San Francisco's Ban on Circumcision and Religious Liberty

I don't know if we will have time to cover this in class, but here is a post from the ReligionClause blog on a cutting edge issue:

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Constitutionality of San Francisco's Proposed Circumcision Ban Debated

A number of posts around the blogosphere in recent days debate the constitutionality of San Francisco's upcoming ballot issue (see prior posting) that would ban male circumcision on individuals under 18 years of age except in cases of clear medical necessity, with no exception for religiously mandated circumcision. The posts look at three related issues: free exercise issues (under state and federal law), parental rights issues, and the so-called "hybrid rights" doctrine (free exercise claims reinforced by a parental rights claim). Here are links to some of the more thoughtful analyses:

• Eugene Volokh, Proposed San Francisco Circumcision Ban (with No Discussion of Religious Freedom In This Post) [discussing parental rights issues].
• Eugene Volokh, Proposed San Francisco Circumcision Ban, and Religious Freedom
• Slate's Jeremy Singer-Vine, Snip: A San Francisco ballot measure would ban circumcision. Is that legal? [discussing free exercise issues]
• Michael Helfand, Why San Francisco Ballot Measure Proposing Circumcision Ban Is Unconstitutional [discussing hybrid rights theory]
• Mirror of Justice, Circumcision and Hybrid Rights

Cyber-Bullying Laws and First Amendment

From Volokh blog:

 

First Amendment and Proposed Restrictions on Bullying (and Cyber-Bullying) of K-12 Students

Eugene Volokh • May 17, 2011 4:04 pm

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights held a briefing last Friday on bullying (and cyber-bullying) of K-12 students; there were many people speaking about various aspects of this question, and in particular about whether and to what extent the federal government should get involved. I spoke about the First Amendment issues created by broad “anti-bullying” or “anti-harassment” policies, whether imposed by the federal government or by state or local governments.
If you’re interested in this subject, you might check out the videos of the various panels here (see the main item, and the first three related items). My own brief presentation starts at about 20:23, with follow-up questions and answers at 57:35, 1:01:00, and 1:13:58. You can also look at the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Dear Colleague letter to which I refer, and see my written testimony.