A study evaluated competing explanations for differences in the public records laws of the American states. Data for the study came from a review of the annotated statutes for the 48 contiguous states, summaries of appellate court interpretations, and attorney general opinions about the meaning of the laws' provisions. The laws were examined for…

An examination of recent cases involving press releases and public relations writers indicates that courts have devised several ways, including the use of guidelines set out by the Ollman (from "Ollman v. Evans") four-factor test, to make the distinction between fact and opinion. The four-factor test helps courts to assess (1) whether…

The political trials of the past two decades have shown the misuse and abuse of judicial summary contempt power in limiting individual liberty. The primary justification offered for use of the contempt power has been the need to deter obstruction of the administration of justice. The trials of the Chicago 7 and the Black Panthers were intricately…

An appreciation of the religious milieu of the John Peter Zenger libel case of 1735 can help explain the nature of the Zenger defense as prepared by Alexander Hamilton, the meaning of the jury's verdict, and the ambiguous legacy of the trial for freedom of expression in the United States. In essence, the case was a disputation on "truth"…

In 1984, a jury awarded $200,000 to the Rev. Jerry Falwell for emotional distress intentionally inflicted by a parody depicting Falwell as a drunkard who had incestuous relations with his mother in an outhouse. In 1988, in "Hustler v. Falwell," the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the verdict on First Amendment grounds. Although the…

A study examined the record of President Ronald Reagan's appointees of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals as regards decisions on communication law. One hundred thirty-nine cases--obtained by examining the civil liberties, libel, obscenity, privacy, records, and telecommunications entries of the volume indexes of the Federal Reporter,…

In theory, the Chinese Communist press is required to engage in criticism of other institutions and of Party or government bureaucrats through its news coverage and self-criticism of its own mistakes in response to criticism from readers. In practice, Party control of the press prevents any effective criticism or self-criticism. Basically, the…

A study attempted to ascertain whether Supreme Court Justice Warren Burger demonstrated a particularly unfavorable attitude toward the press in a pattern of press-related decisions. Sixty press freedom cases located through the indexes of the official "United States Reports" were examined. Hypothesis 1 predicted that Burger assigned…

Reports the major issues examined at the annual meeting of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP). These included the deteriorating economic status of university professors, the role and activities of AAUP, academic freedom and tenure, and collective bargaining by faculty members. (JR)

Examines Texas legislation and court cases as well as federal court cases to determine the extent to which students should be afforded constitutional guarantees. (JF)

The task of keeping language alive is a task for all teachers. (JH)

This paper traces twentieth-century Unitarian Universalism to its nineteenth-century transcendentalist roots by examining the communication patterns and philosophies of its proponents. Advocates of Unitarianism defend their religious/humanistic philosophy in terms of the Constitution's First Amendment rights to freedom of speech, reflecting their…

The Supreme Court's decision regarding executive privilege in the case of the United States v. Richard Nixon focused on specifics and left the greater issues of executive privilege untouched. This report summarizes the events leading up to Nixon's confrontation with the Supreme Court and examines the future of executive privilege. Questions raised…

This cumulative index provides a listing, by topic, of the following Freedom of Information Center reports: reports 1 through 340, summary papers S1 through S38, and opinion papers 001 through 0017. Subject titles include, among many others, "Academic Freedom,""Book Censorship,""Consumer Protection,""Gag…

This report represents an in-depth analysis of one institution of higher education's response to a New York State Department of Education mandate on the establishment of performance based teacher education (PBTE) programs, and it focuses on factors involved in the development of a PBTE program viewed from the perspective of intra- and…