Universities are intended to be places for learning, research, and dialogue. The concept of “academic freedom” holds that university faculty should be free to pursue ideas and inquiries without external influences or limitations, and particularly without the threat of legal persecution. Modern…
The Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution, as a general rule, only regulates and restricts government action. It does not cover private individuals, organizations, or businesses. This means that a person can only bring a claim for a violation of their constitutional rights against a “state…
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects the right to freedom of speech. As it is written, the Free Speech Clause constrains the government’s power to punish people based on the content of their speech, or to restrict people’s ability to speak. But not all speech is created equal under…
Introduction Most are probably familiar with the concept of tribal sovereignty; that is, the idea that Native American / Indian Tribes have inherent authority to govern themselves, free of interference by federal or state governments. An essential aspect of tribal sovereignty is tribal sovereign…
Courts in the U.S. classify lawsuits that challenge the constitutionality of a statute into two categories: facial challenges and as-applied challenges. The distinction between the two is clear in many situations, but sometimes it can get murky. One important distinction involves the plaintiff’s…
Article III of the U.S. Constitution establishes the Supreme Court and gives Congress the authority to create additional courts. It also gives the Judicial Branch of the federal government authority over certain types of cases. The Judiciary Act of 1789, one of the first bills passed during the…