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> As of last month, the American Bar Association is requiring all accredited law schools to “provide education to law students on bias, cross-cultural competenc
by car_analogy 5y ago
> As of last month, the American Bar Association is requiring all accredited law schools to “provide education to law students on bias, cross-cultural competency, and racism,” both at the start of law school and “at least once again before graduation.” That’s in addition to a mandatory legal ethics class, which must now instruct students that they have a duty as lawyers to “eliminate racism.” (The American Bar Association, which accredits almost every law school in the United States, voted 348 to 17 to adopt the new standard.)
At what point does this become compelled speech, prohibited by the 1st amendment? School accreditation, especially law school accreditation, is not a private matter, separate from the government. Will they use the wedge of legal ethics to argue there is no limit to the ideological hoops they can make schools and students jump through before accrediting them, or allowing them to practice law?
- blamestross 5y agoThe American Bar Association is very much a private institution not bound by the 1st amendment. ABA membership and accreditation is voluntary and not legally mandated. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admission_to_the_bar_in_the_United_States https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admission_to_the_bar_in_the_... States also have mandatory bar associations, where 1st amendment concerns would apply but they are not being discussed here.
- car_analogy 5y agoAre you sure? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Bar_Association#Accreditation_of_U.S._law_schools_since_1923 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Bar_Association#Accre... states: Specifically, in most U.S. jurisdictions, graduation from an ABA-accredited law school is prerequisite towards being allowed to sit for that state's bar exam, and even for existing lawyers to be admitted to the bar of another state upon motion.
- blamestross 5y agoThat isn't the ABA's fault and doesn't mandate them to 1st amendment protection. Go complain to the states in question for making participation in a private organization mandatory.
- car_analogy 5y agoThat makes it a 1st amendment issue, regardless of who is ultimately at fault. Which I never claimed to be the ABA - though they are well aware of their legal power, so they can hardly plead innocent for abusing it.