Daily Archives: February 4, 2009

The University of Baltimore School of Law will hold its Second Annual Feminist Legal Theory Conference on Friday, March 6, 2009. The conference will bring together law students, legal academics, practitioners and activists to explore the concrete ways in which feminist legal theory is (or is not) changing the law. The day’s events will conclude with a keynote presentation from Dr. Maya Angelou.

A subcommittee formed to study a possible compromise in the city of Kalamazoo’s recently rescinded gay-rights ordinance will conduct its first meeting Friday.

The Natrona County Commission on Tuesday approved the necessary measures to allow Chevron Global Power Co. to build an 11-turbine wind farm on the Texaco property near Evansville north of the North Platte River. The commissioners also renewed liquor licenses for the controversial strip clubs Northern Dreams and Cowboys.

Reaching across the county border, Nassau County has filed suit against a strip club in Queens, arguing that the club’s risque billboards featuring a nearly naked woman are a public nuisance and should be removed.

Apparently the choice of media personality Ben Stein to be the commencement speaker at the University of Vermont generated such a brouhaha that Ben Stein bowed out. ON Monday, the UVM President Dan Fogel announced that Stein, whom Fogel had initially invited to come, would not be the speaker after all. Fogel said that Stein’s selection had generated an intense protest, that he had received hundreds of angry emails over the weekend and that after he had shared those “profound concerns” with Stein, Stein “immediately and graciously declined our commencement invitation.”

Proposed budget cuts submitted to Governor Bev Perdue by agency officials include a complete elimination of the State Abortion Fund. As North Carolina lawmakers face a potential budget shortfall of $2 billion, the Governor directed agencies to find ways to cut seven percent of their budgets. The Division of Social Services proposed nearly $17 million in cuts, including the entire $50,000 State Abortion Fund.

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the Portuguese government broke the law in preventing the Dutch abortion boat from landing when it attempted to enter Portuguese territory in 2004, when abortion was against the law. Abortionist and foundress of the “Women on Waves” project, Rebecca Gomperts, said she is delighted with the finding. “We shall use the judgment for new campaigns outside Europe,” she said.

The Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners approved a plan last week to study whether to offer domestic partnership benefits to the same-sex and opposite-sex partners of county employees. According to the Charlotte Observer, the Commission discussed the issue at a two-day planning retreat where it voted 6 to 3 to allow county staff to begin studying the issue including how much it would cost and any potential legal problems. The proposal was introduced by Commission chair, Jennifer Roberts, who argued that offering benefits to domestic partners is a matter of fairness. Some members of the commission expressed opposition to the proposal, including Commissioner Bill James, who raised questions about the legality of offering domestic partnership benefits in North Carolina.

The HRC Back Story Blog reports: “Attorney Leslie Hagen, who was fired from her position in the Bush Administration’s Justice Department due to rumors regarding her sexuality, was rehired to her DoJ position in the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys …

The Free Lance-Star: “The House of Delegates will vote today on a bill that would allow State Police chaplains to pray to Jesus Christ during official functions.”

GayPolitics.com reports: Servicemembers Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Aubrey Sarvis has rejected a new plan to study the implications of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” before the Obama administration attempts to repeal the policy . . . What we don’t …

Greg Baylor writes at the CLS Blog: “NPR did a story this morning about the future of the faith-based initiative under the Obama Administration. The story featured a CLS Center case, Pedreira v. Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children (KBHC) . …

The Christian Telegraph: Two British grandparents aged 59 and 46 have been told that they are too old and unfit to care for their grandchildren, who are to be placed with an adoptive homosexual couple, reports Catholic News Agency. The …

Advocates International has issued this press release on the Christian Newswire that report: Representing Concerned Women for America, America’s largest women’s advocacy group and four other groups of pro-life medical professionals, attorneys with Advocates International filed a motion to intervene …

Maine’s Family Policy Council has announced a rally to defeat same-sex “marriage” on February 15th.

Liberty Counsel: The highly controversial “stimulus” package is a monolithic spending bill containing language designed to stimulate the narrow interests of extreme left-wing activist organizations. The latest political payback tucked away in the estimated 1.1 trillion dollar spending bill will …

David Stras writes on Balkinization: . . . a reader sent me an article from the Connecticut Post reporting that a senior federal district court judge from Connecticut, Alan Nevas, made a decision to retire from the federal judiciary and …

Naperville Sun: “Patrons who drink a beer at Diamonds Gentlemen’s Club could soon be kicked out, if the DuPage County Board passes a new law prohibiting the alcohol consumption at adult business establishments . . . “

ACLJ: The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), focusing on constitutional law, today called on the U.S. Senate to remove a discriminatory provision in the economic stimulus package that unfairly targets religious activity at universities and colleges that receive …

Reuters: “A United States aid group has been thrown out of Sudan’s Darfur region after officials found thousands of Arabic-language bibles stacked in its office, state media reported on Saturday . . . “

Chicago Tribune: The Dodge County Board of Supervisors will hold a moment of silence to begin board meetings starting Feb. 10 instead of a prayer after a complaint. Dodge County Board Chairman Russell Kottke received a letter in January from …

The Daily Republic: More than 70 people attended an informational meeting designed to explain the Winner School District’s 2007 settlement agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union, with some audience members strongly voicing their concerns about the plan. Much of …

Sherry F. Colb writes at Findlaw: In March of last year, an eleven-year-old girl died of untreated diabetes, while her parents prayed for her recovery and chose not to consult a medical professional. The medical consensus is that Madeline Kara …

Townhall: According to Social Security trustee estimates, around 2016 the amount of Social Security benefits paid will exceed taxes collected. That means one of two things, or both, must happen: Congress will raise taxes and/or slash promised Social Security benefits. …

One News Now: “The judges in Minnesota’s Senate election trial threw Republican Norm Coleman a lifeline on Tuesday, opening the door to adding nearly 5,000 rejected absentee ballots to a race that Democrat Al Franken leads by just 225 votes.”

One News Now: “A dating service is targeting its advertising at married people — encouraging them to commit adultery . . . “

LifeNews: “To hear Barack Obama on the campaign tail, President Bush’s refusal to force taxpayers to fund life-destroying embryonic stem cell research was standing in the way of helping patients. Obama quickly reversed Bush’s protections against foreign abortion funding but …

The Capital Times: Just when local anti-abortion groups were wondering how they’d stay relevant with Democrats now in control of the Statehouse and White House, along comes Madison Surgery Center’s proposal to offer second-trimester abortions. The issue has, pardon the …

20090203 – A Liberal Plot against the Pope? Several Italian religious journalists (including Rodari, for Il Riformista, Tornielli, for Il Giornale) are reporting today on a dossier circulating within the Vatican which could reveal that a plot was planned for …

The ACLU has issued this press release: New Web Campaign, Tell-Three.org, Encourages People to Talk About What it Means to be LGBT Join the Impact has partnered with other national LGBT groups to develop a web based public education campaign, …

CNSNews: “Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), the committee chair, told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference Tuesday that Democrats on the committee are writing a global warming bill that she says will not only preserve the environment, but also help …

CNSNews: “House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said that he is concerned about the fact that much of the money that will be used for the $800-billion-plus stimulus bill under consideration in Congress must be borrowed from foreign sources, including the Peoples Republic of China.”

The Religion Clause Blog reports: “In Executive Board of the Missouri Baptist Convention v. Windermere Baptist Conference Center, (MO App., Feb. 3, 2009), a Missouri appellate court rejected attempts by the Missouri Baptist Convention to regain control of the valuable …

Alan Sears, ADF President and General Counsel, has this commentary on Townhall that begins: By almost any measurement, January wasn’t a very good month for children. As much as activists and politicians love to repeat the mantra that “children are …

Religion Clause Blog: “In H.S. v. Huntington County Community School Corporation, (ND IN, Feb. 3, 2009), an Indiana federal magistrate judge recommended that a preliminary injunction be granted in a challenge to a released time program at a Huntington, Indiana …

The Religion Clause Blog reports: “In United States v. Living Word Christian Center, (D MN, Jan. 30, 2009 . . . the court agreed that ‘an ‘appropriate high-level Treasury official’ has not made the necessary ‘reasonable belief’ determination required by …

Tony Mauro writes at the Legal Times: “High court experts say Elena Kagan is unlikely to roll back government positions in cases already under way . . . ”

Erin Irving writes at EdNews: Much is expected of Japanese students, but still, apparently the idea of expecting children to sit all day with only five-minute breaks in between classes is archaic and ridiculous. Japanese schools have learned that children …

The China Daily: “A research team at the Shandong Stem Cell Engineering Research Center has successfully cloned five human blastulas from 135 eggs on experiment, according to a press conference jointly held by the research center and a hospital in …

The Oregonian: Some 2,600 Oregon same-sex couples — about one in five — have registered for domestic partnerships since the civil unions became legal a year ago this week. An analysis by The Oregonian shows that nearly half of the …

The Fresno Bee: There’s a party mood at the nation’s largest gathering of gay activists after the inauguration of President Barack Obama . . . Some 2,000 members of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force erupted in whoops and …

One News Now: A conservative legal scholar is raising red flags about President Obama’s pick for deputy attorney general — namely his reliance on foreign law to interpret the U.S. Constitution. Heritage Foundation fellow Steven Groves is urging the Senate …

Orlando Sun-Sentinel reports: In a half-hour speech, he described the division on the nation’s highest court — not between liberal and conservative — but how the justices view the U.S. Constitution . . . is speech centered on two main …

The Hill: Following two cycles in which the party found itself perpetually on defense, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is giving early indications it intends to lambaste Democrats in a much more aggressive fashion in the 2010 cycle. Observers …

The Hill: “Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) on Tuesday opened the door to resigning his seat before his term ends in 2010, but insisted he won’t be leaving anytime soon . . . “

HSLDA reports: “A committee of the Rapid City School Board wants to fix the system’s broken budget by recruiting homeschoolers . . . ”

The House Judiciary Committee voted 5-4 for the joint resolution . . . If the bill gains two-thirds support in the House and Senate and the governor’s approval, the people of Wyoming will vote on it.

The Washington Blade: “Alison Nathan, who until recently was a fellow at New York University’s law school and a visiting assistant professor at Fordham’s law school, was chosen for the role.”

NY Daily News: “Same-sex marriages that are valid elsewhere should be recognized under New York law, a city judge has ruled, clearing the way for a Manhattan man to inherit the multi-million dollar estate of his late husband.” Related: Manhattan …

LA Times: . . . There was excessive vulgarity or profanity used throughout the book,” said Rick Fauss, superintendent of the nearly 2,700-student Newman Crows Landing Unified School District. “The context didn’t … make it acceptable.” English teachers, the community, …

The Pacific Justice Institute reports: “The Sacramento City Council will consider today whether to officially add the city’s name to a legal brief opposing Proposition 8. Cities and counties throughout California are weighing similar actions – even in jurisdictions where …

This paper will review whether, and on what basis, international law can accommodate challenges to the supremacy of international law based on the protection of fundamental rules of domestic law.

In this Essay, I consider whether recent scientific findings about the nature of human attitude formation and decisionmaking, and the social cues that drive behavior, might have the potential to shift the hate speech debate such that some areas of common ground come into view. Specifically, new insights in the areas of social and cognitive psychology and brain development suggest that there may be a “third way” that escapes some of the most difficult criticisms of both the strong free speech and the procensorship positions and that incorporates some of the most important insights of each.

Sex is a “hot-button” topic for many Americans, and exposure of students to sex-related information in American public schools is even more inflammatory, especially for parents of elementary school students. Commentator Tara Dahl played on these parents’ sensibilities, achieving shock value by her assertion in her April 2008 article that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Fields v. Palmdale School District usurped the right of parents to direct the care and upbringing of their children.

“The justices announced a March 5 hearing on the constitutionality of the ban on same-sex marriage. Their decision will come within 90 days of the session.”

Oregon, the only U.S. state with legalized physician-assisted suicide, and the Netherlands, the only country in Europe with legalized euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, have kept extensive records of the use of end-of-life treatments. These records show that physicians in Oregon and the Netherlands generally follow the law, that legalization shapes physicians’ behavior, and that legalization may improve end-of-life care. Dr. Jackson Pickett uses empirical data from these two jurisdictions to analyze the effects of legalization on end-of-life care and suggests some goals that any future legalization should seek to accomplish.

Twentieth-century American legal history is notable for a series of equal-rights struggles and partial, majestic triumphs. Since the 1950s, activists have insisted that the nation confront its formal policies of white supremacy and their legacies. Since the 1960s, women have demanded an end to unequal protection before the law and broader rights to control their bodies and the social, economic, and political conditions of their lives. And, since the 1970s, equality advocates have compelled Congress and the federal courts to address their disabled clients’ inferior status under the law. Although each of these landmark battles endures, with much work yet to be done to eliminate cumulative privilege for some Americans and cumulative disadvantage for others, those unfinished revolutions will likely await the resolution of the battle over the civil rights of American citizens who are also gay individuals or couples. And at stake is more than simply a license to marry. Like its predecessors, this epic battle is about again asserting the constitutional entitlement to equal dignity of all American citizens.

Americans and Europeans have very different ideas of the strength of their respective free speech guarantees. In an article by Professors Russell Weaver, Nicolas Delpierre, and Laurence Boissier on the Gayssot laws of France, we encounter an account of a free speech regime that would be an anathema to most Americans. In this Essay, I explore the different thoughts an American lawyer and a European lawyer have to help us understand why arguments that are persuasive to lawyers of one country might not be similarly persuasive to lawyers from other countries with very different cultures.

LA Times: “Reporting from Washington — California’s farms and vineyards could vanish by the end of the century, and its major cities could be in jeopardy, if Americans do not act to slow the advance of global warming, Secretary of …