The Study Corner

473 – To Allow Opt Outs or Not to Allow Opt Outs, That is the Question

The question of if and when parents should be allowed to opt their children out of certain activities and curriculum in public schools has been raging for quite a while. With our societies rapidly changing standards, the need for parents to oversee and control the upbringing of their children has become even more important. Yet the Montgomery County School Board decided that in one area of instruction, story time, parents of children as young as three would not be allowed to opt their children out of religiously objectionable material. Did the School Board violate the First Amendment, or maybe another one?

472 – Are You Religious Enough?

The State of Wisconsin exempts religious organizations from their unemployment tax system. Even though everyone agrees that Catholic Charities is controlled by a church, Wisconsin Supreme Court held that Catholic Charities is not “operated primarily for religious purposes”, and therefore does not qualify for the exemption. Catholic Charities appealed to the Supreme Court to ask if that decision violated the First Amendment.

471 – Beginning of the End for the Johnson Amendment

How many of you know about the Johnson Amendment? If you’ve ever donated to a church or other charity, you’ve been impacted by this amendment. This limitation on freedom of speech has been in effect for over 70 years. And now, the House of Representatives is trying to remedy this infringement.

470 – Automatic License Plate Readers

There will always be tension between our desire for privacy and safety. We’re all for privacy, until we find that an invasion of said privacy could have stopped some terrible event. But are we willing to trade our privacy for safety?

“They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security.”
— Benjamin Franklin

In the case of SCHOLL and BEDNARZ v. Illinois State Police the privacy question revolves around automatic license place readers (ALPRs) and what makes a search reasonable.

469 – The Latest SCOTUS Gun Rights Infringement

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468 – Whose Safety Matters More?

Imagine you are stopped by law enforcement. Maybe you were doing something wrong, maybe not. At this point, when you are in the custody of law enforcement, whose safety matters more? In the 2017 Fourth Circuit case United States v. Robinson, the question came up, does officer safety trump your right against unreasonable search and seizure, even your own safety?

467 – Duty to Violate your Rights

As a lifelong gun owner, I understand the awesome responsibility of owning a weapon. After getting my concealed carry license many years ago, I came to understand the greater responsibility of having a deadly weapon on my person. But as a constitutional scholar, I’ve come to realize just how badly states are infringing on our rights, simply because we decide to exercise one of them.

Today, I want to talk about “duty to inform” laws. After all, if the presence of a firearm is a threat to officer safety, than the officer’s firearm is a threat to my safety.

466 – Heterosexual Discrimination

Ibriam Kendi is often quoted as saying “The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination.” But is that true? Above the main entrance to the Supreme Court is a promise chiseled into the marble façade, “equal justice under law”. How can we have equal justice under law if one side is always discriminating against another?

Enter the case of Ames v. OH Dept. of Youth Services, where Marlean Ames claims she was discriminated in her job because of her sexual orientation. What makes this case uniques is, Ms. Ames is heterosexual, and the Sixth Circuit claimed that ment she had a higher burden of proof than a homosexual.