case study on bill of rights

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The first amendment, classroom resources by topic, bill of rights overview, introduction.

The Bill of Rights is the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. These amendments guarantee essential rights and civil liberties, such as the freedom of religion, the right to free speech, the right to bear arms, trial by jury, and more, as well as reserving rights to the people and the states. After the Constitutional Convention, the absence of a bill of rights emerged as a central part of the ratification debates. Anti-Federalists, who opposed ratification, pointed to the missing bill of rights as a fatal flaw. Several states ratified the Constitution on the condition that a bill of rights be promptly added.

Big Questions

What is the bill of rights, and why did the framers think it was necessary where did the idea of a emerge from what rights are in the bill of rights why those rights and not others, what was the role of the anti-federalists, those who opposed the constitution, in making the bill of rights, after the founding generation, how did the bill of rights change over time, video: recorded class.

Briefing Document

Video: constitution 101.

Constitution 101

Module 5: The Bill of Rights

Additional Resources

The bill of rights featuring justice neil m. gorsuch.

U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch discusses James Madison’s thoughts when drafting the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Bill of Rights

The first ten Amendments to the Constitution form the Bill of Rights.

THE DECLARATION, THE CONSTITUTION, AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS

This lesson builds student understanding of the relationships between the United States’ founding documents by comparing and contrasting the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights Featuring Akhil Amar

In this Fun Friday Session, Akhil Reed Amar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, joins National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen for a discussion on the Bill of Rights—its rights, its protections and limitations on government—and the process by which it was discussed, debated, and ratified

Akhil Reed Amar on the Bill of Rights

“America’s greatest teacher of the Bill of Rights” explains the document’s history and importance on its 225th anniversary.

Constitution Hall Pass: The Bill of Rights

Explore the compelling story of our Constitution’s first ten amendments.

Eight basic facts about the Bill of Rights

Here are eight key facts about this enduring testament to liberty and freedom!

Five items Congress deleted from Madison’s original Bill of Rights

When James Madison spoke to the First Congress he proposed nearly 20 amendments as a Bill of Rights, and not the 10 we all know about. So what did Congress delete from the final list that was ratified by the states?

Can you pass a Bill of Rights quiz?

How much do you know about the basic facts about the Bill of Rights? Take our 10-question quiz and find out now!

Bill of Rights Bingo

Get more familiar with the Bill of Rights with this simple bingo game.

Classroom Materials

Explore the bill of rights on the interactive constitution.

• First Amendment: Freedom of Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, and Petition
• Second Amendment: Right to Bear Arms
• Third Amendment :Quartering of Soldiers
• Fourth Amendment: Search and Seizure
• Fifth Amendment: Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self Incrimination, Due Process, Takings
• Sixth Amendment: Right to Speedy Trial by Jury, Witnesses, Counsel
• Seventh Amendment: Jury Trial in Civil Lawsuits
• Eighth Amendment: Excessive Fines, Cruel and Unusual Punishment
• Ninth Amendment: Non-Enumerated Rights Retained by People
• 10th Amendment: Rights Reserved to States or People

Explore Bill of Rights Overview Questions

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Keep learning, more from the national constitution center.

Explore our new 15-unit core curriculum with educational videos, primary texts, and more.

Search and browse videos, podcasts, and blog posts on constitutional topics.

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Discover primary texts and historical documents that span American history and have shaped the American constitutional tradition.

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Bill of Rights

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• First Amendment [Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, Petition (1791)] (see explanation )
• Second Amendment [Right to Bear Arms (1791)] (see explanation )
• Third Amendment [Quartering of Troops (1791)] (see explanation )
• Fourth Amendment [Search and Seizure (1791)] (see explanation )
• Fifth Amendment [Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self-Incrimination, Due Process (1791)] (see explanation )
• Sixth Amendment [Criminal Prosecutions - Jury Trial, Right to Confront and to Counsel (1791)] (see explanation )
• Seventh Amendment [Common Law Suits - Jury Trial (1791)] (see explanation )
• Eighth Amendment [Excess Bail or Fines, Cruel and Unusual Punishment (1791)] (see explanation )
• Ninth Amendment [Non-Enumerated Rights (1791)] (see explanation )
• Tenth Amendment [Rights Reserved to States or People (1791)] (see explanation )

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History Resources

Our Constitution: The Bill of Rights (Grades 7–9)

By tim bailey, view the constitution in the gilder lehrman collection by clicking here and here . for a resource on the variations between a draft and the final version of the constitution of the united state, click here ..

Unit Objective

These lessons on the Bill of Rights are part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core–based units. These units were written to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Students will demonstrate this knowledge by writing summaries of selections from the original document and, by the end of the unit, articulating their understanding of the complete document by answering questions in an argumentative writing style to fulfill the Common Core Standards. Through this step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material.

Students will understand the rights and restrictions that are defined by the first five amendments of the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution. They will demonstrate that understanding by restating those ideals in their own words.

Introduction

On September 17, 1787, in the city of Philadelphia, 39 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the newly negotiated United States Constitution. Many of those who did not sign refused to do so because the document did not include a “Bill of Rights” that would both secure basic civil rights for its citizens and define the limits of the federal government’s power. Much of the later state ratification debates raged over this lack of a Bill of Rights. In the solution known as the Massachusetts Compromise, four states agreed to ratify the document if their recommendations would be sent to Congress for consideration. Subsequently, Congress approved twelve of those amendments to the Constitution in 1789. Ten of these were ratified by the states and became the Bill of Rights. The responsibility for the interpretation of those amendments is given to the US Supreme Court.

In this unit the students will analyze the original text of these amendments through careful reading. They will study the exact language of the amendments in order to understand not only the intent of the Founding Fathers, but also the way these words have since been interpreted. This will be done as both individual and group work. Finally, in Lesson 3, the students will be able to experience how the Supreme Court operates by analyzing a mock case brought before the Court and then deciding the constitutional issues that the case presents. The students will then write either a minority or a majority opinion based on the textual evidence as presented in the case brief.

• The Bill of Rights (PDF)
• The Bill of Rights (Full Text) (PDF)
• Graphic Organizer (Amendments 1–5) (PDF)

Note: You may choose to have the students do this lesson individually, as partners, or in small groups of no more than three or four students.

• Discuss the information in the introduction.
• Hand out the graphic organizer "Analyzing the First Five Amendments."
• "Share read" the first five amendments with the students. This is done by having the students follow along silently while you begins reading aloud, modeling prosody, inflection, and punctuation. Then ask the class to join in with the reading after a few sentences while you continues to read along with the students, still serving as the model for the class. This technique will support struggling readers as well as English Language Learners (ELL).
• The task for the students is to be able to put the first five amendments into their own words. Model how this is done by putting the graphic organizer on an overhead or Elmo projector so that all students can see the form. Then, as a whole group, go through the process of writing a paraphrasing of the First Amendment. In order to accomplish this the students are going to do a careful reading as they analyze the text and then restate the various parts of the amendment so it makes sense to them. For instance, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . .” could be restated by the students as “The government can’t start religions or stop people from practicing their own.” The students should follow through the process and write the new paraphrasing in the box next to the original text.
• Ask the students to continue with the rest of the amendments on the sheet. As they complete the amendments you can share out some of the best results so the students know if they are on the right track and to acknowledge them for their critical-thinking skills.

Students will understand the rights and restrictions that are defined by the second five amendments of the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution. They will demonstrate that understanding by restating those ideals in their own words.

In this lesson the students will analyze the original text of amendments 6–10 just as they did amendments 1–5 in the last lesson, through careful reading. They will study the exact language of the amendments in order to understand not only the intent of the Founding Fathers but the way that these words have since been interpreted. At your discretion this will be done either individually, as partners, or in small groups of three or four students.

• Graphic Organizer (Amendments 6-10) (PDF)
• Review the information from Lesson 1 in the introduction as well as the procedures.
• Hand out the graphic organizer “Analyzing Amendments 6–10.”
• “Share read” these amendments with the students. This is done by having the students follow along silently while you begin reading aloud, modeling prosody, inflection, and punctuation. Then ask the class to join in with the reading after a few sentences while you continues to read along with the students, still serving as the model. This technique will support struggling readers as well as English Language Learners (ELL).
• The task for the students is to be able to put these next five amendments into their own words. If you think the students need to review the process, model how this is done by putting the graphic organizer on an overhead or Elmo so that all students can see the form. Then, as a whole group, write a paraphrasing of the first part of the Sixth Amendment. In order to accomplish this the students are going to do a careful reading as they analyze the text and then restate the various parts of the amendment so it makes sense to them.
• Ask the students to continue with the rest of the amendments for today’s lesson. As they complete the amendments you can share out some of the best results so that the students know if they are on the right track and to acknowledge them for their critical-thinking skills.
• Depending on the class you may choose to move forward with Lesson 3, or it can be very effective to partner this lesson with short video clips that show the impact of the Bill of Rights. The following Gilder Lehrman videos may be helpful:
• Madison’s Influence on the US Constitution, Jack Rakove
• Teaching the Constitution, Larry Kramer
• Defining the Constitution, Larry Kramer

Students will understand how decisions made by the Supreme Court are based on what is written in the Constitution and in the Bill of Rights. They will become aware of the influence these decisions, based on the Court’s interpretations of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, have on American society.

The judicial branch of the United States government has one primary responsibility as written in the Constitution. The US Supreme Court, as the highest court of our country, is to be the guardian and interpreter of the United States Constitution.

The judicial branch of our government consists of the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts. The judicial branch hears cases that challenge or require interpretation of the bills passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. The President nominates the judges and justices for the courts and the Senate either ratifies or rejects those nominees. If approved to serve by the Senate, the appointees to the federal bench serve for life or until they retire, resign, or are impeached. The average term for a justice in the Supreme Court is fifteen years. The longest serving justice was Justice Douglas who retired in 1975 after serving on the court for thirty-six years and six months. Although the Supreme Court has been in existence for over 200 years there have been only 112 justices in the Supreme Court as of 2012.

The most influential court in the judicial branch is the Supreme Court. As its name implies the Supreme Court’s decisions are final and can only be overturned by a constitutional amendment or a later decision by the Supreme Court.

“Equal Justice Under Law” is the engraving written above the entrance to the Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC, and these words show the deep commitment that the Court has to the Rule of Law, democracy, and a constitutional republic. The Court is dedicated to maintaining a balance between society’s need for order and the individual’s right to freedom.

The Supreme Court has changed very little in the more than 200 years since it was created; although, now there are eight associate justices and one chief justice instead of five associates and a chief justice when the Court was created in 1790. The justices still wear black robes and quill pens are still placed on the counsel tables. And before every session of the Court the justices all shake hands in a tradition called "The Conference Handshake" that symbolizes that although they may not all agree on cases, they are united in their purpose to ensure the common good.

The chief justice and the other eight justices begin their session on the first Monday in October and hear cases until June or July. Approximately 10,000 civil and criminal cases are filed with the Court each year; of those, oral arguments are heard for seventy-five to eighty cases. The lawyers for each side in a case have thirty minutes to make their arguments. There is no jury, and no witnesses are summoned, although the Court has extensive background information about all of the previous decisions that have been made concerning the case being argued.

In addition, the Court can invalidate legislation from Congress and even overturn executive decisions made by the President when the Court feels that they conflict with the Constitution.

The judicial branch, and specifically the Supreme Court, is the “watch dog” of our government. It is responsible for making sure that the oldest written constitution still in force on Earth is not abused or misused by the other two branches of our government.

In this lesson the students will be working in groups in order to read, analyze, discuss, and write about a fictional Supreme Court case called Ricks v. Willaterra County . They will be drawing their own conclusions as to the constitutional issues, based on their study of the Bill of Rights, and then offering either a majority or minority opinion on the case.

• Fictional Supreme Court Case: Ricks v. Willaterra County (PDF)
• Graphic Organizer: Opinion of the Court (PDF)
• Read or make copies of the introduction in order to inform students of the workings of the Supreme Court. Organize the students into odd-numbered groups of five to nine.
• Explain to the students that they will be role-playing the part of Supreme Court justices. They will be hearing a case on which they have been asked to offer a writ of certiorari (an opinion to be followed by the lower courts).
• Hand out the fictional Supreme Court case Ricks v. Willaterra County .
• You may share read with the students as in the last two lessons or the students can read it individually.
• Pose the following questions: “Were the petitioner’s constitutional rights violated by the county?” and “Is the law in question constitutional?”
• Hand out the graphic organizer “Opinion of the Court.” The group of students must debate, discuss, and decide on the constitutional question raised by this case. The students must base their opinion on their analysis of the Bill of Rights in the previous lessons. The members of the group must vote on the two preceding questions. They will write the answers to those questions as voted on by the group in the top section of the organizers.
• Let the students discuss their various views on the constitutional issues raised by this case.
• The students will then individually complete the bottom section of the organizer and express a minority opinion (if they disagreed with how most of those in their group voted) or majority opinion (if they were in agreement with the outcome of the vote) in the form of a short essay. The student must use exact text from both the case brief and the Constitution to support the arguments.
• You may want to have the students examine actual Supreme Court case majority and minority opinions. Landmark opinions can be found at the following sites:
• Legal Information Institute, Cornell University
• Street Law Inc. and the Supreme Court Historical Society

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• Your 4th Amendment Rights

The 4 th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom from unreasonable search and seizure .  This means that law enforcement agents need probable cause , and a warrant in most cases, to search your person or belongings.  If there is no probable cause and you are searched illegally, any evidence collected from the search will be excluded from evidence at trial.  This has come to be called the Exclusionary Rule .

Probable Cause – There must be enough evidence that a reasonable person would believe a crime was committed.  This evidence is presented to a judge who must agree before authorizing the search by granting a warrant .

The purpose of the 4 th Amendment is to protect people from being abused by a powerful government.  There are strict rules that government agents must follow to search you and seize evidence.

Contrary to popular belief, the right to privacy is not specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution.  Over the years, the courts have interpreted the 4 th Amendment, along with other Amendments such as the  9 th , to protect privacy in many situations.

Do you have the same rights at school?

While you don’t shed your Constitutional rights when you go to school, they must be balanced with the rights of your classmates, as well as the responsibility of the school to provide a safe environment and a quality education.

Consider these questions as you study the case histories that follow:

• Am I protected from unreasonable search and seizure at school?
• Does the school need probable cause to search me or my belongings?  Does the school need a warrant?
• What can my school search, and when?

Case Studies

Weeks v. united states, 1914 .

• Case History

Police officers in Kansas City, Missouri went to the house of Mr. Fremont Weeks and used his hidden key to enter and search his home.  While there, they took papers, letters, books, and other items.  They did not have a search warrant.  These items were used in court to find Mr. Weeks guilty of sending lottery tickets through the U.S. mail. 

If probable cause is not used to get a search warrant, is the resulting warrantless search a violation of the 4 th Amendment? 

Mr. Weeks was found guilty in a criminal jury trial in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri.  The guilty verdict was based on the evidence collected from his home.  Mr. Weeks then asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. 

What do you think the Supreme Court Decided?

The judgment of the district court was reversed.  The evidence collected during the illegal search was in violation of the 4 th Amendment and was thus inadmissible at the trial.  In a criminal investigation, in order for a search to be legal, there must be probable cause.  The probable cause must be used to gain a search warrant.  If not, the search will be illegal and evidence collected as a result of the search can’t be used in court.  The Weeks decision was the birth of a new legal doctrine – The Exclusionary Rule .

“ If letters and private documents can thus be seized and held and used in evidence against a citizen accused of an offense, the protection of the Fourth Amendment, declaring his right to be secure against such searches and seizures, is of no value, and….might as well be stricken from the Constitution. The efforts of the courts and their officials to bring the guilty to punishment, praiseworthy as they are, are not to be aided by the sacrifice of those great principles established be years of endeavor and suffering which have resulted in… the fundamental law of the land .” by author of opinion, Justice William R. Day

• The Oyez Project
• The opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court
• The official version of the opinion can be found in the U.S. Reports at your local law library. Weeks v. United States , 232 U.S. 383 (1914)

New Jersey v. T.L.O., 1985

A female student was searched at school, and the evidence collected was used by the state in her delinquency trial in juvenile court.  T.L.O. are the initials of the 14-year old girl who was caught smoking in the bathroom at school.  Later, in the assistant vice principal’s office, she denied smoking.  The assistant vice principal demanded her purse, and found a pack of cigarettes, rolling papers, marijuana, a pipe, plastic bags, a large amount of money, and a list of students who owed her money.  The evidence was used by the New Jersey Juvenile Court to find her guilty of delinquency. 

Does a warrantless search of a high school student by a school official violate the 4 th Amendment?

New Jersey Juvenile Court admitted the evidence and found her guilty of delinquency.  She appealed, and the New Jersey Appellate Court affirmed that the evidence was legal and thus admissible.  She appealed again, and the New Jersey Supreme Court reversed, saying the search was unreasonable and the evidence must be suppressed.  The state of New Jersey then asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.

Students do have 4 th Amendment rights at school, but they are balanced with the school’s responsibility to maintain a safe and educational environment.  The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the New Jersey Supreme Court, holding that school officials can search a student if they have reasonable suspicion .  School officials do not need to have probable cause or obtain a search warrant. Reasonable suspicion is a lower standard than the probable cause required for police searches of the public at large.

“ Schoolchildren have legitimate expectations of privacy…. But striking the balance between schoolchildren’s legitimate expectations of privacy and the school’s equally legitimate need to maintain an environment in which learning can take place requires some easing of the restrictions to which searches by public authorities are ordinarily subject. ” by author of opinion, Justice Byron White.

• The official version of the opinion can be found in the U.S. Reports at your local law library. New Jersey v. T.L.O. , 469 U.S. 325 (1985)

Vernonia School District v. Acton, 1995

A school district adopted a policy authorizing random drug testing of student athletes. 

There was a known drug problem in the school district.  Student athletes were among the drug users and dealers.  Along with the drug problem came serious student behavior issues.  By 1989, disciplinary actions had reached ‘epic proportions,’ motivating the district to introduce the Student Athlete Drug Policy.  James Acton, a 7 th grader, refused the testing, and his parents refused to consent to the testing.  Because of this, he was not allowed to participate in football.  He sued the school district for violating his rights.

Does random drug testing of a public school student by a school official violate the 4 th Amendment?

The U.S. District Court of Oregon agreed with the school district.  Mr. Acton appealed to the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which reversed, saying the drug testing policy violated the constitutional rights of students.  The school district then asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. 

What do you think the Supreme Court Decided?

The drug testing policy is reasonable and does not violate the 4 th Amendment rights of the students.  Students do have rights at school, but those rights must be balanced with the school’s responsibility to provide a safe environment. 

“ In the present case, …this evil is being visited not just upon individuals at large, but upon children for whom it has undertaken a special responsibility of care and direction. …It must not be lost sight of that this program is directed more narrowly to drug use by school athletes, where the risk of immediate physical harm to the drug user or those with whom he is playing his sport is particularly high. Apart from psychological effects, which include impairment of judgment, slow reaction time, and a lessening of the perception of pain, the particular drugs screened by the District’s Policy have been demonstrated to pose substantial physical risks to athletes. ” by author of opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia.

• The official version of the opinion can be found in the U.S. Reports at your local law library. Vernonia School District v. Acton , 515 U.S. 646 (1995)

Safford Unified School District v. Redding, 2009

Savana Redding was a 13-year-old student.  A male student reported that another girl, Marissa Glines, had given him a prescription-strength ibuprofen pill.  A search of Marissa’s day planner and pockets revealed more of the pills and some weapons.  Marissa then reported the day planner belonged to Savana, and that Savana had given her the pills.  Savana was then searched – a search which included not only her backpack and pockets, but also inside her undergarments.   She sued the school district for violating her rights. 

Does a strip search of a public school student by a school official violate the 4 th Amendment? 

The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona agreed with the school district that there was no violation of the 4 th Amendment. Ms. Redding appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.  The Ninth Circuit en banc agreed with her claim that her 4 th Amendment rights had been violated.  The school district then asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. 

The strip search by school officials in this case was not legal.  It was unreasonable considering the nature of the offense and the facts of the case. 

“ Because there were no reasons to suspect the drugs presented a danger or were concealed in her underwear, we hold that the search did violate the Constitution.  In sum, what was missing from the suspected facts that pointed to Savana was any indication of danger to the students from the power of the drugs or their quantity, and any reason to suppose that Savana was carrying pills in her underwear. We think that the combination of these deficiencies was fatal to finding the search reasonable. ” by author of opinion, Justice David Souter

• The official version of the opinion can be found in the U.S. Reports at your local law library. Safford Unified School District v. Redding , 557 U.S. ___ (2009)

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NCJRS Virtual Library

Liberty under law, case studies of the basic principles of the bill of rights, additional details.

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Explore: Case Studies

First Industrial Revolution

The First Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain in the middle of the 18th century and lasted until the late 19th century. This time period witnessed rapid economic and social changes first in Great Britain and then later continental Europe and the United States. Prior to the First Industrial Revolution, goods were produced by hand and by individuals, usually in their homes. The First Industrial Revolution harnessed technological advancements in steam and waterpower that fueled large scale machinery in factories and mines that could produce and extract far more goods than individuals could with their hands.

A stable political and legal system in Great Britain helped fuel confidence in investors to pool their money to fund the building of the machines and workshops necessary to spark the First Industrial Revolution. Additionally, increased specialization and technology in agriculture helped increase the amount of food farmers could grow, allowing a large portion of the population to not need to grow their own food and instead take on work in factories that eventually would usually provide higher wages than they could make farming. The main goods produced and extracted in the First Industrial Revolution were textiles, metalworks like machine tools, and coal.

Second Industrial Revolution

The Second Industrial Revolution began in the late 19th century and lasted until the early 20th century. This time period witnessed a continuation of the economic and social changes that began during the First Industrial Revolution. During this time, the process of making steel was drastically improved, which allowed it to be mass produced in a more affordable way. Simultaneously, the increased amount of steel allowed for railroad lines to dramatically expand in the United States, Great Britain, and mainland Europe. Railroads helped facilitate trade on an unprecedented scale and improvements in factory production lines led to an increase in the type and amount of goods available for purchase.

Additionally, individuals had greater opportunities to buy stock in large corporations—something that previously was exclusive to only the wealthiest. Corporations were able to expand their businesses and improve production using money from stock sales, while the greater access to investing continued the overall trend of increases in standards of living.

The Information Age

The Information Age, or Computer Age, began in the mid 20th century. While the First and Second Industrial Revolutions changed the manufacturing of goods, the Computer Age marked a shift in the world in how information was communicated between humans. Advancements in electronics spurred the development of faster and more powerful computers throughout the 20th century, which were generally used by the military and businesses to solve complex equations. Over time, computers became more and more the norm for businesses—and even some individuals—to have, especially as technological improvements made them smaller and more affordable. The invention of the internet marked a tremendous change in human society, as individuals had the ability to access the “web” of information it hosted. Companies quickly began to sell their products online, and today people are able to access a massive amount of information with the click of a button.

Economic Change Concluding Analysis

1. Based on what you just read, what circumstances made economic change possible? 2. What are the costs and benefits of the impacts of each period of economic progress?

Additional Activities

Understanding prosperity through scarcity, choices, and consequences student guide, understanding prosperity through scarcity, choices, and consequences glossary.

Top 10 Case Study on Consumer Rights

We know consumer laws and courts exist, but only by reading through some case law can you understand how you as a consumer can exercise your rights!

On an everyday basis, we purchase products and services. From our basic necessities like food and clothing to services like banking and education, we are dependent on companies and organisations to live comfortably in the present day, and we give them our hard-earned money in return. But sometimes, companies might fail to provide quality services or products. Many know there exist consumer courts and laws that protect consumers from consumer exploitation . But have you ever wondered who goes to these courts and what types of cases are filed? You would be surprised to know how basic these cases can be. So, here are 10 interesting case study on consumer rights curated for you.

Table of Contents

Top 10 Case Studies on Consumer Rights

1. banks can’t always escape using ‘technical difficulties’.

We have come to rely on banks so much. A recent case study on consumer rights highlighted the need for stronger regulations. More than ever, most of our transactions are digital and heavily reliant on banks for these. Have you ever had your transaction fail due to the server being down or other errors?

Dipika Pallikal, a squash champion and Arjuna awardee found herself in an awkward situation when she used her Axis Bank Debit Card in a hotel at Netherlands’ Rotterdam failed. She had had 10 times the bill amount in her account at that time. Due to this, she faced a loss of reputation and humiliation. The bank said the incident was a case of ‘ Force Majeure’ (an act of god/ something beyond control)

Apart from that, the bank had also returned a cheque of ₹1 lakh issued to her by the government of India and blamed it on a technical error.

Dipika moved the consumer court in Chennai against Axis Bank

Court Decision

The court found that there was a deficiency of service on the part of Axis Bank and directed the bank to pay a compensation of ₹5 lakh and ₹5000 as expenses.

Key Takeaway

Banks are like any other service provider. We trust them with our money and they must perform the services we were promised. They cannot hide behind ‘technical difficulties’ or ‘ force majeure ’ and let customers suffer for it.

2. You Don’t Have to Be a Celebrity to Win a Consumer Case

A humble tea vendor, Rajesh Sakre, is an example of this. He had ₹20,000 in his State Bank of India account and had withdrawn ₹10,800. On his next visit to the ATM, however, he realized all his money was gone. When he asked the bank authorities they blamed it on him. 

So, he went to the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum with his grievance. He couldn’t afford a lawyer and he argued the case himself. This case study on consumer awareness presents insights into how consumers are becoming more vigilant.

The forum ruled in his favour and ordered the State Bank of India to return the ₹9,200 with 6% interest, pay ₹10,000 as compensation for mental anguish caused by the issue, and ₹2,000 for legal expenses.

It doesn’t matter who you are, as long as you have a valid case you can approach the Consumer cases Forum. And even big companies and government entities like the State Bank of India can be made to answer for their mistakes.

3. Not All Free Items Are Welcome

Imagine you bought a bottle of Pepsi and found a packet of gutka floating in it! It happened to Rajesh Rajan from Ahmedabad when he bought Pepsi from a local store. He sent a legal notice to the company immediately and approached a Consumer cases Dispute Redressal Forum. Every case study on consumer complaint tells a unique story of a consumer’s journey towards justice.

Moreover, he claimed that there was a deficiency in service that could have caused a health hazard to him. He demanded compensation of ₹5 lakh for the same.

The consumer forum passed an order in favour of Rajesh Rajan and directed the company to pay a total of ₹4008 (₹4000 for compensation and ₹8 for the Pepsi he purchased).

Rajesh moved the State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, asking for higher compensation as ₹4008 was too low and that he had spent ₹500 on sample testing itself. The State Commission passed an order asking the company to pay ₹20,000 as compensation and ₹2000 towards costs as it found Rajesh’s argument reasonable.

Free items are not all welcome! It is a deficiency in service on the part of the provider if you find anything in your food (packaged or otherwise) that isn’t supposed to be there. The Consumer Cases Forums are a good place to take them.

4. Paying More Than the MRP? You Shouldn’t.

It has become common to charge more than the maximum retail price (MRP) for packaged goods. Especially in places like theatres, food courts, railway stations, etc we see this happen a lot and mostly ignore it.Among the prominent consumer cases last year, the MRP case stood out for its complexity

Mr Kondaiah from Andhra Pradesh, on the other hand, didn’t ignore it when he noticed that Sarvi Food Court charged him ₹40 for a water bottle where the MRP was ₹20. He filed a case against them in the District Consumer cases Disputes Redressal Forum for ‘unfair trade practice’. He supported his claim by producing the bill. The MRP case study on consumer rights brought to light some gaps in the existing regulations.

The court decided in favour of Mr Kondaiah and said that a practice is not justified just because it is widely common. Mr Kondaiah was awarded a compensation of ₹20,000, ₹20 (the extra money charged) and ₹5,000 in costs. 

No authority has the power to charge above the MRP for any packaged goods. It doesn’t matter where it is sold, you are not required to pay a rupee above the MRP.

5. No MRP at All on the Product?

Baglekar Akash Kumar, a 19-year-old got a book and ₹12,500 because of the book. How? He purchased the book online and when it was delivered, he noticed that there was no MRP mentioned in it. He browsed the internet and saw that the book was sold at different prices in different places.

So, he went to the consumer cases forum and filed a case against Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd and the paper company.

The court held that not publishing MRP on the product without a valid reason is ‘unfair trade practice’. MRP exists to ensure that a consumer is not overcharged for the product. So, it is mandatory for companies to print MRP.

The publishers were asked to print the retail price on the book and Akash was awarded ₹10,000 as compensation and ₹2,500 as costs.

It is required under law for companies to put MRP on every product. If you see a product without MRP, then it is a violation of Consumer cases Protection Laws and you can take them to court. 

6. Medical Services Fall Within the Scope of the CPA

Do medical services fall under CPA? When there was a little confusion in this regard, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) decided to get this question resolved once and for all. The CPA case study on consumer rights brought to light some gaps in the existing regulations. The Medical Services case study on consumer complaint became a landmark case in consumer rights advocacy.

IMA approached the Supreme Court, asking them to declare that medical services are out of the scope of the CPA. They gave the following arguments to support their claim:

• Medical professionals are governed by their own code of ethics made by the Medical Council of India. 
• In the medical profession, it is hard to guarantee the end result of treatments. Many external factors which are out of the control of the professional can impact the outcome. So, allowing consumer claims will cause people to file a case whenever a treatment didn’t work out.
• There are no medical science experts in the consumer complaints online.
• Medical service provided by government hospitals will not fall under the Act especially when the service is provided for free. 

These were decent points. After consideration, the court settled the claims in the following manner.

Medical services provided by any professional (private or government) will be covered by CPA. This means  people can file a case in a Consumer Court if the service provided is not in confirmation with the Act.

• Doctors and hospitals who treat patients for free cannot be sued by a person who availed their services for free. 
• In a government hospital, where services are provided free of charge – the Consumer Protection Act India would not apply.

Apart from these two exceptions, the Act will apply when a person gets treated in government hospitals for free, when a poor person gets treated for free, and when insurance money is used for treatment.

7. Tired of the False Claims Made by Skin and Hair Care Products Yet?

Maybe you are not tired yet or you are too tired to question. However, a 67-year-old man from Kerala’s remotest areas was tired of these consistent lies and how companies got away with them.

In 2015, K Chaathu complained against Indulekha (beauty product manufacturers) and Mammootty (an actor who was the brand ambassador of the company) for putting up misleading ads. The tagline of the soap was ‘soundaryam ningale thedi varum’ which meant ‘beauty will come in search of you. The ads also claimed that people using the soap will become ‘fair’ and ‘beautiful’ but the 67-year-old didn’t become fair or beautiful.

Funny, right?

Compensation Paid

Indulekha paid him ₹30,000 in an out of the court settlement while the initial claim of Chaathu was ₹50,000. When he was asked about this, he said that this case was never about the money but about how these companies put up advertisements every day with false claims. And it is not okay to let these people get away with it.

Key Takeaways

Advertisements are made to sell the products, so exaggeration of results is too common. But this doesn’t make it okay to make false claims just for the sake of selling the products. Making false claims in violation of the CTA.

8. Homebuyers Are Consumers

Imagine you decide to buy a house (a dream come true for many). You do a lot of research, pool your hard-earned money, and pay a real estate developer to build the house for you. They promise to deliver within 42 months but 4 years later they haven’t even started construction. 

This is what happened to two people and they decided to move the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) for it. The Homebuyers case study on consumer rights was instrumental in changing local regulations.

NCDRC decided in favour of the homebuyers and asked the real estate developer to refund the money with a simple interest of 9% per annum. They were also awarded a compensation of ₹50,000 each.

The real estate developer challenged this in the Supreme Court, saying that the issue is covered under another Act (Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act) and therefore cannot be taken in a consumer court. But the Supreme Court denied their argument saying that as long as the other Act explicitly stops people from getting remedy under other laws, they will be allowed to do so.

Our laws are in such a way that even though there are other remedies available, in most cases where you are a buyer of a product or a service, you will have protection under the Consumer Protection Act. 

9. Insurance Claims Cannot be Rejected on Mere Technicalities

We pay the premium and get insurance to protect us from losses we can’t foresee. Sadly, many people have had bad experiences with the insurance company. Om Prakash, for example, had his truck stolen and claimed insurance for the same. The truck was stolen on 23.03.2010, the FIR filed on 24.03.2010, and the insurance claim was filed on 31.03.2010. 

The insurance investigator was sent and he confirmed that the claim was genuine. The claim approved for the amount of ₹7,85,000/-. But the amount was never given to Om Prakash. With the rise in consumer court cases , companies are now more cautious about their policies and practices. When he sent the insurance company a legal notice for the same, they replied saying that there was a breach of terms and conditions: 

“immediate information to the Insurer about the loss/theft of the vehicle”

Om Prakash was late to apply for insurance because he was held up with the police to try and recover his vehicle.

While the consumer courts didn’t allow his case, the Supreme Court allowed his appeal and held in favour of him. It was ruled that insurance companies cannot escape from paying the claimants on technical grounds. Especially when the claimant has valid reasons for it.

The Court directed the Respondent company to pay a sum of ₹8,35,000/- to the Appellant along with interest @ 8% per annum. He was also awarded ₹50,000 as compensation.

Over the years, many judgements have been made to ensure that insurance companies are accountable and do not escape from paying valid claims. If you experience a similar situation with your insurance provided, you can approach the consumer court.  

10. iPhone 5S Gold for ₹68 + ₹10,000

Let’s close the list with a fun one! How would it be to get an iPhone at just ₹68? In 2014, Nikhil Bansal (a student) saw this unbelievable offer on Snapdeal (a discount of ₹46,651) and ordered it immediately as any sane person would. He received an order confirmation but later he was told that the order was cancelled. They claimed that the offer itself was a technical glitch. “The iPhone case study on consumer complaint showcased the challenges consumers face even in today’s digital age.

When he approached the e commerce consumer complaints india Forum, he claimed that these kind of offers are misleading people and it was the duty of Snapdeal to honour the order. The forum ruled in his favour and asked Snapdeal to deliver him the iPhone for ₹68 and asked to pay a compensation of ₹2,000.

When Snapdeal appealed this order, the compensation was raised to ₹10,000! 

Key Takeaway – Case Study on Consumer Rights

Ecommerce stores are just as answerable as any other shop owner under the Consumer Protection Act. So if you face any issues like this with them, consider taking it to the consumer court. Through each case study on consumer rights, we can learn more about our rights and responsibilities

Consumer forums exist to protect consumers from consumer exploitation and ensure that we are not cheated by the companies we pay for getting products or services. Knowing your rights is the first step towards becoming a conscious consumer. 

Don’t hesitate to approach the consumer court if you have a valid claim of consumer exploitation . Even if it is for an ₹8-product like Pepsi, a valid claim should be taken to the forum.

Also, Read:

• Consumer Complaints in Airline Industry in India
• Consumer Reports Skin Care Products
• How Long Will Take to Resolve a Case in Consumer Court ?

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District of Columbia

D.c. bill to study trans deaths faces opposition from lgbtq advocates.

Measure calls for creating Medical Examiner committee to identify trends

In a little-noticed development, D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) introduced a bill in September 2023 calling for creating a special committee within the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to determine and study trends related to the cause of death of transgender and “gender diverse” people in the District of Columbia.

The bill is called the Transgender and Gender Diverse Mortality and Fatality Review Committee Establishment Act. Among other things, it mandates that the medical examiner’s office through the newly created committee “identify and characterize the scope and nature of transgender and gender-diverse mortalities and fatalities, to describe  and record any trends, data, or patterns that are observed surrounding transgender and gender-diverse mortalities and fatalities.” 

In a development that some observers say caught Pinto off guard, officials with two prominent D.C. LGBTQ supportive organizations – the Whitman Walker Institute and the LGBTQ youth advocacy group SMYAL – expressed strong opposition to the bill in testimony submitted in April as a follow-up to a Council hearing on the bill conducted by Pinto on March 21.

Among other things, the officials – Benjamin Brooks, Whitman-Walker Institute’s Associate Director of Policy and Education; and Erin Whelan, SMYAL’s executive director, said the committee to be created by the bill to identify trans people who die would be an invasion of their and their families’ privacy. The two said the funds needed to pay for identifying whether someone who dies is transgender should be used instead for other endeavors, including supporting trans people in need, and protecting their rights.

The hearing record for the Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, which Pinto chairs and which conducted the hearing, shows that Brooks and Whelan were among four witnesses that testified against the bill. Six witnesses, including officials with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Medical Society of the District of Columbia, testified in support of the bill.

Also testifying in support of the bill with suggested revisions was Vincent Slatt, who serves as chair of the D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commission Rainbow Caucus.

Jenna Beebe-Aryee, Supervisory Fatality Review Program Manager for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, testified that the bill would be “remarkably challenging” for that office and its partnering city agencies to carry out, including what she said would be a difficult process of identifying whether someone who has died is transgender or gender diverse. But she did not state that her office and the Office of the Mayor outright oppose the bill.

The bill has remained in Pinto’s committee since the time of the hearing, with no indication from Pinto of what her plans are for going forward with the bill, including whether she plans to make revisions and if or when she may plan to bring the bill to the full Council for a vote. 

Victoria Casarrubias, Pinto’s communications director, told the Blade last week that Pinto’s office had no immediate comment on Pinto’s plans for the bill.

The 17-page bill, according to its introductory summary page, would also “create a strategic framework for improving transgender and gender-diverse health outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities in the District,” and to “recommend training to improve the identification, investigation, and prevention of transgender and gender-diverse fatalities, and to make publicly available an annual report of its findings, recommendations, and steps taken to evaluate implementation of past recommendations.”

The bill authorizes the D.C. mayor to appoint the members of the newly created medical examiner’s committee and requires that members include representatives of six D.C. government agencies, including the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner; the departments of Health; Behavioral Health; Health Care Finance; Human Services; and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.

It calls on the Office of LGBTQ Affairs to provide support to other city agencies in developing procedures for identifying transgender people who the agencies have provided services for and who have died.

It also requires the mayor to name as committee members representatives of organizations providing health care and services for the transgender community as well as a social worker specializing in transgender related issues and a college or university representative “conducting research in transgender and gender-diverse mortality trends or fatality prevention.”  

Seven other members of the 13-member D.C. Council signed on as co-introducers of the bill. They include Council members Robert White (D-At-Large), Anita Bonds (D-At-Large), Christina Henderson (I-At Large), Matthew Frumin (D-Ward 3), Janese Lewis George (D-Ward 4),  Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), and Vincent Gray (D-Ward 7).

Spokespersons for Gray and Bonds told the Blade the two Council members continue to support the bill and would consider any revisions that those who have expressed concern about the bill might suggest.

“The establishment of this committee will continue the District’s leading role in LGBTQIA+ advocacy and legislation,” Pinto states in a letter accompanying her introduction of the bill. “The Committee will be the first entity of its kind in the United States,” according to her letter.

 Pinto cites in her letter studies and national data showing that deaths of trans people are disproportionately higher due to a variety of causes, including illness compared to cisgender people in the United States. “Trans women in particular are disproportionately vulnerable to the aforementioned risks, as well as to violence and murder, with one in four trans women likely to be victimized by a hate-related crime,” Pinto said in her letter.

 “Although data are limited, some studies suggest that transgender people are ‘twice as likely to die as cisgender people’ due to ‘heart disease, lung cancer, HIV-related illness and suicide,’ with trans women being ‘two times as likely to die compared to cis men and ‘three times as likely’ compared to cis women,” Pinto states in her letter.

In their testimony against the bill, Brooks of Whitman Walker and Whalen of SMYAL said the problems they believe the bill will bring about outweigh the benefits that Pinto says it will provide for the trans community.

“It is improper for the District government to be investigating and determining someone’s gender identity,” Brooks said in his testimony. “This would require District agencies to coordinate investigations into deeply personal characteristics of many people,” he said. “This invasion of privacy is a poor use of the government’s time and energy.” 

Brooks stated that the city has existing policies and requirements designed to find ways to improve the lives of transgender and gender diverse residents. He pointed to the LGBTQ Health Data Collection Amendment Act of 2018, which requires the Department of Health to produce a comprehensive report on the health and health disparities faced by the D.C. LGBTQ community. According to Brooks, the Department of Health has not released such a report since 2017.

“We strongly recommend that rather than proposing to spend precious time and scarce resources on a novel and invasive committee, the District should put those resources towards fulfilling existing data collection and reporting obligations,” Brooks states in his testimony. 

Whelan of SMYAL expressed similar concerns in her testimony. “Transgender and Gender-Diverse (TGD) people do not need yet another violation of their privacy and exposure to more questions and interrogation for them to provide the reasons for the incredible amount of violence and loss the transgender and gender-diverse community faces,” Whelen says in her testimony. 

“What we do need are solutions on how to address the underlying causes of anti-transgender violence, in addition to the barriers that prevent transgender and gender-diverse communities from accessing and maintaining safe and stable housing, and accessing affirming mental health resources,” Whelan adds in her testimony. “What we as a community need is diligent action in a positive direction to actually address the lack of resources, services, and violence towards this community.”

Supporters of the bill might point out that it includes strongly worded language calling for keeping personal information about transgender and gender-diverse people who die confidential and calls for criminal penalties for anyone who violates the confidentiality provision by disclosing the information, including whether a deceased person identified as transgender.

Brooks said strong grounds exist for not enacting the bill despite its privacy provision.

 “The collection of sensitive information, particularly for decedents who cannot advocate for their own right to privacy, always raises the potential for inappropriate disclosure regardless of potential penalties,” he said. “The threat of criminal prosecution can be a deterrent to the intentional inappropriate sharing of private information; however, it may not stop accidental or inadvertent disclosure,” he said.

Slatt’s testimony calls for six specific suggested revisions in the bill pertaining to ways the newly created medical examiner committee would obtain information about trans people who die, including the suggestion that the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs become involved in identifying trans people who pass away and be given one or more additional staff members to help support its increased responsibilities under the legislation.

 “Members of the ANC Rainbow Caucus have discussed this proposed bill and find that it is a remarkable and historic step towards addressing trans and gender-diverse mortalities and fatalities,” Slatt says in his testimony. 

“At a time when trans and gender-diverse people are under attack by municipalities across the nation, the District of Columbia is setting an example on how to create not just a culture of inclusion, but also a culture of belonging for trans residents,” he stated.

GLAA announces ratings for D.C. Council candidates

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Meet Jay Jones: Howard’s first trans student body president

‘Be the advocate that the child in you needed most’

Jay Jones was born to a conservative Christian family where she said being gay was not socially acceptable. This year, she was named Howard University Student Association’s first transgender president. 

When Jones was younger, she enjoyed activities that are traditionally “feminine.” She said she has always had a higher-pitched voice, talked with her hands and preferred playing inside with Barbie dolls. 

Jones came out as gay in eighth grade to her sister who said, “Girl, I been knew.” 

“I think that was very much a turning point year for me because it was a year where I kind of knew how I was feeling,” Jones explained. “There were emotions I felt ever since I was younger, but I never could put verbiage or language to it,” she said.  

That same year, Jones was elected as the first student body president of her middle school. She said that is where her leadership journey began and that year was pivotal in her life. 

When Jones won her first campaign as HUSA vice president, she was feeling unsure about her gender identity after she was asked which pronouns she wanted to use. 

“I said ‘I don’t really know because I don’t feel comfortable using he/him pronouns because I don’t think that expresses who I am as a person,’ but at that time, I don’t think I was to the point where ‘she/her’ was necessary,” she said. 

Outside of student government, she was part of a traditionally all-male organization at Howard, Men of George Washington Carver Incorporated. There, she said she always felt like the sister to all of her brothers. 

“I remember I would cringe sometimes when they would call me brother,” she said. 

Even though she felt like she aligned with she/her pronouns she said she was “scared” of what it could mean for her moving forward. 

She knew that her given pronouns were not a reflection of who she was but wasn’t sure what to do about it. She was talking with Eshe Ukweli, a trans journalism student who asked Jones a simple question that clarified everything. 

“‘If you were to have kids or if your brother or your sister or someone around you was to have kids, what do you imagine them calling you?’ and I realized, it was always ‘mom,’ it was always ‘sister,’ and it was always ‘aunt,’” she said.  

Jones still looks to Ukweli as a mentor who provides her with wisdom and guidance regularly.

“She knows what it’s like to do hormones, she understands what it’s like to be in a place of leadership and to be in a place of transition,” she said. “There is no amount of research, no amount of information, no amount of anything that you can take in, that could ever equate to that.”

In 2023, Jones’s junior year, Howard University was named the No. 1 most inclusive Historically Black College or University for LGBTQ-identifying students by BestColleges. 

Howard has a storied past with the queer community. In the 1970s, Howard hosted the first National Third World Lesbian and Gay Conference, according to a 1979 Hilltop archive. However, multiple articles in the ‘90s highlighted homophobia on Howard’s campus.  

“’There is the feeling … that by coming out there will be a stigma on you,” said bisexual Howard student, Zeal Harris in a 1997 Hilltop interview. 

As a result, multiple LGBTQ advocacy organizations were created on Howard’s campus to combat those stigmas. 

Clubs like The Bisexual, Lesbian, and Gay Organization of Students At Howard (BLAGOSAH) and the Coalition of Activist Students Celebrating The Acceptance of Diversity and Equality (CASCADE) were formed by Howard University students looking to create a safer campus for queer students. 

However, Jones didn’t know much about this community when she was entering Howard. She recognized Howard as the HBCU that produced leaders in the Black community, like Thurgood Marshall, Toni Morrison, and Andrew Young. 

“This university has something about turning people into trailblazers, turning people into award-winning attorneys, turning people into change makers,” she said. “I think that was one of my main reasons why I wanted to come here, I wanted to be a part of a group of people who were going to change the world.”

So, as she entered her junior year at Howard, she set out to begin her journey to changing the world by changing her school.

This school year she ran for HUSA president, the highest governing position on Howard’s campus. She said that this was the hardest campaign she has ever run at Howard and that she warned her team the night before election result announcements that she would start weeping if their names were called. 

“During the midst of that campaign season, I was in an internal kind of battle with members of my family not accepting me, not embracing me, calling me things like ‘embarrassment’ and not understanding the full height of what I was trying to do and who I was becoming,” she said. 

Jones said the experience was mentally draining and a grueling process but that she leaned on her religion to help her see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

“I’m a very devout Christian and for me, I was like, ‘It was nothing but God that got me through, it was nothing but God that got me through this,’” she said. “If people knew what I went through you would be falling on your knees and weeping too.”

Jones said that in high school she had to really work through her relationship with God because she was raised in a church that said gay people were going to hell. So, when she came out as a trans woman she had to re-evaluate the relationship she worked so hard to create with God, again.

She reflected and realized that God didn’t use the perfect people in the Bible but that he works through everyone. 

“So if God can use all of those people, what is there to say that God can’t use the queer? What is it to say that God can’t use trans people,” she said.

After she graduates next year, Jones hopes to work in campaign strategy. She said the ‘lesser of two evils’ conversation isn’t working anymore for Gen-Zers and wants to pioneer new ways for young voters to engage with politics. 

“Really working on engaging and mobilizing young voters on how to understand and utilize their power, especially as it relates to Black and Brown people,” she said. 

When she became vice president of HUSA last year she said she did it for for all the little Black queer children down South who haven’t gotten their chance to dance in the sun yet.

“If there was anyone ever coming in who’s trans, the No. 1 piece of advice that I can give you is, be the role model that the inner child in you needed most, be the advocate that the child in you needed most,” she said “And most importantly, be the woman that the child saw in you but was too scared to be.

Janeese Lewis George, Robert White, Nate Fleming receive highest marks

GLAA D.C., formerly known as the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, announced on May 13 that it has awarded its highest ratings for D.C. Council candidates running in the city’s June 4 primary election to incumbent Council members Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4) and Robert White (D-At-Large) and to Ward 7 Democratic candidate Nate Fleming.

On a rating scale of +10, the highest possible rating, to -10, the lowest rating, GLAA awarded ratings of +9.5 to Lewis George, + 9 to Robert White, and +8.5 to Fleming.

Fleming is one of 10 candidates running in the Democratic primary for the Ward 7 Council seat, which is being vacated by incumbent Council member and former D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, who is not running for re-election. In addition to Fleming, GLAA issued ratings for seven other Ward 7 Democratic contenders who, like Fleming, returned a required GLAA candidate questionnaire.

The remaining two Ward 7 candidates were not rated under a GLAA policy adopted this year of not rating candidates that did not return the questionnaire, the responses to which GLAA uses to determine its ratings, according to GLAA President Tyrone Hanley. A statement accompanying the GLAA ratings shows that it rated 13 D.C. Council candidates – all Democrats —  out of a total of 18 Council candidates on the June 4 primary ballot.

Ballot information released by the D.C. Board of Elections shows that only one Republican candidate and one Statehood Green Party candidate is running this year for a  D.C. Council seat.  GOP activist Nate Derenge is running for the Ward 8 seat held by incumbent Democrat Trayon White and Statehood Green Party candidate Darryl Moch is running for the At-Large Council seat held by Robert White.

GLAA shows in its ratings statement that neither Trayon White nor Derenge nor Moch returned the questionnaire, preventing them from being rated. However, one of two Democratic candidates running against Tryon White in the primary — Salim Aldofo — did return the questionnaire and received a rating of +5.5. The other Democratic candidate, Rahman Branch, did not return the questionnaire and was not rated. Trayon White has been a supporter on LGBTQ issues while serving on the Council.

GLAA President Hanley said GLAA this year decided to limit its ratings to candidates of all political parties running for D.C. Council seats. In addition to candidates running for an At-Large Council seat and Council seats in Wards 4, 7, and 8, the June 4 primary ballot includes candidates running for the D.C. Congressional Delegate seat, the Shadow U.S. House seat, and the Shadow U.S. Senate seat. GLAA chose not to issue ratings for those races, according to Hanley. He said during mayoral election years, GLAA rates all candidates for mayor.

The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C’s largest local LGBTQ political organization,  was scheduled to release its endorsements of D.C. Council candidates and candidates for all other local D.C. races, including Congressional Delegate and Senate and House “shadow” races, at a May 21 endorsement event. The Blade will report on those endorsements in an upcoming story.

Like in all past years beginning in the early 1970s when GLAA began rating candidates in local D.C elections, the group has not rated federal candidates, including those running for U.S. president. Thus, it issued no rating this year for President Joe Biden and two lesser-known Democratic challengers appearing on the D.C. presidential primary ballot on June 4 – Marianne Williamson and Armando Perez-Serrato.

In the At-Large Council race, GLAA gave Robert White’s sole Democratic challenger, Rodney Red Grant, who returned the questionnaire, a rating of +3.5.

“The ratings are based solely on the issues and may not be interpreted as endorsements,” GLAA says in its statement accompanying the ratings. The statement says the ratings are based on the candidates’ response to the questionnaire, the questions for which GLAA says reflect the group’s positions on a wide range of issues as stated in a document it calls “A Loving Community: GLAA Policy Brief 2024.” It sends a link to that document to all candidates to whom it sends them the questionnaire and urges the candidate to seek out the brief “for guidance and clarification” in responding to the questions. GLAA says the ratings are also based on the candidates’ record on the issues GLAA deems of importance, including LGBTQ issues.

Like its questionnaire in recent years, this year’s nine-question questionnaire asks the candidates whether they would support mostly non-LGBTQ specific issues supported by GLAA, some of which are controversial. One of the questions asks the candidates, “Do you support enacting legislation to decriminalize sex work for adults, including the selling and purchasing of sex and third-party involvement not involving fraud, violence, and coercion?”

Another question asks if the candidates would support decriminalizing illegal drug use by supporting “removing the criminal penalties for drug possession for personal use and increasing investments in health services.” Other questions ask whether candidates would address “concentrated wealth in the District by raising revenue through taxing the most wealthy residents,” would they support funding for “harm reduction and overdose prevention services to save lives,” and would they support a Green New Deal for Housing bill pending before the D.C. Council that would “Socialize Our Housing” to address putting in place city subsidized housing for those in need.

One of the questions that might be considered LGBTQ specific asks whether candidates would support sufficient funding for the D.C. Office of Human Rights to ensure the office has enough staff members to adequately enforce the city’s nondiscrimination laws and to end a discrimination case backlog that the office sometimes encounters.

Some activists have criticized GLAA for not including more LGBTQ-specific questions in its questionnaire. Others have defended the questionnaire on grounds that D.C. long ago has passed a full range of LGBTQ supportive laws and most if not, all serious candidates running in D.C. for public office for the past 20 years or more have expressed strong support for LGBTQ equality. They argue that LGBTQ voters, while weighing the depth of support candidates have on LGBTQ issues, most of the time base their vote on a candidate’s record and position on non-LGBTQ issues when all candidates in a specific race are LGBTQ supportive.

Hanley told the Washington Blade GLAA believes the current questionnaire addresses the issues of importance to the largest number of LGBTQ D.C. residents.

“My response is that we care about whatever issues are impacting queer and trans people,” Hanley said. “We can’t isolate the challenges we are experiencing as queer and trans people to things that are specifically related to our identity as queer and trans people because they are all interconnected,” he said.

“So, how will I tell a Black trans woman we care about her not being discriminated against at her job for being trans, for being Black, or for being a woman, but we don’t care that she doesn’t have housing? Hanley asked. “To me, that seems like a very inhumane way of thinking about human beings because we are whole human beings,” he said, some of whom, he added, face a wide range of issues such as homelessness,  drug issues, and “struggling to make ends meet.”

The GLAA statement that accompanies its ratings, which is posted on its website, includes links to each of the candidates’ questionnaire responses as well as an explanation of why it gave its specific rating to each of the candidates. In its explanation section GLAA says all the candidates expressed overall support for the LGBTQ community and expressed support for the concerns  related to the issues raised by the questions even if they were not at this time ready to back some of the issues like decriminalization of sex work.  

Following are the GLAA ratings given to 12 Democratic D.C. Council candidates and one “unknown” candidate that Hanley says submitted their questionnaire but did not reveal their identity on the questionnaire:

DC Council At-Large

Robert White: +9

Rodney Red Grant: +3.5

DC Council Ward 4

Janeese Lewis George: +9.5

DC Council Ward 7

Ebony-Rose Thompson: +4.5

Ebony Payne: +5

Kelvin Brown: +2.5

Nate Fleming: +8.5

Roscoe Grant Jr.: +3.5

Veda Rasheed: +5

Villareal VJ Johnson II: +4

Wendell Felder: +2

DC Council Ward 8

Salim Aldofo: +5.5

Unknown: +2

The full GLAA ratings, a breakdown of the ratings based on a GLAA rating criteria, the candidate questionnaire response, and GLAA’s explanation for each of its candidate ratings can be accessed at the GLAA website .

Concert to be held at annual festival on June 9

The Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride events, announced this week the lineup of performers for the Sunday, June 9, Capital Pride Concert to be held during the Capital Pride Festival on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. near the U.S. Capitol.

Among the performers will be nationally acclaimed singers and recording artists Billy Porter and Keke Palmer, who will also serve as grand marshals for the Capital Pride Parade set to take place one day earlier on Saturday, June 8. 

The Capital Price announcement says the other lead performers will be Ava Max, Sapphira Cristal, and the pop female trio Exposé.

“The beloved pop icons will captivate audiences with upbeat performances coupled with their fierce advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, echoing the vibrant spirit of this year’s theme, ‘Totally Radical,’” according to a statement released by Capital Pride Alliance.

“With Billy Porter and Keke Palmer leading the parade as Grand Marshals, we’re not only honoring their incredible contributions to the LGBTQ+ community but also amplifying their voices as fierce advocates for equality and acceptance,” Capital Pride Alliance Executive Director Ryan Bos said in the statement.

“The concert and festival serve as a platform to showcase the diverse array of LGBTQ+ talent, from the chart-topping hits of Ava Max to the iconic sounds of Exposé and the electrifying performances of Sapphira Cristal,” Bos said in the statement. “Capital Pride 2024 promises to be a celebration like no other.”  

The concert will take place from 12-10 p.m. on the main stage and other stages across the four-block long festival site on Pennsylvania Avenue.  

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Supreme Court Ethics Controversies: Alito’s Upside-Down Flag Flying Draws Concern

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Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito flew an upside-down American flag outside his house after the 2020 election, The New York Times reported Thursday—a symbol of the “Stop the Steal” movement challenging the election results—the latest in a string of recent ethics issues the court has faced that have ramped up criticism of the court and sparked cries for a binding code of ethics from lawmakers and legal experts.

The Supreme Court’s lack of an ethics code has become a growing source of controversy in recent ... [+] years

Alito’s Flag Flying: Alito flew an inverted flag after the 2020 election outside his house, according to the Times , which published an image of the flag flying on Jan. 17, 2021—when the court was considering a 2020 election-related case—with the Times reporting the flag “alarmed” neighbors and some of them reported it to the Supreme Court, and ethics experts telling the Times the political symbol violates ethics rules that bar justices and judges from appearing politically biased.

Thomas and Harlan Crow: Lawmakers renewed their calls for ethics reform after ProPublica revealed Justice Clarence Thomas accepted gifts and luxury travel from GOP megadonor Harlan Crow for years without disclosing it as federal law requires, and Crow reportedly purchased Georgia real estate from Thomas in 2014—including the home where the justice’s mother still lives—and paid for Thomas’ grand-nephew’s private school tuition .

Thomas’ Wife: Thomas has also drawn significant controversy over his wife Ginni Thomas’ right-wing activism, particularly as she supported efforts to overturn the 2020 election as Thomas was hearing cases on it, and the justice has been criticized for failing to recuse himself in a case concerning documents being turned over to the House January 6 Committee.

Thomas’ RV Loan: Thomas never repaid a “substantial portion” of a $267,230 loan from wealthy friend Anthony Welters that he used to purchase a luxury RV, a Senate Finance Committee investigation found, which raised questions about whether the loan was properly reported on his taxes, as the committee noted there would be a “significant amount of taxable income” if Thomas never paid the principal on the loan, and that income wasn’t reported on his financial disclosure.

Thomas and the Koch Network Summits: Thomas attended at least two donor summits for the Koch network—the right-wing political organization founded by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch —and participated in a dinner with high-level donors, without disclosing his appearance at the summits or a private jet trip he took to and from the event in 2018, ProPublica reported in September.

Thomas and the Horatio Alger Society: The New York Times reported in July that Thomas has for years received “benefits ... from a broader cohort of wealthy and powerful friends”—some of whom had business before the court—through his membership in the Horatio Alger Society, including more luxury travel and a Super Bowl ring.

Alito’s Travel: ProPublica reported Alito took a luxury fishing trip with billionaire Paul Singer , whose hedge fund has repeatedly had business before the court, without disclosing it—which Alito defended in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that came out before the ProPublica report, claiming he didn’t know about Singer’s connection to the cases or feel he had to disclose the trip, and he flew on Singer’s private jet in a seat that “would have otherwise been vacant.”

Alito and Burwell v. Hobby Lobby: Alito also drew attention after the New York Times reported in November a conservative activist knew the ruling in 2014’s Burwell v. Hobby Lobby after donors of his had dinner with the justice, which sparked a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee in December.

Sotomayor’s Books: An Associated Press report found Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s staff have “prodded” public institutions where the justice was speaking to buy copies of her books, giving the appearance of an ethical conflict as the liberal-leaning justice appeared to “forcefully [leverage] publicly sponsored travel to boost book sales.”

Gorsuch’s Real Estate: Politico reported Justice Neil Gorsuch sold real estate to the head of a law firm with business before the court, in a 2017 transaction that took place days after Gorsuch was sworn in as a justice.

Roberts’ Wife: Chief Justice John Roberts has come under scrutiny in light of reports his wife earned more than $10 million in commissions as part of her work as a recruiter matching attorneys with law firms, some of which have had cases before the Supreme Court.

Public Institutions: The AP’s reporting on Sotomayor was part of a broader investigation that found Supreme Court justices’ appearances at public colleges and universities routinely are used by schools to generate donations and often result in them mingling with donors who may have business before the court, as well as partisan politicians.

Justices Socializing With The Right: Conservative-leaning justices including Gorsuch and Justice Brett Kavanaugh have raised eyebrows for attending events and socializing with right-wing politicians and figures, with Gorsuch appearing last year at a closed-press event for the Federalist Society alongside GOP politicians and Kavanaugh attending a holiday party hosted by the head of the Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC).

Crucial Quote

“I think it would be better for the court if [Alito] weren’t involved in cases arising from the 2020 election ... But I’m pretty certain that he will see that differently,” former federal judge and Berkeley Judicial Institute director Jeremy Fogel told the Times about ethics concerns around Alito’s flag flying, noting “the best practice would be to make sure that nothing like that is in front of your house.” Fogel said the incident would almost certainly spark a review if Alito were a lower federal court judge, who are bound by judicial ethics rules, while Supreme Court justices only have to follow them voluntarily.

What To Watch For

The Supreme Court announced an ethics code in November that lays out a series of guidelines that justices should follow, saying they “should maintain and observe high standards of conduct in order to preserve the integrity and independence of the federal judiciary,” including by avoiding conflicts of interest and recusing themselves from cases if necessary. Legal experts and judicial ethics advocates have criticized the code of ethics for not going far enough—namely by not having a way to enforce the code and impose consequences if justices don’t follow it—meaning it hasn’t stopped the calls for ethics reform on the court. In a statement after the code was released, Senate Judiciary Committee chair Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who’s been leading the committee’s investigation into the court’s ethics, said lawmakers would “carefully review” the ethics code “to evaluate whether it complies with our goal that the highest court in the land not languish with the lowest standard of ethics in our federal government.” The ethics code “begins a dialogue which can end with restoring the integrity of the Court,” Durbin said, but did not rule out that lawmakers could still take steps to try and impose a stricter ethics code or enforcement mechanism.

Chief Critic

Alito said in a statement to the Times about the flag flying that he “had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag,” claiming “it was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs.” The Supreme Court’s justices had previously defended their lack of a binding ethics code by maintaining they voluntarily follow the one for lower federal judges, saying when they announced the code there had been a “misunderstanding that the Justices of this Court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules.” They have also denied any ethical improprieties. Thomas and Crow have defended their relationship and the gifts Crow has given Thomas in light of the ProPublica reports, and Crow has said he’s never discussed any cases with the justice. Thomas also updated some of his financial disclosures this year to include his real estate transaction with Crow, claiming he was unaware he was previously supposed to include it. The court told the AP in response to its reporting that justices “exercise caution in attending events that might be described as political in nature,” and said Sotomayor’s book sales were in line with ethics guidelines and “at no time have attendees been required to buy a book in order to attend an event.” A spokesperson for the Koch network said in a statement the idea Thomas’ appearances at summits “could somehow be undue influence just doesn’t hold water,” and Thomas’ attorney Elliot S. Burke disputed the Senate Finance Committee’s investigation on the RV loan to the New York Times , arguing “the loan was never forgiven.” Ginni Thomas has also hit back against accusations that her activism has an impact on her husband’s work, and testified to the House January 6 Committee that she “did not speak with [Clarence Thomas]

Key Background

The Supreme Court’s lack of an ethics code has become a growing source of controversy in recent years, and Justice Elena Kagan testified to Congress in 2019 that the issue was “something that’s being thought very seriously about” at the court. The Washington Post reported in February the court had been actively discussing imposing a code of ethics for at least four years, but still wasn’t able to impose one or decided if they will, and justices including Kagan , Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett had publicly said the court was working on the issue. The 6-3 conservative leaning court has seen its public approval rating plummet in recent years amid ethics controversies and as the public has viewed the court as becoming too political, adding to the scrutiny of the court and ramping up cries for justices to avoid conflicts of interest. Legal scholars and the American Bar Association had called for the court to impose a code of ethics, and Thomas’ controversies involving Crow and his wife’s political activism have also sparked calls for him to be impeached or resign .

Further Reading

Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts Refuses To Testify To Congress — Here’s How Lawmakers Are Still Trying To Force An Ethics Code (Forbes)

Clarence Thomas: Here Are All The Ethics Scandals Involving The Supreme Court Justice (Forbes)

Supreme Court Justices Reportedly Can’t Figure Out How To Adopt Ethics Code Amid Controversies (Forbes)

Chief Justice John Roberts’ Wife Made Over $10 Million As Legal Consultant, Report Says (Forbes)

Gorsuch Reportedly Sold Property To Law Firm Executive After Joining Supreme Court (Forbes)

Brett Kavanaugh Attends Conservative Holiday Party: Latest Supreme Justice Caught Cozying Up With Partisans (Forbes)

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• Published: 14 May 2024

Developing a survey to measure nursing students’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, influences, and willingness to be involved in Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD): a mixed method modified e-Delphi study

• Jocelyn Schroeder 1 ,
• Barbara Pesut 1 , 2 ,
• Lise Olsen 2 ,
• Nelly D. Oelke 2 &
• Helen Sharp 2  

BMC Nursing volume  23 , Article number:  326 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

31 Accesses

Metrics details

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) was legalized in Canada in 2016. Canada’s legislation is the first to permit Nurse Practitioners (NP) to serve as independent MAiD assessors and providers. Registered Nurses’ (RN) also have important roles in MAiD that include MAiD care coordination; client and family teaching and support, MAiD procedural quality; healthcare provider and public education; and bereavement care for family. Nurses have a right under the law to conscientious objection to participating in MAiD. Therefore, it is essential to prepare nurses in their entry-level education for the practice implications and moral complexities inherent in this practice. Knowing what nursing students think about MAiD is a critical first step. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a survey to measure nursing students’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, influences, and willingness to be involved in MAiD in the Canadian context.

The design was a mixed-method, modified e-Delphi method that entailed item generation from the literature, item refinement through a 2 round survey of an expert faculty panel, and item validation through a cognitive focus group interview with nursing students. The settings were a University located in an urban area and a College located in a rural area in Western Canada.

During phase 1, a 56-item survey was developed from existing literature that included demographic items and items designed to measure experience with death and dying (including MAiD), education and preparation, attitudes and beliefs, influences on those beliefs, and anticipated future involvement. During phase 2, an expert faculty panel reviewed, modified, and prioritized the items yielding 51 items. During phase 3, a sample of nursing students further evaluated and modified the language in the survey to aid readability and comprehension. The final survey consists of 45 items including 4 case studies.

Systematic evaluation of knowledge-to-date coupled with stakeholder perspectives supports robust survey design. This study yielded a survey to assess nursing students’ attitudes toward MAiD in a Canadian context.

The survey is appropriate for use in education and research to measure knowledge and attitudes about MAiD among nurse trainees and can be a helpful step in preparing nursing students for entry-level practice.

Peer Review reports

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) is permitted under an amendment to Canada’s Criminal Code which was passed in 2016 [ 1 ]. MAiD is defined in the legislation as both self-administered and clinician-administered medication for the purpose of causing death. In the 2016 Bill C-14 legislation one of the eligibility criteria was that an applicant for MAiD must have a reasonably foreseeable natural death although this term was not defined. It was left to the clinical judgement of MAiD assessors and providers to determine the time frame that constitutes reasonably foreseeable [ 2 ]. However, in 2021 under Bill C-7, the eligibility criteria for MAiD were changed to allow individuals with irreversible medical conditions, declining health, and suffering, but whose natural death was not reasonably foreseeable, to receive MAiD [ 3 ]. This population of MAiD applicants are referred to as Track 2 MAiD (those whose natural death is foreseeable are referred to as Track 1). Track 2 applicants are subject to additional safeguards under the 2021 C-7 legislation.

Three additional proposed changes to the legislation have been extensively studied by Canadian Expert Panels (Council of Canadian Academics [CCA]) [ 4 , 5 , 6 ] First, under the legislation that defines Track 2, individuals with mental disease as their sole underlying medical condition may apply for MAiD, but implementation of this practice is embargoed until March 2027 [ 4 ]. Second, there is consideration of allowing MAiD to be implemented through advanced consent. This would make it possible for persons living with dementia to receive MAID after they have lost the capacity to consent to the procedure [ 5 ]. Third, there is consideration of extending MAiD to mature minors. A mature minor is defined as “a person under the age of majority…and who has the capacity to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of a decision” ([ 6 ] p. 5). In summary, since the legalization of MAiD in 2016 the eligibility criteria and safeguards have evolved significantly with consequent implications for nurses and nursing care. Further, the number of Canadians who access MAiD shows steady increases since 2016 [ 7 ] and it is expected that these increases will continue in the foreseeable future.

Nurses have been integral to MAiD care in the Canadian context. While other countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands also permit euthanasia, Canada is the first country to allow Nurse Practitioners (Registered Nurses with additional preparation typically achieved at the graduate level) to act independently as assessors and providers of MAiD [ 1 ]. Although the role of Registered Nurses (RNs) in MAiD is not defined in federal legislation, it has been addressed at the provincial/territorial-level with variability in scope of practice by region [ 8 , 9 ]. For example, there are differences with respect to the obligation of the nurse to provide information to patients about MAiD, and to the degree that nurses are expected to ensure that patient eligibility criteria and safeguards are met prior to their participation [ 10 ]. Studies conducted in the Canadian context indicate that RNs perform essential roles in MAiD care coordination; client and family teaching and support; MAiD procedural quality; healthcare provider and public education; and bereavement care for family [ 9 , 11 ]. Nurse practitioners and RNs are integral to a robust MAiD care system in Canada and hence need to be well-prepared for their role [ 12 ].

Previous studies have found that end of life care, and MAiD specifically, raise complex moral and ethical issues for nurses [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. The knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of nurses are important across practice settings because nurses have consistent, ongoing, and direct contact with patients who experience chronic or life-limiting health conditions. Canadian studies exploring nurses’ moral and ethical decision-making in relation to MAiD reveal that although some nurses are clear in their support for, or opposition to, MAiD, others are unclear on what they believe to be good and right [ 14 ]. Empirical findings suggest that nurses go through a period of moral sense-making that is often informed by their family, peers, and initial experiences with MAID [ 17 , 18 ]. Canadian legislation and policy specifies that nurses are not required to participate in MAiD and may recuse themselves as conscientious objectors with appropriate steps to ensure ongoing and safe care of patients [ 1 , 19 ]. However, with so many nurses having to reflect on and make sense of their moral position, it is essential that they are given adequate time and preparation to make an informed and thoughtful decision before they participate in a MAID death [ 20 , 21 ].

It is well established that nursing students receive inconsistent exposure to end of life care issues [ 22 ] and little or no training related to MAiD [ 23 ]. Without such education and reflection time in pre-entry nursing preparation, nurses are at significant risk for moral harm. An important first step in providing this preparation is to be able to assess the knowledge, values, and beliefs of nursing students regarding MAID and end of life care. As demand for MAiD increases along with the complexities of MAiD, it is critical to understand the knowledge, attitudes, and likelihood of engagement with MAiD among nursing students as a baseline upon which to build curriculum and as a means to track these variables over time.

Aim, design, and setting

The aim of this study was to develop a survey to measure nursing students’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, influences, and willingness to be involved in MAiD in the Canadian context. We sought to explore both their willingness to be involved in the registered nursing role and in the nurse practitioner role should they chose to prepare themselves to that level of education. The design was a mixed-method, modified e-Delphi method that entailed item generation, item refinement through an expert faculty panel [ 24 , 25 , 26 ], and initial item validation through a cognitive focus group interview with nursing students [ 27 ]. The settings were a University located in an urban area and a College located in a rural area in Western Canada.

Participants

A panel of 10 faculty from the two nursing education programs were recruited for Phase 2 of the e-Delphi. To be included, faculty were required to have a minimum of three years of experience in nurse education, be employed as nursing faculty, and self-identify as having experience with MAiD. A convenience sample of 5 fourth-year nursing students were recruited to participate in Phase 3. Students had to be in good standing in the nursing program and be willing to share their experiences of the survey in an online group interview format.

The modified e-Delphi was conducted in 3 phases: Phase 1 entailed item generation through literature and existing survey review. Phase 2 entailed item refinement through a faculty expert panel review with focus on content validity, prioritization, and revision of item wording [ 25 ]. Phase 3 entailed an assessment of face validity through focus group-based cognitive interview with nursing students.

Phase I. Item generation through literature review

The goal of phase 1 was to develop a bank of survey items that would represent the variables of interest and which could be provided to expert faculty in Phase 2. Initial survey items were generated through a literature review of similar surveys designed to assess knowledge and attitudes toward MAiD/euthanasia in healthcare providers; Canadian empirical studies on nurses’ roles and/or experiences with MAiD; and legislative and expert panel documents that outlined proposed changes to the legislative eligibility criteria and safeguards. The literature review was conducted in three online databases: CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Medline. Key words for the search included nurses , nursing students , medical students , NPs, MAiD , euthanasia , assisted death , and end-of-life care . Only articles written in English were reviewed. The legalization and legislation of MAiD is new in many countries; therefore, studies that were greater than twenty years old were excluded, no further exclusion criteria set for country.

Items from surveys designed to measure similar variables in other health care providers and geographic contexts were placed in a table and similar items were collated and revised into a single item. Then key variables were identified from the empirical literature on nurses and MAiD in Canada and checked against the items derived from the surveys to ensure that each of the key variables were represented. For example, conscientious objection has figured prominently in the Canadian literature, but there were few items that assessed knowledge of conscientious objection in other surveys and so items were added [ 15 , 21 , 28 , 29 ]. Finally, four case studies were added to the survey to address the anticipated changes to the Canadian legislation. The case studies were based upon the inclusion of mature minors, advanced consent, and mental disorder as the sole underlying medical condition. The intention was to assess nurses’ beliefs and comfort with these potential legislative changes.

Phase 2. Item refinement through expert panel review

The goal of phase 2 was to refine and prioritize the proposed survey items identified in phase 1 using a modified e-Delphi approach to achieve consensus among an expert panel [ 26 ]. Items from phase 1 were presented to an expert faculty panel using a Qualtrics (Provo, UT) online survey. Panel members were asked to review each item to determine if it should be: included, excluded or adapted for the survey. When adapted was selected faculty experts were asked to provide rationale and suggestions for adaptation through the use of an open text box. Items that reached a level of 75% consensus for either inclusion or adaptation were retained [ 25 , 26 ]. New items were categorized and added, and a revised survey was presented to the panel of experts in round 2. Panel members were again asked to review items, including new items, to determine if it should be: included, excluded, or adapted for the survey. Round 2 of the modified e-Delphi approach also included an item prioritization activity, where participants were then asked to rate the importance of each item, based on a 5-point Likert scale (low to high importance), which De Vaus [ 30 ] states is helpful for increasing the reliability of responses. Items that reached a 75% consensus on inclusion were then considered in relation to the importance it was given by the expert panel. Quantitative data were managed using SPSS (IBM Corp).

Phase 3. Face validity through cognitive interviews with nursing students

The goal of phase 3 was to obtain initial face validity of the proposed survey using a sample of nursing student informants. More specifically, student participants were asked to discuss how items were interpreted, to identify confusing wording or other problematic construction of items, and to provide feedback about the survey as a whole including readability and organization [ 31 , 32 , 33 ]. The focus group was held online and audio recorded. A semi-structured interview guide was developed for this study that focused on clarity, meaning, order and wording of questions; emotions evoked by the questions; and overall survey cohesion and length was used to obtain data (see Supplementary Material 2  for the interview guide). A prompt to “think aloud” was used to limit interviewer-imposed bias and encourage participants to describe their thoughts and response to a given item as they reviewed survey items [ 27 ]. Where needed, verbal probes such as “could you expand on that” were used to encourage participants to expand on their responses [ 27 ]. Student participants’ feedback was collated verbatim and presented to the research team where potential survey modifications were negotiated and finalized among team members. Conventional content analysis [ 34 ] of focus group data was conducted to identify key themes that emerged through discussion with students. Themes were derived from the data by grouping common responses and then using those common responses to modify survey items.

Ten nursing faculty participated in the expert panel. Eight of the 10 faculty self-identified as female. No faculty panel members reported conscientious objector status and ninety percent reported general agreement with MAiD with one respondent who indicated their view as “unsure.” Six of the 10 faculty experts had 16 years of experience or more working as a nurse educator.

Five nursing students participated in the cognitive interview focus group. The duration of the focus group was 2.5 h. All participants identified that they were born in Canada, self-identified as female (one preferred not to say) and reported having received some instruction about MAiD as part of their nursing curriculum. See Tables  1 and 2 for the demographic descriptors of the study sample. Study results will be reported in accordance with the study phases. See Fig.  1 for an overview of the results from each phase.

Fig. 1  Overview of survey development findings

Phase 1: survey item generation

Review of the literature identified that no existing survey was available for use with nursing students in the Canadian context. However, an analysis of themes across qualitative and quantitative studies of physicians, medical students, nurses, and nursing students provided sufficient data to develop a preliminary set of items suitable for adaptation to a population of nursing students.

Four major themes and factors that influence knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about MAiD were evident from the literature: (i) endogenous or individual factors such as age, gender, personally held values, religion, religiosity, and/or spirituality [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ], (ii) experience with death and dying in personal and/or professional life [ 35 , 40 , 41 , 43 , 44 , 45 ], (iii) training including curricular instruction about clinical role, scope of practice, or the law [ 23 , 36 , 39 ], and (iv) exogenous or social factors such as the influence of key leaders, colleagues, friends and/or family, professional and licensure organizations, support within professional settings, and/or engagement in MAiD in an interdisciplinary team context [ 9 , 35 , 46 ].

Studies of nursing students also suggest overlap across these categories. For example, value for patient autonomy [ 23 ] and the moral complexity of decision-making [ 37 ] are important factors that contribute to attitudes about MAiD and may stem from a blend of personally held values coupled with curricular content, professional training and norms, and clinical exposure. For example, students report that participation in end of life care allows for personal growth, shifts in perception, and opportunities to build therapeutic relationships with their clients [ 44 , 47 , 48 ].

Preliminary items generated from the literature resulted in 56 questions from 11 published sources (See Table  3 ). These items were constructed across four main categories: (i) socio-demographic questions; (ii) end of life care questions; (iii) knowledge about MAiD; or (iv) comfort and willingness to participate in MAiD. Knowledge questions were refined to reflect current MAiD legislation, policies, and regulatory frameworks. Falconer [ 39 ] and Freeman [ 45 ] studies were foundational sources for item selection. Additionally, four case studies were written to reflect the most recent anticipated changes to MAiD legislation and all used the same open-ended core questions to address respondents’ perspectives about the patient’s right to make the decision, comfort in assisting a physician or NP to administer MAiD in that scenario, and hypothesized comfort about serving as a primary provider if qualified as an NP in future. Response options for the survey were also constructed during this stage and included: open text, categorical, yes/no , and Likert scales.

Phase 2: faculty expert panel review

Of the 56 items presented to the faculty panel, 54 questions reached 75% consensus. However, based upon the qualitative responses 9 items were removed largely because they were felt to be repetitive. Items that generated the most controversy were related to measuring religion and spirituality in the Canadian context, defining end of life care when there is no agreed upon time frames (e.g., last days, months, or years), and predicting willingness to be involved in a future events – thus predicting their future selves. Phase 2, round 1 resulted in an initial set of 47 items which were then presented back to the faculty panel in round 2.

Of the 47 initial questions presented to the panel in round 2, 45 reached a level of consensus of 75% or greater, and 34 of these questions reached a level of 100% consensus [ 27 ] of which all participants chose to include without any adaptations) For each question, level of importance was determined based on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = very unimportant, 2 = somewhat unimportant, 3 = neutral, 4 = somewhat important, and 5 = very important). Figure  2 provides an overview of the level of importance assigned to each item.

Ranking level of importance for survey items

After round 2, a careful analysis of participant comments and level of importance was completed by the research team. While the main method of survey item development came from participants’ response to the first round of Delphi consensus ratings, level of importance was used to assist in the decision of whether to keep or modify questions that created controversy, or that rated lower in the include/exclude/adapt portion of the Delphi. Survey items that rated low in level of importance included questions about future roles, sex and gender, and religion/spirituality. After deliberation by the research committee, these questions were retained in the survey based upon the importance of these variables in the scientific literature.

Of the 47 questions remaining from Phase 2, round 2, four were revised. In addition, the two questions that did not meet the 75% cut off level for consensus were reviewed by the research team. The first question reviewed was What is your comfort level with providing a MAiD death in the future if you were a qualified NP ? Based on a review of participant comments, it was decided to retain this question for the cognitive interviews with students in the final phase of testing. The second question asked about impacts on respondents’ views of MAiD and was changed from one item with 4 subcategories into 4 separate items, resulting in a final total of 51 items for phase 3. The revised survey was then brought forward to the cognitive interviews with student participants in Phase 3. (see Supplementary Material 1 for a complete description of item modification during round 2).

Phase 3. Outcomes of cognitive interview focus group

Of the 51 items reviewed by student participants, 29 were identified as clear with little or no discussion. Participant comments for the remaining 22 questions were noted and verified against the audio recording. Following content analysis of the comments, four key themes emerged through the student discussion: unclear or ambiguous wording; difficult to answer questions; need for additional response options; and emotional response evoked by questions. An example of unclear or ambiguous wording was a request for clarity in the use of the word “sufficient” in the context of assessing an item that read “My nursing education has provided sufficient content about the nursing role in MAiD.” “Sufficient” was viewed as subjective and “laden with…complexity that distracted me from the question.” The group recommended rewording the item to read “My nursing education has provided enough content for me to care for a patient considering or requesting MAiD.”

An example of having difficulty answering questions related to limited knowledge related to terms used in the legislation such as such as safeguards , mature minor , eligibility criteria , and conscientious objection. Students were unclear about what these words meant relative to the legislation and indicated that this lack of clarity would hamper appropriate responses to the survey. To ensure that respondents are able to answer relevant questions, student participants recommended that the final survey include explanation of key terms such as mature minor and conscientious objection and an overview of current legislation.

Response options were also a point of discussion. Participants noted a lack of distinction between response options of unsure and unable to say . Additionally, scaling of attitudes was noted as important since perspectives about MAiD are dynamic and not dichotomous “agree or disagree” responses. Although the faculty expert panel recommended the integration of the demographic variables of religious and/or spiritual remain as a single item, the student group stated a preference to have religion and spirituality appear as separate items. The student focus group also took issue with separate items for the variables of sex and gender, specifically that non-binary respondents might feel othered or “outed” particularly when asked to identify their sex. These variables had been created based upon best practices in health research but students did not feel they were appropriate in this context [ 49 ]. Finally, students agreed with the faculty expert panel in terms of the complexity of projecting their future involvement as a Nurse Practitioner. One participant stated: “I certainly had to like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Now let me finish this degree first, please.” Another stated, “I'm still imagining myself, my future career as an RN.”

Finally, student participants acknowledged the array of emotions that some of the items produced for them. For example, one student described positive feelings when interacting with the survey. “Brought me a little bit of feeling of joy. Like it reminded me that this is the last piece of independence that people grab on to.” Another participant, described the freedom that the idea of an advance request gave her. “The advance request gives the most comfort for me, just with early onset Alzheimer’s and knowing what it can do.” But other participants described less positive feelings. For example, the mature minor case study yielded a comment: “This whole scenario just made my heart hurt with the idea of a child requesting that.”

Based on the data gathered from the cognitive interview focus group of nursing students, revisions were made to 11 closed-ended questions (see Table  4 ) and 3 items were excluded. In the four case studies, the open-ended question related to a respondents’ hypothesized actions in a future role as NP were removed. The final survey consists of 45 items including 4 case studies (see Supplementary Material 3 ).

The aim of this study was to develop and validate a survey that can be used to track the growth of knowledge about MAiD among nursing students over time, inform training programs about curricular needs, and evaluate attitudes and willingness to participate in MAiD at time-points during training or across nursing programs over time.

The faculty expert panel and student participants in the cognitive interview focus group identified a need to establish core knowledge of the terminology and legislative rules related to MAiD. For example, within the cognitive interview group of student participants, several acknowledged lack of clear understanding of specific terms such as “conscientious objector” and “safeguards.” Participants acknowledged discomfort with the uncertainty of not knowing and their inclination to look up these terms to assist with answering the questions. This survey can be administered to nursing or pre-nursing students at any phase of their training within a program or across training programs. However, in doing so it is important to acknowledge that their baseline knowledge of MAiD will vary. A response option of “not sure” is important and provides a means for respondents to convey uncertainty. If this survey is used to inform curricular needs, respondents should be given explicit instructions not to conduct online searches to inform their responses, but rather to provide an honest appraisal of their current knowledge and these instructions are included in the survey (see Supplementary Material 3 ).

Some provincial regulatory bodies have established core competencies for entry-level nurses that include MAiD. For example, the BC College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) requires “knowledge about ethical, legal, and regulatory implications of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) when providing nursing care.” (10 p. 6) However, across Canada curricular content and coverage related to end of life care and MAiD is variable [ 23 ]. Given the dynamic nature of the legislation that includes portions of the law that are embargoed until 2024, it is important to ensure that respondents are guided by current and accurate information. As the law changes, nursing curricula, and public attitudes continue to evolve, inclusion of core knowledge and content is essential and relevant for investigators to be able to interpret the portions of the survey focused on attitudes and beliefs about MAiD. Content knowledge portions of the survey may need to be modified over time as legislation and training change and to meet the specific purposes of the investigator.

Given the sensitive nature of the topic, it is strongly recommended that surveys be conducted anonymously and that students be provided with an opportunity to discuss their responses to the survey. A majority of feedback from both the expert panel of faculty and from student participants related to the wording and inclusion of demographic variables, in particular religion, religiosity, gender identity, and sex assigned at birth. These and other demographic variables have the potential to be highly identifying in small samples. In any instance in which the survey could be expected to yield demographic group sizes less than 5, users should eliminate the demographic variables from the survey. For example, the profession of nursing is highly dominated by females with over 90% of nurses who identify as female [ 50 ]. Thus, a survey within a single class of students or even across classes in a single institution is likely to yield a small number of male respondents and/or respondents who report a difference between sex assigned at birth and gender identity. When variables that serve to identify respondents are included, respondents are less likely to complete or submit the survey, to obscure their responses so as not to be identifiable, or to be influenced by social desirability bias in their responses rather than to convey their attitudes accurately [ 51 ]. Further, small samples do not allow for conclusive analyses or interpretation of apparent group differences. Although these variables are often included in surveys, such demographics should be included only when anonymity can be sustained. In small and/or known samples, highly identifying variables should be omitted.

There are several limitations associated with the development of this survey. The expert panel was comprised of faculty who teach nursing students and are knowledgeable about MAiD and curricular content, however none identified as a conscientious objector to MAiD. Ideally, our expert panel would have included one or more conscientious objectors to MAiD to provide a broader perspective. Review by practitioners who participate in MAiD, those who are neutral or undecided, and practitioners who are conscientious objectors would ensure broad applicability of the survey. This study included one student cognitive interview focus group with 5 self-selected participants. All student participants had held discussions about end of life care with at least one patient, 4 of 5 participants had worked with a patient who requested MAiD, and one had been present for a MAiD death. It is not clear that these participants are representative of nursing students demographically or by experience with end of life care. It is possible that the students who elected to participate hold perspectives and reflections on patient care and MAiD that differ from students with little or no exposure to end of life care and/or MAiD. However, previous studies find that most nursing students have been involved with end of life care including meaningful discussions about patients’ preferences and care needs during their education [ 40 , 44 , 47 , 48 , 52 ]. Data collection with additional student focus groups with students early in their training and drawn from other training contexts would contribute to further validation of survey items.

Future studies should incorporate pilot testing with small sample of nursing students followed by a larger cross-program sample to allow evaluation of the psychometric properties of specific items and further refinement of the survey tool. Consistent with literature about the importance of leadership in the context of MAiD [ 12 , 53 , 54 ], a study of faculty knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes toward MAiD would provide context for understanding student perspectives within and across programs. Additional research is also needed to understand the timing and content coverage of MAiD across Canadian nurse training programs’ curricula.

The implementation of MAiD is complex and requires understanding of the perspectives of multiple stakeholders. Within the field of nursing this includes clinical providers, educators, and students who will deliver clinical care. A survey to assess nursing students’ attitudes toward and willingness to participate in MAiD in the Canadian context is timely, due to the legislation enacted in 2016 and subsequent modifications to the law in 2021 with portions of the law to be enacted in 2027. Further development of this survey could be undertaken to allow for use in settings with practicing nurses or to allow longitudinal follow up with students as they enter practice. As the Canadian landscape changes, ongoing assessment of the perspectives and needs of health professionals and students in the health professions is needed to inform policy makers, leaders in practice, curricular needs, and to monitor changes in attitudes and practice patterns over time.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to small sample sizes, but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives

Medical assistance in dying

Nurse practitioner

Registered nurse

University of British Columbia Okanagan

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We would like to acknowledge the faculty and students who generously contributed their time to this work.

JS received a student traineeship through the Principal Research Chairs program at the University of British Columbia Okanagan.

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JS made substantial contributions to the conception of the work; data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation; and drafting and substantively revising the work. JS has approved the submitted version and agreed to be personally accountable for the author's own contributions and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, even ones in which the author was not personally involved, are appropriately investigated, resolved, and the resolution documented in the literature. BP made substantial contributions to the conception of the work; data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation; and drafting and substantively revising the work. BP has approved the submitted version and agreed to be personally accountable for the author's own contributions and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, even ones in which the author was not personally involved, are appropriately investigated, resolved, and the resolution documented in the literature. LO made substantial contributions to the conception of the work; data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation; and substantively revising the work. LO has approved the submitted version and agreed to be personally accountable for the author's own contributions and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, even ones in which the author was not personally involved, are appropriately investigated, resolved, and the resolution documented in the literature. NDO made substantial contributions to the conception of the work; data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation; and substantively revising the work. NDO has approved the submitted version and agreed to be personally accountable for the author's own contributions and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, even ones in which the author was not personally involved, are appropriately investigated, resolved, and the resolution documented in the literature. HS made substantial contributions to drafting and substantively revising the work. HS has approved the submitted version and agreed to be personally accountable for the author's own contributions and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, even ones in which the author was not personally involved, are appropriately investigated, resolved, and the resolution documented in the literature.

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Schroeder, J., Pesut, B., Olsen, L. et al. Developing a survey to measure nursing students’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, influences, and willingness to be involved in Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD): a mixed method modified e-Delphi study. BMC Nurs 23 , 326 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-01984-z

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Maker of weight loss drug Ozempic plans to study drug’s effects on alcohol consumption

(CNN) – People on the weight loss drug Ozempic say they’ve experienced an unexpected effect: a lessened desire to drink alcohol.

The feeling has been described by thousands of people taking medicines, which are in a class known as GLP-1 receptor agonists.

Ozempic’s maker, Novo Nordisk, said it intends to study the phenomenon, although cutting the drinking isn’t the study’s main goal.

The company plans to start assessing the effects of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and other medicines, on alcohol consumption in a newly announced clinical trial on alcohol-related liver disease.

The trial aims to enroll about 240 participants and is stated to begin May 20.

Experts said treatment options for people with alcoholism and liver disease are needed.

Copyright 2024 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.

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The jurors in Trump’s hush money trial are…

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Woman arrested for allegedly throwing ‘powdery substance’ on ct mall employee, uncategorized, the jurors in trump’s hush money trial are getting a front row seat to history — most of the time.

In this courtroom sketch, defense attorney Susan Necheles, center, cross examines Stormy Daniels, far right, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, as former President Donald Trump, left, looks on with Judge Juan Merchan presiding during Trump’s trial in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

In this courtroom sketch, former President Donald Trump, center, gives Jeffrey McConney a fist bump and smile as he walks out of the courtoom after McConney finished his testimony at Manhattan criminal court, Monday, May 6, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)

A gag order . The House Speaker turning up outside court. Angry denouncements of the judge overseeing the case.

Some of the most explosive moments in Donald Trump’s hush money trial have played out for most of the world to see — except for the people who are actually deciding his fate: the jury.

The 12-person panel is shown evidence and witness testimony so they can decide whether the former president is guilty of a scheme to buy up and bury seamy stories in an effort to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election . But it’s a highly curated experience; jurors are not getting the full picture seen by those who follow along each day.

They don’t even witness Trump enter or exit the courtroom. He’s already there by the time they are brought into the room, and he stays until they are dismissed.

This is by design. Laws carefully govern how a criminal case is tried to ensure that a jury’s decision on guilt or innocence isn’t affected by fights over evidence or other legal sparring. It’s routine to hold back a jury while trial lawyers argue with the judge about what can and can’t be included for jurors to see during the trial. And attorneys often gather quietly at the judge’s bench to talk about sensitive topics, out of their earshot.

Jurors, too, agree to a set of rules when they’re chosen for a trial. They can’t research the case. They must avoid all news about it. They also agree not to discuss the case outside of court and not talk about it among themselves until deliberations, when all the evidence has been presented and they’re deciding whether the defendant should be convicted. If they break any of these rules, they could be kicked off the panel and replaced with an alternate juror, or a mistrial could be declared.

So if they’re taking their civic duty seriously, the Trump jury has never heard the Republican presidential candidate criticize Judge Juan M. Merchan as “totally conflicted.” They don’t know that Trump has been threatened with jail time and fined $10,000 for violating a gag order that bars him from talking about witnesses in the case, including the prosecution’s star witness, Michael Cohen. They haven’t watched Cohen’s TikTok livestreams. They didn’t see House Speaker Mike Johnson hold a press conference outside the courthouse this week, using his powerful position to show his party turning against the judicial system by declaring the Manhattan criminal trial illegitimate.

And they’re unaware of the hours of legal wrangling over what witnesses can be called to testify, and what they can say when they’re called.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records and denies any of the sexual encounters happened. Trump’s attorneys, for example, last week asked the judge to declare a mistrial over testimony from a crucial witness, Stormy Daniels, who spoke in discomfiting detail for jurors over the alleged sexual encounter with Trump that prompted the hush money payment just weeks before the presidential election in 2016. Jurors saw Daniels on the witness stand for 7.5 hours over two days.

The panel got sent home early the day Daniels finished testifying. And then Trump’s attorneys argued with the judge the case should be thrown out over her testimony. They took issue with Daniels’ testimony describing a power dynamic between her and Trump, and the visceral reaction she had when she says she saw Trump sitting on the bed of his hotel suite stripped down to his boxers and T-shirt.

“That is so prejudicial and so incredible for a jury to hear,” Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche argued. He blamed prosecutors for asking questions that elicited intimate details of the alleged encounter.

Judge Merchan refused to throw out the case.

Trump’s attorneys also wanted to modify a gag order that bars him from talking about witnesses in the case. “He needs an opportunity to respond to the American people,” Blanche argued.

Judge Merchan denied that request too. And an appeals court on Tuesday upheld the gag order; finding that Trump wasn’t claiming the restrictions infringed on his right to a fair trial. He was arguing that being prohibited from talking about the case could adversely impact his 2024 presidential campaign.

But Trump’s lawyers have won some, too. Merchan said no to prosecutors’ request to play jurors a 1999 CNN interview in which Trump discussed his familiarity with campaign finance laws. And just before court let out last Friday, Merchan told prosecutors they should inform Cohen “that the judge is asking him to refrain from making any more statements” outside court about the case or about Trump.

More routine actions are also decided outside of the watchful eyes of the jury. The judge and attorneys talk about scheduling and days off – including this Friday, when the Republican presidential nominee will be attending his son Barron’s high school graduation. And they’ve talked about potential upcoming witnesses.

Merchan asked Trump’s defense lawyer Blanche whether his client would testify. Blanche said: “No.”

“No determination yet?” Merchan clarified, according to a transcript. “No,” Blanche said.

Even before the jury was seated, Merchan made a litany of rulings on what could be brought into court, including that prosecutors could ask about the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape where Trump bragged about grabbing women’s genitals without their permission, but they couldn’t play the tape itself. He set strict ground rules for the defense’s planned expert testimony on campaign finance law. And he denied three requests by Trump’s lawyers to delay the trial.

Once all the evidence is presented and both sides rest, the judge will instruct the jury on how to begin deliberations. Only after the trial formally ends are they released from the rules, meaning they can read, watch or listen to whatever they like. And, for the first time since being sworn in, they can talk about a process no other American has ever experienced — sitting in judgment on a former president on trial for a crime.

Until then, they will be reminded by Merchan each day: “to please not talk either among yourselves or anyone else about anything related to the case.”

And, the judge says: “Please continue to keep an open mind.”

Associated Press Writers Jennifer Peltz, Michael R. Sisak, Jake Offenhartz and Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.

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House sends FAA reauthorization bill to President Biden’s desk

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - A bill that reauthorizes the Federal Aviation Administration is now headed to the president’s desk after passing the House of Representatives on Wednesday.

The major aviation bill will renew the F.A.A.’s authority over the skies for five years and was passed just days before it was set to expire.

“This is a good bill that enhances safety and that also increases jobs in all of our states,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the top Republican on the Senate’s Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee who pushed to get the bill passed.

The $105 billion bill passed in the House 387-26 after it went through several extensions.

The reauthorization includes several safety measures including requiring the FAA to hire more air traffic controllers amid a chronic shortage.

“When you’re looking at what’s been delaying our travel, a lot of it comes down to our traffic controllers and our traffic controller workforce, and also the safety component of this I think is really important,” said Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX).

Other significant parts of the bill include mandating refunds for delayed and canceled flights and improving runway safety.

“This bill makes major investments, number one, in aviation safety, the number one priority when it comes to aviation is making sure your family is safe, my family is safe,” said Sen. Cruz.

The bill also :

• Includes the right for families with small children to be seated together without paying a fee.
• Modernizes airport infrastructure.
• Mandates 25-hour cockpit voice recordings for safety.
• Turbocharges funding to pay for flights to small and rural communities, benefiting places like parts of Alaska.

“Aviation is so important to Alaska; more than any other state by far. As you know, we have over 230 communities that are not connected by roads. So aviation, you know, more pilots per capita, critical for our state,” said Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK).

The bill also adds longer distance flights at Reagan National Airport, serving Washington DC. The flights were the subject of bitter debate but were ultimately included.

Sen. Cruz says that will benefit communities in his state like San Antonio.

“San Antonio has an enormous military population, both active duty military and veterans. So much so that its nickname is Military City, USA. Reagan Airport is right next to the Pentagon for people coming up and needing to go to meetings at the Pentagon. It’s about a mile away from Arlington Memorial Cemetery. And so I led the way, fighting for San Antonio to get a new direct flight to Reagan,” he said.

The bill is next off to President Biden and he is expected to sign it into law.

Copyright 2024 Gray DC. All rights reserved.

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North Carolina bill to curb mask-wearing in protests could make it illegal for medical reasons too

Republican lawmakers in North Carolina have proposed a bill that would enhance penalties for people wearing a mask during a crime or intentionally blocking traffic during protests

RALEIGH, N.C. -- People wearing a mask during protests in North Carolina could face extra penalties if arrested, under proposed legislation that critics say could make it illegal to wear a mask in public as a way to protect against COVID-19 or for other health reasons.

Republicans supporters say the legislation, which passed its first committee Tuesday, was prompted in part by the recent wave of protests on universities nationwide — including at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill — against Israel’s war in Gaza.

GOP Sen. Buck Newton brushed off concerns that getting rid of pandemic-era exemptions on masks was overly broad, saying he expects authorities to use “good common sense.”

“We didn’t see Granny getting arrested in the Walmart pre-COVID,” Newton said as he presented the bill Tuesday in the state Senate Judiciary Committee.

While the main thrust of the bill enhances penalties for people wearing a mask during a crime or intentionally blocking traffic during protests, most concerns centered on the health and safety exemption. According to the bill's summary, people could no longer wear masks in public for medical reasons.

“You say, ‘Well, this wasn’t a problem before COVID,’” Democratic Sen. Natasha Marcus told Newton. “The world is different now. We can’t go back to when pandemics didn’t happen.”

The exemption was originally added to state statutes in 2020 along mostly bipartisan lines.

The general statutes on masking go back to 1953. As a way to curb Ku Klux Klan membership in North Carolina, the state legislature passed a slew of restrictions targeting “prohibited secret societies,” including most public masking, according to a 2012 book about the KKK authored by David Cunningham, a sociology professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

During public comment, several speakers also voiced disapproval for the bill, such as Melissa Price Kromm, executive director of the North Carolina For the People voter engagement coalition, who called the legislation an “anti-protest bill” that aimed to curb free speech.

If passed, the bill would enhance punishments for people using a mask to disguise their identity while committing a crime — making their misdemeanor or felony one class higher than if they weren't wearing a mask. Intentionally blocking traffic or obstructing emergency vehicles for a protest would also be criminalized.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, instances of pro-Palestinian protesters blocking roadways have occurred across the country, including in Raleigh and Durham. In recent weeks, tensions escalated on UNC's campus with several arrests and clashes with police. Many demonstrators wore masks during the protests.

When the bill was first discussed last week, it was met with silence from all committee members. That wasn't the case on Tuesday, as several Democratic legislators, as well as members of the public, expressed concern with the bill's potential ramifications.

Sen. Sydney Batch, a Wake County Democrat who said she was immunocompromised during the pandemic, cited the health exemption removal as one of her biggest concerns about the bill.

When asked by Batch if someone wearing a mask for health purposes in public would be violating the law, a legislative staff member said it would, because the bill repeals the exemption.

Newton said he could revisit the bill if problems arise.

Batch told reporters after the committee that she planned to meet with Newton this week to discuss her issues with the bill before it reaches the Senate floor.

Newton told reporters last week he expected the Senate to want to pass the bill, but he had yet to have further conversations with the House to see if it would be prioritized.

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