Rumsfeld v. F.A.I.R. and new Westlaw feature

The March 6 decision by the United States Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of the Solomon Amendment, 10 USCA 983(b), requires law schools and other institutions of higher education to grant military recruiters access to students and campuses that is "at least equal in quality and scope" to access "provided to any other employer" if they want federal funds. Thirty-six law schools had sought to overturn on First Amendment grounds due to those schools' opposition to the military's don't ask, don't tell 'policy', which is actually a federal statute (10 USCA 654, enacted November 30 1993). Naturally, the Supreme Court's holding has generated the expected wide range of commentary . More here , and here .

It also affords a good opportunity for the interested law student to view the operation of the new Westlaw feature: Regulations Plus, which launched February 13 of this year and was announced in NESL blog post that date .

If you use Westlaw to retrieve federal regulations implementing 10 USCA 983, e.g., 32 CFR Part 216, "Military Recruiting and Reserve Officer Training Corps Program Access to Institutions of Higher Education", and look at the left-hand frame, you will see the new Regulations Plus features, among which are prior versions of the CFR's year by year, cites to the Federal Register, the enabling statute under which the regulation was promulgated and any other relevant cross references, plus law review analysis of the regulation. Or, you might look at 32 CFR 22.520 "Campus Access for Military Recruiting and Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC)". You also can Keycite the regulations, and set up a KeyCite Alert to monitor changes in the future.