Goodman Firm Blawg

What Should a School Do?

This school expelled a student after learning of rap music he had written with lyrics describing gunfire and murder. The ACLU argued against expulsion and the Courts agreed; stating that the lyrics did not rise to a level of threatening the students at the school. Imagine the field day the media would have if the school failed to act and the rapper went on a shooting rampage at school......

5th Circuit Strikes Down School's Racial Admission Quota

The 5th Circuit recently issued this opinion which addressed a school's admission policy. In question was a magnet school's admission policy which sought to achieve a 50/50 balance of black/white students. This admission policy had several requirements in place, with one requirement involving a standardized test score. The school would admit black students with lower test scores than white students. The plaintiff was a white student who scored lower than the minimum test score for white applicants, but who's score was hirer than the minimum for black applicants. The 5th Circuit stated there was no proof of the admission policy trying to correct past vestiges of segregation, nor was there any current proof of the need for the admission policy. The Court struck down the policy by noting that "the Constitution is not violated by racial imbalance in the schools, without more."

Judge Sanctions Entire Firm!

This Law.Com article outlines a California Judge's Order for sanctions against a law firm defending a school district in a claim for benefits filed by a disabled student. Based upon the defense lawyer's actions in the claim, the Judge ordered the lawyer and the lawyer's entire firm to attend additional ethics training as part of court ordered sanctions. How would you like to deliver that news to your firm? The article does note that the lawyer in question is no longer employed at the firm.