The same reader who wrote the previous post, thinks I have a secret life. Me: Richard Belzer: For another image, click here. Apparently, he is not alone. Click here and here. I myself can’t see the resemblance, but I do wear black a lot. Coincidence?
Archive | December, 2004
All the Power of the State:
In closing argument, criminal defense lawyers like to contend that “with all the power of the State at its disposal” why did the prosecutor not produce this or that item of evidence? Well ordinary state court prosecutors (not attached to some special unit) have very little investigative power at their disposal. Our own “investigators” are […]
Jews as an Ethnic or Even Racial Group:
A reader writes: I was offended by the way Blunkett, and, for that matter, you, glided over the concept that Judaism is a racial characteristic. Jews are not a race, any more than Anglicans or Catholics. Part of the persistence of anti-semitism lies in the thoughtless assumption that there is a race of people known […]
A New Phrase for Bloggers?
“Spending Delaware time” (or “Delawaring”) — spending at least 20 hours a week on one’s blog, enough to be treated as a journalist for the Delaware journalist’s privilege.
Faulted for Spending Too Much Time Blogging?
“Honey, aren’t you spending too much time posting to that blog of yours?” “Darling, I’m just trying to make sure that I’m covered by the journalists’ privilege in Delaware. (The privilege applies to “any journalist, scholar, educator, polemicist, or other individual who” “was earning his or her principal livelihood by, or in each of the […]
And Here’s a Slippery Slope I’d Embrace:
The Washington Post has an article about sex-selection technologies for couples who are planning to have a baby, and includes the following quote: “It runs the risk of turning procreation and parenting into an extension of the consumer society,” said Michael J. Sandel, a political philosopher at Harvard University. “Sex selection is one step down […]
Slippery Slopes in Action:
Raffi Melkonian points to the English proposal to ban incitement of religious hatred as an example of a slippery slope (what I call the “equality slippery slope”): The British home secretary, David Blunkett, has proposed a ban on speech that incites religious hatred. The law would obviously be unconstitutional in America, I think, since it […]
State Nicknames:
My post below labels Delaware “The Polemicist State,” because it seems to be the only state that includes the word “polemicist” in its statutes. Similarly, let me suggest that Colorado, Kansas, and Texas are The Dildo States, since their prohibitions on distributing sex toys specifically mention “dildoes.” Hey, at least they don’t engage in circumlocutions, […]
Delaware, the Polemicist State:
Reader Fritz Schranck points out that the Delaware journalists’ privilege covers, in relevant part: any journalist, scholar, educator, polemicist, or other individual who either: a. At the time he obtained the information that is sought was earning his or her principal livelihood by, or in each of the preceding 3 weeks or 4 of the […]
Washington Post Corrects Itself as to Guinier:
It writes, A Dec. 12 article incorrectly said that Lani Guinier’s nomination to head the Justice Department’s civil rights division under President Bill Clinton was withdrawn because of a “nanny problem.” There was no such problem, and the Clinton White House withdrew the nomination because of controversy over Guinier’s legal writings. Good for them. AP, […]
Buckley v. Vidal:
Long-time fans of either William F. Buckley or Gore Vidal are well aware of their distaste for one another. Each has spilled substantial bile on the other in print. It seems that Buckley has gotten the best of Vidal, however, not just once but twice. According to this notice, it appears that Esquire has settled […]
Forget All We Ever Said About Online Surveys:
This one is 1000% scientifically valid.
South Texas Law Professor:
The world of crimlaw lawprof blogs has just expanded: please welcome South Texas Law Professor, by lawprof Dru Stevenson.
Peterson Jurors Speak:
Like many Volokh readers, I have not been following the Peterson trial very closely, if for no other reason than that I lack all confidence in the competence of California prosecutors to competently handle high-publicity murder trials. But listening to comments of the three jurors now being interviewed live by the networks, my faith in […]
Ashcroft v. Raich Transcript Now Available On Line:
Just finished reading the transcript of the oral argument from Ashcroft v. Raich that was posted today here. Of course, you always think of what you could and should have said that you did not say in the heat of argument. But since I have been doing a good deal of that for the past […]