BULLETIN
#9 Spring 1992

l TAFOL TO SPONSOR "LAW SCHOOL CLASS" AT WILLIAMSBURG CONFERENCE
l TAFOL FILES AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF OPPOSING MANDATORY COMMUNITY      SERVICE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
l TEXAS MANDATORY PRO BONO UPDATE
l CHANGES IN BOARD OF DIRECTORS

#9 Spring 1992 Page 1

TAFOL TO SPONSOR "LAW SCHOOL CLASS" AT WILLIAMSBURG CONFERENCE

TAFOL will sponsor a discussion of the important Supreme Court defamation case, New York Times v. Sullivan, on the evening of July 1, 1992 at the Conceptual Conferences "Objectivism '92," to be held at the Fort Magruder Inn, Williamsburg, Virginia.

The Sullivan case, decided in 1964, deals with the relationship between freedom of the press on the one hand and the law of defamation on the other. The case concerned an advertisement in the March 29, 1960 issue of The New York Times seeking support for the "civil rights movement" in the south. The advertisement alleged violence and widespread violations of constitutional rights in Montgomery, Alabama. L. B. Sullivan was the Montgomery Commissioner of Public Affairs. His duties included supervision of the police department. He brought suit, claiming that these allegations libeled the police and, because of his position, him. A jury found in his favor and awarded him $500,000.00 in damages. The Supreme Court reversed the jury verdict.

At the Williamsburg conference, each participant will be provided in advance with an edited copy of the actual Sullivan opinion, along with related materials. TAFOL President Steve Plafker will start the session by conducting a discussion of the case, similar to the discussion that a law professor would conduct in class. Most of the discussion will concern the main issue in the case, which is: to what extent does possible monetary liability for making wrong statements interfere with one's right to express oneself as protected by the First Amendment? At the end of the class, he will give a short lecture covering side issues raised in the decision, First Amendment history, and the law as it developed following Sullivan. He will then entertain questions.

TAFOL FILES AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF OPPOSING MANDATORY COMMUNITY SERVICE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

TAFOL has filed its first amicus curiae ("friend of the court") brief. The brief was filed in the case of Steirer v. Bethlehem Area School District, which is on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs in the case were students and parents who objected to a program that denied a high school diploma to any high school student who refused to provide 60 hours of unpaid community service.

The case was first heard in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The trial judge, presented with cross motions for summary judgment, ruled that the program did not constitute "involuntary servitude" under the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The judge also ruled that the students were not being forced to affirm a belief in altruism as a desirable life philosophy, and so their First Amendment rights were not violated.

On appeal, TAFOL focused most of its effort on arguing that the program violates the First Amendment by permitting local school officials to prescribe what shall be orthodox in matters of morality. The following excerpt from the brief summarizes several important points:

     One of the most troubling aspects of this case is the School District's arrogant
     contention that students need not believe in community service so long as
     they shut up and serve. This attitude brings to mind the plight of the
     Jewish conversos in 15th century Spain. Although the situation in this case
     differs drastically in its historical significance, the moral and political
     principles involved are the same. The conversos were Jews who adopted
     the outward manifestations of the Catholic religion. Although some
     conversos genuinely changed their beliefs to satisfy the Catholic rulers,
     there were suspected to be "large numbers of backsliders, pretenders, crypto-Jews,

#9 Spring 1992 Page 2

     and Judaizers who practiced their Hebraic rites in secret." K. Sale, The Conquest
     of Paradise 373 n.2 (1990). The Inquisition put great pressure on the conversos,
     many of whom were prominent at the Spanish court, and ultimately a number
     of conversos turned on their own religious brethren and cooperated with the
     Inquisition in forcing all Jews out of Spain in 1492. Id.

     Here, the School District is attempting to win converts to the moral code of
     self-sacrificial service. Through the community service program, the School
     District has, with one stroke, created a small army devoted to such service,
     complete with its own draft. In any given four-year period, this army will render
     more than 200,000 hours of forced labor. Undoubtedly, some students will be
     converted to the School District's moral point of view. What is more frightening,
     however, is that even those who are not converted will be expected to mouth
     agreement with the altruist opinions underlying the program. Thus, the
     Bethlehem Area School District will have created its own little band of
     conversos, impressionable young students who are intimidated into ignoring
     their own moral judgment in favor of a state-mandated orthodoxy. This would
     not be an achievement for any governmental agency to be proud of, but it
     is especially disgraceful emanating from a school district charged with nurturing
     and developing healthy young minds.

TAFOL President Steve Plafker and Board member Tom Bowden, who together wrote the brief, wish to thank TAFOL members Judy Gedge, Jeff McCullough, Jeri Eagan, and Mike Mazzone for their research and other valuable suggestions. In addition, TAFOL members whose dues offset the costs of filing the brief also deserve thanks.

The Third Circuit is scheduled to hear oral arguments as early as August, 1992. Under the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure, counsel for amici are not normally permitted to participate in oral argument. The Third Circuit may rule on the issue before the year is out.

TEXAS MANDATORY PRO BONO UPDATE

Advocates of mandatory pro bono in Texas have appealed the dismissal of their case to the state's intermediate appeals court. Because this is an appeal as of right, the appellate court must hear the appeal. Any further appeal to the Texas Supreme Court will be by writ of certiorari at the Supreme Court's discretion.

The case was originally filed on March 14, 1991 by several indigents against the Texas State Bar Association, alleging that each member of the bar has a duty to provide free legal services to the poor. TAFOL member Mike Mazzone, aided by TAFOL funds and the volunteer efforts of TAFOL members, intervened with a 38-page brief offering a spirited, principled opposition backed by meticulous research.

The current appeal challenges the trial judge's view that he lacked jurisdiction over all the plaintiffs' claims. Essentially, therefore, the argument is over which court will hear the merits of the case, rather than which side should win on the merits. For this reason,
Mazzone filed only a short brief, in which he made reference
to his arguments on the merits made to the trial court.

Oral argument will likely be held this fall, and a decision is probable this year.

CHANGES IN BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dee Tagliavia, one of TAFOL's founders, has resigned from the Board of Directors in order to pursue a Ph.D. degree in economics. The Board wishes to thank Dee for her invaluable efforts. Tom Bowden will assume her place on the Board.
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Copyright © 1992 The Association for Objective Law. All rights reserved. The Association for Objective Law is a Missouri non-profit corporation whose purpose is to advance Objectivism, the philosophy of Ayn Rand, as the basis of a proper legal system.