The World of Charles J. Kappler: A Digital Portrait

ABSTRACT

Charles J. Kappler (1868–1946) is known almost exclusively for his Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties compilation, yet his life and his career were much fuller. Besides serving as Clerk for the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, he was co-counsel for the Pious Fund of the Californias v. Mexico proceedings before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague and, in one role or another, played a substantial part in many significant federal Indian law cases before the United States Supreme Court in the years leading up to the establishment of the Indian Claims Commission. A digital Web site has been developed to present lesser known aspects of his personal and professional life.     

Media Regulation and Law

Harold L. Nelson and Dwight L. Teeter, Jr.'s Law of Mass Communications: Freedom and Control of Print and Broadcast Media (Mineola, N.Y.: Foundation Press, 1978—$16.00)

David Gordon's Problems in Law of Mass Communications: Programmed Instruction (same publisher–inquire for copies), which in a few cases also updates the basic text (as in the Supreme Court case on crossownership of media)

John Foley, Robert C. Lobdell, and Robert Trounson, eds. The Southern California Conference on The Media and the Law (Los Angeles: Times Mirror Press, 1978—price not given, paper)     

Access to the Working Papers of State Supreme Court Justices

SUMMARY

Two former Texas Supreme Court justices recently offered to donate their personal court files to the Tarlton Law Library, University of Texas at Austin. These offers forced the Law Library, the Texas Supreme Court, and the State Archives to confront several issues. Should such files ever be made public? If so, what would be an appropriate waiting period? What research value, if any, do such papers have? These working files would be valued not only by legal historians, but also by litigants, voters, and political opponents, raising some sticky access issues.     

Regulation

Antitrust, the Media and the New Technology (1981, 560 pp.)

Current Developments in CATV 1981 (1981, 629 pp.)

Clifton O. Lawhorne, The Supreme Court and Libel (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1981—$19.95)

Robert D. Sack, Libel, Slander, and Related Problems (Practising Law Institute, 810 Seventh Ave., New York 10019 —$50.00)     

The “red lion”; decision

The decision of the Supreme Court last June in the “Red Lion”; and “RTNDA”; cases is the most important decision on broadcasting from SCOTUS in many years. On this fact communications attorneys, members of the FCC, editorial writers, teachers, and the Vice President of the U. S. can all agree. To make this landmark decision more readily available, the Journal is providing below most of the verbatim text of the decision. In the interests of conserving space, some minor marked deletions have been made.

The full title of this case is: “Red Lion Broadcasting Co., Inc., etc., et al, Petitioners, v Federal Communications Commission et al. (No. 2)—United States et al. Petitioners, v Radio Television News Directors Association, et al. (No. 717).”; It was argued April 2 and 3, 1969, and decided June 9, 1969, with Mr. Justice White delivering the opinion of the Court. The precise legal citations from the court reporting systems are not yet available.     

Competition for Viewers and Advertisers in a TV Oligopoly

Abstract

This study considers a model of a TV oligopoly where TV channels transmit advertising and viewers dislike such commercials. It is shown that advertisers make a lower profit the larger the number of TV channels. If TV channels are sufficiently close substitutes, there will be underprovision of advertising relative to social optimum. This study also finds that the more viewers dislike ads, the more likely it is that welfare is increasing in the number of advertising-financed TV channels. A publicly owned TV channel can partly correct market distortions, in some cases, by having a larger amount of advertising than private TV channels. It may even have advertising in cases where advertising is wasteful per se.     

From exemptions to censorship: religious liberty and victimhood in Obergefell v. Hodges

This article analyzes the Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, showing that a subset of the dissent constructed devout religious groups as victims to rearticulate power relations between the state, LGBT groups, and religious entities. This rearticulation is possible as a consequence of ambiguity in the legal concept of religious liberty, which is explored in depth. That ambiguity is employed to mount an argument against the decision, moving LGBT individuals from oppressed to oppressor of religious groups. The study contextualizes this inversion against the material and symbolic conditions of both the LGBT and devout Christian communities in the United States.     

Media Regulation

Haig A. Bosmajian, ed. Obscenity and Freedom of Expression (New York: Burt Franklin & Co., 1976---$25.00)

Harry W. Stonecipher and Robert Trager's The Mass Media and Law in Illinois (Carbondale Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1976---$12.50)

Kenneth S. Devol, ed. Mass Media and the Supreme Court: The Legacy of the Warren Years (New York: Hastings House, 1976---$14.50/8.50)     

American Indian treaties and the lower federal courts: A guide to treaty citations from opinions of the lower United States federal court system

In a previous study, it was found that 209 of 375 recognized American Indian treaties have been cited in opinions of the United States Supreme Court (Bernholz, 2004). This guide now identifies – through 246 citations from 142 cases between the years 1863 and 2005 – 85 treaties found only in opinions of the lower Federal Court system. In addition, this investigation uncovered another treaty referenced by the Supreme Court. The remaining 80 instruments have not appeared in opinions of the federal courts (4, 5 and 7).     

“明显而即刻的危险”原则的历史考察

本文主要通过对霍姆斯在马萨诸塞州最高法院期间和在联邦最高法院审理申克案之前言论自由案件判决的分析,来还原他如何提出在美国言论自由思想史上占据重要地位的"明显而即刻的危险"原则。这种还原包含两个方面:一、对霍姆斯在这段时间言论自由思想的转变历程进行勾勒;二、挖掘影响霍姆斯对言论自由思考转向的历史因素。通过这两方面的论述,尽可能完整地向读者展示"明显而即刻的危险"原则的历史由来。     

Classification and Subject Indexing Issues at a Mexican Library Specializing in Law Research

Abstract

Subject indexing and classification of law resources is a complex issue due to several factors: specialized meanings of legal terms, meanings across different branches of law, terms in legal systems from diverse countries, and terms in different languages. These issues led to the development of a classification and subject indexing system which will help answer the major challenges of indexing and classifying law resources in the Research Institute Library at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Adopting its own classification required interdisciplinary work between law and information organization specialists, constant updating by legal specialists and others beyond the Legal Research Institute; and the sharing of this classification system with other institutions. Now, this classification system is used by important institutions that specialize in law, such as the network of Libraries of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation of Mexico. The purpose of this article is to show why and how this law classification and subject system was developed and is continuously being updated by libarians and law scholars in order for it to meet their specific needs.     

The absent American Indian treaties: A guide to treaties never referenced at the federal court level

The treaties signed by the US and the various Indian nations continue to be powerful litigation tools, as demonstrated in the 1999 Supreme Court case Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians (526 U.S. 172). Over the years, many cases have been heard but it is noteworthy that of the over 370 Indian treaties enumerated by the Department of State, more than 80 have never been cited in the opinion of any trial at the federal court level. This note identifies these absent American Indian treaties.     

Student Advocacy and the Limits of (Action-) Free Speech: Figurations of Materiality in Tinker,Bethel, and Hazelwood

The US Supreme Court has considered the question of free speech rights for students several times since its landmark Tinker v. Des Moines ruling in 1969. In each case it has confronted the failure of existing precedents to crystallize the imaginary distinction between speech and action in such a way as to satisfactorily negotiate the social relationship between students and educators, youth and adults. This essay analyzes three cases in the student free speech tradition, attending to the ways in which materiality is thematized in the course of a negotiation of the interests of adults vis-à-vis youth.     

Books on broadcasting in the library of congress: Programming and audience research

Because advertising is the bread‐and‐butter of broadcasting in the United States, any attempt to limit the number and length of commercials is, bound to meet with strong opposition. One such unsuccessful attempt was made by the FCC only four years ago, but already memories of the events and maneuverings that swirled around this proposal are fading. Lawrence D. Longley investigated this topic in connection with his doctoral dissertation on “The Politics of Broadcasting” which is nearing completion at Vanderbilt University. Mr. Longley is instructor in the Department of Government at Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin.     

Effects of music on source evaluations

Dr. Simpkins is an assistant professor in the department of advertising at Michigan State University, while Mr. Smith is a media analyst at Campbell‐Ewald, Inc. in Detroit. The research that follows offers some useful advice to producers of commercials and other material using a musical background.     

The U.S. supreme court 1969‐1992: A shift toward an individualistic style of judging

Prior research has noted the increase of concurrent and dissenting opinions issued by the U.S. Supreme Court. It has been argued that the proliferation of concurrent and dissenting opinions is symptomatic of an “individualistic” style of judging. This paper seeks to answer the question of whether individualism has also become manifest among the sitting Justices on the Supreme Court. It is argued that the number of personal references in Court opinions offers a linguistic clue as to how the Justices see themselves and the Court as an institution. The key issue is whether the sitting Justices see the current Court (and themselves) as an institutional body or as a fractionalized collection of individuals. A content analysis of Court opinions offers some support that an individualistic style of judging has increased over time.     

Roe v. Wade: The rhetoric of fetal life

Court decisions themselves, and not just arguments before courts, are rhetorical works. The Supreme Court majority opinion in the publicized 1973 abortion case Roe v. Wade demonstrated this rhetorical nature of decisions both in its choice of arguments and evidence and in its effort to organize symbolically the world of the medical and legal considerations surrounding abortion.     

Comparing Advertising Agencies’ Resources to Academic Libraries’ Collections

Abstract

Collection development analysis in academic libraries typically involves collection-centered and user-centered methods. These approaches focus on building collections that help students with their academic needs but may overlook resources that students need experience with when employed. To address this gap, the authors analyzed early-career advertising agency positions to identify a list of information resources that advertising agencies expect employees to use. This list was then compared against the library websites of 158 universities with advertising programs to see how sufficiently libraries are fulfilling these resource needs. The authors found that overall, university libraries only subscribe to a small number of resources used by advertising agencies.     

Testing the constitutionality of u.s. licensing of news gatherers and researchers traveling to cuba*

The Fifth Amendment right to travel freely abroad notwithstanding, the Supreme Court has upheld on national security grounds a de facto travel ban by which the U.S. government prohibits its citizens to spend money necessary for visiting the island of Cuba unless they receive prior approval from the Treasury Department. However, this article argues that the licensing regime used by Treasury to authorize some academic researchers and news gatherers to report from Cuba probably is unconstitutional. The First Amendment right to publish carries with it the antecedent freedom to gather news and information. The government may limit that freedom only for compelling reasons and only if the restrictions are not based on some constitutionally impermissible criterion or condition. The reason for this is to prevent the government from restricting the flow of information necessary for the American people to make enlightened choices in the democratic process and hold their government in account. Therefore, requiring news gatherers and academic researchers to obtain licenses undermines democratic self-government by placing the government in the position of determining the terms and conditions under which the electorate is informed about a matter of public importance. This article further argues that the criteria used in granting licenses are arbitrarily applied, not reasonably related to the stated goals of the economic embargo of Cuba, and discriminate against some information gatherers according to their employment status and content of their work. Based on this conclusion, the author decided to participate in a legal challenge, in which he and two other academic researchers traveled to Cuba without Treasury licenses in order to test the constitutionality of the regulations. The author’s personal experience is recounted, and the inconclusive outcome of his civil disobedience is reported.     

Spotlight and Investigative Journalism: How the Film Reinforces the Essential Role of a Free,Professional Press in a Democracy

This article examines key scenes and ideas portrayed in the film Spotlight and discusses related landmark Supreme Court cases as a reaffirmation of the value of a professional, free press in a democratic society. Based on actual events, the movie adaptation follows journalists from the Boston Globe (within an investigate unit with the actual name “Spotlight”) as they reveal one of the biggest scandals of the twenty-first century, the cover up of systematic abuse of children by priests; and go up against one of the most powerful institutions in the world, the Catholic Church. By giving a voice and a platform for the victims, and by meticulously researching the story, the film provides a clear and strong argument for the continued court protection of one of the United States’ founding principles: freedom of the press.