Category: First Amendment
-
The Erosion of Smith: Mahmoud v. Taylor and its Implications for the Free Exercise Clause
By Daeun Kim — Mahmoud v. Taylor marks a significant erosion of Employment Division v. Smith and signals a doctrinal shift toward revitalized, pre-Smith Free Exercise protections. By relying on Wisconsin v. Yoder rather than Smith, the Court reframed parental…
-
Beauty, Decency, and the Constitution: Analyzing the Constitutionality of Federal Funding of the Arts in National Endowment of the Arts v. Finley
By Sophia Zuo — Upon examining the recent headlines covering the current Trump Administration, the arts emerge as a surprising topic of intense presidential interest. President Trump has been vocal in his efforts to eradicate major federal programs such as…
-
Silencing the Skies: The Attack on Journalistic Drone Rights
By Jaylee Witcher — Amid his revitalized campaign of immigration enforcement, Donald Trump has intensified pressure on the actors he views as obstructing his agenda: Democratic-led cities. One of the most prominent targets is Chicago, where Mayor Brandon Johnson’s immigration…
-
California’s Deepfake Dilemma: Truth, Technology, and the First Amendment
By Siya Mishra — In the midst of the 2024 U.S. presidential elections, voters were exposed to a lot of promotional political content: emails asking for donations, texts to get involved with campaigns, and billboards and advertisements promoting candidates. Yet,…
-
Charters, Churches, and the Court: Gauging the Future of Religion in Public Education
Tarun Iyengar — Religious public education is an uncommon phrase in the United States given current jurisprudence relating to the 1st Amendment Establishment and Free Exercise Clauses. However, this phrase has recently garnered serious attention after the Archdioceses of Oklahoma…
-
Oklahoma’s Bible Controversy: Unpacking the Legality of the Bible Education Mandate
By Elaine Gao —- In the summer of 2024, the state of Oklahoma was torn apart not by the upcoming University of Oklahoma v. Oklahoma State University game but by state superintendent Ryan Walters’s bold
-
“Best Interest” vs. Strict Scrutiny: The Battle for the Freedom of Speech in Child Custody and CPS Cases
By Kaylee Kasper — As it stands, the US legal system promotes a largely hands-off approach to regulating the internal affairs of families. Parents have the liberty to determine how they intend to raise their children, dictating their day-to-day activities…
