Search

Blackstone's Commentaries stated that the common law imposed a duty on parents to provide for the maintenance, protection, and education of their children, and of these, the duty to provide an education was "of far the greatest importance." Early on American courts cited Blackstone for the proposition of the common law duty of parents educate their children. As the nineteenth century progressed, public and private schools were formed in most American states, and a number of states enacted compulsory education laws. American states also sometimes also enacted laws that interfered with the freedom of parents to direct the education of their children. In 1919, in the wake of the anti-German hysteria of World War I, Nebraska passed a law that prohibited the teaching of German in the Lutheran sectarian schools. In 1922, Oregon passed a law prohibiting parents from enrolling their children in private and sectarian schools. The Supreme Court held that both of these laws were unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause, because they interfered with the liberty of parents to control the education of their children. In the United States, Blackstone's common law duty of parents to provide an education for their children had evolved into a constitutional right of parents to control the education of their children.

This study was designed to gain a greater understanding of the learning outcomes associated with the mock trial as an active teaching method. Participating in a product liability mock trial presents students with the complex interplay of administrative regulations and common law. As in real life, the harsh constraints of time pressures, less than perfect trials, and financial objectives become apparent. The results of this research may intrigue those who believe that business law is only taught well through a case study method.

Magna Carta, that great cornerstone of American liberty, has been in the news lately. Put up for sale by three-time U.S. Presidential candidate Ross Perot in December 2007, the 1297 version of Magna Carta displayed in the National Archives was sold to financier David Rubenstein for $21.3 million. While its sale demonstrates the cash value of the document as a national treasure, it is debatable whether or not Magna Carta retains much currency in the nation's classrooms. As with other seminal elements of the history curriculum, when given the opportunity, teachers must not only make the commitment to teach a particular topic, but also to lead the way in demonstrating the value of their curricular choices. Magna Carta is the seminal document which America's founders referred to as that "great Charter of liberty." With the 800-year anniversary of Magna Carta in 2015, a scant five years away, it is timely for teachers to pause and reflect on what the document has meant for the Western world and on how they might use Magna Carta in their classrooms. This article is designed to stimulate educators to use Magna Carta and other seminal works and episodes of history to articulate the curricular importance of history in schools. Leaving the curricular politics for another venue, the author invites readers to consider the place Magna Carta holds in American heritage. His aim is to explore how Magna Carta was woven into the American fabric. (Contains 19 notes.)

This article draws on the suggestion that modern technology is "autonomous" in that our social control mechanisms are unable to control technology and instead merely adapt society to integrate new technologies. In this article, I suggest that common law judges tend systematically to support the integration of novel technologies into society. For example, courts sometimes require parties seeking compensation for serious injuries to submit to medical technologies to which the parties object for genuine reasons of fear or moral objection. Where a novel technology alters the environment in some way, courts sometimes legitimize that alteration by refusing to recognize harm and instead characterizing avoidance of the technology as self-imposed harm. The examples selected in this article were chosen to support the hypothesis in one way or another, and future work will aim to look for counter examples and to conduct a more complete assessment of the hypothesis. (Contains 1 note.)

One of the main indicators of industrialisation in agriculture has been the increase in farm sizes as farms are amalgamated to form larger, more economically efficient units. While the processes of farm amalgamation are relatively well understood, the processes by which large farms may be dispersed are less well understood. In particular, while multiple succession is relatively common in other European countries, in the UK the Common Law rule of primogeniture has meant that multiple succession as a means of land dispersal has rarely been considered. This study uses a sample of 154 historically large farms in the South East of England and traces multiple succession over the last 40 years, making observations on possible impacts on average farm size and the social processes by which farms are divided. Almost one-third of the farms were found to have divided through multiple succession between 1960 and 1999. While the farms surveyed in this study were large and thus theoretically more likely to be able to divide, there was no substantial evidence to support farm size as a limiting factor, suggesting that multiple succession as a process may be more widespread than previously thought. This has consequences for our current understanding of the concentration of agriculture in the UK.

U.S. society is becoming increasingly litigious. Nowhere is this more evident than in the employment process, where preemployment agreements for job applicants are becoming more common. Preemployment agreements require applicants to accept certain terms or provisions before they are offered a position. In this article, the authors describe types of preemployment contracts and legal issues associated with them and present attorney-selected sample cases to assist employment counselors to better prepare their clients for addressing this legal phenomenon.

Images of heretics burning at the stake or of traitors being drawn, hanged, and quartered for disloyalty to the king seem well removed from twenty-first century America. Yet the laws that defined these offenses--which included heresy and blasphemy, sedition and treason--were at the heart of some of the most significant debates defining the shape of the United States Constitution. To this day, they influence the freedom to follow the religion of choice or to question public policies or the decisions of lawmakers. Although the United States now comprises a vast array of cultural influences, in its early years it was defined primarily in relation to England and its experience as an English colony. English legal traditions provided the material from which our constitutional structure was fashioned. The English legal inheritance included a substantial body of law that attempted to regulate and enforce cultural standards of a religious or political character. The framers of the Constitution discarded or altered some of this material, but they also retained some of it completely. The result has been a recurring tension between the right of the individual to freedom of religious and political belief and attempts by the government to restrict the influence of unorthodox religious and political beliefs. This article explores the history of English laws defining religious and political "orthodoxy"--adherence to cultural standards or norms--and the influence these laws had on the United States Constitution. Finally, it discusses the continuing force of this legal legacy in today's United States. (Contains 5 notes.)

Discusses why bijural legal education is a positive development. Describes a joint-degree law program at the University of Paris that offers some of the same benefits. (EV)

Describes the bijural program of McGill University Faculty of Law. The program educates all first-degree law students in both the common law and civil law traditions, preparing them for the increasing globalization of legal practice. (EV)

Using the example of McGill University's bijural program, explores how teaching the common and civil law traditions together provides an opportunity to teach in law's "cosmos" rather than its "empire," so that a bijural legal education can plainly and confidently ally itself with the great university tradition of prizing knowledge over information. (EV)

Documents how the introduction of an integrated (or bijural) approach to the teaching of the civil and common law at Louisiana State University in 2001, as at McGill University in 1999, represents a restoration of a way of thinking about law that was not uncommon in 19th-century Louisiana and Quebec. (EV)

Offers an elementary two-legal-jurisdiction analysis using conventional economic assumptions, exploring how and why a distinctive body of legal doctrine comes into being. Asserts that elementary economic theory offers the simplified answer that the legal doctrine will take the shape it does because it is efficient for the group that adopts it. (EV)

Explores why bijuralism as a pedagogical strategy is not enough if globalization is to turn from ideal into reality, but asserts that, nevertheless, it will instill a certain intellectual curiosity of still other forms of legal life, and a sensibility that may result in a better understanding of these other forms. (EV)

Describes the bijural program of Louisiana State University Law Center. The program educates all first-degree law students in both the common law and civil law traditions, preparing them for the increasing globalization of legal practice. (EV)

Explores a text by Rene David relating to the teaching of comparative law and the comparative teaching of law. Discusses bijural education as a way to comprehensively teach the civil and common law traditions. Addresses construction of a bijural curriculum and skills of comparative law teaching. (EV)

Introduces papers from a conference focused on the bijural programs of Louisiana State University Law Center and McGill University Faculty of Law. The programs educate all first-degree law students in both the common law and civil law traditions, preparing them for the increasing globalization of legal practice. (EV)

Demonstrates that in Brazil, common law was an important component for development of the political project, elaborated with the objective of organizing and disciplining the formation of a market of free workers. Considers that the history of work relations originated in the Portuguese discovery of Brazil in the 16th century. (BT)

The Guatemalan peace accord recognizes the institutions and local authorities of indigenous peoples, as well as their customs, common lands, and the "customary right" (common law) that structures intracommunity relations. However, it is difficult to define "customary right" and its applications and limits. A systematic study of traditional community rights and practices was carried out in Guatemalan towns and villages speaking six Mayan languages, two multilingual communities, and one that had lost its indigenous language. The study found the Mayan culture to be dynamic and adaptive, but it suffered great changes during the 1980s-90s when political violence and forced migration broke the social and political structure of indigenous communities. Urbanization and access to services, particularly education, have also been forces of change. Findings about Mayan culture, community structure and authority, and the role of the family are presented in these sections: the sacred as the basis of indigenous rights; the relationship between the community and nature; traditional intergenerational relationships and recent weakening of cultural transmission to youth; community "space" and community members' right to use common lands; the common good and the authority of the community assembly; community service as sacred obligation; systems of community authority, local government, and leadership qualities; the community basis of personal identity; reciprocity and communal work; barter of food and basic goods between villages; family responsibilities, nonformal education, and parent-child relationships; family formation and transition to adult responsibilities through marriage; behavioral norms and transgressions; definition of indigenous rights; cultural values of balance and harmony, respect, and justice; and relationships between the community and the State. (SV)

Finds computer-mediated environments pose a special challenge to legal and cultural protections and that these environments are unprecedented in the way commercially valuable information can be generated in their very use. Contends current discussions about privacy in computer-mediated environments have overlooked the potential of common law and market forces to satisfactorily balance the conflicting interests. (PA)

Widespread "family abuse" by the child protective services industry and feelings of parental "disenfranchisement" have spawned the Parental Rights Movement and associated legislation. Legislation often focuses on formal recognition that parental rights are fundamental and should be protected from government interference; enforcement of due process restrictions on child protective services workers; and increased parental control over their children's public education. Common law origins are discussed. (MLH)

Examines the close formal relationship between the Renaissance rhetoric of letter-writing and the common law system of "writs." Traces a forensic urge reflected in structural and stylistic preferences of two letter-writing exemplars. Compares the graphic form of instructional aids in both systems to illustrate methods for examining their relationship. (SR)

Although statutes, not common law, have become the dominant source of law in the United States, the time and intellectual energy most law schools devote to legislation and interpretation is inadequate. Teachers of evidence courses are uniquely positioned to change this through creative instructional use of the Federal Rules of Evidence. (MSE)

This paper responds to a commentary (EC 600 331) on a previously published paper (EC 221 141) discussing the Supreme Court's decision in the Honig v Doe case and its impact on suspension and expulsion of students with handicaps and on student placement. The paper responds to arguments presented in the commentary and notes misconceptions about the case. (JDD)

This article comments on a paper by Mitchell Yell (EC 221 141) which asserts that five common law principles of suspension and expulsion retain their significance after the Supreme Court's decision in Honig v Doe. The article examines factors impacting on placement of students with disabilities, including litigation; federal regulations; and constitutional, statutory, and common law. (JDD)

Investigates attempts to build an analytical picture of classroom practice in nursery schools. Reviews research on the dynamic structures of time, space, and planned activities. Teachers must accept responsibility for these dynamic structures if their teaching is to be successful. (BG)

Discusses issue of photocopying of unpublished personal papers by archives and manuscript repositories at request of individual researchers. Historical rationale for common-law protection, support for statutory law protection, ambiguities in fair-use provisions, effects on photocopying, survey of manuscript repositories, and dissatisfaction with Register's report are note. Thirty-six sources are given. (EJS)

School personnel need to know legal obligations to report criminal activity observed while performing their duties. This article analyzes civic responsibility and discusses specific North Carolina statutory and common law provisions applying to teachers, principals, and other school staff in certain circumstances. Some violations may be handled through school discipline. Cites references. (MLH)

Presents a brief overview of both the common law and constitutional privileges protecting the expression of opinion. Notes that, although the case of "Ollman v. Evans" provides a four-factor test to make the fact-opinion distinction, ambiguity is still evident in many cases. (MM)

The academic common law may soon vanish, not as a result of court action but due to the American Association of University Professors's declining role in defending the common law of academic employment. The profession is challenged to maintain its independence from external control by reconsidering its own common law. (Author/MLW)

Explores the common law-bill of rights debate in Australia and the probable impacts of extending constitutional and statutory rights to the educational system. Closely examined are compulsory education, the courts' role, children's rights, and the law and education interface, with reference to equality and quality issues in the United States. Lists 10 references. (MLH)

Reviews the laws governing access to employee records including the U.S. Constitution, especially the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the Bill of Rights; the National Labor Relations Act; the Privacy Act of 1974; state privacy statutes; and common-law privacy protections from court opinions. Recommendations for management actions are included. (EM)

It is argued that the federal courts should recognize a qualified evidentiary privilege for universities that would require a trial court to balance the conflicting needs for confidentiality and disclosure before compelling discovery of sensitive university information. (Available from: University of California School of Law, Berkeley, CA) (MLW)

In general, collective bargaining for college faculties means that individual faculty members cannot exercise traditional constitutional rights of due process, even if they are not members of the union. Some provisions differ from one state to another. However, both public and private colleges are increasingly voting to unionize. (Author/CTM)

Discusses the concept of law, presenting philosophical bases and historic antecedents. Reviews research studies which illustrate the connections of law to family structure as well as different family and legal issues, including inheritance, marriage contracts and common law, visitation rights, filial responsibility, and child support enforcement. (RC)

Is playing big-time college sports an extracurricular activity or a job? Two law professors at Michigan State University, Robert and Amy McCormick, think it is definitely a job for football and basketball players on athletic scholarships at Division I schools. The married couple has added a new dimension to the long debate over paying athletes by arguing they are "employees" under federal labor laws and entitled to form unions and negotiate wages, hours and working conditions. The NCAA, in accordance with courts that have addressed the issue, believes that student-athletes are not employees, under the law, and that they should not be treated as employees either by the law or by the schools they attend. Moreover, taxing authorities do not consider the benefits student athletes receive to be taxable compensation. In an article in the Washington Law Review, the McCormicks analyze whether Division I football and basketball players are really employees under common law and the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) 2004 decision that graduate assistants at Brown University were students, not employees. Common law has three tests: (1) the right of others to control a person's activities; (2) whether that person is compensated; and (3) if that person is economically dependent on that compensation. The law professors find that college athletes meet all three because a coach has much control over what they do, an athletic scholarship amounts to compensation and players depend on those funds for food and shelter as well as schooling. In their analysis of the Brown University decision, the McCormicks conclude the status of athletes differs from graduate assistants'. The professors say athletes are not primarily engaged in learning, play sports unrelated to their course of study and fall under the supervision of coaches rather than faculty members. The McCormicks dispute the NLRB's finding on the fourth test, which has to do with compensation. In their judgment, young men playing major football and basketball are not there primarily for an education. They're primarily there to win football games and basketball games and perform well.

Twenty-three-year-old Cristina Moreno traveled from Spain to California for her honeymoon in 2000. As part of her visit, she rode the Indiana Jones amusement ride at Disneyland with her new husband. On June 25, 2000, she suffered a brain injury, and she eventually died on September 1, 2000, as a result of injuries allegedly sustained while riding on the attraction. After her death, her estate and heirs filed a complaint for wrongful death and damages against the Walt Disney Company and related defendants. Her estate claimed that Moreno "suffered serious injuries due to the violent shaking and stresses imposed by the ride," and that the jeep-style ride vehicles resulted in bleeding in Moreno's brain similar to what happens to a child who has suffered from shaken-baby syndrome. The Supreme Court of California, after a reversal and several appeals, held in a 4 to 3 decision that Disney was liable as an operator of an amusement park ride and was considered a "carrier of persons for reward" within the meaning of California Civil Code sections 2100 and 2101 (West's). As a result of this decision, California amusement park rides are held akin to planes, trains, cabs, automobiles, and other "carriers of persons for reward" unless the California legislature rewrites the law. This decision is a victory for trial lawyers and a defeat for amusement parks, which often have to balance a fine line between entertainment thrills and safety concerns. Ultimately, this decision will likely increase insurance costs and reduce the level of intensity on certain California park rides.

Romantic relationships bud and sometimes bloom in the school district workplace. When those relationships involve a sitting member of a school board or an administrator with responsibility for managing other employees, questions about a conflict of interest will be raised. Most states have laws prohibiting a public official from taking official action that would result in a direct, personal financial interest for the public official. Depending on the laws in the state, such action could result in a violation of the common law, civil or criminal statutes or the state code of ethics. When school board members or school district administrators and district employees announce their engagement, the author suggests to consult the school district's legal counsel to determine how the state law regulates spousal relationships between public officials and public employees. Such preventive action could help the couple and the school district avoid civil and/or criminal liability.

In the wake of Columbine and other high-profile school shootings, educators and the public at large have become increasingly aware of the danger and damage that bullying can cause. For example, a study by the U.S. Secret Service suggests that bullying was a contributing factor in two-thirds of 37 school shooting episodes. Other recent research reveals a significant relationship between weapons and not only bullies but targets of bullying, noting that many bullies started as victims. Given such findings, it is not at all surprising that researchers recommend that schools make anti-bullying part of their mission. Going further, approximately a dozen states, led by Colorado, have adopted legislation requiring public schools to adopt anti-bullying policies. Bullying-related litigation is also on the rise. The theories of liability range from state common law claims, such as negligence, to federal civil rights claims, such as racial harassment. Moreover, in some cases, the perpetrator and/ or the victim may be a student with a disability. The accompanying case and question-and-answer discussion illustrate recent trends with regard to outcomes of these varying claims for liability. The Case 5 In 1996, after 24 years of experience as an educator, Karen Siris became principal of W. S. Boardman Elementary School in the Oceanside Union Free School District, which is on Long Island, New York. Author of a doctoral dissertation entitled "Using Teacher Action Research to Alleviate Bullying and Victimization in Schools," she instituted an "antibullying" philosophy at Boardman that included classroom presentations at the start of each school year, written materials to the teachers, and a motivational film for the entire school, with follow-up teacher activities.