================= README ================= * Law related to Computers and Academic Freedom CAF Law Archive [part of the Computers and Academic Freedom (CAF) Archive [part of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Archive]] This is an on-line collection of law related to computers and academic freedom. It includes both case law and legislation. If you have gopher, the archive is browsable with the command: gopher -p academic/law gopher.eff.org The archive is also accessible via anonymous ftp and email. Ftp to ftp.eff.org (192.77.172.4). It is in directory "pub/academic/law". To get the file(s) by email, send email to ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com. In the body of your note include the lines: connect ftp.eff.org cd /pub/CAF/law get get where is the name of a file that you want. File README is a detailed description of the items in the directory. For more information, to make contributions, or to report typos contact J.S. Greenfield (greeny@eff.org). ================= README.subject-index ================= * Subject Index for Law related to Computers and Academic Freedom ================= access.minors ================= * Expression -- Minors -- Access Comment from the ACLU's Handbook on the _Rights of Authors and Artists_ (1984). It says that protecting minors was held to be an inadequate justification for such a severe interference with adults' First Amendment rights. ================= antonelli-v-hammond ================= * Expression -- Prior review An excerpt from the _Law of the Student Press_ saying that prior review in public colleges is unconstitutional. ================= barnes-v-glen-theatre ================= * Expression -- Nude Dancing -- Barnes v. Glen Theatre The Suprme Court decision that upheld laws outlawing nonobscene nude dancing because 1) Nude dancing is only incidently expressive and the govenment has an substantial interest in protecting order and morality. [The Chief Justice, joined by Justice O'Connor and Justice Kennedy] OR 2) Nude dancing is not expressive and the moral opposition to nudity provides government a rational basis for banning it. [Justice Scalia] OR 3) Nude dancing is expressive but the govenment has an substantial interest in preventing secondary effects of nude dancing establishments (prostitution, sexual assaults, and other criminal activity) [Justice Souter] ================= bbs.kahn ================= * Expression -- Liability -- BBS -- Kahn Full copy of "Defamation Liability of Computerized Bulletin Board Operators and Problems of Proof" by John R. Kahn ================= bbs.riddle ================= * Expression -- Liability -- BBS -- Riddle * BBS -- Riddle Full copy of "THE ELECTRONIC PAMPHLET--COMPUTER BULLETIN BOARDS AND THE LAW" by Michael H. Riddle ================= bernstein-v-dos-part1 ================= * Expression -- Cryptography Export -- Bernstein v. Dept. State (part 1) A press release regarding the District Court's denial of the governments motion to dismiss. The court held that source code is expression within the meaning of the First Amendment. ================= brandenburg-v-ohio ================= * Expression -- Advocating Lawbreaking -- Brandenberg v. Ohio In e-mail, a correspondent expressed the view that there was no right to speech that advocated violence. This response is based on U.S. law. It is a summary of the ACLU's Bill of Rights Briefing Paper #10: Freedom of Expression. The Supreme Court's standard is that speech may not be suppressed or punished unless it is intended to produce 'imminent lawless action' and it is 'likely to produce such action.' ================= broadrick-v-oklahoma ================= * Expression -- Vague Regulation -- Broadrick v. Oklahoma, et al. Summary of case law on overly vague regulation of expression. It says a statute is unconstitutionally vague when "men of common intelligence must necessarily guess at its meaning." ================= cable-indecency ================= * Expression -- Indecency -- Cable Television An excerpt from _Broadcasting in America_ by Head and Sterling on the legality of indecency regulations for cable television. ================= calif-codes.pointer ================= * Pointer to California codes via ftp and www ================= canada.sc-rulings.pointer ================= * Misc -- Pointer to Canadian Supreme Court rulings A pointer to gopher and ftp access to rulings of the Canadian Supreme Court. ================= chaplinsky-v-new-hampshire ================= * Expression -- Fighting Words -- Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire An excerpt from UWM Post v. U. of Wisconsin outlining the fighting words doctrine established by Chaplinsky and later cases. In part, it states that the modern fighting words doctrine allows regulation of words which "by their very utterance...tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace" and are "directed at the person of the hearer." ================= charter.can ================= * Constitution -- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms -- Full Text From the Canadian Constitution Act 1982 ================= child-porn.can ================= * Expression -- Child Porn -- Canada -- Forum 128 An online version of a flyer concerning the new Canadian laws on child pornography. It was created by Forum 128 is a national research project into the Canadian sex panic. ================= child-porn.silvers ================= * Expression -- Child Porn -- Silvers The Application of Child Pornography Statutes to Non-Obscene Art and Family Photography by Jolyon Silversmith, silvers3@husc8.harvard.edu. It is a term paper written in May, 1992 for Government 1341: Constitutional Law at Harvard University. ================= childrens-legal-foundation-v-fcc ================= * Expression -- Minors -- TV -- Childrens Legal Foundation v. FCC A newspaper story saying that the Supreme Court refuses to allow a total ban on indecent TV and radio material. ================= church-and-state ================= * First Amendment -- Establishment of religion -- Everson, Lemon A discussion of precedent on the First Amendment separation of church and state, including excerpts from Everson v. Board of Education and Lemon v. Kurtzman. ================= clergy-v-chicago-board-of-ed ================= * Expression -- On Campus -- Clergy v. Chicago Board of Ed @BOOK{price::janet:r.3, MEPSN = "Price, Janet R.", Author = "Janet R. Price and Alan H. Levine and Eve Cary", Title = "The rights of students: the basic ACLU guide to a student's rights", Edition = "3rd", Publisher = "Southern Illinois University Press", Address = "Carbondale", Year = "1988", COL = "xv, 181 p. ; 18 cm.", SET:0 = "American Civil Liberties Union handbook", NOG = "Rev. ed. of: The rights of students / Alan Levine, with Eve Cary and Diane Divoky.", NOG = "Addendum slip inserted.", NOB = "Bibliography: p. 178-181.", AEPSA = "Levine, Alan H.", AEPSA = "Levine, Alan H.$Rights of students.", AEPSA = "Cary, Eve.", SBN = "0809314231", LON = "(WaOLN)2115501", LON = "ocm15653926", CAL0 = "KF4150$.P75 1988", Subject = "Students--Legal status, laws, etc.--United States", Note = {Excerpt: from the ACLU Handbook: The Rights of Students: 3rd Edition, says if use by students is not disruptive, use should be allowed. Also, "if any facility is made available to one group, the school may not then deny other groups the opportunity to use that facility."} } ================= cohen-v-california.1 ================= * Expression -- Offensive -- Cohen v. California -- 1 Definition of "fighting words"; why no right not to be offended The definition of fighting words from _Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire_ and then _Cohen v. California_. Also, says quotes the Supreme Court saying that there is no universal right to not hear offensive expression. ================= cohen-v-california.2 ================= * Expression -- Offensive -- Cohen v. California -- 2 Netnews article with reference _Cohen v. California_, "in which the court ruled that Cohen's jacket, which stated "Fuck the Draft" was a protected form of free speech, even though he wore it in a county courthouse." ================= cohen-v-california.3 ================= * Expression -- Offensive -- Cohen v. California -- 3 Here are excerpts from several Supreme Court decisions inclusing _Cohen v. Calfiornia_. They say that offensive public expression is protected if those offended can "effectively avoid further bombardment of their sensibilities simply by averting their eyes." ================= cohen-v-california.4 ================= * Expression -- Regulation of Tone -- Cohen v. California -- 4 A short quote from _Cohen v. California_: "We cannot sanction the view that the constitution, while solicitous of the cognitive content of individual speech, has little or no regard for that emotive function which, practically speaking, may often be the more important element of the overall message sought to be communicated." ================= common-carriers ================= * Common Carriers -- Eligibility Some basic information on eligibility for common carrier status. ================= constitution.az.us ================= * Constitution -- Arizona -- U.S. (excerpts) Article II, Section 12 of the Constitution of the State of Arizona relating to liberty of conscience; appropriations for religious purposes prohibited; religious freedom. ================= constitution.us ================= * Constitution -- U.S. -- Full Text The Constitution of the United States (Alternatively, see ) ================= constitutions.pointer ================= * Constitutions -- Pointer to ftp access for world nations and US states ================= constraints.constitutional ================= * Constitution -- Public University -- Constraints Comments from _A Practical Guide to Legal Issues Affecting College Teachers_ by Partrica A. Hollander, D. Parker Young, and Donald D. Gehring. (College Administration Publication, 1985). Discusses the constitutional constraints on public universities including the requires for freedom of expression, freedom against unreasonable searches and seizures, due process, specific rules. ================= constraints.contractual ================= * Universities -- Contractual Constraints Comments from _A Practical Guide to Legal Issues Affecting College Teachers_. Explains that University Code is part of the contract between the student and school. The University can be liable for a breach of the contract (i.e. for not following its own rules). ================= copying_theft.IW ================= * Copyright -- "When Copying Isn't Theft ..." by Mike Godwin Mike Godwin's article: "When Copying Isn't Theft: How the Government Stumbled in a 'Hacker' Case". Article detailing the lesser-known side stories of the Operation Sundevil fiasco - the raid on Phrack magazine, and the trials of Robert Riggs and Craig "Knight Lighning" Neidorf. More importantly, disucusses the implications and problems these cases brought up, and highlights the limitations of intellectual property law. ================= copyright-FAQ ================= * Copyright -- Frequently asked questions (FAQ) Version 1.1.2. by Terry Carroll. The most current version is always available via anonymous ftp from rtfm.mit.edu /pub/usenet/news.answers/Copyright-FAQ/ ================= copyright.act.pointer ================= * Copyright -- U.S. Law -- Full text -- Pointer If you have access to gopher, you can access chapter one (Subject Matter and Scope) of the U.S. Copyright Act. gopher fatty.law.cornell.edu 70 --> U.S. Law: Primary Documents and Commentary/ --> Copyright Act/ Chapters 2-10 are not included. They are: Copyright Ownership and Transfer, Duration of Copyright, Copyright Notice, Deposit and Registration, Copyright Infringement and Remedies, Manufacturing Requirement and Importation, Copyright Office, Copyright Royalty Tribunal, Semiconductor Chip Protection Act of 1984, and Audio Home Recording Act of 1992. ================= cornelius-v-naacp ================= * Expression -- Restrictions w. Disguised Purpose -- Cornelius v. NAACP In Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (1985), the SC ruled "The existence of reasonable grounds for limiting access to a nonpublic forum, however, will not save a regulation that is in reality a facade for viewpoint-based discrimination..." ================= court-decisions ================= * Constitution -- How to access Supreme Court decisions How to access Supreme Court decisions by anonymous ftp and WAIS. Also an index of available Supreme Court decisions. ================= cubby-v-compuserve.summary ================= * Expression -- Liability -- Cubby v. CompuServe Report of a federal district court case which said CompuServe could not be held liable for the defamatory content because it exercised no editorial control. ================= cubby-v-compuserve.text ================= * Expression -- Liability -- Cubby v. CompuServe The text of the Cubby v. CompuServe decision, in which CompuServe was found not liable for allegedly defamatory statements posted to a forum on the CompuServe Information Service because CompuServe did not exercise editorial control on that forum. ================= davis-v-massachusetts ================= * Expression -- On Public Property -- Davis v. Massachusetts @BOOK{emord::johnathan:w.2, MEPSN = "Emord, Jonathan W.,$1961-", Editor = " Jonathan Emord", Title = "Freedom, technology, and the First Amendment", Publisher = "Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy", Address = "San Francisco, CA", Year = "1991", COL = "xv, 335 p. ;$24 cm.", NOB = "Includes bibliographical references and index.", AECNA = "Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy.", SBN = "0936588379 (hard): $$$29.9", SBN = "0936488387: $$$12.9", LON = "(WaOLN)5307602", LON = "ocm22544743", CAL00 = "KF4774$.E46 1991", DDCFL = "342.73/0853$347.302853$20", Subject = "Freedom of the press--United States; Mass media--Law and legislation--United States; Telecommunication--Law and legislation--United States", Note = {Excerpt: page 88, Summary of the since overturned Supreme Court decision that said that as owner the government could forbid speech on any public property.} } ================= dial-information-vs-barr ================= * Expression -- Minors -- Telephone -- Dial Information Vs Barr Newspaper story saying: "The Supreme Court Monday allowed the government to require adults wanting to take part in ``dial-a-porn'' telephone dialogue to first take a series of steps meant to keep children from joining in the sexually explicit conversations." ================= doe-v-u-of-michigan ================= * Expression -- Hate Speech -- Doe v. U of Michigan This is Doe v. University of Michigan. In this widely referenced decision, the district judge down struck the University's rules against discriminatory harassment because the rules were found to be too broad and too vague. ================= dowling-v-us ================= * Copyright -- Infringement versus Theft A brief reference to Dowling v. United States, which held that copyright infringement could not be used to form charges of theft. ================= due-process.buchanan ================= * Due Process -- Notice of Charges -- Buchanan Quotes about the due process requirements of "notice of charges" and "find of facts" at a formal administrative hearing. The quotes are from: _Procedural due process guidelines for disciplinary hearings resulting in suspension or expulsion in higher education_ by Ernest T. Buchanan III. Published by Education/Law Research Associates, 1972 ================= due-process.french ================= * Due Process -- Notice of Charges -- French Quotes about the due process requirements of "notice of charges" and "find of facts" at a formal administrative hearing. The quotes are from: _The Redefinition of the Exclusionary Rule as to Student Procedural Due Process in High Education_. A monograph from the Office of the General Counsel [of Southern Illinois University] by Dr. Larry L. French, General Counsel, 1977. ================= due-process.weckstein ================= * Due Process -- Notice of Charges -- Weckstein Quotes about the due process requirements of "notice of charges" and "find of facts" at a formal administrative hearing. The quotes are from: _School Discipline and Student Rights: an advocate's manual_ by Paul Weckstein, revised edition, 1982, Center for Law and Education. ================= ecpa.1986 ================= * Privacy -- E-mail -- ECPA -- Excerpts * ECPA -- 1986 Portions of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA) related to e-mail privacy. ================= ecpa.1986.godwin ================= * Privacy -- E-mail -- ECPA - University Site Mike Godwin, legal services counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), says that the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) could be reasonably construed to protect university email. ================= ecpa.1986.video ================= * Privacy -- Video Rental Records -- ECPA - Excerpts * ECPA -- 1986 -- Video The Electronic Communication Privacy Act's rather detailed provisions limiting access to video rental records. ================= ecpa.umich ================= * Privacy -- E-mail -- ECPA - University Site A summary of a newspaper report that the U. of Michigan's lawyers believe(d) that the institution is barred under the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act from reading electronic mail. ================= eff.legal ================= * Misc -- Index of directory ftp.eff.org:pub/EFF/papers/legal. The index of directory ftp.eff.org:pub/EFF/papers/legal. ================= eff.rights ================= * Electronic Frontier and the Bill of Rights ================= email.bib ================= * Privacy -- E-mail -- Bibliography I have been having an e-mail conversation with Stacy Veeder for several days on the topic of e-mail privacy. She mailed me this bibliography which she has compiled for two papers which she is currently writing. I post it here with permission. PS - She is interested in talking with anyone who has some views on the topic/information to share. Mark N. ================= email.gov-employee ================= * Privacy -- E-mail -- Government Employees A U.S. government task force: "[Email] monitoring [of government employees] of actual communications and communicators may impinge on the Constitutional rights of freedom of speech (1st Amendment), against unreasonable search and seizure (4th Amendment), and against self-incrimination (5th amendment), as well as on the right to privacy, specifically as set forth in both the Privacy Act and the ECPA." Enclosed are guidelines for legitimate monitoring of government employee email. ================= exxxtasy-case ================= * Expression -- Satellite Broadcast -- Exxxtasy case Some information on the charges brought against Exxxtsay in Alabama for satellite broadcasts originating in other states. ================= fcc-v-pacifica ================= * Expression -- Broadcasting Regulation The full text of FCC v. Pacifica regarding indecency regulations on broadcasting (preceded by some excerpts). ================= federal-laws.pointer ================= * Pointer to Federal Laws online ================= ferpa ================= * Privacy -- School Records -- FERPA -- Excerpts Excerpts from _College and University Student Records: A Legal Compendium_, Edited by Joan E. Van Tol, 1989. Details the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act's (Buckley Amendment's) provisions on directory information. ================= ferpa.text ================= * Privacy -- Students -- FERPA (Buckley Ammendment) The full text of the Family Educational Right to Privacy Act (Buckley Amendment). ================= foia.connecticut ================= * Connecticut's Freedom of Information Act (full text) ================= foia.il.us ================= * Privacy -- Freedom of Information The full text of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. ================= forums ================= * Expression -- Public Forum -- Restrictions Some miscellaneous information on legal restrictions of free expression within various forums. ================= gates-v-brewer ================= * Expression -- Harassment -- E-mail -- Gates v. Brewer An excerpt from a newspaper article about email harassment. A judge agreed that Bill Gates of Mircosoft had been the victim of harassment. ================= gillard-v-schmidt ================= * Privacy -- School -- Staff Desk -- Gillard v. Schmidt Description of an appellate court ruling that the school board could not search the desk of a school counselor without a warrant. ================= goss-v-lopez.fischer ================= * Due Process -- When Required -- Goss v. Lopez -- Fischer Comments from _Teacher's and the Law_, 3rd edition, by Louis Fischer, et al. Published in 1991 by Longman. It reports that the Supreme Court says that some modicum of due process is necessary unless the matter is trivial or there is an emergency. ================= goss-v-lopez.mnookin ================= * Due Process -- When Required -- Goss v. Lopez -- Mnookin Comments from _In the Interest of Children_, R. Mnookin (Ed.), Franklin E. Zimring and Rayman L. Solomon (Contrib. Authors). It reports that the Supreme Court says that some modicum of due process is necessary unless the matter is trivial or there is an emergency. ================= goss-v-lopez3 ================= * Due Process -- When Required -- Goss v. Lopez Two articles providing excerpts from Goss v. Lopez (1975) and discussing its application to the suspension of computer accounts. ================= harris-v-forklift-sys ================= * Expression -- Harassment -- Harris v. Forklift Systems This is Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc. This is the Supreme Court decision that clarified the definition of illegal sexual harassment in the form of a "hostile environment" at the work place. ================= hatch-act ================= * Expression -- Government Employees -- Hatch Act A brief discussion of the Hatch Act and to whom it applies. In part it says, "The Hatch Act applies only to federal civil service employees, not to grantees and certainly not to students." ================= hate-crime.ohio ================= * Expression -- Hate Crimes -- Ohio A UPI story that starts: "The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled the state's ethnic intimidation law is unconstitutional because it is an infringement of the right of free speech." On 13 Jan 1994 The Ohio Supreme Court reversed this decision in light of a subsequent Federal Supreme Court decision. ================= hustler-magazine-v-falwell ================= * Expression -- Offensive -- Hustler Magazine v. Falwell Summary from _The First Amendment Book_ by Robert J. Wagmam, p. 157. The publisher of a cartoon parody, already found not to be libelous, could not be punished for the emotional distress the cartoon may have caused. The Court wrote: "in public debate our own citizens must tolerate insulting, and even outrageous speech in order to provide adequate breathing space to the freedoms protected by the First Amendment." ================= indecency.nea ================= * Expression -- Indecency -- NEA A UPI story: "A federal judge declared unconstitutional Tuesday the decency clause the National Endowment for the Arts used in determining who receives grant money, saying it was too vague and overbroad in restricting artists' freedom of speech." ================= iowa.obscenity.statute ================= * Expression -- Obscenity -- Iowa Statute The full text of the Iowa Obscenity Statute. ================= ip-primer ================= * Copyright, Intellectual Property -- Intellectual Property Law Primer INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW PRIMER FOR MULTIMEDIA DEVELOPERS, by J. Dianne Brinson and Mark F. Radcliffe. A self-contained adaptation of the Multimedia Law Handbook. ================= iskcon-v-lee ================= * Expression -- Public Forum -- Airports -- Iskcon v. Lee Supreme Court orders, summaries, and opinions for case 91-155 (_ISKCON v. Lee_) and 91-339 (_Lee v. ISKCON_). ISKCON is the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. The Court ruled that neither by tradition nor purpose can the airport terminals be decribed as public fora (forums). The Port Authority airports are thus nonpublic fora, and thus "reasonable" restrictions, such as a ban on solicitation, are Constitutional. A ban on literature distribution, however, is unreasonable. ================= island_trees_v_pico ================= * Expression -- High School Library -- Island Trees v. Pico The conclusion from the chapter "Sex and School Library" from the book _Sex, Schools, and the Law_, by Fernand N. Dutile, 1986. It refers to grade and high schools. It summerizes the inconclusive case law with regard to library selection and removal of material on the basis of sexual content. ================= jeffries,_leonard ================= * Expression -- Offensive Speech and Academic Freedom -- Leonard Jeffries case UPI Article on the Leonard Jeffries case. On May 18, 1993, a federal jury ordered the City University of New York to pay professor Leonard Jeffries $400,000 because the jury determined that the university fired Jeffries because of an antisemantic speech he gave. ================= jocobson-v-usa ================= * Expression -- Child Porn -- Jocobson v. USA Newspaper story saying: "The Supreme Court Monday made it more difficult for police to pursue undercover sting operations, ruling that a man who bought child pornography after a 2 1/2 year government probe was entrapped." ================= justices ================= * Constitution -- Justices of the Suprme Court Biography of the justices of the U.S, Supreme Court (from info.uwm.edu:info/Government/US/SupremeCt) ================= keyishian-v-board-of-regents ================= * Constitution -- Public University -- Keyishian v. Board Of Regents In this Supreme Court case, the Court said that public universities can not infringe on the Constitutionally protected rights of their students and employees (specially with regard to loyalty oaths). ================= law_net.IW ================= * Misc -- "The Law of the Net: Problems and Prospects" by Mike Godwin Mike Godwin, "The Law of the Net: Problems and Prospects". An article discussing the problems of civil and criminal law that one encounters when attempting to apply them to networking environments (incl. libel, intellectual property, etc.) ================= legal-resources ================= * Misc -- Legal resources accesible via the Internet Contains sections on: Electronic Conferences & Lists Related to Law, Politics, Govt. & Librarianship Law Library Catalogs on the Internet Interesting FTP sites related to Law, Politics & Government Selection of Usenet Newsgroups Related to Law, Politics, Govt. & Librarianship ================= libel ================= * Expression -- Libel -- Public figures and fact vs. opinions Some information on Libel law, including status as a "public figure" and distinctions between statements of fact and opinions. ================= libel.definitions ================= * Expression -- Libel -- Definitions and Related Terms Some legal definitions (with comments) related to libel, excerpted from Arthur Plotnick's _The Elements of Editing: A Modern Guide for Editors and Journalists_. ================= libel_1.IW ================= * Expression -- Libel -- Provider Responsiblity Mike Godwin, "INTERNET LIBEL: IS THE PROVIDER RESPONSIBLE?" An exploration of some of the many issues that surround the problem of libel in modern networking. It's a fear every Internet service provider faces at least once: How responsible am I going to be if someone libels someone else on my system? There's no settled answer about a provider's responsibility. But one important case suggests what the eventual answer may be, and that case is good news for service providers. ================= libel_2.IW ================= * Expression -- Libel -- Public Figures and the Net "Libel, Public Figures, and the Net" by Mike Godwin, an article for Internet World. Argues that in most cases, replying to defamation on the Net is more effective than and preferable to a lawsuit. ================= mailing-lists ================= * Misc -- list of electronic mailing lists related to the law ================= mass-student-searches ================= * Privacy -- Mass Students Searches An excerpt from The ACLU Handbook: _The Rights of Students_, stating that "there must a reasonable suspicion directed specifically at each student before a school official can search students." ================= mcintyre-v-ohio ================= * Expression -- Anonymity -- McIntyre v. Ohio In this 1995 U.S. Supreme Court decision, the Court struck down a Ohio law that banned anonymous campaign literature determining that the law illegal abridged freedom of speech as protected by the First Amendment. The decision was 7-2. Included: official summary, the main opinion, concurring opinions, and the dissent. ================= meritor-v-vinson ================= * Expression -- Harassment -- Meritor v. Vinson This is Meritor Savings Bank FSB v. Vinson. This is the Supreme Court decision that recognized illegal sexual harassment in the form of a "hostile environment" at the work place. It is referenced in the two university speech code decisions. ================= miller ================= * Expression -- Obscenity -- Law -- Miller The Supreme Court's definition of obscenity (the so-called _Miller_ test) ================= mills-v-bd-of-ed ================= * Due Process -- Notice of Charges -- Mills v. Bd of Ed Summary from the ACLU's Handbook _The Right of Students_ 3rd Edition by Janet. R. Price, Alan H. Levine, and Eve Cary. p. 61. It says before you can be severely punished, you have a due process right to know the specific acts you are charged with committing and the specific rules that those acts violate. ================= moderator.rights ================= * Expression -- Moderator Rights A summary of the rights of an editor/moderator. Addresses the question: "if a moderator is government-site-based, what is his or her authority/right to exclude material?" (It also talks about a private author/publisher's right to exclude material.) ================= mt-healthy-v-doyle ================= * Due Process -- Finding of Fact -- Mt Healthy v. Doyle _Due Process for School Officials: A Guide for the Conduct of Administrative Proceedings_ by Edgar H. Bittle (1986) says that a formal hearing should make a detailed "findings of fact" list. ================= multimedia-copyright ================= * Copyright -- Multimedia licensing issues A paper discussing copyright concerns for multimedia and proposing a method for handling licensing of copyrighted elements. ================= multimedia-handbook ================= * Copyright, Patent, etc. -- The Multimedia Law Handbook The first four chapters of The Multimedia Law Handbook: A Practical Guide Developers and Publishers, by J. Dianne Brinson and Mark F. Radcliffe, containing extensive information on copyright, patent, trademark and trade secret laws. ================= naacp-v-button ================= * Expression -- Overbroad Regulation -- NAACP v. Button, et al. Summary of case law on overly broad regulation of expression. It says "[b]ecause First Amendment freedoms need breathing space to survive, government may regulate in the area only with narrow specificity." ================= naacp_v_alabama ================= * Expression -- Anonymity -- NAACP v. Alabama A short Netnews article by attorney Mike Godwin about anonymity. "... [In] NAACP v. Alabama, 1958, [...] the Supreme Court held it unconstitutional for Alabama state government to require the NAACP to disclose its membership list..." ================= new-jersey-v-tlo ================= * Privacy -- High School Students -- New Jersey v. TLO @BOOK{price::janet:r.4, MEPSN = "Price, Janet R.", Author = "Janet R. Price and Alan H. Levine and Eve Cary", Title = "The rights of students: the basic ACLU guide to a student's rights", Edition = "3rd", Publisher = "Southern Illinois University Press", Address = "Carbondale", Year = "1988", COL = "xv, 181 p. ; 18 cm.", SET:0 = "American Civil Liberties Union handbook", NOG = "Rev. ed. of: The rights of students / Alan Levine, with Eve Cary and Diane Divoky.", NOG = "Addendum slip inserted.", NOB = "Bibliography: p. 178-181.", AEPSA = "Levine, Alan H.", AEPSA = "Levine, Alan H.$Rights of students.", AEPSA = "Cary, Eve.", SBN = "0809314231", LON = "(WaOLN)2115501", LON = "ocm15653926", CAL0 = "KF4150$.P75 1988", Subject = "Students--Legal status, laws, etc.--United States", Note = {Excerpt: Summary of laws protecting high school students from unreasonable searches.} } ================= ny-times-v-sullivan ================= * Expression -- Libel, Theory of Excerpts from Supreme Court opinions saying that caustic verbal attacks and some factual errors must be allowed if freedom of expression is to have the "breathing space" it needs. Also, that self-help, that is correcting a lie or error in public, is the preferred remedy to defamation. ================= ny-v-ferber ================= * Expression -- Child Pornography A discussion of child pornography law, NY v. Ferber, and other obscenity precedents. ================= obscenity.canada ================= * Expression -- Obscenity -- Canada A brief excerpt of the definition of obscenity contained in the Criminal Code of Canada. ================= obscenity.history.us ================= * Expression -- Obscenity -- History -- U.S. Notes on the the history of obscenity law by T.S. Davies, tsdavies@mailbox.syr.edu. Based on the book by Edward de Grazia: 1992 _Girls Lean Back Everywhere: The Law Of Obscenity And The Assault On Genius_. New York: Random House. (ISBN: 0-394-57611-X, $30.00) ================= obscenity.iowa ================= * Expression -- Obscenity -- Law -- Iowa IOWA CODE CHAPTER 728 - OBSCENITY It explicitly exempts public libraries and educational institutions. ================= obscenity.nz ================= *Expression -- Obscenity -- New Zealand An excerpt from the New Zealand statute defining obscenity. ================= other ================= * Misc -- Other on-line collections of legal information Information on other on-line collections of legal information. Also see ftp.eff.org:pub/legal. ================= papish-v-u-of-missouri ================= * Expression -- Offensive -- Papish v. U. of Missouri Summary of _Papish v. U. of Missouri in which the high Court ruled that the use of profanity or 'four-letter words' in a paper distributed on a college campus was not disruptive of the school environment and so the paper's editor editor could not be expelled. ================= pd-of-chicago-v-mosley ================= * Expression -- Content Regulation -- Police Department of Chicago v. Mosley Summary of case law on content-based regulation of expression. It says that "above all else, the First Amendment means that government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content." ================= penthouse-vs-meese ================= * Expression -- Obscenity -- Penthouse v. Meese Newspaper story about Edwin Meese's improper harassment of _Playboy_ and _Penthouse_ and his immunity from punishment. The story says "[w]hile Penthouse and Playboy feature naked women, neither has ever been found to be legally pornographic or obscene. Such material has been granted full First Amendment protection by the Supreme Court." ================= perry-v-perry ================= * Expression -- Public Forum -- Campus Mail -- Perry v. Perry Comments from the ACLU Handbook _The Rights of _Teachers_. It says that campus mail systems (and other school facilities) may or may not be limited public forums depending on how they are managed. (Perry v. Perry was about an interschool mail system that was managed as a nonpublic forum. It was one of the cases that defined the Public Forum Doctrine.) Also, a paraphrase from an ACLU handbook _The Rights of Teachers_. It says that generally, speech, if otherwise shielded from punishment by the First Amendment, does not lose that protection because its tone is sharp. Also, from p. 92, it says that there are legal limits to the oaths a (public) school can ask its teachers to sign. [Some of these same limits might apply to what a school can ask a user to sign as a condition of getting (or keeping) a computer account.] ================= porn-and-minors ================= * Expression -- Obscenity -- Distribution to Children [Q:] Are there special rules that apply to the distribution of sexual materials to children? [A:] Yes; many. The definitions of obscenity discussed so far apply to the dissemination of obscene materials to the general (and predominantly adult public. The author or artists whose materials are intended for or may be distributed to children should be familiar with the special legal standards that apply to the distribution of sexually explicit materials to children. ================= prior-restraint ================= * Expression -- Regulation -- Prior Restraint Excerpts from "Prior Restraint and Censorship" by Benno C. Schmidt, Jr. in _The First Amendment: Selections from the Encyclopedia of the American Constitution_. ================= privacy-invasion ================= * Expression -- Privacy -- Cox v. Cohen Some information on what constitutes an illegal invasion of privacy, including a brief discussion of Cox v. Cohen. ================= privacy.electronic.bill ================= * Privacy -- Workplace -- Proposed Law The text of Simon's electronic privacy bill, S. 516. "To prevent potential abuses of electronic monitoring in the workplace." ================= privacy.email ================= * Privacy -- E-mail -- Law -- Hernandez "Computer Electronic Mail and Privacy", an edited version of a law school seminar paper by Ruel T. Hernandez. ================= privacy.workplace ================= * Privacy -- Workplace Comments from and about _The new hazards of the high technology workplace_ see (1991) 104 _Harvard Law Review_ 1898. Talks about email and other electronic monitoring. ================= psu.code.confidentiality ================= * Privacy -- Penn. State U. Code on Confidentiality of Records UNIVERSITY POLICY ON CONFIDENTIALITY OF STUDENT RECORDS This is part of the Pennsylvania State University Code. It is from the document '//psuinfo/Policies-Rules for Students/Policies and Rules/Records, Confidentiality Of Student'. It is available via gopher from info.psu.edu. A point of interest: Gives a nice summary of the law on the confidentiality of student records. ================= public-forums ================= * Expression -- Public Forums -- Restrictions An excerpt from _The Right to Protest_ (an ACLU Handbook) by Joel M. Gora regarding restrictions on speech in designated areas of traditional public forums. ================= public-school-discipline ================= *Due process -- Public Schools -- Discipline Excerpts from _Public School Law: Teachers' and Students' Rights_, Second Edition (1987), written by M. McCarthy and N. Cambron-McCabe and published by Allyn and Bacon. ================= quiet-reading ================= * Expression -- Harassment -- Quiet Reading of _Playboy_ Excerpts from a newspaper report that a federal district judge has said that "quiet reading" of a _Playboy_ magazine by a firefighter does not create a sexually harassing atmosphere. [Editorial comment: I think this supports the idea that rather banning "porn" from a general academic computer, it is more appropriate to ban harassment.] ================= r-v-butler ================= * Expression -- Obscenity -- Canada -- R. v. Butler The official summary and excerpts from the full decision in the case of _R. v. Butler_. This Canadian Supreme Court case, decided in February 1992, redefined "obscenity" in Canada. ================= r-v-butler.ms ================= * Expression -- Obscenity -- Canada -- Ms. -- R. v. Butler Information on the Canadian definition of obscenity from _Ms._ magazine. ================= racial-harassment.us.critique ================= A critique of the the new U.S. Education Department guidelines on racial harassment. It says that the guidlines all but ignore the First Amendment. ================= racial-harassment.us ================= The new guidelines from the U.S. Education Deparment for (among other things) when a university can be help responsible for a student's harassment of a student. The guidelines were published in the Federal Register on March 10, 1994. They are critiqued in file racial-harassment.us.critique. ================= rav-v-st-paul.1 ================= * Expression -- Hate Speech -- RAV v. St Paul -- 1 The Supreme Court's _R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul_ decision about hate crimes. The Court overturned St. Paul's Bias-Motivated Crime Ordinance, which prohibits the display of a symbol which one knows or has reason to know "arouses anger, alarm or resentment in others on the basis of race, color, creed, religion or gender." By 9-0, the Court said the law as overly broad. By 5-4, the Court said that the law was also unfairly selective because it only tried to protect some groups. Included: summary, majority opinion, 3 concurring opinions. ================= riley-v-nfb ================= * Expression -- Labeling A summary of _Riley v. National Federation of the Blind_ from an _Wired_ 2.11 article about computer game labeling. In that case, the Supreme Court said the government generally does not have authority to compel speech. Specifically, it could not require charity solicitors to detail how much money was going to professional fund raisers. ================= rosenberger_v_u_virginia ================= * Expression -- Public Forum -- Rosenberger v. U. of Virginia A 1995 U.S. Supreme Court decision that says that it is illegal for a state univeristy to deny funds to a student newspaper on the grounds that the newspaper is religious. The decision confirms that the government cannot discriminate on the basis of viewpoint in (government-owned)limited public forums. ================= rust-v-sullivan ================= * Expression -- Gag Rule -- Rust v. Sullivan The decision and decent for the so-called abortion information gag rule case. The decision explicitly mentions universities as a place where free expression is so important that gag rules would not be allowed. ================= sable-v-fcc ================= * Expression -- Indecent -- Sable V. FCC Some informaion regarding Sable Communications v. FCC and regulation of indecent expression via telephone. ================= san-diego-committee-v-gov-bd ================= * Expression -- Public Forum -- Overview -- San Diego Committee v. Gov Bd Excerpts from San Diego Committee v. Governing Bd., 790 F.2d 1471. A decision by an appellate court that applied the Supreme Court's Public Forum Doctrine (to a school newspaper). ================= schenck-v-united-states ================= * Expression -- Shouting Fire -- Schenck v. United States An excerpt from the "shouting fire in a theatre" Supreme Court decision. Says that words that create a clear and present danger of bringing about substantive evils can be prohibited. (Also see _Brandenberg v. Ohio_ for details the "likely to produce imminent lawless action" test.) ================= search.berkeley ================= * Privacy -- E-mail -- Search -- Berkeley Information and references to more information about an judge-ordered email search at the U. of California at Berkeley. Relates to: Buckley amendement/Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act/FERPA ================= search_and_seizure_guidelines.eff ================= * Privacy -- Proposed Search Warrant Guidelines Mitch Kapor & Mike Godwin, "Civil Liberties Implications of Computer Searches and Seizures: Some Proposed Guidelines for Magistrates Who Issue Search Warrants". ================= silva-v-unh ================= *Expression -- Sexual Harassment -- Silva v. U. New Hampshire Excerpts from two articles about sexual harassment issues considered in Silva v. University of New Hampshire and the case challenging the Los Angeles ban on Playboy Magazines in Firehouses. ================= software-copyright ================= * Copyright -- Software Two discussions regarding software and copyright. The first discusses non-copyright-infringing copying, and the legal status of shrink-wrap licenses. The second discusses the legality of reverse-engineering software. ================= software-export-law ================= * Summary of US software export controls The U.S. software industry is the world leader in exported commercial software. This summary lists currently available export licenses, while listing prohibited customers coupled with current restrictions on software with file encryption capability. ================= software-licensing ================= * Copyright -- Software licensing issues An article by Fred Greguras and Sandy J. Wong discussing the legal and pragmatic issues involved in licensing software. Includes discussion of network licensing schemes, international issues, shrinkwrap "licenses," liability issues and shareware/freeware licensing problems. ================= stanley-v-magrath ================= * Expression -- Public Forum -- Closing -- Stanley v. Magrath Comments from _Public Schools Law: Teachers' and Students' Rights_ 2nd Ed. by Martha M. McCarthy and Nelda H. Cambron-McCabe, published in 1987 by Allyn and Bacon, Inc. It says, in part, "[a]lthough school boards are not obligated to support student papers, if a given publication was originally created as a free speech forum, removal of financial or other school board support can be construed as an unlawful effort to stifle free expression." Also, "school authorities cannot withdraw support from a student publication simply because of displeasure with the content" and "the content of a school-sponsored paper that is established as a medium for student expression cannot be regulated more closely than a nonsponsored paper". Also, it tells what to do about libel in student publications. ================= stratton-oakmonth-v-prodigy ================= * Expression -- Liability -- Stratton Oakmonth v. Prodigy The text of the _Stratton Oakmonth v. Prodigy_ decision, in which a federal district judge said that Prodigy could be sued for allegedly defamatory statements posted to Prodigy forum because Prodigy exercised editorial control on that forum. ================= student-publications.misc ================= * Expression -- Offensive -- Student Publications -- Misc Quotes from the book _Law of the Student Press_ by the Student Press Law Center (1985,1988). They say that four-letter words are protected speech, that public universities are not likely to be liable for publications that they for which they do not control the contents, and that the _Hazelwood_ decision does not apply to universities. ================= student-rights.contractual ================= * Student Rights -- Contractual Some information on what contractual rights students have at public and private institutions. ================= student-speech.california ================= * Expression -- California Grade and High Schools Information on a law that protects student speech at California schools, public and private. ================= talley-v-california ================= * Expression -- Anonymous -- Talley v. California The text of the Supre Courts holding in Talley v. California (1960), regarding the protected status of anonymous leaflets. ================= talley-v-california.summary ================= * Expression -- Anonymity -- Tally v. California An excerpt from the ACLU Handbook on _The Right to Protest_ (1991) that says that the distribution of anonymous political leaflets is a constitutionally protected activity. ================= tinker_v_des_moines.2 ================= * Expression -- On Campus -- Tinker v. Des Moines -- 2 A few excerpts from the majority decision in _Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District_ (1969). It concerned non-disruptive political expression in schools. The Supreme Court held that two students had the right to wear black armbands to school as a protest against the Vietnam War. ================= tinker_v_des_moines ================= * Expression -- On Campus -- Tinker v. Des Moines Excerpt from the ACLU Handbook _The Rights of Students_ (3rd edition) by Janet R. Price, Alan H. Levine, and Eve Cary. It says that school cannot prohibit students from handing literature such as underground newspapers on school property. ================= two-live-crew ================= * Expression -- Obscenity -- Two Live Crew UPI story reporting that "The previously banned rap album ``As Nasty As They Wanna Be'' was for sale again in South Florida stores Friday, a day after an Atlanta appeals court ruled it was not obscene." ================= uc-riverside ================= * Expression -- Offensive Speech on Campus -- UC Riverside Paraphrase of a newspaper report: A fraternity at the U. of California at Riverside was banned for offensive T-shirts. They sued and the university settled. By the terms of the settlement the fraternity is is reinstated (but must comply with its national headquarter's sactions. University administrators have to take First Amendment senstivity classes. ================= us-v-property ================= * Civil Forfeiture -- U.S. v. James Daniel Good Real Property, et al. From the official order: "The principal question presented is whether, in the absence of exigent circumstances, the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment prohibits the Government in a civil forfeiture case from seizing real property without first affording the owner notice and an opportunity to be heard. We hold that it does." ================= us-v-riggs ================= * Computer Hacking -- Intellectual Property -- US v. Riggs A copy of an article by EFF staff counsel Mike Godwin regarding the legal principles involved in the case of US v. Riggs. The case involved the publication of a private BellSouth document retrieved from an unprotected computer system. ================= uwm-post-v-u-of-wisconsin ================= * Expression -- Hate Speech -- UWM Post v. U Of Wisconsin The full text of UWM POST v. U. of Wisconsin. This recent district court ruling goes into detail about the difference between protected offensive expression and illegal harassment. It even mentions email. It concludes: "The founding fathers of this nation produced a remarkable document in the Constitution but it was ratified only with the promise of the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment is central to our concept of freedom. The God-given "unalienable rights" that the infant nation rallied to in the Declaration of Independence can be preserved only if their application is rigorously analyzed. The problems of bigotry and discrimination sought to be addressed here are real and truly corrosive of the educational environment. But freedom of speech is almost absolute in our land and the only restriction the fighting words doctrine can abide is that based on the fear of violent reaction. Content-based prohibitions such as that in the UW Rule, however well intended, simply cannot survive the screening which our Constitution demands." ================= widmar-v-vincent ================= * Expression -- On Campus -- Widmar v. Vincent An excerpt from _The Rights of Religious Persons in Public Education_ by John W. Whitehead summarizing how the Supreme Court case of Widmar v. Vincent established that public university campuses are limited public forums. ================= wiesenthal-center-v-mccalden ================= * Expression -- Public Forum -- Closing -- Wiesenthal Center v. McCalden UPI article about Supeme Court case 91-1643, _The Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies, et al., vs. Viviana McCalden, as administrator of the estate of David McCalden_. "The Supreme Court Monday let stand a decision that the city of Los Angeles and a number of private organizations can be sued for allegedly conspiring to ensure the cancellation of a scheduled speech by a ``Holocaust revisionist.''" ================= wisconsin-high-school-press ================= * Expression -- High School Newspapers -- Wisconsin High School Press A newspaper story that says that Wisconsin high school students "working on official school newspapers would be guaranteed limited freedom of expression under a bill given preliminary approval by the Assembly Tuesday." ================= wisconsin-v-mitchell ================= * Expression -- Hate Crimes -- Wisconsin v. Mitchell A political magazine's description of _State of Wisconsin v. Todd Mitchell_, a Wisconsin Supreme Court case which appeared to outlawed all hate crime laws in Wisconsin. ================= wooley-v-maynard ================= * Expression -- Silence -- Wooley v. Maynard Short summary of _Wooley v. Maynard_ in which the Supreme Court recognized a right not to speak. ================= young-conservatives-v-sau ================= * Expression -- Offensive -- Young Conservatives v. SAU A UPI story that tells how Stephen F. Austin University originally banned a group's "sexist" flyers, but when challenged, the ban was lifted and a cash settlement was given to the students whose free-speech was violated by the ban. ================= ================= Last update Fri May 3 18:02:18 PDT 1996