JURIST - Paper Chase

Wednesday, January 15

Bush v. U.Michigan on affirmative action admissions
Bernard Hibbitts at 1/15/2003 08:59:19 PM

Watch recorded video of remarks by President Bush Wednesday afternoon expressing his opposition to the University of Michigan's affirmative action admissions policies (including policies at the UM Law School) now under appeal to the US Supreme Court. University of Michigan President May Sue Coleman offered this response.

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Balkin blog
Bernard Hibbitts at 1/15/2003 08:32:27 PM

Jack Balkin, Knight Professor of Constitutional Law and the First Amendment at Yale Law School, has started his own blog promising 'commentary on law, politics and culture.' One of his first targets: Eldred v. Ashcroft, which he describes in an extensive analysis as 'bad law' and a 'disastrous opinion for free speech.'

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End of the ©fight?
Bernard Hibbitts at 1/15/2003 08:27:29 PM

Websites dedicated to opposing copyright extension legislation are sadly and laconically noting Wednesday's US Supreme Court decision in Eldred. See, for instance, the short statement on the Eldred plaintiffs site, and the brief note on the home page of Opposing Copyright Extension, maintained by Arizona State law professor Dennis S. Karjala. But it may be premature to conclude that this is the end of the line for champions of the public domain, at least if recent comments posted to Larry Lessig's blog reacting to his reflections on losing are anything to go by.

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Supreme Court miners' healthcare benefits ruling
Bernard Hibbitts at 1/15/2003 02:30:07 PM

Along with Eldred, the US Supreme Court Wednesday handed down a second split decision reversing by 6-3 the US Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and holding that despite a missed government deadline, coal companies must pay into a federal pool to pay for miners' healthcare benefits. Read Barnhart v. Peabody Coal Co.[PDF] - Opinion by Souter, dissents by Scalia and Thomas. Get background on the case from the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University.

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ACLU 'Surveillance Society' report
Bernard Hibbitts at 1/15/2003 02:10:00 PM

The American Civil Liberties Union released a major report Wednesday on new US government surveillance programs and technologies that it says pose a fundamental threat to individual liberty and privacy rights. Review Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains: The Growth of an American Surveillance Society[PDF].

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SEC rule-making meeting
Bernard Hibbitts at 1/15/2003 01:28:14 PM

Listen to recorded audio of Wednesday's open meeting of the Securities and Exchange Commission setting new rules on financial information filing, disclosure, and insider trading under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. An agenda is also available. Get more SEC news on JURIST.

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FCC 'State of the Commission'
Bernard Hibbitts at 1/15/2003 01:05:20 PM

Watch recorded video of Wednesday's open meeting of the Federal Communications Commission regarding implementation of the agency's strategic plan and a comprehensive review of FCC policies. The agenda and supporting presentations are also available. Get more FCC news on JURIST.

Eldred copyright extension ruling
Bernard Hibbitts at 1/15/2003 11:05:36 AM

By a 7-2 margin the US Supreme Court upheld on Wednesday the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act[PDF], retroactively extending statutory copyright protection by a further 20 years beyond the original term of the author's life plus 50 years. Read Eldred v Ashcroft - Opinion by Ginsburg[PDF], with dissents by Stevens[PDF] and Breyer[PDF]. Follow the ups (and downs...) of the Eldred litigation with Eldred counsel and Stanford law prof Larry Lessig.

This day at law
Bernard Hibbitts at 1/15/2003 08:17:45 AM

On January 15, 1929, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Visit the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project at Stanford University and listen to a clip from King's 1963 'I Have a Dream' speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.