Bagley & Strout

[Douglas Laycock]

        Three thoughts:

        Helms v. Mitchell is another intermediate little step they can take before
they have to deal with vouchers.  marty Lederman and presumably others view
Helms as a bigger step, because it is direct aid.  The Court may view it
that way too.  But I am inclined to think it is a smaller step, because it
is so much less money.

        The Maine cases are harder than the Arizona, Ohio, Wisconsin, and when it
gets there, Florida cases.  The Maine cases are about an obligation to fund
religious schools; the others are about whether the state may fund if it
chooses.  So any voucher case would be a smaller step than the Maine cases.

        Everybody on both sides is afraid to grant cert in these cases until
O'Connor tips her hand.  There are eight votes that don't want to grant
cert and lose.  That increases the appeal of little steps.


At 03:28 PM 10/12/1999 +0000, you wrote:
>Cert. denied today, Oct. 12.  Thoughts?
>
>Michael Stokes Paulsen
>University of Minnesota Law School
>


Douglas Laycock
University of Texas Law School
727 E. Dean Keeton St.
Austin, TX  78705
        512-232-1341 (phone)
        512-471-6988 (fax)
        dlaycock at mail.law.utexas.edu