Rights of the Accused: Search and Seizure Protections
The Constitution only provides protections of the criminal process in the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. The most controversial element of the Fourth Amendment is the exclusionary rule which applies to objects obtained by search and seizure. A court w...
Senate Approval Process, The
Former Secretary of Labor and university professor Robert Reich talks about his approach to the Senate approval process after being named President Clinton's choice to be Secretary of Labor. "Rather than answer their questions with an argument, I an...
Setting Priorities
Former Secretary of State James A. Baker notes that the Secretary of the Treasury has more latitude in determining what to concentrate on than does the Secretary of State. "You're a little bit more hostage to what happens in the world as Secretary o...
Skills, Jobs and Benefits
Former Secretary of Labor and university professor Robert Reich argues that the public sector has a significant role to play in improving the American economy, but not in the traditional way of simply providing unemployment insurance of welfare. "It...
Self in Historical Context (Part Two), The
Continuing his discussion of the self in historical context, philosopher Charles Taylor talks about the progression of ideas about the self from Descartes through John Locke. It was from Locke that what Professor Taylor calls the "punctual self" tha...
Significant Others
Philosopher Charles Taylor talks about George Herbert Mead and the distinction he made between the "I" and the "me." The fundamental idea here is that we don't discover who we are simply from the inside. Rather, we discover who we are by how we're r...
The Force of Law: Increasingly Complexity of Environmental Problems
During the 1970s, environmental issues seemed straight-forward. Today, the increased number of chemicals that have been introduced into the environment are producing greater risks, and the complexity of the effects of those risks are better understo...
The Force of Law: Enforcing Environmental Regulations
The Environmental Protection Agency is charged with ensuring compliance with the provisions and intent of the law, but it is the states that are often on the front lines of enforcement. Local police departments are the first responders. A conglomera...
The Force of Law: FIFRA and Toxic Substances
Federal pesticide statutes regulated under FIFRA apply to substances that are designed to be toxic. As part of the registration process, EPA requires that all pesticides sold in the United State be accompanied by a label describing the substances us...
The Force of Law: Enforcing Environmental Laws
The Environmental Enforcement Division of the Department of Justice works with a host of federal agencies to prosecute environmental crimes.