Thursday, October 26, 2006
I am still working towards catching up on my assignments for the Legal Research class. Dwight and Chris both helped on areas of the assignment I was finishing up yesterday. An interesting case that makes for good fiction-writing assignment in my private writing world: People v. Beauharnais 408 Ill. 512, 1951 LEXIS 302 (Ill., January 18, 1951, Filed). Overview: The words used by defendent in a publication were fighting words liable to cause violence and disorder between the races and was not of such character as entitled him to the protection of freedom of speech guaranteed by the constitution. The question in every case of whether or not freedom of speech is abused is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such a nature as to create a clear and present danger that they will bring about substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent.

I was able to find the actual flyer that the defendant passed out in the City of Chicago which vehemently opposed "Negroes constant and continuous invasion" in white neighborhoods. (Found at: http://www.newberry.org/outspoken/exhibit/objectlist_section3.html : "If persuasion and the need to prevent the white race from becomming mongrelized by the negro will not unite us, then the aggressions.... rapes, robberies, knives, guns, and marijuana of the negroe SURELY WILL." This copy was presented as Peoples Exhibit 3. This case resembles so much of the play/movie, "A Raisin in the Sun". (The English Major still rocks!).

On another note.........
There's been much publicity about the generic perscription drugs that Sam's Club will be selling for $4.00 as a refill. The attached PDF list shows what you can get for your money at this cost:
http://i.walmart.com/i/if/hmp/fusion/genericdruglist.pdf