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Louisville Law Examiner Volume 11, Number 3 Serving the University of Louisville School of Law Community Louisville, Kentucky - February, 1986 Circulation 5,400 Replaces Liebson Dolson Named Associate Dean by Jennifer C. Miller Professor William F. Dolson has been named the law school's new Associate Dean by Dean Barbara Lewis. He will officially begin the three-year appointment during the summer semester, although he has already started to familiarize himself with his new duties. Professor Dolson will replace David Leibson, who has served as Associate Dean for the past year and a half. Dean Leibson plans to leave for Leeds, England on sabbatical at the end of the semester, necessitating the new appointment. While both students and faculty members can make recommendations and nominations to the Dean's office, Dean Lewis makes the final decision. Dolson was one of several professors nominated for the position. Duties of the Associate Dean include organizing the course and exam schedules, working with the alumni, advising students on academic and personal problems, and aiding the Assistant to the Dean, Kent Lollis, with financial aid and scholarship programs. Dolson said he accepted the position because he always enjoyed working with students, and he hopes to improve relations with the alumni. "The law school already has a good student/ professor relationship," said Dolson, "but I feel that there is always room for improvement." Dolson said that he plans to work with both the faculty and the student representatives on the upcoming course and exam schedules. In addition, he said that his door will always be open for both day and night students to discuss any problems they might have. To accommodate the night students, Dolson plans to be in his office at least one night a week. ' Dolson has also expressed a great deal of enthusiasm about his new appointment, saying he enjoys taking on new tasks and getting involved. He joined the faculty in 1959, and his teaching is centered in the areas of property law and labor relations law. In addition to being a member of the Louisville Bar Association and the American Bar Association (ABA), Dolson has served as public co-chairman of the ABA Committee on Labor Arbitration. He helped establish the Labor and Employment Law Institute in 1984, and has served as its chairman for the past two years . ln the past, Dolson served as faculty advisor to the Student Bar Association. William F. Dolson Photo by Nancy Morgan Benefit Dance A benefit dance w_ill be held on Friday, March 14, to help defray some of the costs incurred by Professor Richard H. Nowka because of the liver transplant undergone by his infant daughter. The dance will be held at the American Legion Highland Post, 2919 Bardstown Road. Music will be provided by The Mystics. The cost is $10.00 per person, which includes beer and set-ups. Tickets will be available at the door. Britney Nowka was born on February 27, 1985, suffering from biliary atresia, a congenital liver defect. After several operations in Louisville failed to remedy her situation, doctors concluded that a transplant might be Britney's only hope. The transplant was performed on January 22, 1986, at The University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Britney is still hospitalized in Nebraska. According to Professor Nowka, the doctors project a 2-3 month hospital stay. In addition, she will have to spend some time close to the Med Center as an out patient. Nowka said she is doing fine now, although some days are better than others. City Prohibits Membership In ''Hate · Groups'' by Bill Wilson Last December, the Louisville Board of Aldermen passed an ordinance which prohibited all city employees from " participation in and promotion of racist or hate organizations with illegal objectives." This action was taken amidst the controversy which surrounded the dismissal of Officer Alex Young of the Jefferson County Police. Young, a high-ranking Ku Klux Klan member, had violated a number of department regulations, including the distribution of Klan literature within the police station and the use of police computers for activities other than official business. The Young situation resembles the recent Florida case of McMullen v. Carson, 754 F. 2d 936 (i lth Cir. 1985). Robert C. McMullen was hired as a clerk by the Jacksonville Police Department. During a news conference, called by the Klan to disclaim responsibility for a racially motivated "cross burning" incident, McMullen identified himself as being a member of and a recruiter for the organization. He was subsequently fired and brought an action in federal court. The II th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld McMullen's dismissal. The court stated that the problem in any case was to " arrive at a balance" between the rights of a private citizen to associate freely and the duty of a public agency to efficiently perform its duties. The Jacksonville sheriff was found to have had no alternative to dismissal, which would have maintained the integrity of the department and McMullen's right of free speech and association. The court also determined that members of law enforcement agencies were subject to greater First Amendment restraints than other citizens. The greater restraints were due to a reliance by such agencies on public esteem and opinion in order to efficiently perform their duties. Professor Robert Stenger of the U of L School of Law agrees. "I think there are very strong arguments for the police. If you believe the police are against your race, you are not going to have rriuch confidence in the police," he said. Stenger added that the First Amendment does not give an employee the right to undermine .the effe~tiveness of an agency. The Louisville ordinance and a similar one passed by the eastern Jefferson County city of Jeffersontown join actions by other cities across the nation. These ordinances have been. primarily focused on restricting Ku Klux Klan influence within !peal law enforcement agencies. The Louisville ordinance applies to all city employees. Christie Gronefeld, an attorney with the city of Louisville Law Department, stated everyone is specifi-· cally covered, except those employed by (continued on page 7) LQuisville Law Examiner February, 1986 ::.... 2 ...:.,__ _L_ O____ u-is-vi-ne-. L- .a-w-- ;_Ex_a_m-in_e--r. - - ....., __ ., PJ·acemen-t Of(jc~ S.uggests EDITORIAL BOARD Joel D. , Zakem .Edhor-in~Chief Nancy Morgan Photography Editor Tom Jtansdell J. B. Phillips Associate Editors Jennifer C Miller STAFF Benjamin Johnson Managing Editor Rebecca Ward Br;:mdeis Brief Editor Winnie McConnell Night. Associ~te Editor Bill Wilson W. Timothy Price Jane Moore Waldrop Professor LAURENCE W. KNOWLES, Consultant The Louisville Law Examiner is published six times during the acade~ic year in the interest ~f the University of Louisville School of Law commumty. Articles are invited from faculty members, students, and members of the bar who wish to do freelance work. Any proposed article should be cleared with the Editor as to. topic and length. Address all communications to The Louisville Law Examiner, School of Law, University of Louisville, · Louisville, Kentucky 40292. Phone: (502) 588-6398. Progressive League Receives .. T.holnas HQgan A ward . by Winnie McConnell board. "Therefore, with this purpose in mind , we believe the first award to. the,s,e Thomas Hogan, one of the state's students was especially appropnate. leading civil rights' attorneys and a 1969 In addition, the Foundation presented graduate of the University of Louisvil_le a series of books on civil rights and civil School of Law, died at the age of 40 m liberties to the U of L law school. Books September, 1984, ~f cancer. .. . will. be donated to the school each year, However, his commitment to ClVIl said Benson. rights continues to live on through the Hogan began his civil. rights activism Thomas Hogan Memorial Foundation , while a student at the U of L School of established by Hogan's close friends and Law. Shortly after his graduation, colleagues who believed. his death left a Hogan established his career as a civil void in Louisville's civil rights com)llu- rights attorney when he filed suit on be-nity. The purpose of the Foundation is half of a black serviceman who was de-to raise money fo'r an annual cash award nied entry to a country club because of to be presented in Hogan's hono_r. his race . Hogan won an app_ellate court Money raised b~ t~e F?.~ndatio~ w11I · ·, d~cisi_on ir: that. case, ~p~~Jdm_g t_he ~o~also be used to f~rfd.:pro-Jects consistent ., st1tutionahty-of the state s antl-dtscnml-with Hogan's philo'sophy and work in nation statutes. . the civil rights arena . Hogan is mostly known f~r bemg: o~e During a recent ceremony at the U of of several attorneys who ftled su1t m L Law School, the Foundation pre- 1971 seeking to desegregate J~fferso~ sented its first aw~rd to the U of L Pro- County schools. After four _years o~ h-gressive Students 'League for its efforts tigation, the court issued a des~gregau?n to get the university to divest itself of order, bringing about the busmg-for-m- South Africa-related stocks due to that tegration plan in Jefferson County Pub-country's apartheid policy. Through the lie Schools. group 's anti-apartheid work, directors Several ·years later, Kogan repre-of the U of L Foundation, which deals sented an anti-busing group that was de-with investments, voted in October nied a city permit to conduct a protest 1985 to sell all the university's stock march on Derby Day. Hogan, who lost withi'n the next two years in companies the case, said he took this case because which do business in South Africa. anti-busing organizations also have con- " The purpose of this annual award is stitutional rights. . to recognize an individual or orgamza- Anyone wishing to co_ntnbute to ~he tion's involvement in civil liberties and Thomas. Hogan Memonal FoundatiOn to encourage young people to take part may send their donations to 809 South in civil rights works." said Bob Benson, Fourth . Street, Louisville, Kentucky a member of the Hogan Foundation 40203. 1·nter-yiewi~g ·Hints by Phyllis Leibson Placement Director As mid-term approaches, many students seeking summer and permanent jobs are inquirying about the interviewing process. Interviews vary greatly from employer to employer and among interviewers as well. It is wise to be aware that there are differences; therefore, one can be prepared for anything. . There are numerous resources in the Placement Resource Library to assist the student who has never had a "real' ' job before, as well as the employed individual who is seeking a change. In addition to several books and articles on the subject, there is a handout of typical questions. For additional information, please stop in at the Placement Office. Following is a list of questions commonly utilized by recruiters during the interview process. Don't attempt to memorize prepared r~sponses to these questions. Rather, spend some time reflecting on the extent to which the issues interface with your particular background and interests, and how you. might respond in general fashion. These questions were prepared by Dennis Hopwood, former Placement Director-at the Northwestern School of Law, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon. What are your short-range objectives? What are your long-range objectives? What do you look for in a job? Why are you leaving your present positio_n1 What can.you do for us that someone else cannot do? Why should we hire you? What do you know about the field of ? Can you work under pressure, deadlines? . What is your philosophy of · ? Do you prefer staff or line work? Why? . . What kind of salary are you worth? What are your five greatest acconi. ~ plishments in: your present or last job? Your career? What is your greatest strength? Your gre'atest weakness? How long would it take you to make a substantial contribution to the firm? .., . How long would you stay with us? . · How do you feel about travel for business purposes? If you could start again, what would you do differently? What new goals or objectives have you established recently? How have you changed the nature of your current job? What position do you expect to have in five years? Why haven't you obtained a job so far? What features of your previous jobs have you disliked? W auld you describe a few situations in which your work was criticized? Would you object to working for a woman? How would you evaluate your present firm? Do you generally ~peak to people before they speak t9 you? · How would you describe the essence of success? What was the last book you read? Movie you saw? In your present position, what problems have you identified that had previously been overlooked? What interests you most about the position we have open? The least? Don't you feel you might be ~etter off in ~ different size company? Different type firm? Why aren't you earning more at your age? Will you be out to take your boss's job? Are you creative? Give an example. Are you analytical? Give an example. Are you a good manager? Give an example. Are you a leader? Give an example. How would you describe your own personality? Have you helped reduce costs in your present firm? How? . . What do you think of your current boss? .. What do your subordinates· think of you? ' Have you fired people befor.~? Have you hired people before? What do you look for in an applicant? Why do you want to work for us? If you had your choice of jobs and firms, where would you go? . What other types of jobs are you col_lsidetirrg? What ·firmS'? _,_ ~ · · ... · Why do you feel you' have top management potential? Tell us all about yourself. Why did you choose thi~ pa.rticular field of work? . · ~ What do you know about our firm? What special kinp of work ~nterests you? · · · What do you perceive to be--the dis-advantages of this field? - . Are you interested in research? Why do you want to switch career fields? . _ How much money do you hope to earn at 30? At 40? _ Dq you prefer working with others or by yourself? · · · ~an you take instructions and criticism without feeling upset? - . Wqat have you learned fr,om ~001e of the jobs you have held? · , How did your previous -employers treat you? Do you like routine work? -. Do you like ·regular hours? D~ you demand attention from your associates and superiors? Are you eager to please? . 'Nhy types of people seem to rub you in._the. wrong way? What are your own special abilities? What position in our fit;m .. 9o you want to w'ork toward? . ·How do you feel about odd hours? Overtime? What have you done which shows initiative and. willingness to work? · February, 1986 . Louisville Law E~~_f!l(~er 3 Transfer Student Compares And .. Contrasts UniversitY Of ·Kentucky, University of Louisville ~em ester, but most people stick with it · Attrition· rate ·among·students: I don't by Jayne Moore Waldrop Oli, 'the joy's of being a visiting student. Not knowing where the bathrooms are. Not knowing which professors to take. Not knowing where theo-1-elephon~ s. or worse yet, the soft dfink machines are located. It's like being a first-year law student again. Isn't once enough in any poor soul's life? After completing my first two years of law school at the University of Kentucky, I moved to Louisville in August with my husband, who is a first-year associate with a law firm here. Rather than spend ·my last year at UK and spend every wet;kend commuting betwet:J.l.Lexington and Louisville, I decided it would be much more sane to just transfer to the University of Louisville. Both my husb.and and I wantec;I to make .L.ouisville our hor:ne, so why not 'get started a little earlier ilian originally planned? Because of a reciprocal agreement between the two law schools, a transfer can be accomplished with relative· ease. If a sfudent ne-eds to relocate for one of - his or her thr.ee y.ea.rs, .the student-is put on transient status· and is allowed to enroll at the new school ~ithout the regular admissions process. The grade point average at the original school is frozen, and only tqe credit hours transfer back. The college at which the student first enrolled and/ or the one at which the student completed two years is' the school which grants the degree. In my case, I'll take my last final here on May 9 and graduate from UK on May 10_ . If a student must transfer after only Letters To The ·Editor I appreciate the fact that your reporter, Winnie McConnell, wrote (in the Novemb.er issue) about sex discrimination in the legal profession. However, either Ms. McConnell misunderstood me or her story was edited in such a way as to misinterpret my comments. I could not have said that sex discrimination is "nearly over." I did say_ that today it is often less overt. As a positive illustration, which Ms. McConpell did use, I cited the increased numbers of women in the profession, As negative illustrations, I noted certain blatant experiences I have had which I do not believe would be tolerated today: For example, judges calling me "little lady," attorneys referring to me as "chick" and "girl" in the courtroom, and "stag" ev~nts sponsored by professional organizations. However, elimination of these overt practices does not guarantee the elimination of sex discrimination. Discrimination takes many forms and legal protections alone will not end · its pervasiveness. Dr. Donna T. MortonStout Minister /Director Wesley Foundation Ecumenical Center University of Louisville one year, he or she must go through the formal admissions process, be accepted under the standards set by the second school, and receive a degree from the new school. There's only one hitch. Although the grade point average of a transient stu- • dent is n·ot affected by any grades received at the new School, one must' not make any grades lower than a C. Otherwise, the credits do not transfer and you get nothing for a semester's work in that class. · The program is really beneficial for people like myself, who for personal or family reasons need to relocate. One fel-· low of my classmates at UK, Mark Reed, is also here this year. ·His wife teaches school in Louisville, and they spent last year commuting. It' was a tough year, Mark reported, so we'both decided to become transients. As one might suspect, the question most often asked is, "How d·o U of L and UK compare?" It was a difficult question to answer at 'first, but wit!l one semester under my belt and another· un-· derway, I have made these observations. · Curriculum: The most noticeable dif-· ference is the manner in which bar courses are taught. A first-year UK stu-. dent has only one semester of contracts, torts, constitutional law and property. Only civil procedure is continued into the spring semester of the first year. Torts, contracts and property are all four-hour, one-semester, classes. In addition, criminal law and sales are required courses for the first year. If a second- or third-year student wants to study more in the torts or con law areas, he or she 'can opt to take either as an elective. Basic tax is offered in one four-hour class. Sec ned transactions and negotiable instruments are combined in one four-hour class. Instead of two three-hour classes in decedent's estates, UK offers one four-hour class called trusts and estates. In scheduling classes, most secondyear students at UK choose what is known as the "Blue Plate Special." This traditional line-up makes for a killer so they can have a better elective know what the actua1 percentages are at schedule during the third year. For fall, both schools, but my impression from it includes secured transactions and ne- the rumor mill- is that it has been quite gotiable instruments (collectively called high here. It is a major concern to many UCC II), tax, trusts and estates (each students here, and seems to be a lead-four hours) and Con Law II. This is in ing cause of -fea/:and low morale .. In addition to writing a comment if you're contrast, only ~bout five of 150 students on law journal or a brief plus oral argu- did not return for out second year' and ments if you're trying out for moot I'm not sure their absence was due to court. grades in every instance. The classes themselves are quite com- Night school: The availability of night parable. At any school, there are a few classes at U of Lis ahother difference. great professors and a few not-so-great'- Of course, there are no night classes of-ones. There are tough graders .and fair ~ ,, fered.a.t UK and no four-year program . graders. Speaking of grades, this brings . It certainly provides more options for me to my next observation, ~tudents, especialJyppperclass studems The "8 Curve" and oth~r 'm'yths who want and/ or· need to work. about UK: Yes, Virginia, there really is Exams: A major source of complaints a C curve at the University of Kentucky at UK is the length of time it takes to Colle~e of Law, _re$ardless of what . . get grades after exams .. For the fall sem-you're heard. This has been one of the ester, grades aren't available until al-questions I am rpost often asked about. most February. For the spring, it 's Truly,the professors at UK do not stand usually mid-June. in line waiting to put A's and B's on '· ·However, for the P<;lSt few semesters, your transcript. The grading is very . the professors . have posted grades ac- Comparable at the two scb:ools., # .. • .cording to exam numbers. This speeds ~ , Atte~dance policy: l;.her~ Is a major . 'up the proces.s a _gr~at deal, but it's still difference here. U of Lis so much stric- - not as prompt as here. ter on attendance. I never had a profes- Part of the problem, though, is that sor at UK to take roll or pass around a professors and students at UK have sign-in sheet. I know they keep up with much more freedom in scheduling ex-attendance, ·but It 'Is 'on more . of an - ariis: ihere are no formal make-up days . honor system. or an absolute 24-hour rule governing As a student in a pr6fessional school, cvanges i~ . ¢e exam schedule. It's all we. h·av~. a responsibility to atterld class- ; between the _student and the professer, es. I think it is unfortunate that it has and again, it's more of an 'honor sys~em to be this way; becaus~,of the strictness . than absolute rules. of the system, the few teachers·who are ·; ' . -Mobility during 'exams: Students at more liberal in their roll-calling seem to UK are not given choices on where they be taken advantage of. take exams. The tests are given in two Classroom participation and prepara- rooms - smoking and non-smoking - tion: In this area, U of L has an edge. whiCh ·are reserved in advance. Going I think the students are more competi- intathe library is a no-no at any time tive in class discussions and generally during the exam. better prepared. There is an unwritten With all of the competition between rule at UK: Every student can pass b.y the universities, and all the talk of which saying, "I'm sorry, I'm not prepared to- is the better institution, I'm really glad day" when called upon to recite a case. I've been able to experience both. They Each student unofficially gets one pass are both excellent ·schools which are pro-in each class. Some professors may viding sound educations for both in-scowl, but most take it in stride___: once. state and out-of-state students at affordable tuition rates. I hope both develop even stronger regional names. Journal To Host National Conference by Tom Ransdell The University of Louisville's Journal of Family Law will host the ThirtySecond Annual National Conference of Law Reviews in Louisville on March 20-23. The National Conference of Law Reviews was established in 1955 by the Harvard Law Review. Its purpose is to provide a forum where out-going law review editors share their experience with in-coming editors, insuring the continuing quality of the member law reviews. This year, approximately 175 editors from 130 law reviews are expected to attend the conference which will be held at the Brown Hotel. The editors represent law reviews from across the United States and Canada. Keynote speakers will include Judge James Carrigan of the United States District Court of Colorado; Peter Perlman, President of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America; Chief Justice Robert Stephens of the Kentucky Supreme Court; and David Pike, Managing Editor of the National Law Journal. Panel members and seminar leaders will include Dean Barbara Lewis; Dean Henry Stephens of Chase Law School; Dean Thomas Lewis of the U.K. Law School; Professor Stephen Carter of Yale; Gertrude Block of the University of Florida, Stan Chauvin of Barnett & Alagia, and former five-term U.S. Congressman Elliott Levit as of Kilpatrick & Cody. Jessica Schumacher, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Family Law, said, "We are both pleased and honored to host the Conference because law reviews · from across the country actively seek this ,opportunity. It is particularly nice to be the host this year as it coincides with our twenty-fifth year of publication." Letters to the Law Examiner are encouraged. If possible, letters should be typed, double-spaced, and limited to 3{)() words. Longer letters will be considered, but the Law Examiner reserves the right to edit any letters submitted for publication. · Letters must contain a complete name and address, as well as the author's phone number (address will not be published, if requested). 4 Louisville Law Examiner Febraa11: ·>r*f:&?.£ / . ~ Photo by Nancy Morgan Kathleen S. Bean is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Louisville. This article was written before the decision of the United States Supreme Court not to reconsiderthe Indianapolis Antipornography Ordinance. by Kathleen S. Bean The Seventh Circuit, in August of 1985, found the Indianapolis antipornography ordinance, similar to the Model Antipornography Law' drafted by Andrea Dworkin2 and Catherine MacKinnon, 3 to be unconstitutional. American Booksellers Ass'n, Inc. v. Hudnut, 771 F.2d 323 (7th Cir. 1985). The distance between the orientation of the authors of the Model Law and the orientation of the court which struck down the Indianapolis ordinance prohibiting pornography is a long one. Basically, the authors of the Model Law speak of sex discrimination and subordination of women. The courts and the opponents speak of the constitutio~al right of freedom of speech. . My task, in this short essay, is not to say who should travel the distance between the two. On the other hand, neither do I propose to give a balanced presentation of the different views of the authors and the opponents of the Model Law. For the record, the Model Law bas been criticized as unjustifiable and unjustified regulation of content of speech, prior restraint of speech, overbroad and vague. See Gershel, Evaluating a Proposed Civil Rights Approach to Pornography: Legal Analysis as if Women Mattered, 11 WM. MITCHELL L. REV. 41,73 & 75 (1985) for a constitutional analysis discussing overbreadth, vagueness and unjustifiable regulation of speech. See ali;o American Booksellers Ass'n, Inc. v. Hudnut, 598 F: Supp. 1316 (S.D. Ind. 1984), aff'd, 771 F.2d 323 (7th Cir. 1985). Whether these cnttctsms are well-founded is beside the point of my essay. I choose to use this forum to present the Model Law authors' theory of pronography. Their perspective provides an explanation of the Model Law and additionally provides an explanation for the seemingly incongruous position of feminists (usually aligned with the poli-tical left or liberals) who appear to be consorting with the likes of the Moral Majority, the Eagle Forum, and the National Federation for Decency, traditionally right-wing moralists. Blakely, Is One Woman's Sexuality Another Woman's Pornography?, MS., April 1985, at 47. First of all, the authors of the Model Law speak a language which originates from a woman-centered perspective. Thus, to understand what the authors say, one must understand that the language they speak is not the language their opponents speak. In the field of pornography, for example, the opponents of the Model Law speak the language of obscenity. The language of obscenity is a moral measurement. If pornographic material is "obscene" it is not protected by the first amendment. Millei v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973), provides the basic guidelines for the courts ' determination of what is obscene: (a)Jf!hether the average person, apply- . ing contemporary community standards, would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interests ... ; (b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduce specifically defined by applicable state law; and (c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. Miller at 24 (citations omitted). What is important to note about the Miller definition of obscenity and the . text of the Miller opinion is that the definition and the orientation of the Court as a whole concerns itself with material that has to do with sex and sexual acts and depictions of sex and sexual acts. This is explicit and implicit throughout the Court's opinion. Because sex and sexual conduct and its depiction or description is at the base of obscenity, the arguments concerning regulation of "obscene" materials center around what is obscene - Brandeis Brief: Feminist~ that is, what sexual "conduct" is permissible to publish and what is not. Thus, the opponents of the Model Law speak in a language that views pornography as material which concerns sex, and the issue is whether the material ls "obscene." Hoffman, Feminism, Pornography and Law, ·133 U. PA. L. REV. 497, 504-10 (1985). The Model Law does not deal with sex or obscenity. It establishes its own language and its own orientation and disclaims any association with morality. MacKinnon, Not a Moral Issue, 2 YALE L. & POL. REV. 321, 322-23 (1984). The Model Law speaks alanguage of "pornography" - not obscenity - .and specifically defines pornography as "the graphic sexually explicit subordination of women through pictures and/or words that also includes one or more of the following:'' (i) women are prc:;sented dehumanized as sexual objects, things, or commodities; or (ii) women are presented as sexual objects who enjoy pain or humiliation; or (iii) women are presented as sexual objects who experience sexual pleasure in being raped; or (iv) women are presented as sexual objects tied up or cut up or mutilated or bruised or physically hurt; or (v) women are presented in postures or positions of sexual submission, servility, or display; or (vi) women's body parts - including, but not limited to, vaginas, breasts, or buttocks - are exhibited such that women are reduced to those parts; or (viii) womert are presented being penetrated by objects or animals; or (ix) women are presented in scenarios of degradation, injury, torture, shown as filthy or inferior, bleeding, bruised, or hurt in a context that makes these conditions sexual. Model Antipornography Law, reprinted in Blakely, supra, at 46. "Women" is used as a generic term - that is if men, children or transsexuals are used in place of women, the pictures or words may still constitute pornography. To constitute pornography under the Model Law, the material must be sexually graphic and explicit, must subordinate women and be in one of the above nine categories. The Model Law regulates pornography by various methods; very generally it prohibits it, with a civil cause of action provided for aggrieved persons as the enforcement .mechanism. While the Dworkin-MacKinnon definition includes as an element of pornography sexually explicit depictions or words, their pornography is not about sex or morality, but about power and equality, which is the woman-centered perspective of pornography. By contrast, Miller makes no reference to issues of power or equality when analyzing the · issue of pornography and obscenity. To the authors of the Model Law, sex is relevant only because pornography is the politicalization of sex. Indeed, it is the politicalization of sex and sexuality which .makes pornography an issue to the feminists who are proponents of the Model Law. The authors' pos1t10n is that this woman-centered perspective is one - which has been silenced by the male-supremacy hierarchy of our culture and silenced to the extent that we are unaware of what we do not see, or for a more accurate metaphor, of the silence we do not hear. Dworkin, Silence Means Dissent, i-Iealthsharing, Summer 1984, at 23-25. Before we will hear this silence, we must become conscious of the inclusively pervasive effects of the male-dominated cultural perspective. More simply put, although deceptively so, we need to take off our male-perspective glasses and view things, i.e., pornography, with a perspective which recognizes the validity of female experience. H. EISENSTEIN, CONTEMPORARY FEMINIST THOUGHT 35-41 (G. K. Hall & Co., 1983). See Hoffman, supra, at 512 arid 512 n. 87 & 88. Viewing pornography with a woman-centered perspective (which takes some practice) will reveal pornography to be a political statement not seen before the woman-centered perspective was used. Two examples will help clarify this and provide some practice. MacKinnon uses Justice Stewart's now infamous statement concerning obscenity: "I know it when I see it." Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184, 197 (1964)(Stewart, J:, concurring). Justice Stewart's statement is a quite literal description of the male perspective. When ·he sees obscenity, he defines what he sees as obscenity and thus it is obscenity. It is the quintessential male perspective. He sees through male glasses and by seeing obscenity he creates obscenity; he makes it obscenity by saying it is so. MacKinnon, supra, at 325. Justice Stewart's personal perspective is a political perspective because the male personal dominates in our culture and thus defines the political. And what Justice Stewart sees, of course, is a depiction or description of sex and sexual conduct which he may or may not consider so immoral that it is obscene. He does not see power, inequality or politics when he views the material in question. Feminist Sheila Rowbotham relates a personal story which again demonstrates the difference of seeing through men's eyes o.r women's eyes: The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour appeared on television. A group of people, including the Beatles, go on a coach trip ... Then at one point all the boys on the bus are separated from the girls. You follow the boys in the film ... and where should they go, but into a striptease. I ... caught myself going to watch another woman as if I were a man. I was experiencing the situation of another woman stripping through men's eyes. I . was being asked to desire myself by a film made by men. Catching myself observing myself desiring one of my selves I remained poised for an instant in two halves ... I could see through their eyes, but I could feel with her body. I was a man's woman. I had thus contributed towards making an object of myself and other women. I was partly responsible for our degradation. ry, 1986 Louisville Law Examiner 5 s Formulate Model ntipornography Law S. ROWBOTHAM, WOMAN'S CONSCIOUSNESS, MAN'S WORLD 40-41 (Penguin 1981). To speak the language of the proponents of the Model Law, we must recognize the female personal perspective of pornography, which is not one of obscenity and sex, but one of subordination of women by men and male power and female powerlessness. Additionally, we must accord political validity to this personal perspective. Until it is recognized as valid, it remains silent; so long as it is silent, it cannot be. MacKinnon says it best: "Obscenity law is concerned with morality ... The feminist critique of pornography is politics ... Morality here means good and evil; politics means power and powerlessness. Obscenity is a moral idea; pornography is a political practice. Obscenity is abstract, pornography is concrete." MacKinnon, supra, at 322-23. The authors of the Model Law do not attempt to regulate pornography because it is disgusting, offensive or obscene. They wish to regulate it because it is an act of domination by men of women. Pornography is not a place for arguments about morality and sex; the argument is about power and equality, and thus the Model Law'~ regulation and prohibition of pornography is about the exercise of power and domination. Again, taking from MacKinnon's work, women are not depicted as subordinate in pornography; they are subordinate in pornography. Pornography is not a depiction of a fantasy about domination and submissiveness or sadism and masochism; pornography is domination of women by men. To appreciate the impact of "seeing it makes it so" we must understand what the authors refer to when they use the word "subordination" in connection with pornography. Tliis is . the specific political statement that the authors see or hear when they see or hear pornography. Because men have power over women in the political, economic and social hierarchies, how men see women is how women are; how men view women defines who women can be, i.e., the statement of Justice Stewart is his view and his view is what he sees. Women can be no more than they are seen to be because they are defined by those in power. It is to the benefit of those in power, or those who wish to stay in power, to define others as powerless. To be subordinate is to be powerless. Thus, in pornography, the authors argue, what is defined - not depicted, but defined - is the female gender, and it is defined as subordinate to male gender. Thus, pornography creates the subordination of women, and the domination of men, through the politicalization of sex. Dworkin explains the socio-political dynamic of subordination this way: To subordinate, you must have a hierarchy. Our hierarchy has men on the top and women on the bottom. The people on the top of the hierarchy then uses a process of objectification to dehumanize the people on the bottom of the hierarchy. Having made those people objects, it then becomes permissible to treat those people as less than human. If someone is on the bottom of the hierarchy and is turned into an object, that person becomes submissive, and that person's behavior becomes submissive. "The fourth element of subordination is violence. Whenever you see a social situation in which violence is widespread - so widespread that in fact it's normalized- then you know you already have the other three existing elements solidly in place." Blakely, supra, at 46. For those not familiar with the content of today's pornography, material "readily available" in Minneapolis at the time that city was holding hearings on an antipornography statute drafted by MacKinnon and Dworkin included depictions of a woman being aroused by having her genitals licked by a bear; a woman with a full fist in her anus; and a woman "draped in chains, ring through· genitals, cutting self with fingernails.'' Baldwin, The Sexuality of Inequality: The Minneapolis Pornography Ordinance, 2 LAW & INEQUALITY 629, 631-32 n.ll (1984). These depictions from Hustler magazine are just a very small sampling of the type of pornography produced. For those not familiar with the extent of today's pornography, some figures and comparisons may be helpful. While the numbers vary, the pornography trade is at least a multi-billion dollar industry. Gershel, supra, at 56 & 56 n.67. The combined average circulations per issue of Playboy and Penthouse magazines for the last six months of 1982 were 8,873,397, exceeding the combined circulations of Time and Newsweek, which were 7,556,206 for the same period. Hoffman, supra, at 515 n.l01, (citing Leisure Time: Basic Analysis, 150 STANDARD AND POOR'S INDUS. SURV. §§ 2, L22, L31 (Sept. 16, 1982). The pornography industry is said to be as big as the film and record industries combined. Gershel, supra, at 56 n.67 (citing Cook, The X-Rated Economy, FORBES, Sept. 18, 1978, at 81). "In 1980, pornographic video cassettes outsold other video cassettes by three to one." Id. (citing M. Langelan, The Political Economy of Pornography, AEGIS, Autumn 1981 at 5). Thus, in the eyes of the authors of the Model Law, pornography is the subordination of women. Gender (femaleness or maleness) means whatever it means. Pornography gives meaning to the female gender, and the meaning it gives, not depicts, is that female means subordinate to male. The authors of the Model Law do not see pornography as speech about sex or morality or sexual domination or sexual submissiveness. It is a part of a systematic male-dominated hie·rarchy subordinating women. It is not personal speech, but a political act of discrimination, violating the civil rights of women. Once the woman-perspective transcends the male-perspective definition, "pornography appears as neither perversion . nor entertainment, but as a genre expressing threats and hostility aimed at the maintenance of male power over women." Hoffman, supra, at 515. Pornography is the act, the pain, the harm; it does not "speak" that women are subordinate. It is woman subordinate. 'The ModeL. Law is reprinted at the end of this essay. While there are differences between the Indianapolis and the Model Law -language, the theory and philosophy behind the laws are the same; thus no distinctions are made in the textual discussion. 2 Andrea Dworkin is a creator and one of the leading exponents of the radical feminist anlaysis of pornography. She has authored several books, including Woman Hating (1974), Pornography: Men Possessing Women (1981) and Right-Wing Women (1983). She is coauthor with Catherine A. MacKinnon of the antipornography ordinance enacted in Indianapolis. 3Catherine A. MacKinnon is an associate professor at the niversity of Minnesota Law School and author of Sexual Harassment of Working Women (1979). MacKinnon and Dworkin were hired as consultants by the city of Minneapolis to draft a pornography ordinance, due to their expertise gained through teaching a course on pornography at the University of Minnesota. Blakely, Is One Woman's Sexuality Another Woman's Pornography?, Ms., April 1985, at 40. *The author thanks Kathy Schell and Paul Cammarata for their assistance in the preparation of this essay. Other works consulted for the pre- · paration of this issay include A. DWORKIN, PORNOGRAPHY: MEN POSSESSING WOMEN (1981); M. FRENCH, BEYOND POWER: ON WOMEN, MEN AND MORALS (1985); C. GILLIGAN, IN A DIF-FERENT VOICE (1982). . Model Act The following is a model civil rights Jaw drafted by Andrea Dworkin and Catherine MacKinnon. It differs somewhat from earlier verion.s originally introduced in Minneapolis and Indianapolis. Section I. STATEMENT OF POLICY. Pornography is sex discrimination. It exists in (PLACE], posing a substantial threat to the health, safety, peace, welfare, and equality of citizens in the community. Existing (state and) federal laws are inadequate to solve these problems in [PLACE). Pornography is a systematic practice of exploitation and subordination based on sex that differentially harms women. The harm of pornography includes dehumanization, sexual exploitation, forced sex, forced prostitution, physical injury, and social and sexual terrorism and inferiority presented as entertainment. The bigotry and contempt i\ promotes, with the acts of aggression it fosters, diminish opportunities for equality of rights in employmem, education, property, public accommodations and public services; create public and private harassment, persecution and denigration; promote injury and degradation such as rape, battery, child sexual abuse, and prostitution and inhibit just e~forcement of laws against these acts; contribute significantly to restricting women in particu lar from full exercise of citizenship and participation in public life, including in neighborhoods; damage relations between the sexes; and undermine women's equal exercise of rights to speech and action guaranteed to all citizens under the Constitutions and laws or the United States and (PLACE, INCLUDING STATE(. Section 2. DEFINITIONS. I. Pornography is the graphic sexually explicit subordination of women through pictures and/ or words that also includes one or more of the following: (i) women are presented dehumanized as sexual objects, things, or commodities; or (ii) women are presented as sexual objects who enjoy pain or humiliation; or (iii) women arc presented as sexual objects who experience sexual pleasure in being raped; or (iv) women are presented as sexual objects tied up or cut up or mutilated or bruised or physically hurt; or (v) women are presented in postures or positions of sexual submission, servility, or display; or (vi) women's body parts- including but not limited to vaginas, breast~. or buttocks- are exhibited such that women are reduced to those part s; or (vii) women are presented as whores by nature; or (viii) wome·n are presented being penetrated by objects or animals; or (ix) women are presented in scenarios of degradation, injury, tortu re, shown as filthy or inferior, bleeding, bruised, or hurt in a context that makes these conditions sexual. 2. The use of men, children , or transsexuals in the place of women in (l) above is pornography for purposes of this law. Section 3. UNLAWFUL PRACTICES. I. Coercion into pornography: 1t shall be sex discrimination to coerce, intimidate, or fraudulently induce (hereafter, ''coerce") any person, including transsexual, into performing for pornography, which injury may date from any appearance or sale o{ any product(s) of such performance(s). The maker(s), seller(s), exhibitor( s), and/ or distributor(s) of said pornography may be sued for damages and for an injunction, including to eliminate the product( s) of the performance(s) from the public view. Proof of one or more of the following facts or conditions shall not, without more, negate a finding of coercion : (i) that the person is a woman; or (ii) that the person is or has been a prostitute; or (iii) that the person has attained the age of majurity~or (iv) that the person is connected by blood or marriage to anyone involved in or related to the making of the pornography; or (v} that the person has previously had, or been thought to have had, sexual relations with anyone, including anyone in volved in or related to · the making of the pornography; or (vi) that the person has previously posed for sexually explicit pictures with or for anyone, including anyone involved in or related to the making of the pornography at issue; or (vii) that anyone else, including a spouse or other relative, has given permission on the person's behalf; or (vii i) that the person actually consented to a use of the performance that is changed into pornography; or (ix) that the person knew that the purpose of the acts or events in question was to make pornography; or (x) that the person showed no resistance or appeared lO cooperate adively in the photographic sessions or in the events that produced the pornography; or i.(i) that the person signed a contract, or made statement-; affirming a willingness to cooperate in the production of pornography; or (xii) that no physical force, threats, or weapons were used in the making of the pornography; or (xiii) that the person was paid or otherwise compensated. 2. Trafficking in pornography: It shall be sex discrimination to produce, sell, exhibit, or distribute pornography, including through private clubs. ·(i) City, state, and federally funded public libraries or private and public university and college libraries in which pornography is available for study, including on open shelves but excluding special display presentations, shall not be construed to be trafficking in pornography. (ii) Isolated passages or isolated parts shall not be actionable under this section. (iii) Any woman .has a claim hereunder,.as a woman acting against the subordination of women. Any man, child, or transsexual who alleges injury by pornography in the way women are injured by it also has a claim. 3. Forcins pornography on a person: Jt shall be sex discrimination to force pornography on a person, including child or transsexual, in any place of employment, education, home, or public place. Only the perpetrator of the force or responsible institution may be sued. 4. Assault or physical auack due 10 pornography: It shall be sex discrimination to assault, physically attack, or injure any person , including child or transsexual, in a way that is directly caused by specific pornography. The perpetrator of the assault or attack may be sued for damages and enjoined where appropriate. The maker(s), di stributor(s), seller(s), and/or exhibitor(s) may also be sued for damages and for an injunction against the specific pornography's further exhibition, distribution, or sale. Section 4. DEFENSES. I. h shall not be a defense that the defendant in an actiOn under ihis law did not know or intend that the materials were pornography or sex discrimination. 2. No damages or compensation for losses shall be recoverable under Sec. 3(2) or other than against the perpetrator of the assault or attack in Sec. 3(4) unless the defendant knew or had reason to know that the materials were pornography. 3. In actions under Sec. 3(2) or other than against the perpetrator of the assault or attack in Sec. 3(4), no damages or compensation for losses shall be recoverable against maker(s) for pornography made, against distributor(s) for pornography distributed , against se ller(s) for pornography sold, or against exhibitor(s) for pornography exhibited, prior to the effective date of this law. Section 5. ENFORCEMENT'. 1. Civil action: Any person aggrieved by violations of this law may enforce its provisions by means of a civil action. No criminal penalties s.hall attach for any violation of the provisions of this law . Relief for violation of this act may include reasonable attorney's fees. 2. Injunction: Any person who violates this law may be enjoined except that: (i) In actions under Sec. 3(2), and other than against the perpetrator of the assault or attack under Sec. 3(4), no temporary or permanent injunction shall issue prior to a final judicial determination that the challenged activities constitute a violation of this law. (ii) No temporary or permanent injunction shall extend beyond such marerial(s) that, having been described with reasonable specificity by the injunction , have been determined to be va lidly proscribed under this law. Section 6. SEVERABILITY. Should any part(s) of this law be found legally invalid, the remaining part(s) remains valid.' A judicial declaration that any part(s) of this law .cannot be applied validly in a particular manrier or to a particular case or category of cases shall not affect the validity of that part(s) as otherwise applied , unless such other application would clearly Frustrate the (LEGISLATIVE BODY'S! intent in adopting this law. Section 7. LIMITATION OF ACTION. Actions under this law must be filed within one year of the alleged dis..:riminatory acts. •In the event that this law is amended to a preexisting human rights law, the complaint would first be made to a Civil Rights Commission. Any injunction issued under Sec. 3(2), the traffick ing provision, would require trial de novo (a full court trial after the administrative hearing). (From MS. Magazine. April 1985). I Louisville Law Examiner ~ . 6 Mandatory_ Retirement February,, 1986 Professor William E. Biggs To Step Down In May by J. B. Phillips . I persuaded them that I had even greater aptitude in the law." This spring, the law school will mark While in the service, the professor the loss of one of its most distinguished spent the first half of the war in a medi-instructors. Professor William E. Biggs cal training center in Texas. He subse-will be retiring following an enviable quently went through Officer's Candi-career of service to both the University date School, and was stationed in San and the community. He will be compell- Francisco as a medical administration ed to retire under state law, having turn- officer. · '" ed 70 in December, although his appear- Following -the war, he went back to ance and demeanor belie his age. his old law firm in late 1945, where he Professor Biggs has _spent much of his stayeq until the summer of 1948. By that life around the University of Louisville. time, he had decided that he wanted to He earned a B.A. degree in Pre- go into teaching. When asked what Law/ Political Scfence from U of L in prompted this decision, he stated, "It is 1938, and graduated with a J.D. in 1940. hard to remember." He had, however, Upon graduation, he was employed at done a good bit of teaching while. in the Davis, Boehl, Vispr, and Marcus. The lervice, and decided that he liked it. successor to this· firm is· now knowll as ;."-, · After leaving ~tlie ·practice of-law in Boehl, Stopher, . . Graves, and i948,J3iggs ret1,1rned to lPof Land earn- Deindorfer. ,. . ' -~ ed ~Master's d~ree in Political Science. Biggs was drafted 'the following year;.. He--went to Ofiio State in 1950-51 to and served his country for four and one- complete his course work for a Ph.D. half years in the arm.i.medicai depart- He completed his dissertation on ment. The Professor reflected, "Luc- Worker's Compensation in 1956, com-kily, the law backgr-ound was enough to posing it during summers of 1951-56. get me into clerk , school,. .. they almost The professor landed his first full-sent me to the motor pool; apparently time teaching job at the,. University of I have a good meoharucafaptitude, but Maryland, where he taught for one sem" • <~;,.: {_ ester b.e. fore getting..a.. ,better offer'(rom ~ William E. Biggs American University in Washington, D.C. There, he worked with ~ special program called the "Washington Semesler .''~ . Photo by Nancy Morgan ----. " · -The· Washington Semester was a 'coWhen asked what he planned to do upon retirement,. Professor Biggs jokingly replied, "Anything I want to." However, in a more serious vein, he went on to say that he plans to serve as a visiting professor at Southwestern Uniyersity at Los Angeles. this summer. He qas also been in contact with two other Jaw schools regarding part-time teaching, although he could not be specific. Since he has never greatly enjoyed research aqd writing, h w d like to experiment with half-time teaching. Boston University SchoolofLaw Tfw LL. \I. l>qrn·t· in Ban kin;! Lm, ~tudie~ -c~ - • ;;;;.z:.- . --= · = :~ - ,;.;., . ..,. A unique. multidisciplinary course of study offering a singular educational opportunity for lawyers who· wish to practice in this dynamic. fast growing area of specialization_ Taught by faculty of the Boston University School df Law. management experts. and eminent banking law attorneys. th1s innovative program provides an exceptional blend of intellectual and practical education at one of the n~tloo·s foremost law schools. The curriculum has· been meticulously designed to prC?v1de courses covering the full range of banking law subjects and cour~es specially developed to introduce lawyers to the legal. econ-omic an_d managerial aspects of the financial Setvices Industry' Applications are now being accepted for full or part-time enrollment in September 1986. H)r a t•at~ t•t~ntainin~t tlc-tailt-tl information ami applit•atiun funns, ~· rill': Graduate- Pru~ram in Bankintt l..aw Stutlit-s Morin (A-ntt-r for Bankirlft l..a~ Stwlws Boston Uniwnih· Sc·huol of l..aw 765 (:Cmm-.wealth Awmw Boston, MaasachuSt'tls 02215 or call: 617/353-30'23 ~ operativeprogram of about 60 colleges, · adrniflisf~red· through American.Univer~ sit)< Various--~olleges sent their top stu, dents in their junior and senior years, and these candidates would spend a semester in Washington. Biggs was in charge of about 3 of these students each semester for aoout five years, prior to s.witching to full-time teaching. "' The professor went on sabbatical in 1959, and journeyed to Dayton, Ohio, to work with a research group that was trying to organize a city-county merger. He wound up staying in Dayton three years. During this time, he did some part-time teaching at the University. · · 'One of the courses that he was teach. ing while at Dayton was "Introduction to Law." Biggs invited then dean Marlin Volz to Dayton to speak to the stu-dents, and as a result, Biggs was asked to teach at U of L as a visiting professor for a year, since Carl Warns would be on leave. That visiting professorship ripened into a fill-time job in 1962, where he stayed for three years. By 1965, while continuing to teach part-time as a law professor at U of L, Biggs began to teach political science at the newly opened Kentucky Southern College on what is now the Shelby Campus. This arrangement lasted two years until 1967, when he came b·ack to U of L full-time. Since then, Professor Biggs has remained at U of L, with the exception of a sabbatical in 1976. While on leave, Biggs went to Frankfort to work with the legislature and the Legislative Re- . search Commission. He considered this good experience, since he taught municipal law and legislation. Moreover, during this time, he also worked with legislators from Jefferson County. Since then, he has mostly taught Administrative Law (which he first taught at Ameri-can University in 1952), Workers' Compensation, and Torts. There-have been many changes in the legal education process since Professor Biggs earned his J.D. in 1940. First of all, in 1938, the law school was located at · Confederate Place between the jail and the courthouse, the actual building being an old townhouse, where Jefferson Park is now: The law school was moved to its present location the spring of Biggs' junior year. Back then, one could go to law school before earning an undergraduate degree - a student could be admitted at U of L following two years of undergraduate work with a "C" average. Biggs himself started with a "combined degree," which required 3 years of pre-law courses, the freshman year of law school counting as the fourth year on the bachelor's degree. The law school was small before the seco_nd world war. Biggs started law school with a class of 20. His class graduated 18- 2 had dropped out in the interim, both for financial reasons. At that time, one could sit for the Kentucky Bar examination one year before graduation. Biggs' class took the exam in the summer of 1939; all but one person passed. As a result, upon graduation, all but one of the senior class had been admit. ted to the Kentucky Bar. Moreover, the person who had not passed was only required to retake one subject. As evidence of growth. Biggs stated that the law school faculty,_ at the time numbered 5 instructors, and that all (continued on page 7) February, f986 Louisville Law Examiner .. 7 Pr.ofessor Biggs To ~etire contributed a lot through his teaching. People always liked him .as a teachc;r, particularly the students. · J Dean Barbara Lewis, Professor Biggs has made great contributions to the leg- -islative process over a long period of time, a fact which should be recognized (continued from page 6) and commended. classes were taught in the morning. In addition, tuition was only $75 a semester. During the war, the faculty at the law school dwindled to only 1 or 2 members, who taught a student body of 5. The student body was composed of "women and W-s," said Biggs. Apparently, the low numbers before the war were a result of the fact that money was scarce. Biggs believes that this is the reason that there are now so few attorneys above the age of 65 . Biggs proudly' admits that he has never regretted devoting his life to teaching; he also claims that there have not been many changes in teaching methods over the years. He was taught by the Socratic method, and vividly recalls being required to stand when reciting. The Klan Ordinance (continued from page 1) agencies which are jointly funded by the city and county. Ms. Gronfeld went on to say that in all probability employees of such agencies are also covered. "I think the county has passed a similar ordinance." Section l contains the most important and potentially most controversial clauses. It outlines the restrictions on city employees: ection l (a) No city employee may ....,.-~--p-a-r't:'icipate in and promote the illegal activities of racist/ hate groups known to advocate racial or religious inequality through illegal or violent means. (b) No city employee shall permit his or her personal prejudice to impact adversely on his or her job performance or relationships with the public to be served. (c) No city employee who takes an oath of office, including but not limited to police officers, shall take an oath of office sworn to by such employee. When a Section I violation is a1leged, an inquiry is made by 3 Aldermanic members, who report their findings to the Mayor and Personnel Director.' Any person found to be in violation· of Section l is to be terminated. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was involved in the defense of Robert McMullen. However, David Friedman, general cour.sel of the Kentucky chapter, has no present plans to challenge the Louisville action. "We have no stand on the ordinance at this time, " he said. A member of the ACLU added that general advice was not usually given on municipal legislation. The normal procedure is to wait until a case arises and then decide on whether a particular ordinance should be challenged. ut of L Law Professor Laurence Knowles believes the ordinance, unlike McMullen, does not prohibit membership in a racist or hate group. Gronefeld agrees, "Membership in any organization is not p'rohibited by this particular ordinance.'' (continued on page B) years 'have not erased these memories. Biggs remembers the feeling because, as he puts it, "Standing with your notebook shaking in your hands, you felt very alone in the world." Apparently, some things have hardly changed. The admiration of one's colleagues is . an accurate gauge of a teacher's career. By this standard, Professor Biggs is held in high esteem indeed. Professor William F. Dolson, who has known Professor Biggs ever since he started teaching at U of L, stated that Biggs had dedicated himself to the law school and had "He always had students in his office talking to him about personal problems," said Dolson. Moreover, Biggs was also a good liason with the undergraduate students. Professor Dolson concluded by saying that "it was great having him as a colleague all these years ." In the final analysis, Professor Biggs's service to legal education and to the profession over a very long period of time is impossible to measure. He has served as a friend, mentor, and counselor to any number of students. As noted by He has •- served for years without recognition or compensation with the Legislative Research Commission, and also presently works with the government law center here on campus. He has earned the respect of his colleagues and the profession. He is a fine teacher, and by the admission of the Dean, he is, "One of the most dedicated people in terms of this area of service that I know,'' and ''truly a gentle man in the very fullest and best meaning of the word." How to With the American Express• Card you can buy everything from new spectacles to some pretty spectacular clothing. The la)est in audio equipment and the latest albums. The Card is the perfect way to pay for just about anything you'll want during college. How to get the before you graduate. Because we believe that college is the first sign of success. we've made-it easier for you • to get the American Express Card. GrAduating students can get the Card as soon as they ·-. accept a SIO,OOO carl'Cr--oriented job. If you 're not graduating this semester, you can apply for a special sponsored Card. Look for student applications on campus. Or call 1-800-THE- CARD. and tell them you want · a student application. The American Express Card. ~ Don't leave school withoUt it;>M 8 Klan Ordinance (continued from page 7) Both Knowles and Stenger are unclear on how a racist or hate organization is defined under the Louisville action. "How do you know what is a racist/ hate group that advocates illegal or violent means?" asked Stenger. "Martin Luther King clearly advocated illegal means. Sit-ins, march-ins, having parades without permits, were at the time not legal. What the Nazis did was valid under the law' although the rest of the world found it abhorrent." Knowles is concerned with Section I (a) and its prohibi~ion on p~r.ti_cip~~ion and promotion of Illegal acti~Ities. Do you participate or promote m such activity just by paying dues? Or do. y~u have to knowingly pay dues that w1.Jl m fact promote illegal activities?" Professor Stenger also has reserva- Louisville Law Examiner February, 1986 tions about the constitutional validity of 1 (a). He doubts whether the restraints on First Amendment rights of law enforcement officers can be applied to other city employees. "I think there's a real distinction between the police and others. The police depend so much on credibility within the community. Other city employees may not depend on such a high degree of credibility to perform their job." . . Knowles believes that some provlSlons of the ordinance are already punishable by existin~ ~a_w. "Isn't par~ic~pat~~? in illegal activities already cnmmal. he asked. "Contracts (between the employees and the city) probably cover some of these actions too, wouldn't they?'' Stenger concludes that the ordinance was meant to issue a warning. "I think Louisville is making a statement that we don't want people who are visibly active in city activities to be active in these groups." · Gronefeld disagreed. "One of the purposes of this was to act as a clarification of policy, but we enforce all ordinances and we will enforce this one as well." Nader Appearance Slated Ralph Nader, the noted consumer rights activist, will visit Louisville on April 17. He will be part of the U of L School Law's annual Law Day festivities. This year's event is entitled "A Celebration of the 200th Birthday of the United States Constitution." According to Law School Assistant Dean and Professor David Leibson, Nader will be the featured speaker at a luncheon held at the Commonwealth Convention Center. The luncheon is sponsored by the Law School and the Evelyn Crady Adams Lecture Fund. Later in the afternoon, Nader will address another gathering which will probably be held in the Allen Courtroom. Leibson also no\ed that present plans called for an impromptu session afterwards, with a question and answer period. Reservations for the luncheon may be made by contacting the Dean's Office at the School of Law. Members of the Kentucky Bar Association may receive one continuing legal credit hour by attending the event. John M. Harlan . . Louis D. Brand~ist Pi' .. ~ Louisville\, ~· Law Examiner Volume 11 Dolson Named Associate Dean Page 1 Transfer Student Compares UK, U Of L ·page 3 U Of L To Host J ourna1 Conference Page 3 Feminism And Pornography Page 4 February, 1986 Number 3 ' . .., ..... , .. ,&.'' -..... --·~ ·Photo by Nancy Morgan
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Title | Louisville Law Examiner 11.3, February 1986 |
Alternative Title | Law Student Publications |
Contributors | University of Louisville. School of Law |
Description | The Louisville Law Examiner (1975-1991) was the second of three official University of Louisville School of Law student publications. |
Searchable Text | Louisville Law Examiner Volume 11, Number 3 Serving the University of Louisville School of Law Community Louisville, Kentucky - February, 1986 Circulation 5,400 Replaces Liebson Dolson Named Associate Dean by Jennifer C. Miller Professor William F. Dolson has been named the law school's new Associate Dean by Dean Barbara Lewis. He will officially begin the three-year appointment during the summer semester, although he has already started to familiarize himself with his new duties. Professor Dolson will replace David Leibson, who has served as Associate Dean for the past year and a half. Dean Leibson plans to leave for Leeds, England on sabbatical at the end of the semester, necessitating the new appointment. While both students and faculty members can make recommendations and nominations to the Dean's office, Dean Lewis makes the final decision. Dolson was one of several professors nominated for the position. Duties of the Associate Dean include organizing the course and exam schedules, working with the alumni, advising students on academic and personal problems, and aiding the Assistant to the Dean, Kent Lollis, with financial aid and scholarship programs. Dolson said he accepted the position because he always enjoyed working with students, and he hopes to improve relations with the alumni. "The law school already has a good student/ professor relationship," said Dolson, "but I feel that there is always room for improvement." Dolson said that he plans to work with both the faculty and the student representatives on the upcoming course and exam schedules. In addition, he said that his door will always be open for both day and night students to discuss any problems they might have. To accommodate the night students, Dolson plans to be in his office at least one night a week. ' Dolson has also expressed a great deal of enthusiasm about his new appointment, saying he enjoys taking on new tasks and getting involved. He joined the faculty in 1959, and his teaching is centered in the areas of property law and labor relations law. In addition to being a member of the Louisville Bar Association and the American Bar Association (ABA), Dolson has served as public co-chairman of the ABA Committee on Labor Arbitration. He helped establish the Labor and Employment Law Institute in 1984, and has served as its chairman for the past two years . ln the past, Dolson served as faculty advisor to the Student Bar Association. William F. Dolson Photo by Nancy Morgan Benefit Dance A benefit dance w_ill be held on Friday, March 14, to help defray some of the costs incurred by Professor Richard H. Nowka because of the liver transplant undergone by his infant daughter. The dance will be held at the American Legion Highland Post, 2919 Bardstown Road. Music will be provided by The Mystics. The cost is $10.00 per person, which includes beer and set-ups. Tickets will be available at the door. Britney Nowka was born on February 27, 1985, suffering from biliary atresia, a congenital liver defect. After several operations in Louisville failed to remedy her situation, doctors concluded that a transplant might be Britney's only hope. The transplant was performed on January 22, 1986, at The University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Britney is still hospitalized in Nebraska. According to Professor Nowka, the doctors project a 2-3 month hospital stay. In addition, she will have to spend some time close to the Med Center as an out patient. Nowka said she is doing fine now, although some days are better than others. City Prohibits Membership In ''Hate · Groups'' by Bill Wilson Last December, the Louisville Board of Aldermen passed an ordinance which prohibited all city employees from " participation in and promotion of racist or hate organizations with illegal objectives." This action was taken amidst the controversy which surrounded the dismissal of Officer Alex Young of the Jefferson County Police. Young, a high-ranking Ku Klux Klan member, had violated a number of department regulations, including the distribution of Klan literature within the police station and the use of police computers for activities other than official business. The Young situation resembles the recent Florida case of McMullen v. Carson, 754 F. 2d 936 (i lth Cir. 1985). Robert C. McMullen was hired as a clerk by the Jacksonville Police Department. During a news conference, called by the Klan to disclaim responsibility for a racially motivated "cross burning" incident, McMullen identified himself as being a member of and a recruiter for the organization. He was subsequently fired and brought an action in federal court. The II th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld McMullen's dismissal. The court stated that the problem in any case was to " arrive at a balance" between the rights of a private citizen to associate freely and the duty of a public agency to efficiently perform its duties. The Jacksonville sheriff was found to have had no alternative to dismissal, which would have maintained the integrity of the department and McMullen's right of free speech and association. The court also determined that members of law enforcement agencies were subject to greater First Amendment restraints than other citizens. The greater restraints were due to a reliance by such agencies on public esteem and opinion in order to efficiently perform their duties. Professor Robert Stenger of the U of L School of Law agrees. "I think there are very strong arguments for the police. If you believe the police are against your race, you are not going to have rriuch confidence in the police," he said. Stenger added that the First Amendment does not give an employee the right to undermine .the effe~tiveness of an agency. The Louisville ordinance and a similar one passed by the eastern Jefferson County city of Jeffersontown join actions by other cities across the nation. These ordinances have been. primarily focused on restricting Ku Klux Klan influence within !peal law enforcement agencies. The Louisville ordinance applies to all city employees. Christie Gronefeld, an attorney with the city of Louisville Law Department, stated everyone is specifi-· cally covered, except those employed by (continued on page 7) LQuisville Law Examiner February, 1986 ::.... 2 ...:.,__ _L_ O____ u-is-vi-ne-. L- .a-w-- ;_Ex_a_m-in_e--r. - - ....., __ ., PJ·acemen-t Of(jc~ S.uggests EDITORIAL BOARD Joel D. , Zakem .Edhor-in~Chief Nancy Morgan Photography Editor Tom Jtansdell J. B. Phillips Associate Editors Jennifer C Miller STAFF Benjamin Johnson Managing Editor Rebecca Ward Br;:mdeis Brief Editor Winnie McConnell Night. Associ~te Editor Bill Wilson W. Timothy Price Jane Moore Waldrop Professor LAURENCE W. KNOWLES, Consultant The Louisville Law Examiner is published six times during the acade~ic year in the interest ~f the University of Louisville School of Law commumty. Articles are invited from faculty members, students, and members of the bar who wish to do freelance work. Any proposed article should be cleared with the Editor as to. topic and length. Address all communications to The Louisville Law Examiner, School of Law, University of Louisville, · Louisville, Kentucky 40292. Phone: (502) 588-6398. Progressive League Receives .. T.holnas HQgan A ward . by Winnie McConnell board. "Therefore, with this purpose in mind , we believe the first award to. the,s,e Thomas Hogan, one of the state's students was especially appropnate. leading civil rights' attorneys and a 1969 In addition, the Foundation presented graduate of the University of Louisvil_le a series of books on civil rights and civil School of Law, died at the age of 40 m liberties to the U of L law school. Books September, 1984, ~f cancer. .. . will. be donated to the school each year, However, his commitment to ClVIl said Benson. rights continues to live on through the Hogan began his civil. rights activism Thomas Hogan Memorial Foundation , while a student at the U of L School of established by Hogan's close friends and Law. Shortly after his graduation, colleagues who believed. his death left a Hogan established his career as a civil void in Louisville's civil rights com)llu- rights attorney when he filed suit on be-nity. The purpose of the Foundation is half of a black serviceman who was de-to raise money fo'r an annual cash award nied entry to a country club because of to be presented in Hogan's hono_r. his race . Hogan won an app_ellate court Money raised b~ t~e F?.~ndatio~ w11I · ·, d~cisi_on ir: that. case, ~p~~Jdm_g t_he ~o~also be used to f~rfd.:pro-Jects consistent ., st1tutionahty-of the state s antl-dtscnml-with Hogan's philo'sophy and work in nation statutes. . the civil rights arena . Hogan is mostly known f~r bemg: o~e During a recent ceremony at the U of of several attorneys who ftled su1t m L Law School, the Foundation pre- 1971 seeking to desegregate J~fferso~ sented its first aw~rd to the U of L Pro- County schools. After four _years o~ h-gressive Students 'League for its efforts tigation, the court issued a des~gregau?n to get the university to divest itself of order, bringing about the busmg-for-m- South Africa-related stocks due to that tegration plan in Jefferson County Pub-country's apartheid policy. Through the lie Schools. group 's anti-apartheid work, directors Several ·years later, Kogan repre-of the U of L Foundation, which deals sented an anti-busing group that was de-with investments, voted in October nied a city permit to conduct a protest 1985 to sell all the university's stock march on Derby Day. Hogan, who lost withi'n the next two years in companies the case, said he took this case because which do business in South Africa. anti-busing organizations also have con- " The purpose of this annual award is stitutional rights. . to recognize an individual or orgamza- Anyone wishing to co_ntnbute to ~he tion's involvement in civil liberties and Thomas. Hogan Memonal FoundatiOn to encourage young people to take part may send their donations to 809 South in civil rights works." said Bob Benson, Fourth . Street, Louisville, Kentucky a member of the Hogan Foundation 40203. 1·nter-yiewi~g ·Hints by Phyllis Leibson Placement Director As mid-term approaches, many students seeking summer and permanent jobs are inquirying about the interviewing process. Interviews vary greatly from employer to employer and among interviewers as well. It is wise to be aware that there are differences; therefore, one can be prepared for anything. . There are numerous resources in the Placement Resource Library to assist the student who has never had a "real' ' job before, as well as the employed individual who is seeking a change. In addition to several books and articles on the subject, there is a handout of typical questions. For additional information, please stop in at the Placement Office. Following is a list of questions commonly utilized by recruiters during the interview process. Don't attempt to memorize prepared r~sponses to these questions. Rather, spend some time reflecting on the extent to which the issues interface with your particular background and interests, and how you. might respond in general fashion. These questions were prepared by Dennis Hopwood, former Placement Director-at the Northwestern School of Law, Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon. What are your short-range objectives? What are your long-range objectives? What do you look for in a job? Why are you leaving your present positio_n1 What can.you do for us that someone else cannot do? Why should we hire you? What do you know about the field of ? Can you work under pressure, deadlines? . What is your philosophy of · ? Do you prefer staff or line work? Why? . . What kind of salary are you worth? What are your five greatest acconi. ~ plishments in: your present or last job? Your career? What is your greatest strength? Your gre'atest weakness? How long would it take you to make a substantial contribution to the firm? .., . How long would you stay with us? . · How do you feel about travel for business purposes? If you could start again, what would you do differently? What new goals or objectives have you established recently? How have you changed the nature of your current job? What position do you expect to have in five years? Why haven't you obtained a job so far? What features of your previous jobs have you disliked? W auld you describe a few situations in which your work was criticized? Would you object to working for a woman? How would you evaluate your present firm? Do you generally ~peak to people before they speak t9 you? · How would you describe the essence of success? What was the last book you read? Movie you saw? In your present position, what problems have you identified that had previously been overlooked? What interests you most about the position we have open? The least? Don't you feel you might be ~etter off in ~ different size company? Different type firm? Why aren't you earning more at your age? Will you be out to take your boss's job? Are you creative? Give an example. Are you analytical? Give an example. Are you a good manager? Give an example. Are you a leader? Give an example. How would you describe your own personality? Have you helped reduce costs in your present firm? How? . . What do you think of your current boss? .. What do your subordinates· think of you? ' Have you fired people befor.~? Have you hired people before? What do you look for in an applicant? Why do you want to work for us? If you had your choice of jobs and firms, where would you go? . What other types of jobs are you col_lsidetirrg? What ·firmS'? _,_ ~ · · ... · Why do you feel you' have top management potential? Tell us all about yourself. Why did you choose thi~ pa.rticular field of work? . · ~ What do you know about our firm? What special kinp of work ~nterests you? · · · What do you perceive to be--the dis-advantages of this field? - . Are you interested in research? Why do you want to switch career fields? . _ How much money do you hope to earn at 30? At 40? _ Dq you prefer working with others or by yourself? · · · ~an you take instructions and criticism without feeling upset? - . Wqat have you learned fr,om ~001e of the jobs you have held? · , How did your previous -employers treat you? Do you like routine work? -. Do you like ·regular hours? D~ you demand attention from your associates and superiors? Are you eager to please? . 'Nhy types of people seem to rub you in._the. wrong way? What are your own special abilities? What position in our fit;m .. 9o you want to w'ork toward? . ·How do you feel about odd hours? Overtime? What have you done which shows initiative and. willingness to work? · February, 1986 . Louisville Law E~~_f!l(~er 3 Transfer Student Compares And .. Contrasts UniversitY Of ·Kentucky, University of Louisville ~em ester, but most people stick with it · Attrition· rate ·among·students: I don't by Jayne Moore Waldrop Oli, 'the joy's of being a visiting student. Not knowing where the bathrooms are. Not knowing which professors to take. Not knowing where theo-1-elephon~ s. or worse yet, the soft dfink machines are located. It's like being a first-year law student again. Isn't once enough in any poor soul's life? After completing my first two years of law school at the University of Kentucky, I moved to Louisville in August with my husband, who is a first-year associate with a law firm here. Rather than spend ·my last year at UK and spend every wet;kend commuting betwet:J.l.Lexington and Louisville, I decided it would be much more sane to just transfer to the University of Louisville. Both my husb.and and I wantec;I to make .L.ouisville our hor:ne, so why not 'get started a little earlier ilian originally planned? Because of a reciprocal agreement between the two law schools, a transfer can be accomplished with relative· ease. If a sfudent ne-eds to relocate for one of - his or her thr.ee y.ea.rs, .the student-is put on transient status· and is allowed to enroll at the new school ~ithout the regular admissions process. The grade point average at the original school is frozen, and only tqe credit hours transfer back. The college at which the student first enrolled and/ or the one at which the student completed two years is' the school which grants the degree. In my case, I'll take my last final here on May 9 and graduate from UK on May 10_ . If a student must transfer after only Letters To The ·Editor I appreciate the fact that your reporter, Winnie McConnell, wrote (in the Novemb.er issue) about sex discrimination in the legal profession. However, either Ms. McConnell misunderstood me or her story was edited in such a way as to misinterpret my comments. I could not have said that sex discrimination is "nearly over." I did say_ that today it is often less overt. As a positive illustration, which Ms. McConpell did use, I cited the increased numbers of women in the profession, As negative illustrations, I noted certain blatant experiences I have had which I do not believe would be tolerated today: For example, judges calling me "little lady," attorneys referring to me as "chick" and "girl" in the courtroom, and "stag" ev~nts sponsored by professional organizations. However, elimination of these overt practices does not guarantee the elimination of sex discrimination. Discrimination takes many forms and legal protections alone will not end · its pervasiveness. Dr. Donna T. MortonStout Minister /Director Wesley Foundation Ecumenical Center University of Louisville one year, he or she must go through the formal admissions process, be accepted under the standards set by the second school, and receive a degree from the new school. There's only one hitch. Although the grade point average of a transient stu- • dent is n·ot affected by any grades received at the new School, one must' not make any grades lower than a C. Otherwise, the credits do not transfer and you get nothing for a semester's work in that class. · The program is really beneficial for people like myself, who for personal or family reasons need to relocate. One fel-· low of my classmates at UK, Mark Reed, is also here this year. ·His wife teaches school in Louisville, and they spent last year commuting. It' was a tough year, Mark reported, so we'both decided to become transients. As one might suspect, the question most often asked is, "How d·o U of L and UK compare?" It was a difficult question to answer at 'first, but wit!l one semester under my belt and another· un-· derway, I have made these observations. · Curriculum: The most noticeable dif-· ference is the manner in which bar courses are taught. A first-year UK stu-. dent has only one semester of contracts, torts, constitutional law and property. Only civil procedure is continued into the spring semester of the first year. Torts, contracts and property are all four-hour, one-semester, classes. In addition, criminal law and sales are required courses for the first year. If a second- or third-year student wants to study more in the torts or con law areas, he or she 'can opt to take either as an elective. Basic tax is offered in one four-hour class. Sec ned transactions and negotiable instruments are combined in one four-hour class. Instead of two three-hour classes in decedent's estates, UK offers one four-hour class called trusts and estates. In scheduling classes, most secondyear students at UK choose what is known as the "Blue Plate Special." This traditional line-up makes for a killer so they can have a better elective know what the actua1 percentages are at schedule during the third year. For fall, both schools, but my impression from it includes secured transactions and ne- the rumor mill- is that it has been quite gotiable instruments (collectively called high here. It is a major concern to many UCC II), tax, trusts and estates (each students here, and seems to be a lead-four hours) and Con Law II. This is in ing cause of -fea/:and low morale .. In addition to writing a comment if you're contrast, only ~bout five of 150 students on law journal or a brief plus oral argu- did not return for out second year' and ments if you're trying out for moot I'm not sure their absence was due to court. grades in every instance. The classes themselves are quite com- Night school: The availability of night parable. At any school, there are a few classes at U of Lis ahother difference. great professors and a few not-so-great'- Of course, there are no night classes of-ones. There are tough graders .and fair ~ ,, fered.a.t UK and no four-year program . graders. Speaking of grades, this brings . It certainly provides more options for me to my next observation, ~tudents, especialJyppperclass studems The "8 Curve" and oth~r 'm'yths who want and/ or· need to work. about UK: Yes, Virginia, there really is Exams: A major source of complaints a C curve at the University of Kentucky at UK is the length of time it takes to Colle~e of Law, _re$ardless of what . . get grades after exams .. For the fall sem-you're heard. This has been one of the ester, grades aren't available until al-questions I am rpost often asked about. most February. For the spring, it 's Truly,the professors at UK do not stand usually mid-June. in line waiting to put A's and B's on '· ·However, for the P<;lSt few semesters, your transcript. The grading is very . the professors . have posted grades ac- Comparable at the two scb:ools., # .. • .cording to exam numbers. This speeds ~ , Atte~dance policy: l;.her~ Is a major . 'up the proces.s a _gr~at deal, but it's still difference here. U of Lis so much stric- - not as prompt as here. ter on attendance. I never had a profes- Part of the problem, though, is that sor at UK to take roll or pass around a professors and students at UK have sign-in sheet. I know they keep up with much more freedom in scheduling ex-attendance, ·but It 'Is 'on more . of an - ariis: ihere are no formal make-up days . honor system. or an absolute 24-hour rule governing As a student in a pr6fessional school, cvanges i~ . ¢e exam schedule. It's all we. h·av~. a responsibility to atterld class- ; between the _student and the professer, es. I think it is unfortunate that it has and again, it's more of an 'honor sys~em to be this way; becaus~,of the strictness . than absolute rules. of the system, the few teachers·who are ·; ' . -Mobility during 'exams: Students at more liberal in their roll-calling seem to UK are not given choices on where they be taken advantage of. take exams. The tests are given in two Classroom participation and prepara- rooms - smoking and non-smoking - tion: In this area, U of L has an edge. whiCh ·are reserved in advance. Going I think the students are more competi- intathe library is a no-no at any time tive in class discussions and generally during the exam. better prepared. There is an unwritten With all of the competition between rule at UK: Every student can pass b.y the universities, and all the talk of which saying, "I'm sorry, I'm not prepared to- is the better institution, I'm really glad day" when called upon to recite a case. I've been able to experience both. They Each student unofficially gets one pass are both excellent ·schools which are pro-in each class. Some professors may viding sound educations for both in-scowl, but most take it in stride___: once. state and out-of-state students at affordable tuition rates. I hope both develop even stronger regional names. Journal To Host National Conference by Tom Ransdell The University of Louisville's Journal of Family Law will host the ThirtySecond Annual National Conference of Law Reviews in Louisville on March 20-23. The National Conference of Law Reviews was established in 1955 by the Harvard Law Review. Its purpose is to provide a forum where out-going law review editors share their experience with in-coming editors, insuring the continuing quality of the member law reviews. This year, approximately 175 editors from 130 law reviews are expected to attend the conference which will be held at the Brown Hotel. The editors represent law reviews from across the United States and Canada. Keynote speakers will include Judge James Carrigan of the United States District Court of Colorado; Peter Perlman, President of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America; Chief Justice Robert Stephens of the Kentucky Supreme Court; and David Pike, Managing Editor of the National Law Journal. Panel members and seminar leaders will include Dean Barbara Lewis; Dean Henry Stephens of Chase Law School; Dean Thomas Lewis of the U.K. Law School; Professor Stephen Carter of Yale; Gertrude Block of the University of Florida, Stan Chauvin of Barnett & Alagia, and former five-term U.S. Congressman Elliott Levit as of Kilpatrick & Cody. Jessica Schumacher, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Family Law, said, "We are both pleased and honored to host the Conference because law reviews · from across the country actively seek this ,opportunity. It is particularly nice to be the host this year as it coincides with our twenty-fifth year of publication." Letters to the Law Examiner are encouraged. If possible, letters should be typed, double-spaced, and limited to 3{)() words. Longer letters will be considered, but the Law Examiner reserves the right to edit any letters submitted for publication. · Letters must contain a complete name and address, as well as the author's phone number (address will not be published, if requested). 4 Louisville Law Examiner Febraa11: ·>r*f:&?.£ / . ~ Photo by Nancy Morgan Kathleen S. Bean is an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Louisville. This article was written before the decision of the United States Supreme Court not to reconsiderthe Indianapolis Antipornography Ordinance. by Kathleen S. Bean The Seventh Circuit, in August of 1985, found the Indianapolis antipornography ordinance, similar to the Model Antipornography Law' drafted by Andrea Dworkin2 and Catherine MacKinnon, 3 to be unconstitutional. American Booksellers Ass'n, Inc. v. Hudnut, 771 F.2d 323 (7th Cir. 1985). The distance between the orientation of the authors of the Model Law and the orientation of the court which struck down the Indianapolis ordinance prohibiting pornography is a long one. Basically, the authors of the Model Law speak of sex discrimination and subordination of women. The courts and the opponents speak of the constitutio~al right of freedom of speech. . My task, in this short essay, is not to say who should travel the distance between the two. On the other hand, neither do I propose to give a balanced presentation of the different views of the authors and the opponents of the Model Law. For the record, the Model Law bas been criticized as unjustifiable and unjustified regulation of content of speech, prior restraint of speech, overbroad and vague. See Gershel, Evaluating a Proposed Civil Rights Approach to Pornography: Legal Analysis as if Women Mattered, 11 WM. MITCHELL L. REV. 41,73 & 75 (1985) for a constitutional analysis discussing overbreadth, vagueness and unjustifiable regulation of speech. See ali;o American Booksellers Ass'n, Inc. v. Hudnut, 598 F: Supp. 1316 (S.D. Ind. 1984), aff'd, 771 F.2d 323 (7th Cir. 1985). Whether these cnttctsms are well-founded is beside the point of my essay. I choose to use this forum to present the Model Law authors' theory of pronography. Their perspective provides an explanation of the Model Law and additionally provides an explanation for the seemingly incongruous position of feminists (usually aligned with the poli-tical left or liberals) who appear to be consorting with the likes of the Moral Majority, the Eagle Forum, and the National Federation for Decency, traditionally right-wing moralists. Blakely, Is One Woman's Sexuality Another Woman's Pornography?, MS., April 1985, at 47. First of all, the authors of the Model Law speak a language which originates from a woman-centered perspective. Thus, to understand what the authors say, one must understand that the language they speak is not the language their opponents speak. In the field of pornography, for example, the opponents of the Model Law speak the language of obscenity. The language of obscenity is a moral measurement. If pornographic material is "obscene" it is not protected by the first amendment. Millei v. California, 413 U.S. 15 (1973), provides the basic guidelines for the courts ' determination of what is obscene: (a)Jf!hether the average person, apply- . ing contemporary community standards, would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interests ... ; (b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduce specifically defined by applicable state law; and (c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. Miller at 24 (citations omitted). What is important to note about the Miller definition of obscenity and the . text of the Miller opinion is that the definition and the orientation of the Court as a whole concerns itself with material that has to do with sex and sexual acts and depictions of sex and sexual acts. This is explicit and implicit throughout the Court's opinion. Because sex and sexual conduct and its depiction or description is at the base of obscenity, the arguments concerning regulation of "obscene" materials center around what is obscene - Brandeis Brief: Feminist~ that is, what sexual "conduct" is permissible to publish and what is not. Thus, the opponents of the Model Law speak in a language that views pornography as material which concerns sex, and the issue is whether the material ls "obscene." Hoffman, Feminism, Pornography and Law, ·133 U. PA. L. REV. 497, 504-10 (1985). The Model Law does not deal with sex or obscenity. It establishes its own language and its own orientation and disclaims any association with morality. MacKinnon, Not a Moral Issue, 2 YALE L. & POL. REV. 321, 322-23 (1984). The Model Law speaks alanguage of "pornography" - not obscenity - .and specifically defines pornography as "the graphic sexually explicit subordination of women through pictures and/or words that also includes one or more of the following:'' (i) women are prc:;sented dehumanized as sexual objects, things, or commodities; or (ii) women are presented as sexual objects who enjoy pain or humiliation; or (iii) women are presented as sexual objects who experience sexual pleasure in being raped; or (iv) women are presented as sexual objects tied up or cut up or mutilated or bruised or physically hurt; or (v) women are presented in postures or positions of sexual submission, servility, or display; or (vi) women's body parts - including, but not limited to, vaginas, breasts, or buttocks - are exhibited such that women are reduced to those parts; or (viii) womert are presented being penetrated by objects or animals; or (ix) women are presented in scenarios of degradation, injury, torture, shown as filthy or inferior, bleeding, bruised, or hurt in a context that makes these conditions sexual. Model Antipornography Law, reprinted in Blakely, supra, at 46. "Women" is used as a generic term - that is if men, children or transsexuals are used in place of women, the pictures or words may still constitute pornography. To constitute pornography under the Model Law, the material must be sexually graphic and explicit, must subordinate women and be in one of the above nine categories. The Model Law regulates pornography by various methods; very generally it prohibits it, with a civil cause of action provided for aggrieved persons as the enforcement .mechanism. While the Dworkin-MacKinnon definition includes as an element of pornography sexually explicit depictions or words, their pornography is not about sex or morality, but about power and equality, which is the woman-centered perspective of pornography. By contrast, Miller makes no reference to issues of power or equality when analyzing the · issue of pornography and obscenity. To the authors of the Model Law, sex is relevant only because pornography is the politicalization of sex. Indeed, it is the politicalization of sex and sexuality which .makes pornography an issue to the feminists who are proponents of the Model Law. The authors' pos1t10n is that this woman-centered perspective is one - which has been silenced by the male-supremacy hierarchy of our culture and silenced to the extent that we are unaware of what we do not see, or for a more accurate metaphor, of the silence we do not hear. Dworkin, Silence Means Dissent, i-Iealthsharing, Summer 1984, at 23-25. Before we will hear this silence, we must become conscious of the inclusively pervasive effects of the male-dominated cultural perspective. More simply put, although deceptively so, we need to take off our male-perspective glasses and view things, i.e., pornography, with a perspective which recognizes the validity of female experience. H. EISENSTEIN, CONTEMPORARY FEMINIST THOUGHT 35-41 (G. K. Hall & Co., 1983). See Hoffman, supra, at 512 arid 512 n. 87 & 88. Viewing pornography with a woman-centered perspective (which takes some practice) will reveal pornography to be a political statement not seen before the woman-centered perspective was used. Two examples will help clarify this and provide some practice. MacKinnon uses Justice Stewart's now infamous statement concerning obscenity: "I know it when I see it." Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184, 197 (1964)(Stewart, J:, concurring). Justice Stewart's statement is a quite literal description of the male perspective. When ·he sees obscenity, he defines what he sees as obscenity and thus it is obscenity. It is the quintessential male perspective. He sees through male glasses and by seeing obscenity he creates obscenity; he makes it obscenity by saying it is so. MacKinnon, supra, at 325. Justice Stewart's personal perspective is a political perspective because the male personal dominates in our culture and thus defines the political. And what Justice Stewart sees, of course, is a depiction or description of sex and sexual conduct which he may or may not consider so immoral that it is obscene. He does not see power, inequality or politics when he views the material in question. Feminist Sheila Rowbotham relates a personal story which again demonstrates the difference of seeing through men's eyes o.r women's eyes: The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour appeared on television. A group of people, including the Beatles, go on a coach trip ... Then at one point all the boys on the bus are separated from the girls. You follow the boys in the film ... and where should they go, but into a striptease. I ... caught myself going to watch another woman as if I were a man. I was experiencing the situation of another woman stripping through men's eyes. I . was being asked to desire myself by a film made by men. Catching myself observing myself desiring one of my selves I remained poised for an instant in two halves ... I could see through their eyes, but I could feel with her body. I was a man's woman. I had thus contributed towards making an object of myself and other women. I was partly responsible for our degradation. ry, 1986 Louisville Law Examiner 5 s Formulate Model ntipornography Law S. ROWBOTHAM, WOMAN'S CONSCIOUSNESS, MAN'S WORLD 40-41 (Penguin 1981). To speak the language of the proponents of the Model Law, we must recognize the female personal perspective of pornography, which is not one of obscenity and sex, but one of subordination of women by men and male power and female powerlessness. Additionally, we must accord political validity to this personal perspective. Until it is recognized as valid, it remains silent; so long as it is silent, it cannot be. MacKinnon says it best: "Obscenity law is concerned with morality ... The feminist critique of pornography is politics ... Morality here means good and evil; politics means power and powerlessness. Obscenity is a moral idea; pornography is a political practice. Obscenity is abstract, pornography is concrete." MacKinnon, supra, at 322-23. The authors of the Model Law do not attempt to regulate pornography because it is disgusting, offensive or obscene. They wish to regulate it because it is an act of domination by men of women. Pornography is not a place for arguments about morality and sex; the argument is about power and equality, and thus the Model Law'~ regulation and prohibition of pornography is about the exercise of power and domination. Again, taking from MacKinnon's work, women are not depicted as subordinate in pornography; they are subordinate in pornography. Pornography is not a depiction of a fantasy about domination and submissiveness or sadism and masochism; pornography is domination of women by men. To appreciate the impact of "seeing it makes it so" we must understand what the authors refer to when they use the word "subordination" in connection with pornography. Tliis is . the specific political statement that the authors see or hear when they see or hear pornography. Because men have power over women in the political, economic and social hierarchies, how men see women is how women are; how men view women defines who women can be, i.e., the statement of Justice Stewart is his view and his view is what he sees. Women can be no more than they are seen to be because they are defined by those in power. It is to the benefit of those in power, or those who wish to stay in power, to define others as powerless. To be subordinate is to be powerless. Thus, in pornography, the authors argue, what is defined - not depicted, but defined - is the female gender, and it is defined as subordinate to male gender. Thus, pornography creates the subordination of women, and the domination of men, through the politicalization of sex. Dworkin explains the socio-political dynamic of subordination this way: To subordinate, you must have a hierarchy. Our hierarchy has men on the top and women on the bottom. The people on the top of the hierarchy then uses a process of objectification to dehumanize the people on the bottom of the hierarchy. Having made those people objects, it then becomes permissible to treat those people as less than human. If someone is on the bottom of the hierarchy and is turned into an object, that person becomes submissive, and that person's behavior becomes submissive. "The fourth element of subordination is violence. Whenever you see a social situation in which violence is widespread - so widespread that in fact it's normalized- then you know you already have the other three existing elements solidly in place." Blakely, supra, at 46. For those not familiar with the content of today's pornography, material "readily available" in Minneapolis at the time that city was holding hearings on an antipornography statute drafted by MacKinnon and Dworkin included depictions of a woman being aroused by having her genitals licked by a bear; a woman with a full fist in her anus; and a woman "draped in chains, ring through· genitals, cutting self with fingernails.'' Baldwin, The Sexuality of Inequality: The Minneapolis Pornography Ordinance, 2 LAW & INEQUALITY 629, 631-32 n.ll (1984). These depictions from Hustler magazine are just a very small sampling of the type of pornography produced. For those not familiar with the extent of today's pornography, some figures and comparisons may be helpful. While the numbers vary, the pornography trade is at least a multi-billion dollar industry. Gershel, supra, at 56 & 56 n.67. The combined average circulations per issue of Playboy and Penthouse magazines for the last six months of 1982 were 8,873,397, exceeding the combined circulations of Time and Newsweek, which were 7,556,206 for the same period. Hoffman, supra, at 515 n.l01, (citing Leisure Time: Basic Analysis, 150 STANDARD AND POOR'S INDUS. SURV. §§ 2, L22, L31 (Sept. 16, 1982). The pornography industry is said to be as big as the film and record industries combined. Gershel, supra, at 56 n.67 (citing Cook, The X-Rated Economy, FORBES, Sept. 18, 1978, at 81). "In 1980, pornographic video cassettes outsold other video cassettes by three to one." Id. (citing M. Langelan, The Political Economy of Pornography, AEGIS, Autumn 1981 at 5). Thus, in the eyes of the authors of the Model Law, pornography is the subordination of women. Gender (femaleness or maleness) means whatever it means. Pornography gives meaning to the female gender, and the meaning it gives, not depicts, is that female means subordinate to male. The authors of the Model Law do not see pornography as speech about sex or morality or sexual domination or sexual submissiveness. It is a part of a systematic male-dominated hie·rarchy subordinating women. It is not personal speech, but a political act of discrimination, violating the civil rights of women. Once the woman-perspective transcends the male-perspective definition, "pornography appears as neither perversion . nor entertainment, but as a genre expressing threats and hostility aimed at the maintenance of male power over women." Hoffman, supra, at 515. Pornography is the act, the pain, the harm; it does not "speak" that women are subordinate. It is woman subordinate. 'The ModeL. Law is reprinted at the end of this essay. While there are differences between the Indianapolis and the Model Law -language, the theory and philosophy behind the laws are the same; thus no distinctions are made in the textual discussion. 2 Andrea Dworkin is a creator and one of the leading exponents of the radical feminist anlaysis of pornography. She has authored several books, including Woman Hating (1974), Pornography: Men Possessing Women (1981) and Right-Wing Women (1983). She is coauthor with Catherine A. MacKinnon of the antipornography ordinance enacted in Indianapolis. 3Catherine A. MacKinnon is an associate professor at the niversity of Minnesota Law School and author of Sexual Harassment of Working Women (1979). MacKinnon and Dworkin were hired as consultants by the city of Minneapolis to draft a pornography ordinance, due to their expertise gained through teaching a course on pornography at the University of Minnesota. Blakely, Is One Woman's Sexuality Another Woman's Pornography?, Ms., April 1985, at 40. *The author thanks Kathy Schell and Paul Cammarata for their assistance in the preparation of this essay. Other works consulted for the pre- · paration of this issay include A. DWORKIN, PORNOGRAPHY: MEN POSSESSING WOMEN (1981); M. FRENCH, BEYOND POWER: ON WOMEN, MEN AND MORALS (1985); C. GILLIGAN, IN A DIF-FERENT VOICE (1982). . Model Act The following is a model civil rights Jaw drafted by Andrea Dworkin and Catherine MacKinnon. It differs somewhat from earlier verion.s originally introduced in Minneapolis and Indianapolis. Section I. STATEMENT OF POLICY. Pornography is sex discrimination. It exists in (PLACE], posing a substantial threat to the health, safety, peace, welfare, and equality of citizens in the community. Existing (state and) federal laws are inadequate to solve these problems in [PLACE). Pornography is a systematic practice of exploitation and subordination based on sex that differentially harms women. The harm of pornography includes dehumanization, sexual exploitation, forced sex, forced prostitution, physical injury, and social and sexual terrorism and inferiority presented as entertainment. The bigotry and contempt i\ promotes, with the acts of aggression it fosters, diminish opportunities for equality of rights in employmem, education, property, public accommodations and public services; create public and private harassment, persecution and denigration; promote injury and degradation such as rape, battery, child sexual abuse, and prostitution and inhibit just e~forcement of laws against these acts; contribute significantly to restricting women in particu lar from full exercise of citizenship and participation in public life, including in neighborhoods; damage relations between the sexes; and undermine women's equal exercise of rights to speech and action guaranteed to all citizens under the Constitutions and laws or the United States and (PLACE, INCLUDING STATE(. Section 2. DEFINITIONS. I. Pornography is the graphic sexually explicit subordination of women through pictures and/ or words that also includes one or more of the following: (i) women are presented dehumanized as sexual objects, things, or commodities; or (ii) women are presented as sexual objects who enjoy pain or humiliation; or (iii) women arc presented as sexual objects who experience sexual pleasure in being raped; or (iv) women are presented as sexual objects tied up or cut up or mutilated or bruised or physically hurt; or (v) women are presented in postures or positions of sexual submission, servility, or display; or (vi) women's body parts- including but not limited to vaginas, breast~. or buttocks- are exhibited such that women are reduced to those part s; or (vii) women are presented as whores by nature; or (viii) wome·n are presented being penetrated by objects or animals; or (ix) women are presented in scenarios of degradation, injury, tortu re, shown as filthy or inferior, bleeding, bruised, or hurt in a context that makes these conditions sexual. 2. The use of men, children , or transsexuals in the place of women in (l) above is pornography for purposes of this law. Section 3. UNLAWFUL PRACTICES. I. Coercion into pornography: 1t shall be sex discrimination to coerce, intimidate, or fraudulently induce (hereafter, ''coerce") any person, including transsexual, into performing for pornography, which injury may date from any appearance or sale o{ any product(s) of such performance(s). The maker(s), seller(s), exhibitor( s), and/ or distributor(s) of said pornography may be sued for damages and for an injunction, including to eliminate the product( s) of the performance(s) from the public view. Proof of one or more of the following facts or conditions shall not, without more, negate a finding of coercion : (i) that the person is a woman; or (ii) that the person is or has been a prostitute; or (iii) that the person has attained the age of majurity~or (iv) that the person is connected by blood or marriage to anyone involved in or related to the making of the pornography; or (v} that the person has previously had, or been thought to have had, sexual relations with anyone, including anyone in volved in or related to · the making of the pornography; or (vi) that the person has previously posed for sexually explicit pictures with or for anyone, including anyone involved in or related to the making of the pornography at issue; or (vii) that anyone else, including a spouse or other relative, has given permission on the person's behalf; or (vii i) that the person actually consented to a use of the performance that is changed into pornography; or (ix) that the person knew that the purpose of the acts or events in question was to make pornography; or (x) that the person showed no resistance or appeared lO cooperate adively in the photographic sessions or in the events that produced the pornography; or i.(i) that the person signed a contract, or made statement-; affirming a willingness to cooperate in the production of pornography; or (xii) that no physical force, threats, or weapons were used in the making of the pornography; or (xiii) that the person was paid or otherwise compensated. 2. Trafficking in pornography: It shall be sex discrimination to produce, sell, exhibit, or distribute pornography, including through private clubs. ·(i) City, state, and federally funded public libraries or private and public university and college libraries in which pornography is available for study, including on open shelves but excluding special display presentations, shall not be construed to be trafficking in pornography. (ii) Isolated passages or isolated parts shall not be actionable under this section. (iii) Any woman .has a claim hereunder,.as a woman acting against the subordination of women. Any man, child, or transsexual who alleges injury by pornography in the way women are injured by it also has a claim. 3. Forcins pornography on a person: Jt shall be sex discrimination to force pornography on a person, including child or transsexual, in any place of employment, education, home, or public place. Only the perpetrator of the force or responsible institution may be sued. 4. Assault or physical auack due 10 pornography: It shall be sex discrimination to assault, physically attack, or injure any person , including child or transsexual, in a way that is directly caused by specific pornography. The perpetrator of the assault or attack may be sued for damages and enjoined where appropriate. The maker(s), di stributor(s), seller(s), and/or exhibitor(s) may also be sued for damages and for an injunction against the specific pornography's further exhibition, distribution, or sale. Section 4. DEFENSES. I. h shall not be a defense that the defendant in an actiOn under ihis law did not know or intend that the materials were pornography or sex discrimination. 2. No damages or compensation for losses shall be recoverable under Sec. 3(2) or other than against the perpetrator of the assault or attack in Sec. 3(4) unless the defendant knew or had reason to know that the materials were pornography. 3. In actions under Sec. 3(2) or other than against the perpetrator of the assault or attack in Sec. 3(4), no damages or compensation for losses shall be recoverable against maker(s) for pornography made, against distributor(s) for pornography distributed , against se ller(s) for pornography sold, or against exhibitor(s) for pornography exhibited, prior to the effective date of this law. Section 5. ENFORCEMENT'. 1. Civil action: Any person aggrieved by violations of this law may enforce its provisions by means of a civil action. No criminal penalties s.hall attach for any violation of the provisions of this law . Relief for violation of this act may include reasonable attorney's fees. 2. Injunction: Any person who violates this law may be enjoined except that: (i) In actions under Sec. 3(2), and other than against the perpetrator of the assault or attack under Sec. 3(4), no temporary or permanent injunction shall issue prior to a final judicial determination that the challenged activities constitute a violation of this law. (ii) No temporary or permanent injunction shall extend beyond such marerial(s) that, having been described with reasonable specificity by the injunction , have been determined to be va lidly proscribed under this law. Section 6. SEVERABILITY. Should any part(s) of this law be found legally invalid, the remaining part(s) remains valid.' A judicial declaration that any part(s) of this law .cannot be applied validly in a particular manrier or to a particular case or category of cases shall not affect the validity of that part(s) as otherwise applied , unless such other application would clearly Frustrate the (LEGISLATIVE BODY'S! intent in adopting this law. Section 7. LIMITATION OF ACTION. Actions under this law must be filed within one year of the alleged dis..:riminatory acts. •In the event that this law is amended to a preexisting human rights law, the complaint would first be made to a Civil Rights Commission. Any injunction issued under Sec. 3(2), the traffick ing provision, would require trial de novo (a full court trial after the administrative hearing). (From MS. Magazine. April 1985). I Louisville Law Examiner ~ . 6 Mandatory_ Retirement February,, 1986 Professor William E. Biggs To Step Down In May by J. B. Phillips . I persuaded them that I had even greater aptitude in the law." This spring, the law school will mark While in the service, the professor the loss of one of its most distinguished spent the first half of the war in a medi-instructors. Professor William E. Biggs cal training center in Texas. He subse-will be retiring following an enviable quently went through Officer's Candi-career of service to both the University date School, and was stationed in San and the community. He will be compell- Francisco as a medical administration ed to retire under state law, having turn- officer. · '" ed 70 in December, although his appear- Following -the war, he went back to ance and demeanor belie his age. his old law firm in late 1945, where he Professor Biggs has _spent much of his stayeq until the summer of 1948. By that life around the University of Louisville. time, he had decided that he wanted to He earned a B.A. degree in Pre- go into teaching. When asked what Law/ Political Scfence from U of L in prompted this decision, he stated, "It is 1938, and graduated with a J.D. in 1940. hard to remember." He had, however, Upon graduation, he was employed at done a good bit of teaching while. in the Davis, Boehl, Vispr, and Marcus. The lervice, and decided that he liked it. successor to this· firm is· now knowll as ;."-, · After leaving ~tlie ·practice of-law in Boehl, Stopher, . . Graves, and i948,J3iggs ret1,1rned to lPof Land earn- Deindorfer. ,. . ' -~ ed ~Master's d~ree in Political Science. Biggs was drafted 'the following year;.. He--went to Ofiio State in 1950-51 to and served his country for four and one- complete his course work for a Ph.D. half years in the arm.i.medicai depart- He completed his dissertation on ment. The Professor reflected, "Luc- Worker's Compensation in 1956, com-kily, the law backgr-ound was enough to posing it during summers of 1951-56. get me into clerk , school,. .. they almost The professor landed his first full-sent me to the motor pool; apparently time teaching job at the,. University of I have a good meoharucafaptitude, but Maryland, where he taught for one sem" • <~;,.: {_ ester b.e. fore getting..a.. ,better offer'(rom ~ William E. Biggs American University in Washington, D.C. There, he worked with ~ special program called the "Washington Semesler .''~ . Photo by Nancy Morgan ----. " · -The· Washington Semester was a 'coWhen asked what he planned to do upon retirement,. Professor Biggs jokingly replied, "Anything I want to." However, in a more serious vein, he went on to say that he plans to serve as a visiting professor at Southwestern Uniyersity at Los Angeles. this summer. He qas also been in contact with two other Jaw schools regarding part-time teaching, although he could not be specific. Since he has never greatly enjoyed research aqd writing, h w d like to experiment with half-time teaching. Boston University SchoolofLaw Tfw LL. \I. l>qrn·t· in Ban kin;! Lm, ~tudie~ -c~ - • ;;;;.z:.- . --= · = :~ - ,;.;., . ..,. A unique. multidisciplinary course of study offering a singular educational opportunity for lawyers who· wish to practice in this dynamic. fast growing area of specialization_ Taught by faculty of the Boston University School df Law. management experts. and eminent banking law attorneys. th1s innovative program provides an exceptional blend of intellectual and practical education at one of the n~tloo·s foremost law schools. The curriculum has· been meticulously designed to prC?v1de courses covering the full range of banking law subjects and cour~es specially developed to introduce lawyers to the legal. econ-omic an_d managerial aspects of the financial Setvices Industry' Applications are now being accepted for full or part-time enrollment in September 1986. H)r a t•at~ t•t~ntainin~t tlc-tailt-tl information ami applit•atiun funns, ~· rill': Graduate- Pru~ram in Bankintt l..aw Stutlit-s Morin (A-ntt-r for Bankirlft l..a~ Stwlws Boston Uniwnih· Sc·huol of l..aw 765 (:Cmm-.wealth Awmw Boston, MaasachuSt'tls 02215 or call: 617/353-30'23 ~ operativeprogram of about 60 colleges, · adrniflisf~red· through American.Univer~ sit)< Various--~olleges sent their top stu, dents in their junior and senior years, and these candidates would spend a semester in Washington. Biggs was in charge of about 3 of these students each semester for aoout five years, prior to s.witching to full-time teaching. "' The professor went on sabbatical in 1959, and journeyed to Dayton, Ohio, to work with a research group that was trying to organize a city-county merger. He wound up staying in Dayton three years. During this time, he did some part-time teaching at the University. · · 'One of the courses that he was teach. ing while at Dayton was "Introduction to Law." Biggs invited then dean Marlin Volz to Dayton to speak to the stu-dents, and as a result, Biggs was asked to teach at U of L as a visiting professor for a year, since Carl Warns would be on leave. That visiting professorship ripened into a fill-time job in 1962, where he stayed for three years. By 1965, while continuing to teach part-time as a law professor at U of L, Biggs began to teach political science at the newly opened Kentucky Southern College on what is now the Shelby Campus. This arrangement lasted two years until 1967, when he came b·ack to U of L full-time. Since then, Professor Biggs has remained at U of L, with the exception of a sabbatical in 1976. While on leave, Biggs went to Frankfort to work with the legislature and the Legislative Re- . search Commission. He considered this good experience, since he taught municipal law and legislation. Moreover, during this time, he also worked with legislators from Jefferson County. Since then, he has mostly taught Administrative Law (which he first taught at Ameri-can University in 1952), Workers' Compensation, and Torts. There-have been many changes in the legal education process since Professor Biggs earned his J.D. in 1940. First of all, in 1938, the law school was located at · Confederate Place between the jail and the courthouse, the actual building being an old townhouse, where Jefferson Park is now: The law school was moved to its present location the spring of Biggs' junior year. Back then, one could go to law school before earning an undergraduate degree - a student could be admitted at U of L following two years of undergraduate work with a "C" average. Biggs himself started with a "combined degree," which required 3 years of pre-law courses, the freshman year of law school counting as the fourth year on the bachelor's degree. The law school was small before the seco_nd world war. Biggs started law school with a class of 20. His class graduated 18- 2 had dropped out in the interim, both for financial reasons. At that time, one could sit for the Kentucky Bar examination one year before graduation. Biggs' class took the exam in the summer of 1939; all but one person passed. As a result, upon graduation, all but one of the senior class had been admit. ted to the Kentucky Bar. Moreover, the person who had not passed was only required to retake one subject. As evidence of growth. Biggs stated that the law school faculty,_ at the time numbered 5 instructors, and that all (continued on page 7) February, f986 Louisville Law Examiner .. 7 Pr.ofessor Biggs To ~etire contributed a lot through his teaching. People always liked him .as a teachc;r, particularly the students. · J Dean Barbara Lewis, Professor Biggs has made great contributions to the leg- -islative process over a long period of time, a fact which should be recognized (continued from page 6) and commended. classes were taught in the morning. In addition, tuition was only $75 a semester. During the war, the faculty at the law school dwindled to only 1 or 2 members, who taught a student body of 5. The student body was composed of "women and W-s," said Biggs. Apparently, the low numbers before the war were a result of the fact that money was scarce. Biggs believes that this is the reason that there are now so few attorneys above the age of 65 . Biggs proudly' admits that he has never regretted devoting his life to teaching; he also claims that there have not been many changes in teaching methods over the years. He was taught by the Socratic method, and vividly recalls being required to stand when reciting. The Klan Ordinance (continued from page 1) agencies which are jointly funded by the city and county. Ms. Gronfeld went on to say that in all probability employees of such agencies are also covered. "I think the county has passed a similar ordinance." Section l contains the most important and potentially most controversial clauses. It outlines the restrictions on city employees: ection l (a) No city employee may ....,.-~--p-a-r't:'icipate in and promote the illegal activities of racist/ hate groups known to advocate racial or religious inequality through illegal or violent means. (b) No city employee shall permit his or her personal prejudice to impact adversely on his or her job performance or relationships with the public to be served. (c) No city employee who takes an oath of office, including but not limited to police officers, shall take an oath of office sworn to by such employee. When a Section I violation is a1leged, an inquiry is made by 3 Aldermanic members, who report their findings to the Mayor and Personnel Director.' Any person found to be in violation· of Section l is to be terminated. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was involved in the defense of Robert McMullen. However, David Friedman, general cour.sel of the Kentucky chapter, has no present plans to challenge the Louisville action. "We have no stand on the ordinance at this time, " he said. A member of the ACLU added that general advice was not usually given on municipal legislation. The normal procedure is to wait until a case arises and then decide on whether a particular ordinance should be challenged. ut of L Law Professor Laurence Knowles believes the ordinance, unlike McMullen, does not prohibit membership in a racist or hate group. Gronefeld agrees, "Membership in any organization is not p'rohibited by this particular ordinance.'' (continued on page B) years 'have not erased these memories. Biggs remembers the feeling because, as he puts it, "Standing with your notebook shaking in your hands, you felt very alone in the world." Apparently, some things have hardly changed. The admiration of one's colleagues is . an accurate gauge of a teacher's career. By this standard, Professor Biggs is held in high esteem indeed. Professor William F. Dolson, who has known Professor Biggs ever since he started teaching at U of L, stated that Biggs had dedicated himself to the law school and had "He always had students in his office talking to him about personal problems," said Dolson. Moreover, Biggs was also a good liason with the undergraduate students. Professor Dolson concluded by saying that "it was great having him as a colleague all these years ." In the final analysis, Professor Biggs's service to legal education and to the profession over a very long period of time is impossible to measure. He has served as a friend, mentor, and counselor to any number of students. As noted by He has •- served for years without recognition or compensation with the Legislative Research Commission, and also presently works with the government law center here on campus. He has earned the respect of his colleagues and the profession. He is a fine teacher, and by the admission of the Dean, he is, "One of the most dedicated people in terms of this area of service that I know,'' and ''truly a gentle man in the very fullest and best meaning of the word." How to With the American Express• Card you can buy everything from new spectacles to some pretty spectacular clothing. The la)est in audio equipment and the latest albums. The Card is the perfect way to pay for just about anything you'll want during college. How to get the before you graduate. Because we believe that college is the first sign of success. we've made-it easier for you • to get the American Express Card. GrAduating students can get the Card as soon as they ·-. accept a SIO,OOO carl'Cr--oriented job. If you 're not graduating this semester, you can apply for a special sponsored Card. Look for student applications on campus. Or call 1-800-THE- CARD. and tell them you want · a student application. The American Express Card. ~ Don't leave school withoUt it;>M 8 Klan Ordinance (continued from page 7) Both Knowles and Stenger are unclear on how a racist or hate organization is defined under the Louisville action. "How do you know what is a racist/ hate group that advocates illegal or violent means?" asked Stenger. "Martin Luther King clearly advocated illegal means. Sit-ins, march-ins, having parades without permits, were at the time not legal. What the Nazis did was valid under the law' although the rest of the world found it abhorrent." Knowles is concerned with Section I (a) and its prohibi~ion on p~r.ti_cip~~ion and promotion of Illegal acti~Ities. Do you participate or promote m such activity just by paying dues? Or do. y~u have to knowingly pay dues that w1.Jl m fact promote illegal activities?" Professor Stenger also has reserva- Louisville Law Examiner February, 1986 tions about the constitutional validity of 1 (a). He doubts whether the restraints on First Amendment rights of law enforcement officers can be applied to other city employees. "I think there's a real distinction between the police and others. The police depend so much on credibility within the community. Other city employees may not depend on such a high degree of credibility to perform their job." . . Knowles believes that some provlSlons of the ordinance are already punishable by existin~ ~a_w. "Isn't par~ic~pat~~? in illegal activities already cnmmal. he asked. "Contracts (between the employees and the city) probably cover some of these actions too, wouldn't they?'' Stenger concludes that the ordinance was meant to issue a warning. "I think Louisville is making a statement that we don't want people who are visibly active in city activities to be active in these groups." · Gronefeld disagreed. "One of the purposes of this was to act as a clarification of policy, but we enforce all ordinances and we will enforce this one as well." Nader Appearance Slated Ralph Nader, the noted consumer rights activist, will visit Louisville on April 17. He will be part of the U of L School Law's annual Law Day festivities. This year's event is entitled "A Celebration of the 200th Birthday of the United States Constitution." According to Law School Assistant Dean and Professor David Leibson, Nader will be the featured speaker at a luncheon held at the Commonwealth Convention Center. The luncheon is sponsored by the Law School and the Evelyn Crady Adams Lecture Fund. Later in the afternoon, Nader will address another gathering which will probably be held in the Allen Courtroom. Leibson also no\ed that present plans called for an impromptu session afterwards, with a question and answer period. Reservations for the luncheon may be made by contacting the Dean's Office at the School of Law. Members of the Kentucky Bar Association may receive one continuing legal credit hour by attending the event. John M. Harlan . . Louis D. Brand~ist Pi' .. ~ Louisville\, ~· Law Examiner Volume 11 Dolson Named Associate Dean Page 1 Transfer Student Compares UK, U Of L ·page 3 U Of L To Host J ourna1 Conference Page 3 Feminism And Pornography Page 4 February, 1986 Number 3 ' . .., ..... , .. ,&.'' -..... --·~ ·Photo by Nancy Morgan |
Subject |
University of Louisville. School of law University of Louisville--Students University of Louisville--Alumni and alumnae University of Louisville--Faculty University of Louisville--Employees Law students Law & legal affairs Law and legislation--Kentucky Law and legislation--United States Law libraries Legal education Libraries |
Location Depicted |
Louisville (Ky.) Jefferson County (Ky.) |
Date Original | 1986-02 |
Object Type | Newspapers |
Source | Various-sized print newspapers published by students of the University of Louisville School of Law. The print edition may be found in the University of Louisville Law Library or the University of Louisville Archives and Records Center. |
Collection | Law Library Collection |
Collection Website | http://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/law |
Digital Publisher | Law Library of the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, University of Louisville |
Format | application/pdf |
Ordering Information | The publications digitized in this collection are the property of the University of Louisville School of Law and are not to be republished for commercial profit. To inquire about reproductions, permissions, or for additional information, email lawlibrary@louisville.edu. |
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M |
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O |
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R |
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S |
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U |
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V |
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