Public school students don't lose their constitutional rights when they walk onto school property. This includes your expectation of privacy and the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment. Outside of school grounds, this usually means police officers and other law enforcement officials cannot search an adult without probable cause and a warrant. However, because of the special need to maintain school discipline and an orderly learning environment, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the probable cause standard can make it too hard for public school official ..read more

Assisted suicide is mostly illegal in the U.S., but momentum for greater legalization appears to be growing. So, however, are concerns. Euthanasia, the act of deliberately ending a person's life to relieve suffering, is illegal in every state under general homicide laws. However, assisted suicide, suicides committed with the assistance of a physician, is legal in 10 states with several legislatures currently considering legalization. By one measure, the timeline for legal assisted suicide in the U.S. began in 1994. That is when Oregon became the first state to allow assisted dying after 51% o ..read more

Public school students generally have the same First Amendment rights to freedom of speech as everyone else when they're at school and during school activities. But the U.S. Supreme Court has carved out some exceptions when it comes to protecting student speech because of the need to provide a safe and orderly school environment. Typically, student speech, including student expression, is protected as long as it doesn't cause a disruption at school or interfere with the rights of others. But schools can prohibit speech that's vulgar or offensive, and sometimes even restrict speech that's cons ..read more

Not that long ago, it seemed absurd that machines could replace writers and editors. No more. On Nov. 20, 2022, a computer program called ChatGPT made its debut and rapidly attracted reviews proclaiming it a game changer for artificial intelligence (AI). ChatGPT is a "chatbot," which is a program that simulates human conversation by applying artificial intelligence to text or voice commands. Chatbots have existed for years, and most people experience them when they seek customer service assistance from a company by phoning it or visiting its website. Thousands of companies use AI ch ..read more

There is a workplace trend booming on social media among Gen-Z and young millennials (sorry guys, you get blamed for everything) called “quiet quitting." What Is Quiet Quitting? There are two viewpoints on what quiet quitting really means. One view is that it means not going above and beyond your job duties, like not volunteering to work nights or weekends could be quiet quitting. The other view is that it means doing the bare minimum or just enough to keep your job. However, quiet quitting isn't just a phenomenon with the younger workforce. In the wake of the pandemic, many people are reject ..read more

Even when you suspect it may be coming, losing your job can pack a traumatic punch. Tens of thousands of workers in the high-tech industry have had that experience in the last few months, and economists warn that a recession could be coming. So, maybe it's a good idea now to think about what you should do if it happens to you. Federal Protections The first thing you need to know is that in the U.S., employers generally have great freedom to terminate employees. Nearly all jobs are considered "at-will," meaning that an employer can fire someone or terminate a job for any reason — or for no rea ..read more

On Jan. 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) changed its regulations to allow retail pharmacies to fill prescriptions for abortion medication, expanding access to the procedure as more states move to ban or restrict it after the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade last year. Mifepristone, taken in combination with misoprostol, blocks the hormone progesterone, which is needed for pregnancy to continue. Administered during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, it is a safe and effective method for terminating a pregnancy. More than half of abortions in the U.S. each year are me ..read more

With 2022 in the rearview mirror, it's time to think about what changes the new year may bring into our lives. One way to do that is to look at the new state and federal laws that went into effect on Jan. 1. As usual, there are thousands of them, so the task of making sense of them can be daunting. Still, it's possible to identify recurring issues and themes, so we've sifted through many of these new laws to look for trends. Here's a summary: Minimum-Wage Hikes Everywhere A whopping 28 states and 41 cities are increasing their minimum wages, most of them starting Jan. 1. Washington will ..read more

Have you ever gotten in trouble at school and thought, “Wait a minute, don't I have rights here?" The U.S. Supreme Court said it best when it ruled that students like you do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate. Feeling patriotic yet? As a student, you maintain certain individual rights under the U.S. Constitution at school and at school activities. Federal laws and state laws also protect students. Local school districts must ensure that their school policies protect your civil liberties as well. What exactly are the rights you have when you're at school? Stop scrollin ..read more

When you have an opportunity to talk to your parents about their estate planning (or lack of it), make sure you are prepared. Often, these conversations happen when there is a family emergency, and it is too late to benefit from proper planning. If you can have a conversation about estate planning before something tragic happens, know what to say and not to say to your parents to help them with decision-making. What Estate Planning Documents Do My Parents Need? Two essential documents help your parents while alive: a financial power of attorney and a health care directive. These legal document ..read more