Jan

12

Amid Differences, a Call to Work Together to Improve Mental Health Treatment

Posted by: | January 12, 2012 | 1 Comment

It wasn’t part of her prepared remarks, but Prof. Lucinda Roy of Virginia Tech University may have offered an especially important point as she began her keynote address at a conference Wednesday at Eckstein Hall on mental illness commitment laws and other issues related to mental illness. It had been an intense, and at times [...]

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Dec

13

American Indians and Equal Protection

Posted by: | December 13, 2011 | Leave a Comment

This is the second in a series of posts addressing some of the most commonly asked questions regarding American Indians, Indian Tribes, and the law. The first post addressed casinos, hunting and fishing rights, and taxes. This second post, unlike the first, is devoted to just one question, namely, why doesn’t the unique legal treatment [...]

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Dec

8

Why the Permit Policies in the U.S. Capitol Are Irrelevant

Posted by: | December 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Confusion continues over the new Department of Administration rules announced December 1 which require advance permits for many demonstrations held within the Wisconsin State Capitol. Among the more controversial aspects of the policy are its applicability to small groups of protestors and the discretion granted to the State Capitol police to require permit seekers to [...]

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Dec

3

What Price Protest?

Posted by: | December 3, 2011 | 4 Comments

On December 1, the Wisconsin Department of Administration released new rules governing access to state facilities, including the State Capitol, for protests, rallies, demonstrations and any other “gathering of four or more people for the purpose of actively promoting any cause.” You may read the entire policy here. The most controversial aspects of the new [...]

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Nov

28

New Affirmative Action Cases

Posted by: | November 28, 2011 | 2 Comments

[Editor's Note: This month, faculty members are posting on upcoming judicial decisions of particular interest. This is the second post in the series.] It seems almost certain that the Supreme Court will again take up the issue of affirmative action in higher education, as two highly controversial cases separately make their way up the appellate ladder. On two [...]

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Nov

1

Orcas and the Thirteenth Amendment

Posted by: | November 1, 2011 | Leave a Comment

This last week, a lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California alleging that SeaWorld’s captivity and exploitation of five wild-captured orcas, or so-called killer whales, amounts to slavery and involuntary servitude in violation of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  The nominal plaintiffs are the orcas themselves—Tilikum, [...]

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Oct

8

Not a Pretty Picture: Potential Challenges to Wisconsin’s Voter ID Law

Posted by: | October 8, 2011 | 6 Comments

In August 2011, The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin publicly announced its intention to file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new Wisconsin Voter ID law. While no complaint has been filed as of date, and it is undoubtedly foolish predict the likelihood of success of any lawsuit without first reading the complaint, [...]

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Oct

7

R.I.P. Derrick Bell, Pioneer of Critical Race Theory

Posted by: | October 7, 2011 | 2 Comments

  On Wednesday of this week, the world lost several visionaries. Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, a prominent civil rights activist, and Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, Inc. both died.  But there was a third visionary whose light went out on Wednesday:  Derrick Bell. Bell was a visiting professor of law at New York University School of [...]

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Sep

25

The Supreme Court and the Fate of the Ministerial Exception

Posted by: | September 25, 2011 | Leave a Comment

In 1999, Cheryl Perich began service as a lay teacher at the Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in Redford, Michigan.  A year later, she became a “called teacher,” selected by the congregation to serve as a commissioned minister and charged with duties of a more pastoral nature, such as teaching religion classes, leading the [...]

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May

17

Ratner: Even Osama Should Have Had Criminal Rights

Posted by: | May 17, 2011 | Leave a Comment

Michael Ratner would have treated the pursuit of Osama bin Laden as a law enforcement matter, not as a matter of war. He would rather have seen bin Laden arrested, brought to trial, and given the rights of a criminal defendant than shot on the spot by Navy SEALS. This almost certainly doesn’t put Ratner [...]

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Mar

30

Connick v. Thompson: Both Answers Are Right — What Was the Question Again?

Posted by: | March 30, 2011 | 1 Comment

In Supreme Court cases, the majority and dissent sometimes talk right past one another, framing the question for decision so differently that they almost seem to be writing about different cases.  See, e.g., the dueling opinions earlier this week in Connick v. Thompson (No. 09-571).  Thompson was convicted of attempted armed robbery and murder, and then [...]

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Jan

10

Ryne Duren and the Integration of Minor League Baseball

Posted by: | January 10, 2011 | 2 Comments

Rinold George “Ryne” Duren, one of Wisconsin’s most famous baseball pitchers, passed away at his Florida winter home on January 6, at age 81.   Born in Cazenovia, Wisconsin in 1929, Duren was not permitted to pitch while a high school student out of fear for the safety of the other players; however, he did star [...]

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