2003 Articles

Arbitration: It’s here to stay By Douglas A. Darch December 2003 The cost of access to the courts has long been an issue for the practicing bar, as well as advocates for the poor.

The First Amendment December 2003 The State of the First Amendment survey, released by the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center each year, is a reality check on how Americans view their First Amendment freedoms of speech, press, assembly, religion and petition.

From the Chair By Richard L. Hutchison December 2003 A message from Section Chair Dick Hutchison.

From the chair By Richard L. Hutchison September 2003 James Stern did a nice job during the past year as the chair of the Human Rights Committee.

From the incoming chair By Richard L. Hutchison June 2003 It has been a pleasant and mind-expanding experience to be a member of the Human Rights Committee.

From the outgoing chair By James Stern June 2003 The primary formation of this section council has been to put out this newsletter, put on educational programs, and review proposed legislation affecting Human Rights.

Have you joined RISSNET? By James Bumgarner September 2003 If you are presently a member of VGTOF, Capps, TIA, or TIDISDM, you are also a member of RISSNET.

Illinois charitable solicitation case before High Court By Steven Helle April 2003 In the minds of most, telemarketers might well have replaced pornographers and 1950s Communists as having the most dubious claim to First Amendment protection for their speech.

Last rights vs. privacy rights under the amendents to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 By Kenneth Dobbs June 2003 Father McNamara receives a telephone call from a parishioner that the principal of the parish school, Sister Mary Elizabeth, was run over by a truck and rushed to an area hospital in grave condition.

The USA Patriot Act: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 By Phillip B. Lenzini September 2003 The USA Patriot Act, complete with the acronym, that was signed into law October 26, 2001 by President Bush, has been called many things. By some it is the collection of tools designed for combating the terrorism exemplified by the acts of September 11, 2001.

Wobblers weeble but they don’t fall down: The Wobbler effect and how it can get you 25 to life—An analysis of the U.S. Supreme Court’s approval of California’s “three strikes” law By Mary B. Dilger April 2003 On March 5, 2003, The United States Supreme Court affirmed the right of states to prescribe harsh sentences on career criminals, when it upheld California's "Three Strikes" law under which an offender can go to prison for many years for ostensibly minor offenses.