March 13, 2012

POS 282--Introduction to American Law
In class today, Tuesday 3/13, I returned the test papers, and we went over the test. After that we discussed the idea of law and ethics, going over a recent case regarding religious liberty and the rights of pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions, as well as some of the recent history regarding the interpretation of the free exercise clause of the First Amendment. The assignment for Thursday 3/15 is to review the textbook case of Gregg v. Georgia, previously assigned.

POS 359--The Current Supreme Court Term
In class today, Tuesday 3/13, we went over the two Respondent's Briefs in FCC v. Fox, those of ABC and of Fox. We looked at the difference in approach between the two briefs, even though in the end they made very similar arguments. We looked at a number of issues raised by the parties, both the arguments and the responses by the opponent. Among these were the arguments to overrule Pacifica and the argument to simply distinguish it; whether there's been a change in both pervasiveness and accessibility to children since Pacifica; the question of whether this FCC restriction is properly characterized as a content based restriction, versus a neutral time, place and manner restriction; whether broadcasters lose their right to complain because they are granted free licenses to use the public airways; whether harm to children can be presumed, or whether it has to be demonstrated; and whether radio has the same rules as broadcast television. The assignment for Thursday 3/15 is to read the FCC Reply Brief. Looking ahead, the assignments will then be the 2009 FCC v. Fox Supreme Court decision, the oral argument in our case, and then the paper due on March 29th (subject to change, of course).