The Legal Eagle Lowdown is a companion blog for the Foundation’s legal newspaper for kids, The Legal Eagle. All articles published in The Legal Eagle, (complete with discussion questions) are also posted to the blog so they may be used as individual handouts.
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The Legal Eagle Lowdown
Court Keeps Pace with the Digital Age & Privacy
by Phyllis Raybin Emert Privacy is often defined as a person’s right to control his or her personal information. You probably voluntarily spend much of your day on your smart phone, texting, posting...
Access to Social Media Protected by First Amendment
by Maria Wood In the old days, the public square referred to a colonial village square where people gathered to share ideas and pass out written material. Today’s public square is arguably the...
State Immunity Ruling Calls Precedent into Question
by Michael Barbella The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), established in 1789, is the highest court in the land and sets legal precedent for all lower courts, affecting decisions across...
Reading, Writing, Arithmetic…and Religion?
by Michael Barbella American education has traditionally focused on three basic skills: reading, writing, and arithmetic, known as the three “R’s.” Today, an effort is underway in the United States...
Whose DNA Is It Anyway?
by Maria Wood Commercial DNA testing kits from such companies as 23andMe and AncestryDNA have helped millions of Americans uncover their genetic heritage and find long-lost relatives. In some cases,...
Making Your Choice and Your Vote Count
by Jodi L. Miller It’s 2020, an election year, so once again the nation’s attention turns to the way Americans vote and electoral reforms to make that vote count. One electoral reform that is...
Battling Over How to Elect a President
by Michael Barbella The debate on how the President of the United States should be elected is almost as old as the country itself. Contrary to popular belief, voters do not elect the president and...
Should the Voting Age be Lowered Again?
by Maria Wood Since our nation’s founding, who has the right to vote has changed dramatically. In the beginning, the franchise was limited to white, land-owning males. Today, the right can’t be...
Gerrymandering Becomes a Problem for the States to Solve
by Phyllis Raybin Emert Gerrymandering on a partisan basis is not new to politics. The term gerrymander dates back to the 1800s when it was used to mock Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry, who...
Balancing the Right to Protest with the Right to Be Heard
by Hanna Krueger Free speech is one of the most sacred rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and nowhere has it been more revered than on college campuses, with sit-ins and student activists...
Courts to Decide the Fate of Two National Monuments
by Maria Wood For more than a century, U.S. presidents have declared national monuments, which preserve land that protect endangered species, ecosystems or historical artifacts. Now, lawsuits...
When You Can’t Believe Your Eyes
by Michael Barbella There is a saying that “seeing is believing” and another that says the “camera doesn’t lie.” New technology is challenging both notions. In April 2019, former President Barack...