Tag: Constitutional Law
U.S. Supreme Court Rules Affirmative Action in College Admissions is Unconstitutional
By: Gabi Aste-Molina, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court held in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College that race cannot be a factor in college admissions because it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Students for Fair Admissions (“SFFA”) filed separate lawsuits against two highly selective universities: Harvard College and the University of North Carolina (“UNC”) in November 2014, alleging that these institutions’ admissions systems violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth […]
U.S. Supreme Court Rules First Amendment Protects Public School Coach’s Post-Game Prayer
By: Angela Reading, Law Clerk Editor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. On June 27, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District held that a public school football coach’s prayers on the football field, in public after football games, were protected under the Free Exercise and Free Speech Clauses of the First Amendment. The ruling highlights a conflict between First Amendment rights in public schools: the right to freely practice and express religion and the right of others to be free from the state endorsing religion. For years, Joseph Kennedy, an assistant football coach in Bremerton, Washington, walked […]
Seventh Circuit Holds University’s Mandatory COVID Vaccination Policy Does Not Violate Constitutional Rights
By: Gitika Kapoor, Law ClerkEditor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq On August 2, 2021, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Klaassen v. Trustees of Indiana University held that Indiana University, a public educational institution, may continue its policy to require students to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to return to campus for the fall semester. The Court held that the vaccine requirement does not violate a student’s substantive due process rights under Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Indiana University’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate offers two exemptions: medical and religious. In light of safety concerns arising from the risk […]
First Amendment: U.S. Supreme Court Narrows the Right of Schools to Discipline Off Campus Speech
By: Gitika Kapoor, Law ClerkEditor: Sanmathi (Sanu) Dev, Esq. The Supreme Court of United States ruled on June 23, 2021 that a Pennsylvania public school district violated a student’s First Amendment rights by punishing her for posting a vulgar message on social media while off-campus and off school hours. In reaching this decision in Mahanoy Area School District v. Levy, the Court considered that the speech was made off campus and did not involve school infrastructure. Moreover, it did not cause substantial disruption because while it upset a few students and was a topic of discussion for a few days, […]
First Amendment Does Not Protect Student Speech That Amounts to HIB
What is the connection between the First Amendment right to free speech and the New Jersey Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act? On October 20, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Dunkley v. Greater Egg Harbor Regional School District, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 145389 (2016) answered this precise question: a student’s First Amendment right to free speech is not protected when that speech amounts to harassment, intimidation, or bullying (“HIB”). In December 2013, high school senior Bryshawn Dunkley was suspended for two days for his out-of-school conduct in which he posted a video on YouTube […]
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