We the Students

Jamin B. Raskin is professor of constitutional law and the First Amendment at American University Washington College of Law and founder of its Marshall-Brennan Fellows Program, which places law students in public high schools to teach the We the Students constitutional literacy course. A former assistant attorney general for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Raskin is an active public interest lawyer, defending the rights of political expression and participation for both adults and young people. He is also the author of Overruling Democracy (2003) and dozens of law review articles, op-eds, and essays on constitutional law.

"We the Students is a dynamic, riveting, but fundamental dimension of our constitutional democracy. We the Students transforms students into Justices and advocates arguing and resolving matters of grave importance to daily life."

• Chapter 1: “We The People”: Our Constitution And CourtsWhy a Constitution?The American Constitution: What Is It?The Constitution: Whose Is It?The Constitution: What Does It Mean?Federalism: How the States Share the PowerThe Incorporation of the Bill of RightsThe State Action RequirementJudicial Architecture: How Our Court System WorksMajority and Dissenting OpinionsHow to Brief a CaseChapter 2: Student Voices And Supreme Court Choices: The First Amendment And Speech At SchoolExpressive Conduct and the Right Not to SpeakWest Virginia State Board of Education v. BarnetteThe Right to Speak Freely and Protest (but Not to Disrupt)Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School DistrictThe Confederate Flag and Other Racially Provocative SymbolsHirsute Lawsuit: Do Boys Have the Right to Wear Long Hair?Karr v. SchmidtDouble Entendres and Double Standards: Lewd and Suggestive Language in a Student Government Campaign Speech“BONG HiTS 4 JESUS”: Testing the Limits of Free SpeechMorse v. FrederickHateful Protest by Religious Fanatics on Public Property: Snyder v. Phelps, the Protection of Obnoxious Speech, and Student Mobilization against the Westboro Baptist ChurchThought Control or Quality Control? The Problem of Library Book RemovalViewpoint Neutrality and Religious Speech: Good News for the Free Speech Rights of Religious AmericansGood News Club v. Milford Central SchoolChapter 3: Freedom Of The Student Press: All The News (The School Sees) Fit To PrintFreedom of the Student Press in Official School-Sponsored ActivitiesHazelwood School District v. KuhlmeierSquelching Debate: A Different Sort of Blair Witch-HuntCyber Censors: Rising Conflicts over Internet HomepagesKillion v. Franklin Regional School DistrictInsults and Ridicule versus Threats and Harassment: When Does Off-Campus On-Line Speech Actually Become On-Campus Disruption?Chapter 4: The Wall Of Separation Between Church And SchoolFreedom from Establishment of Religion at SchoolEngel v. VitaleGraduating from Invocation and BenedictionLee v. WeismanSanta Fe Independent School District v. DoeGovernment Aid to Private Religious Schools: When Does It Cross the Line?Everson v. Board of Education of the Township of EwingSchool Vouchers: Making Education Redeemable in Secular or Religious SchoolsZelman v. Simmons-HarrisThe First Amendment and the Ten CommandmentsStone v. GrahamSeason’s Greetings! The Court’s Agonizing Ambivalence over Christmas Nativity DisplaysOne Nation, under Canada, with Constitutional Controversy for All: New Conflict over the Pledge of AllegianceNewdow v. U.S. CongressThe Supreme Court’s Curious Response to Newdow v. U.S. CongressThe Free Exercise Rights of Religious AmericansWisconsin v. YoderThe Theory of Evolution and the Story of Creation: An Ongoing Duel in the ClassroomChapter 5: The Fourth Amendment: Searching The Student BodyReduced Privacy Rights at SchoolNew Jersey v. T. L. O.A Fluid Analysis of the Fourth Amendment: Drug Tests and Extracurricular Activitiesoard of Education of Independent School District No. 92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls“Embarrassing, frightening, and humiliating”: Strip Searches and Naked Violations of the Fourth AmendmentSafford Unified School District #1 v. ReddingMetal Detectors and the ConstitutionIn Re Latasha W.Chapter 6: The Constitution And Student Discipline: “Due Process” And “Cruel And ­Unusual Punishment” At SchoolDue ProcessGoss v. LopezThe Crime of Hanging Out with Gang Members: “Loitering with No Apparent Purpose” in Chicago and the Due Process ClauseCity of Chicago v. MoralesCorporal PunishmentIngraham v. WrightCorporal Punishment in the Aftermath of Ingraham v. WrightChapter 7: Equal Protection Against Race Discrimination: From Jim Crow Segregation To ­Multicultural DemocracyThe Persistent Legacy of Slavery and RacismBrown v. Board of Education of TopekaTwo Steps Forward, One Step Back: “Massive Resistance” and the Reaction to BrownCooper v. AaronGriffin v. County School Board of Prince Edward CountyThe Right to LoveCan Public Schools Deliberately Integrate Students Today?Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School Dist. No. 1Race and Ethnicity in College and Graduate School Admissions: Affirmative Action or “Reverse Discrimination”?Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher, Petitioners v. Lee Bollinger et al.Barbara Grutter, Petitioner v. Lee Bollinger et al.Chapter 8: The Other Lines We Draw At School: Wealth, Gender, Citizenship, And Sexual OrientationRich Schools, Poor Schools: The Court’s Treatment of “Separate but Equal” School Financing“Suspect” Classes and Gender-Based SegregationBoys and Girls Equal: Title IXRoderick Jackson, Petitioner v. Birmingham Board of EducationSeparating Citizens from Noncitizens under the LawPlyler v. DoeDiscrimination against Gays and LesbiansBoy Scouts of America v. DaleUnited States, Petitioner v. Edith Schlain WindsorChapter 9: Harassment In The Hall, Blood On The Board: Sexual Harassment, Bullying, And Gun Violence At SchoolWhen Teachers Harass StudentsGebser v. Lago Vista Independent School DistrictWhen Students Harass StudentsDavis v. Monroe County Board of EducationThe Rights of Gay and Lesbian Students against HarassmentBlood on the Board: Mass Shootings at SchoolDistrict of Columbia v. HellerExpansion of the Reach of the Second AmendmentChapter 10: A Healthy Student Body: Disability, Privacy, Pregnancy, And SexualityThe Rights of the “Differently Abled” under the Individuals with Disabilities Education ActCedar Rapids Community School District v. Garret F.Peer Grading and the Right to PrivacyOwasso Independent School Dist. No. I-011 v. FalvoThree Trimesters: Pregnant at SchoolPfeiffer v. Marion Center Area School DistrictCurtis v. School Committee of FalmouthAbortion and the Privacy Rights of TeenagersPlanned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey