Re: Case Studies

From: Donald Berman <berman[_at_]ccs.neu.edu>
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 1994 10:02:01 -0500 (EST)

Jackie MacKay writes:

> I feel momentarily outraged at the the thought of you getting harassed
> for running a real and useful class...then I think to myself - you are
> hardly going to get yourself to that point. :-)

Thanks. I appreciate the kind words. I doubt that as a practical matter I will get harassed. But after Sheldon's thoughtful comments I have to wonder whether my sense about this is well founded. I don't intend to change what I do - I just don't why I feel secure in continuing what I do. Perhaps I feel that a court, though not articulating a special privilege for the law school classroom, will find a way to protect what I do. I also suspect that I could muster several other defenses in many cases (public figure).

Finally, I'm not sure precisely what damages the plaintiff could claim that were not trivial compared to publication in a widely read newspaper.

This discussion began with a teacher wanting to know what he may do. Though I feel I shouldn't give advice I can still speak for myself - I believe a little common sense and good taste will protect me when I deal with these issues in the classroom. If I'm wrong I hope my University will foot the bill.

  Don Berman --  

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     |  Donald H. Berman            |          (617) 373-3346 |
     |  Richardson Professor of Law |     FAX: (617) 373-8793 |
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Received on Thu Feb 17 1994 - 15:03:23 GMT

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