The Use of Drug Detection Dogs

In 2004, the United States Supreme Court surprised some court watchers when it agreed to hear a case involving a question of whether the Fourth Amendment requires reasonable, articulable suspicion to justify the use of a drug detection dog to sniff an automobile during a legitimate traffic stop.

Disparate Treatment in School Activities and Services

"Disparate treatment" is the different or unequal treatment of individuals due to their membership in a protected class, such as individuals with disabilities, older workers, females, and people who were born outside of the United States. Pursuant to Executive Order 13160, a disabled individual who is involved in in a "federally conducted" education and training program must be treated equally and not be subjected to disparate treatment.

Terrorist Screening

The Terrorist Screening Center is a multi-agency center that was established to consolidate and integrate various terrorist "watch lists" and to provide constant operational support for federal screeners. When the Terrorist Screening Database is fully functional, federal agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration should be able to access it online, in real time. Plans include making the Terrorist Screening Database capable of storing "biometric" information such as fingerprints. Private companies will be able to submit names of individuals for screening for any connection to terrorism.

Military Dress and the First Amendment

The application of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the armed services is not nearly as broad as it is in the civilian context. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that the military can prohibit the wearing of yarmulkes by Jewish soldiers when in uniform. The armed forces no longer give religious waivers for uniform and grooming rules.

Voter Intimidation

Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act, obvious methods of voter discrimination were replaced by subtler--but arguably more effective--tactics meant to "disenfranchise" minority voters through intimidation. Although historically limited to African-American voters, incidents of voter intimidation are now being reported with greater frequency in Latino communities. Voter intimidation occurs when individual voters or, more likely, a group of voters decide not to vote because they have been threatened or mislead. For example, minority citizens who are eligible to register to vote may be given incorrect information about registration requirements. Voters may be confused or harassed to the point that they do not wish to appear at the polling places.