Insights on Law & Society: Law & the Common Good
Volume 11, no. 1, Fall 2010

This 32-page issue of Insights includes:

Life, Law, and the Common Good

Amy Swiffen sketches four views of determining the balance between law’s role within society to protect both the common good and individual rights.

“This one I will spate, and that one I will smite”: World War I, the Regulation of Speech, and the Emergence of Modern Civil Liberties

Yohuru Williams traces how the Supreme Court developed standards for free speech—from “clear and

present danger” to “imminent lawless action.”

Healthy People, Healthy Places: How to Have a Healthy Life, Community, and Country

Lawrence O. Gostin presents an action plan for public health as well as examples of how law is used to influence individual health decisions.

Perspectives: Should Mandatory Voting Laws Be Implemented in the United States?

Vassia Stoilov and Norman Ornstein debate the implementation of compulsory, or mandatory, federal voting laws in the United States. What effect would such laws have on voter turnout, democracy, and civic engagement?

Students in Action: Future Civic Leaders—Providing Young People with the Tools to Make a Difference Colleen Danz highlights the Civic Connect Program, the high school program from Future Civic Leaders that equips underserved students with tools for civic engagement.

Learning Gateways: Who Owns That Song?

This lesson from the American Bar Association Division for Public Education asks students to consider

how intellectual property laws affect them every day and contribute to the common good.

Law Review: The New World of Campaign Finance

Charles F. Williams explores the campaign landscape in the wake of Citizens United v. Federal

Elections Commission.