constitutional law Flashcards
may a state require a public employee to sweat that they will support the Federal Constitution and the state constitution as a condition of employment?
Yes!! An oath that public employees will “support the Constitution of the United States and will oppose the overthrow of the government of the United States by force, violence, or by any illegal or unconstitutional means” was held valid in Connell v. Higginbotham [403 U.S. 207 (1971)].
is there a property interests in the continued attendance at a public school?
There is a constitutionally protected property interest in the entitlement to continued attendance at a public school.
In Goss v. Lopez, the U.S. Supreme Court stated that a significant suspension for disciplinary reasons (e.g., 10-day duration) cannot be imposed without at least a minimum form of hearing before the suspension is imposed.
However, a student is not entitled to a trial-type hearing when his dismissal or suspension is with just cause. In this question, although a walkout was clearly against school rules and the suspension might be considered to have a just cause, the principal denied the students any type of hearing before the suspension was to take place.
Thus, the suspension statute violated the suspended students’ right to adequate procedural due process. Also note that the principal’s decision might have been arbitrary, as he suspended all members of the student group. The question did not state that all members of the group took part in the walkout.
