitutional to ban corporate
contributions. There was no indication why he changed his mind.
The
assistant attorney general indicated that the state would appeal
the decision.
State
Class Action Crisis Continues With Microsoft
The
nation is currently engulfed in a huge state class action crisis,
which continues to get worse. Following in the wake of the millions
of dollars earned" by lawyers in the tobacco cases, lawyers
are lining up in front of courthouses to file consumer class action
cases against Microsoft. . . . following Judge Thomas Penfield Jacksons
decision ordering the break-up of Microsoft and restrictions on
certain of its business practices, over 100 consumer state class
actions have been filed
[more]
Supreme
Court Hears Oral Arguments In Commercial Speech Case
What
follows is the Center's first-hand account of the April 17 oral
arguments in United States v. United Foods, Inc.: As we were
leaving the Supreme Court yesterday a bewildered looking tourist
asked us if our noble Supreme Court was really concerning itself
with the mundane issue of mushroom advertising. The answer is "yes."
The reason, of course, goes much deeper...[more]
Tipping
The Melting Pot In Higher Education: Judge Rules Affirmative Action
Program Unconstitutional
A federal
judge set the stage today for a renewed debate, perhaps even in
the United States Supreme Court, over affirmative action programs
in higher education. In the March 27th ruling from the U.S. District
Court of Michigan, Southern Division, the judge found that the admission's
system of the University of Michigan law school was unconstitutional
because it considered an applicant's race... [more]
Supreme
Court Hears Oral Argument in The New York Times v. Tasini
By
Erik S. Jaffe: On Wednesday, March 28, 2000, the U.S. Supreme
Court heard oral argument in the case of The New York Times v. Tasini,
No. 00-201, regarding whether the inclusion of electronic versions
of a newspaper in a searchable database allowing recall and printing
of individual articles violated the copyrights of freelance authors
of such articles or instead simply constituted a "revision" of the
collective work of the newspaper
[more]
Internet
Filter Law Challenged
On
March 20, 2001, two groups filed lawsuits in Philadelphia challenging
the constitutionality of the Childrens Internet Protection
Act. The American Civil Liberties Union and the American Library
Association are challenging the new federal law that, as of April
20, requires libraries that receive federal funding to utilize internet
filtering software to block material that may be obscene or harmful
to minors
[more]
Student
Fees and the First Amendment
The
University of Wisconsin at Madison was back in the news recently
on the issue of student fees and whether or not their system for
distributing the fees to campus groups violates compelled speech
doctrine of the US Constitution
[more]
The
4 "Rs" Of Elementary Education: Reading, Writing, Arithmetic
and Religion
The
United States Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the
equal access case of Good News Club v. Milford Central School, No.
99-2036. This case is heard on appeal from the 2nd Circuit
decision that a New York elementary school policy limiting all religious
use of its facilities was reasonable because the exclusion was viewpoint
neutral and did not violate the free speech clause
[more]
Cell
Phone Privacy Rights v. Freedom of the Press
The
Bartnicki v. Vopper case before the US Supreme Court raises some
serious questions about where to draw the line between personal
privacy and freedom of the press. The Court heard oral arguments
in December, and is now faced with the task of sorting out privacy
issues surrounding third-party taping of private cellular phone
conversations and the right of the press to disseminate information
of public interest
[more]
Ohio's
State Motto Upheld
On
March 16, 2001, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled
9-4 that Ohio's 42 year-old state motto, "With God, all things are
possible," is constitutional. The Court ruled that the motto does
not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which
forbids Congress from making any law "respecting an establishment
of religion
" [more]
Modern
Campaign Finance Debate
It
is without a doubt true that the courts are becoming the ultimate
arbiters of many issues affecting our political process. Federal
Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee,
No. 00-91, is the sequel to a 1996 Supreme Court decision wherein
the Court held that political parties, like individuals, have a
First Amendment right to engage in independent expenditures
[more]
"Regulatory
Takings" under the Fifth Amendment
The
United States Supreme Court recently heard oral argument in a case
that could have significant impact on the treatment of "regulatory
takings" under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
In Palazzolo v. Rhode Island (99-2047), the Supreme Court is urged
by Petitioner to set reasonable parameters on establishing the availability
of compensation under the Takings Clause when regulation goes too
far
[more]
Freelance
Writers' Copyright Case Before Supreme Court
On
March 28, 2001, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral argument
in The New York Times Co., et al. v. Tasini, et al., (No. 00-201).
The Court will have to consider whether a publisher of a newspaper
or periodical has the right to electronically disseminate articles
which have appeared in prior print editions without seeking additional
permission from the freelance authors
[more]
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