Prof. Paulsen on Repudiating Roe v Wade

Here is an article on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case before the Court next Term which might result in the overruling of Roe v. Wade and Casey.

Repudiating Roe (Part I): The Most Important Abortion Case in Thirty Years

 

Repudiating Roe (Part II): The Pernicious Doctrine of Stare Decisis

 Highly recommended!

Non-Disclosure Agreements and the First Amendment

 Suppose I get a job as the chauffeur for a famous actress. When I enter into my employment agreement, I agree to a non-disclosure clause, a clause pursuant to which I agree not to disclose any personal information I learn about my famous employer. If I violate the confidentiality agreement and disclose some harmful information about my celebrity employer, may she sue to recover damages for my breach of contract? Do I have a First Amendment defense? Is the contract lawsuit state action triggering the First Amendment? Or is my contractual promise the source of the restrictions on my freedom to disclose this information?

State Action and My "House Rules"

                                                 The Universal Symbol For Choking

 

Suppose I throw a faculty cocktail party at my home and Denicola shows up wearing a New York Yankee Hat. When I greet him at the door, I inform him that if he wishes to come in he must take off his Yankee hat and leave it in his car. He refuses to remove the hat, and when I ask him to leave my property he declines. I call the LPD and Officer Friendly arrests Denicola for trespass. 

At his criminal trial, does Denicola have a 1A Freedom of Speech claim, based upon my viewpoint-based house rules forbidding Yankee hats or Yankee clothing? Why or why not?

But now assume Denicola pickets on the sidewalk in front of my house saying very mean things about the Red Sox and about the eternal damnation of people who support the Red Sox. I sue him for the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress and recover $100,000 for the emotional damage he has caused me. Does Denicola have a Free Speech defense against this speech-restricting tort claim?

Con Law I: Class Eleven (June 3) Assignment

 Assignment

15. State Action Requirement: Casebook p. 1071-1087

16. Casebook p. 1088-1105

 Note well: Because I have committed to using at least an hour of the June 3 class for exam prep Q & A, our class discussion will focus on only two cases--Flagg Brothers (p. 1074) and Shelley (p. 1079).

No Videos

 

 Zoom Session

Join from Zoom Tab on Canvas (3:15 to 5 PM)

I will reserve the last 45 minutes for Q & A.

Final Exam Information

The Final exam will be given Friday June 4 from 9 AM to 1 PM.

 As we discussed during class, the final exam will consist of two medium-length essay questions (of 100 points each) plus a third question (worth 25 points) asking you to affirm your attendance for Zoom classes. One of the essay questions will be a traditional question involving a factual hypothetical. The other essay question will consist of my asking you to write a dissenting opinion analyzing the majority opinion of one of the cases we read for this course (either in the casebook or via a link I provided). 

Here is the kind of dissenting opinion I have in  mind:

The kind of critique I have in mind is what you might find in a thoughtful dissent responding to the reasoning of the majority opinion. Your paper should explain the main points of the majority’s reasoning fairly and charitably, and then explain why you (not necessarily you personally, but you in the role of a dissenting Justice) believe the Court’s decision is not a correct analysis of the Constitution."

So, make sure you have access to all the cases we read this semester, whether in the casebook or via a link I provided. You will want to spend some time during the exam re-reading the case and your notes and thinking about how to craft a powerful dissenting opinion.

We can discuss this a bit more in our Zoom session on Tuesday.

I hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend. My Dad was on a ship (The Helena) at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, a day that still lives in infamy. And I always think of him on Memorial Day (and, of course, on Pearl Harbor Day).

Chase vs. Iredell

Make sure you pay attention to the little debate in dicta between Justice Chase and Justice Iredell on page 407-408.

Who do you think won the debate? Why?

What are the most and least persuasive points of each side?