The Law Division of the proceedings contains the following 8 papers: "The Neutral Reportage Doctrine 25 Years After: An Update on the Still 'Fletdgling' Libel Defense" (Kyu Ho Youm); "Personal Jurisdiction Over Media Libel Cases in the Internet Age" (Robert L. Spellman); "A Framework for Electronic Access to Court Records…

Describes a lawsuit filed in January 1982 by New Hampshire students, parents, and school districts charging that the state's elementary and secondary education system's heavy reliance on local property taxes violates the state constitution by creating substantial inequities in the funds available per pupil in each district. (Author/RW)

Examines the "Holdman" case and discusses how the constitutional and legal requirements of Hawaii's Equal Rights Amendment should serve to redress sex discrimination in athletics. Available from University of Hawaii Law Review, University of Hawaii School of Law, 1400 Lower Campus Road, Honolulu, HI 96822. (Author/IRT)

Executive administrators are vulnerable to the malice and defamatory attacks of critics on and off their campuses. Documents the impact of the actual malice standard on public higher education administrators since the United States Supreme Court's 1964 decision in "New York Times Co. v. Sullivan." Reviews "New York Times" and…

Discusses history and purpose of state open-records laws. Surveys how parties make open-records requests, various causes of action, and sanctions for noncompliance. Examines how open-records requests related to district investigations can implicate the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. Attempts to find appropriate balance between public's…

Courts in New York and Texas have imposed limits on psychiatric research involving involuntarily institutionalized patients as subjects, citing state and constitutional protection of privacy, due process, and equal protection. Some are concerned that mental health research and treatment will suffer. (MSE)

School reformers have been calling for reductions in the size of large urban districts. A statutory approach to devolution is available in many states: citizens petition the appropriate government authority for district reorganization, or detachment, from the school district in which they are located. Illinois law and court decisions are used to…

New Jersey Supreme Court, in "Abbott v. Burke (Abbott II)," held that state's Public School Education Act of 1975 was unconstitutional. Notes that initial impact of "Abbott II" is to put pressure on legislators to correct funding system; challenge will require educators to overhaul their patterns of behavior in administration,…

Since the U.S. Supreme Court's 1972 landmark "Rodriguez" decision (constitutionally challenging Texas's school-finance system), courts have increasingly used student assessments as evidence of educational adequacy and focused more on educational quality than fiscal equity. Despite pitched battles, a consensus of adequacy and quality may…

The United States Supreme Court is currently deliberating the case of "Kiryas Joel." At issue is a public school district set up specifically to meet the religious needs of an orthodox Jewish community, as the community defines them. Presents opposing arguments from the New York State School Boards Association and the National Jewish…

The potential for wrongful discharge of an employee based on false accusations has increased. Suggests guidelines for policies and procedures of district investigations if stigmatizing accusations against an employee could ruin a career even if they are found to be false. Reviews two recent cases. Suggests possible nonjudicial remedies available…

Describes state and federal court cases involving prohibited teacher conduct, including immorality; termination for immoral conduct, especially involving students, related to job performance; and termination for immoral conduct unrelated to job performance. Discusses the need to find a "nexus" between the teacher's conduct outside the…

This article concerns an issue that often remains implicit within the public debate about affirmative action and related race-conscious education policies: What role do contested moral ideals play in the disagreement about affirmative action? As background, the article first outlines what a moral disagreement is and then goes on to examine the…

The Maryland Gun Violence Act, enacted into law in 1996, explicitly authorized courts to order batterers to surrender their firearms through civil protective orders. It also vested law enforcement with the explicit authority to remove guns when responding to a domestic violence complaint. In order to assess how these laws were implemented, we…

In 1972, the Maryland Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) became law in that state. The amendment provides that "Equality of rights under the law shall not be abridged or denied because of sex." This document surveys the legislative reforms that have been enacted to implement the ERA in the 12 years following the law's ratification. It also…