Remember Shea’s post about same-sex marriage and how the AOC has advised magistrates that they could face criminal prosecution if they refused to marry same-sex couples? State Senator Phil Berger has announced plans to file a bill to allow officials with religious objections to opt out of performing such marriages. The News and Observer story about the matter makes clear that if such a bill is enacted, it will be challenged in court. In other news: Law school, now cheaper and more flexible. The News and Observer reports here that Elon Law is cutting tuition and shortening its program to 2.5 years, while Campbell is admitting students on a flexible schedule model that allows them to obtain their degrees over five years. This is part of a national re-examination of the law school business model, prompted by declining applicant pools and limited job opportunities on graduation. The Wall Street Journal Law Blog notes some of the developments in other states here. Supreme Court to examine officers’ access to hotel registries. The Court granted certiorari in City of Los Angeles v. Patel, covered here on SCOTUSblog. In a nutshell, Los Angeles has an ordinance that requires hotels to allow law enforcement officers to inspect their registries upon request. But does the hotel have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the registries such that the Fourth Amendment is implicated by these warrantless and unconsented examinations? Sounds like a narrow question, but the opinion potentially could have a broader impact on the treatment of [...]
Faculty Coordinators
