Student privacy rights involving strip searches

The Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution provides protection of all citizens against unreasonable search and seizure. The US Supreme Court has affirmed that the basic purpose of the Fourth Amendment is to safeguard the privacy and security of individuals against unreasonable intrusive searches by governmental officials. Since students possess constitutional rights and public school officials are considered governmental officials for Fourth Amendment purposes, privacy protection is afforded students in public schools within reasonable limits. A reasonable search is one that clearly does not violate the constitutional rights of students. What is reasonable, however, depends on the context within which a search occurs. Strip searches involving students in public schools are the most intrusive form of all searches. Extreme caution should be exercised by school officials regarding these types of searches.     

The Balance Between Student Drug Testing and Fourth Amendment Rights in Response to Board of Education v. Earls

In 1995, the United States Supreme Court rendered its decision in Vernonia School District 47J v. Acton , holding that a school district's random suspicionless drug testing of student athletes for participation in interscholastic athletics did not violate the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. In light of the Acton decision and in response to statistics indicating that drug use among students is rising, a number of school districts nationwide implemented mandatory drug testing for students. A 2001 study of the student drug-testing policies of Texas school districts confirmed this trend. The Supreme Court recently revisited the issue of random suspicionless drug testing of students in Board of Education v. Earls , where it upheld the district's policy requiring drug testing of students in any extra-curricular activities. This article examines the effects of the Supreme Court's decision in Board of Education v. Earls on Texas school districts' student drug-testing policies.     

Student-led law reviews: what every UK law school needs?

In the United States (US) student-run law reviews have long offered students the opportunity to develop their skills as editors and members of a publication team and to engage with new legal research. With law ordinarily taught as a three-year postgraduate degree, these reviews are normally staffed by a postgraduate editorial team. Similar efforts in the United Kingdom (UK) have largely been short-lived. Some venerable academic journals, such as the Cambridge Law Journal, started their lives as student-centred projects, but academics soon assumed control of the process because of the variable quality of undergraduate editing. This false start proved difficult to recover from, but a spate of newly founded student law reviews in the last decade suggests that these publications have increasing traction in UK legal education. This article evaluates the challenges and potential benefits of these efforts to translate US practice into UK law schools in light of the experience of creating and maintaining the North East Law Review, a student-led periodical based at Newcastle University which publishes student-generated content based on high-quality coursework submissions. This process potentially enhances the assessment process, with the student editorial team preparing essays for publication and student authors re-engaging with their work in light of feedback. Publishing such essays furthermore allows all students to benchmark their own work against excellent coursework performance.     

Black and White School Violence

Abstract

This study examines racial, social, and contextual-environmental factors to determine what effects they have in predicting the likelihood of student victimizations in urban, suburban, and rural schools. In doing so, it seeks to answer two basic questions-Is school violence more prevalent among African-American students in urban schools? And if so, which factors predict the likelihood of one being victimized in urban schools compared to suburban and rural schools? The results of this study indicate that race was not significant in predicting victimizations among students in either urban, suburban, or rural school districts. However, the probability of student victimizations increased for students who attended school in the Western regions of the U.S. where student diversity is greater. Also, students who attended schools where gangs, drugs, weapons, and security were present were more likely to be victimized than those who did not have these elements in their schools. Finally, the regression models for school crimes did better in predicting student victimizations than the personal and property crime models.     

Tarasoff in Missouri: The jurisprudence of a mental health provider's duty to warn and protect non-patients of potential risks from patients

In 1976, the Supreme Court of California issued its well-known Tarasoff Principle. From this principle, other courts found a duty to warn, and some found more than just a duty to warn, a duty to protect. As courts in other states adopted a version of the Tarasoff Principle, they issued a wide variety of third-party liability rules. In light of the dynamic, everchanging Tarasoff jurisprudence in the United States and recent relevant appellate court opinion in Missouri, a timely updated summary and update of Tarasoff-related jurisprudence in Missouri is warranted. In the present analysis, we compiled the four appellate court decisions that pertained to the questions of Tarasoff-like third-party liability in the State of Missouri: Sherrill v. Wilson (1983), Matt v. Burrell (1995), Bradley v. Ray (1995), and Virgin v. Hopewell (2001). We reviewed all legal measures for clinicians to protect nonpatients in Missouri, not just those that relate to protecting nonpatients from violence as in a Tarasof-like scenario. Thus, this paper concisely provides a compendium of such options and allows for a meaningful comparison of which legal, protective measures are mandatory and which are permissive, thereby evoking the question of whether measures of protecting nonpatients from a patient's violent acts ought to be mandatory duties or permissive application of professional judgment.     

Law teaching at colleges of further education

Scholars have long agreed upon the interrelated rationales for a diverse law faculty, which include the recognition of the value of multi-perspective and multicultural education and scholarship, the promotion of non-discrimination and prevention of discrimination in the legal academy and legal community at large, and the benefits of minority mentors and role models for minority students. This article will make use of the United States Supreme Court’s 2003 landmark decision in Grutter v Bollinger to illuminate how its diversity rationale in the admission of law students should extend to the hiring of minority law faculty members. Further, it will argue that “racial minorities” should include not only African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans, but also Asian Americans. Finally, law schools should include foreign professors in their affirmative action hiring efforts in this era of globalisation. Although this article focuses more upon faculty hiring than student admission, to the extent that it appropriates the Grutter rationale to discuss affirmative action hiring, affirmative action admission will also be a significant part of the discussion. After all, a diverse law faculty and a diverse student body are inseparable components of a supportive and friendly law school environment.     

Geophysics and the search of freshwater bodies: A review

Geophysics may assist scent dogs and divers in the search of water bodies for human and animal remains, contraband, weapons and explosives by surveying large areas rapidly and identifying targets or environmental hazards. The most commonly applied methods are described and evaluated for forensic searches. Seismic reflection or refraction and CHIRPS are useful for deep, open water bodies and identifying large targets, yet limited in streams and ponds. The use of ground penetrating radar (GPR) on water (WPR) is of limited use in deep waters (over 20 m) but is advantageous in the search for non-metallic targets in small ditches and ponds. Large metal or metal-bearing targets can be successfully imaged in deep waters by using towfish magnetometers: in shallow waters such a towfish cannot be used, so a non-metalliferous boat can carry a terrestrial magnetometer. Each device has its uses, depending on the target and location: unknown target make-up (e.g. a homicide victim with or without a metal object) may be best located using a range of methods (the multi-proxy approach), depending on water depth. Geophysics may not definitively find the target, but can provide areas for elimination and detailed search by dogs and divers, saving time and effort.     

School violence prevention measures: School officials' attitudes about various strategies

Concern about school violence has been escalating in recent years. A variety of strategies are used in efforts to prevent violence in schools. These remedies can be classified as legal, interactionist, and physical remedies. Legal remedies refer to laws, like the reasonable suspicion to search strategy that allows school officials to search and seize contraband. Interactionist remedies refer to practices that encourage students and other school officials to communicate more openly with school officials about possible cases of violence. Physical remedies refer to strategies that involve altering the school environment in an effort to prevent violence. This study considered the way that 138 school officials from the Commonwealth of Virginia defined the usefulness of these strategies. Attention was also given to whether certain factors contribute to the officials' assessments of the efficacy of each prevention strategy. Results of the study showed that the interactionist, and then legal remedies are believed to be the most useful, while physical remedies are perceived as the least useful strategies. The study uncovered differences of opinion based on racial lines. As an example, more Blacks than Whites were more likely to describe metal detectors as a very useful strategy. Implications of the study are provided.     

Fighting Discrimination with Discrimination: Public Universities and the Rights of Dissenting Students

This article discusses recent legal conflicts between state universities and conservative religious students in the United States, focusing on Christian Legal Society v. Martinez. In recent years, several universities have denied recognition to religious student organizations that discriminate on the basis of religion or sexual orientation. I argue that scholars on both sides of the issue have failed to recognize the full scope of the privilege that the universities demand. If the courts accept the universities' demands, then the courts dangerously expand the government's authority to suppress dissenters. No proponent of civil liberties should welcome this change.     

Kogan v Martin: A New Framework for Joint Authorship in Copyright Law

The Court of Appeal has set out a new framework for the application of copyright law's joint authorship test in a recent landmark case. Kogan v Martin brings some welcome clarity to the complex joint authorship landscape, embedding an inclusive pro-collaboration default standard. This case note contrasts the appeal court's nuanced framing of the dispute with the first instance court's narrower approach. The note then examines the new joint authorship framework and explains how it allows the test to be applied with an eye to the reality of collaborative creative endeavours. Finally, the significance of Kogan v Martin is highlighted, as are some questions which remain unanswered.     

Religion in the Workplace: Eweida and Others v United Kingdom

The European Court of Human Rights judgment in Eweida and Others v United Kingdom dealt with the increasingly controversial questions of religious symbols at work and the clash between free conscience and anti‐discrimination norms. In a change of approach, it held that the right to resign could no longer be seen as adequate protection for religious freedom and that workplace norms that restrict religious liberty must satisfy a proportionality test. However, it accorded a wide margin of appreciation to States in reconciling freedom of conscience and freedom from discrimination, ruling that the importance of non‐discrimination could justify a failure to exempt a religious individual from complying with a policy forbidding discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.     

The sex offender next door: deconstructing the United States' obsession with sex offender registries in an age of neoliberalism

In the 1990s, against the backdrop of an ascending Age of Neoliberalism, sex offender registration statutes were passed in the United States. These laws require law enforcement officials to utilize computer technologies in order to publicly identify individuals who have been convicted of sexual offenses. In this study, we conducted in-depth interviews with twenty-four respondents who were forced to register as sex offenders. All of these participants resided within Southeast Texas, which is arguably one of the most punitive regions within the United States. The vast majority of the sample reported moderate to severe forms of harassment as a result of being outed as sex offenders via computer technologies. We conclude that in the post-Keynesian United States, the Web-based monitoring of sex offenders will continue to remain a popular American pastime and may even expand to other industrialized democracies throughout the world.     

The Angry Pamphleteer: True Threats,Political Speech,and Applying Watts v. United States in the Age of Twitter

Since the 1969 case Watts v. United States, courts have consistently held that politically motivated speech about or directed to public figures may be punished if it qualifies as a “true threat” rather than protected political hyperbole. Criticism of public officials lies at the core of First Amendment protection, even when that criticism is caustic or crude. Such caustic speech appears on Twitter with increasing frequency, often pushing the boundaries of the constitutional guarantees of free speech. Through an analysis of the political speech-true threat cases that apply Watts, this study identifies and assesses three distinct modes of analysis that lower courts use to distinguish political speech from true threats. They are: (1) criteria-based analysis; (2) ad hoc balancing; and (3) a form of balancing referred to herein as “line-crossing analysis.” This study concludes that criteria-based analysis is the most prominent mode used by lower courts. As applied to new media and political participation, criteria-based analysis risks unduly restricting valuable political speech.     

To view or not to view: Examining the plain view doctrine and digital evidence

The very nature of digital evidence, defined as evidence stored on any form of magnetic media, makes the proper collection of such evidence an important consideration during seizure. Historically, courts have attempted to apply jurisprudence developed for the physical world to cases involving the cyber world. As a result, confusing guidelines have been created for those who handle computerrelated investigations. This article examined the issue of warrantless searches and seizures of digital evidence justified under the plain view doctrine. Through examination of the Fifth Circuit decision, United States v. Carey (1999), and the Virginia district court decision, United States v. Gray (1999), it was determined that proper seizure of digital evidence under the plain view doctrine requires: 1) access to the evidence be obtained legally, 2) the apparent illegal nature of the evidence be immediately known, and 3) the officer cannot abandon their original search.     

POLICING RACE: THE RACIAL STRATIFICATION OF SEARCHES IN POLICE TRAFFIC STOPS*

Research on race effects in police traffic stops is theoretically underdeveloped. In this study, we derive propositions from Donald Black's theory of law to explain the interaction effects of officer and driver race on searches in traffic stops in St. Louis, Missouri. Our citywide results and those for stops in predominantly White communities are generally consistent with the theory: Searches are more likely in stops of Black drivers than in those of White drivers, especially by White officers, controlling for other characteristics of the officer, driver, and stop. In predominantly Black communities, however, stops of White drivers by White officers are most likely to result in a search. We interpret both sets of results as manifestations of racial profiling in segregated communities and suggest that Black's theory of law remains a promising theoretical framework for future research on the continuing significance of race‐based policing in the United States.     

Barricaded Captive Situations in Schools: Mitigation and Response

Although not common occurrences, schools are occasionally the site of barricaded captive events. To date little research has examined these acts of school violence. The purpose of this article is to describe 19 school barricaded captive events that occurred between February, 1998 and September, 2007 in the United States. Data were analyzed by examination of news reports of each incident, and include the following variables: Incident location (state, community), school level and size, time of day of the event, location of the event within the school, age and sex of the subjects, information about the captives, presence of school resource officers, student screening mechanisms, behavioral changes of the subjects, the subject’s expected outcomes, injuries or fatalities, demands and deadlines, captive escapes and releases, weapons, incident resolution, tactical team response, and negotiations. Results pertain to incident demographics, prevention/mitigation, and response.     

Transforming Fair Use Online: The Ninth Circuit's Productive-Use Analysis of Visual Search Engines

Courts have increasingly looked to the concept of “transformative use” to determine whether the use of a copyrighted work is protected under the fair use doctrine. Judge Pierre Leval's definition of transformative use, adopted by the Supreme Court of the United States in its 1994 opinion in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., requires that a transformative use must (1) be socially beneficial, (2) be used in a different way or purpose from the original, and (3) add value to the original by using it as raw material to create something new. This article examines the fair use analysis undertaken by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in two recent cases involving visual search engines and concludes that the court's test of transformative use ignored the language and the meaning of the Campbell definition and instead equated a finding of a different purpose with a finding of a transformative use. This departure from traditional transformative use analysis, if generally adopted by the court, would represent a significant and potentially troubling doctrinal shift in fair use analysis.     

Enhancing Rescue in Chapter 11: Lessons from Reform Efforts in the United Kingdom

This is a dynamic time for insolvency law. Many jurisdictions have made or are considering reforms to their insolvency regimes. The United Kingdom has proposed a new standalone restructuring mechanism that incorporates many attributes of Chapter 11, including a cross-class cram down and the absolute priority rule. A distinctive feature of the UK proposal is the infusion of judicial discretion permitting courts to deviate from the absolute priority rule. This discretion is not permitted in the United States. This judicial discretion addresses a key problem with the application of the absolute priority rule in the United States—it may serve as an impediment to reorganization. This impediment is exacerbated by the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Czyzewski v. Jevic Holding Corp., which impacts the effective use of Chapter 11 rescue tools. This article explores the absolute priority rule, the problems associated with it, and the effect of Jevic in the United States. Drawing on the UK reform proposal, I argue that the United States should implement reforms that infuse judicial discretion into the application of the absolute priority rule. Doing so will facilitate the underlying policy goal of rescuing the company in Chapter 11 and also promote a broader policy goal of rescuing the business.     

Naturalizing the Artificial Citizen: Repeating Lochner's Error in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

In March, the Supreme Court of the United States, in a 5-4 vote, handed down Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a sweeping ruling providing more protection for corporate political media spending as First Amendment “speech” than ever before. This article demonstrates that Citizens United nullified a century of democratic will by representing First Amendment protection for such spending to be part of nature rather than a legal construct. If Cass Sunstein's influential assessment is correct that the lesson of Lochner v. New York is the judicial error inherent in imposing such artificial baselines to measure the constitutionality of government regulation, then Citizens United can be understood to repeat that error.     

Fatal Injuries of Law Enforcement/Correctional Officers Attacked with Sharp‐Edged Weapons,

According to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, there were 117 law enforcement fatalities in the United States in 2015. Assaults with sharp‐edged weapons have resulted in a total of over 400 fatalities in the United States. The goal of the current research was to examine sharp‐edged weapon assaults against law enforcement and correctional agents that resulted in a fatal outcome. A total of twelve autopsy reports were reviewed from across the United States. Four cases involved law enforcement officers, seven involved correctional officers, and one was an off‐duty border officer. The male‐to‐female ratio was 11:1. A total of 70.2% of the wounds analyzed were stab wounds (n = 85), and 29.8% of the wounds were slash wounds (n = 36). Based on this review, the neck, shoulder, and chest regions were the most vulnerable to single fatal stab/slash wounds. Multiple stab/slash wounds often resulted in exsanguination. The use of body armor was only noted in one case.