Our Rights, Our Future

Sorry States, You Can't Simply Ignore Non-English Speakers

No hablo ingles? Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction, Thomas Horne, does not seem to care all that much. Horne is the subject of a 1992 class action lawsuit, Flores v. Horne, which charged Arizona with failing to comply with a federal law requiring the states to provide the necessary accommodations needed for students to overcome language barriers. The case is expected to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in April.

The issue at hand is how much money should be spent teaching English to students who enter school unable to speak the language. Thomas Hogan, Flores’s lawyer, had already succeeded in persuading the 9th US District Court of Appeals to agree that Arizona has failed to comply with a 2000 federal district court order, due to the state’s inadequately funded programs to help children learn English and excel academically. There was a threat of a fine for $2 million a day, which was replaced with a total price of $40 million to help the 138,000 students who do not speak English.

Supreme Court Cases from February 23, 2009 to March 9, 2009

The following is a compilation of cases in which the Supreme Court granted, denied, or received a petition for cert.

Supreme Court Roundup

Corporations: Court For Us, Arbitration For You

Corporations are hypocrites when talking about mandatory arbitration, according to a study from three law professors. The companies mandate arbitration in almost all of their consumer contracts, but not in most of their contracts with other companies. The study shows that consumers are forced to live by a double-standard, one that limits their ability to resolve their disputes in open court.

Are Minorities Responsible For Everything Wrong In The World?

When things are bad, who's to blame? According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, minorities. Our partner group traced the anti-minority backlash through past times for some Past Is Prologue comparison of the type of rhetoric we can expect as our economy continues to play Titanic.