Subject: A Free Internet Casebook on Sexual Orientation and the Law
Date: Thu, 4 Sep 2003 08:44:53 -0700
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Thread-Topic: A Free Internet Casebook on Sexual Orientation and the Law
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From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
I'm creating an Internet casebook on sexual orientation and the law that I hope will be an important resource for you and your students. I've indexed more than 140 appellate court cases on the site addressing, inter alia, the constitutionality of consensual sodomy and related solicitation statutes; child custody, visitation, adoption, and foster care by gay people; family issues not involving children (same-sex marriage or its approximation; health, dental, and life insurance, as well as sick leave, benefits for domestic partners; property disputes between former domestic partners; etc.); sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace and elsewhere; lesbians and gays in the military; and the free speech, association, and political participation rights of gay people.
Presently, edited versions of about 30 of these cases are posted on the site. Additional postings of edited decisions will occur every few days until the e-casebook is finished. I hope to complete the project by the end of the calendar year, if not sooner.
Even with just 30 posted cases, however, the e-casebook should be useful. For example, five important U.S. Supreme Court decisions, from Bowers v. Hardwick through Lawrence v. Texas, are there, as well as other leading cases in the subject fields listed above.
This e-casebook is relevant to courses in civil rights and liberties, constitutional law, family law, torts, military law, and potentially other subjects. For instance, if your current conlaw casebook doesn't include Lawrence v. Texas, just go to my site. If you're teaching family law and want to include decisions on same-sex marriage or the parental rights of gay people, just go to the site.
There are numerous advantages to an e-casebook, including:
1. It's free. You and your students may use it as much, or as little, as you wish, and the price doesn't change.
2. It's current. All new relevant decisions will be posted within a few days of rendering.
3. It includes more decisions than printed casebooks. So you may assign cases from a variety of decisions on topics of interest. For example, five cases on same-sex marriage or its approximation, ranging from the New York Court of Appeals' Adoption of Robert Paul P. in 1984 to the Vermont Supreme Court's Baker v. State in 1999, are available.
4. It's versatile to use. Decisions are arranged in several ways -- by case name, court, subject matter, and year. So if you're looking specifically for Lawrence v. Texas, you may go to the case name index. If you want decisions on gays in the military, go to the subject index. If you seek cases in a particular state or federal circuit, go to the court index.
5. It's interactive. If you want to propose improvements to the site, I'm happy to listen to good ideas and seek to maximize the site's utility.
So check it out at:
http://www.danpinello.com
Dan Pinello
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
P.S. Feel free to forward this message to other people who may be interested in the e-casebook.
