-
Air-traffic controllers strike
Nearly 13,000 of the 17,500 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) walked off the job, hoping to disrupt the nation's transportation system to the extent that the federal government would accede to its demands for higher wages, a shorter work week, and better retirement benefits. -
Equal Access Act
The Equal Access Act is a United States federal law passed in 1984 to compel federally-funded secondary schools to provide equal access to extracurricular clubs. Lobbied for by religious groups who wanted to ensure students the right to conduct Bible study programs during lunch and after school, it is also essential in litigation regarding the right of students to form gay–straight alliances. -
Iran-Contra Affair
It was a secret arrangement in the 1980s to provide funds to the Nicaraguan contra rebels from profits gained by selling arms to Iran. -
Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act
The law provided for automatic spending cuts to take effect if the president and Congress failed to reach established targets; the U.S. comptroller general was given the right to order spending cuts. Because the automatic cuts were declared unconstitutional, a revised version of the act was passed in 1987; it failed to result in reduced deficits. A 1990 revi -
Westside Community School District v. Mergens
School districts may not prohibit Bible study groups from meeting on school premises if they allow other groups to meet on school premises. The Supreme Court held that the club could hold their meetings, however their sponsor could not be paid; this would truly be an endorsement of religion.The school's situation was placed under the Equal Access Act because it allowed other ‘limited open forums’. The Lemon Test is used to ensure that the Equal Access Act is constitutional. -
Reno v. ACLU
The Court held that the Act violated the First Amendment because its regulations amounted to a content-based blanket restriction of free speech. The Act failed to clearly define "indecent" communications, limit its restrictions to particular times or individuals (by showing that it would not impact adults), provide supportive statements from an authority on the unique nature of internet communications, or conclusively demonstrate that the transmission of "offensive" material is devoid of any soc -
Mitchell v. Helms
The Court found that the program was indeed Constitutional and that aid could continue to flow to religious schools. However, the there was no majority opinion, only a plurality of 4 with 2 justices concurring in part. -
Bush v. Gore
In the circumstances of this case, any manual recount of votes seeking to meet the December 12 “safe harbor” deadline would be unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Florida Supreme Court reversed and remanded.