I am puzzled by one part of the argument that some have made about the supposed “riskiness” of social security reform. Albert Crenshaw, a business columnist in the Washington Post yesterday called it a “retirement crapshoot”, for instance: And now the Bush administration says it wants to do something similar with Social Security. Instead of […]
Archive | December, 2004
“Private” Lawsuits:
A reader writes: The idea of the right to publish is only a prohibition against government interference. It does not give protection against non-government actions such as lawsuits. . . . I often hear this argument, but it’s mistaken. Lawsuits aren’t “non-government actions.” A lawsuit is decided by a government actor. If the plaintiff wins, […]
Jury Recommends Death For Scott Peterson:
If you read the VC, you probably don’t care about the Scott Peterson trial. It doesn’t raise any interesting legal issues, and worse, gets the uberannoying Nancy Grace on TV all the time. Still, it’s possibly worth noting that while some are suggesting that we may be heading towards an end of capital punishment in […]
Ninth Circuit Correction Day:
The Supreme Court gave some relief to police officers in the Ninth Circuit today in two criminal law cases: Devenpeck v. Alford and Brosseau v. Haugen. Devenpeck was reversed 8-0, with the Chief not participating. Brosseau was reversed 8-1, with Justice Stevens dissenting. Brosseau is a per curiam summary reversal of a Ninth Circuit opinion […]
‘Tis the Season for Establishment Clause Litigation — and Humor:
A lawyer friend of mine, who’s a pretty fair-minded guy and whose judgment I trust on these things, writes: Judge Carter in the C.D. Cal. (Santa Ana) has staged a wonderful constitutional joke. Outside his courtroom he has a Christmas tree and a menorah next to a table with a coffee set-up. The menorah and […]
People Unclear on the Concept:
The Austin American-Statesman writes: John Corvino was visiting Austin three months ago when he met a man at a Congress Avenue coffee shop and decided to take a walk with him on the nearby Capitol grounds. They spent several minutes chatting and occasionally kissing. Then, according to a written complaint, they were interrupted by a […]
How Quickly They Forget:
David Kravitz writes (go to his post for the links): Predictably, Bernard Kerik’s abrupt withdrawal as Bush’s nominee for Director of Homeland Security, ostensibly for nanny-type problems (but see the New York Daily News in particular for Kerik’s other “difficulties”), has led our friends in the mainstream media to recall that some Clinton nominees had […]
Child Custody Speech Restrictions:
My article draft (quite rough) is here.
A REMINDER ON THE LOGIC OF MARGINAL DETERRENCE:
My colleague Don Boudreaux, Chair of the GMU Economics Department and sometimes Professor in the GMU School of Law reminds us of the logic of marginal deterrence: 13 December 2004 The Editor, New York Post Dear Editor: Readers opposed to milder drug sentences (Letters, Dec. 13) forget that an important goal of the structure of […]
Scalia for Chief Justice?
Rick Hasen and David Kravitz suggest reasons why some Democrats might support Scalia for Chief Justice.
Monkey Off My Back:
Just finished a draft of my Child Custody Speech Restrictions paper — it’s been very interesting, but time-consuming, which is why I haven’t been blogging much recently. Hope to post some things that have been backed up in my queue, though their news hooks may have gotten a little stale.
The Year In Ideas:
Law prof Ian Ayres of Balkinization writes: Thank you Instapundit. The New York Times writer, Christopher Shea, saw my earlier post on Criminalizing Reckless Sex, when Glen[n] Reynolds linked to it. And the Times Sunday Magazine included the idea in today’s “The Year in Ideas” issue. Instapundit — where the New York Times looks for […]
Big Day at the Court Tomorrow?:
Criminal law geeks around the country are wondering whether tomorrow morning the U.S. Supreme Court will release its opinion in United States v. Booker and United States v. Fanfan, the cases that consider how last year’s blockbuster opinion in Blakely v. Washington applies to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. I haven’t blogged on Blakely issues because […]
Rather Investigative Report may not be Released in Full.–
I was one who agreed with CBS that the report on the forged memos should have been delayed until after the election (a position for which I took a little criticism). Further delays may still be justified if the investigators are responding to criticisms of their first draft–checking issues that were under-investigated in the first […]
Will the Ents of Europe Awaken?–
There is a fascinating column by Victor Hanson Davis on the similarities between the Ents of Tolkien’s books and modern Europe (tip to Betsy). One of the many wondrous peoples that poured forth from the rich imagination of the late J. R. R. Tolkien were the Ents. These tree-like creatures, agonizingly slow and covered with […]