Tonight Justice Thomas appeared on the CBS show “60 Minutes” and was interviewed for more than a half hour. Here’s a reader poll question for VC readers who watched the show — and please, only answer if you watched the show. After you watched Justice Thomas on 60 Minutes, how did your opinion of him […]
Archive | September, 2007
More on the Judge Samuel B. Kent Case:
Houston Chronicle columnist Rick Casey has a good article on the Fifth Circuit investigation into the sexual harrassment claims against Judge Samuel B. Kent. Casey makes two important points. First, federal law requires the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to keep secret the evidence obtained in its investigation. For this reason, it […]
Sunday Song Lyric:
Nothing profound this week, nor anything particularly classic — just something current and fun. Nickelback‘s “Rockstar” seems to capture our culture’s fascination and obsession with celebrity lifestyles, the glamour, the debauchery, and the emptiness. Here’s a taste. I’m through with standing in line to clubs we’ll never get in It’s like the bottom of the […]
Sunday Song Lyric Index:
It’s been a while since I’ve posted a Sunday Song Lyric Index, so here’s an index of recent postings. Sept. 23 – Herman Hupfeld, As Time Goes By Sept. 16 – Kate Bush, This Woman’s Work Sept. 9 – Holt Marvell, These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You) Sept. 2 – Nine Inch Nails, Hurt […]
Pop Quiz on the History of the Fourth Amendment:
In 1925, the Supreme Court upheld a warrantless automobile search against a Fourth Amendment challenge. The dissent argued that Fourth Amendment protections should apply to cars as well to homes: And it is argued that the words and history of this section indicate the intent of Congress to distinguish between the necessity for warrants in […]
The Ethical Cloud Over Judge Samuel B. Kent:
I would like to comment briefly on the controversy surrounding Judge Samuel B. Kent, the Galveston, Texas federal district judge who was recently disciplined by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals for sexual harrassment. Since I clerked for Judge Jerry E. Smith of the Fifth Circuit in 2001-2002, it is important to emphasize that this […]
No Homosexuals in the Arab World:
Recall that at Ahmadinejad’s recent speech at Columbia, he responded to a question about Iran’s oppression of homosexuals by claiming that “in Iran we don’t have homosexuals like in your country.” His statement was met with a chorus of boos and catcalls, the only thing he said that really riled up the politically correct crowd […]
More Cool Non-Law Blogs:
1. HogwartsProfessor.com. A very erudite blog run by Professor John Granger, who is so knowledgeable, hard-working, and good-hearted that he is undoubtedly a distant relative of Hermione Granger. Be sure to check out the blogroll too for more excellent Potter sites, especially the excellent Sword of Gryffindor. 2. The Anchoress. Musings on life, ethics (and […]
Bushism of the Day:
[My adversary] has abandoned all sense of fairness when it comes to justice. Funny, no? Another example of the President’s accidental wit and wisdom. Whoops, sorry: That’s from a written statement by Speaker Pelosi’s office on July 2, condemning President Bush’s commutation of Scooter Libby’s sentence. The Bushism of the Day, from oral remarks by […]
May Jewish Community Center Discriminate Based on Religion?
Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act generally bars employers from discriminating based on religion, but exempts religious discrimination by any “religious corporation, association, educational institution, or society.” Those terms, however, aren’t precisely defined, and while they create plenty of black and white zones, there’s also a good deal of gray area. Leboon v. […]
National Review’s Star Trek Weekend:
National Review has an online Star Trek Weekend, featuring essays on the popular science fiction franchise by various libertarian and conservative writers. My contribution is a revised version of my VC post on federalism in Star Trek’s Federation. It’s interesting that such a generally liberal science fiction show has so many right of center fans […]
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Admonishes Judge Samuel B. Kent for Sexual Harassment of a Judiciary Employee:
Here’s the order, which is short on details, but which does say that Judge Kent’s actions “violated the mandates of the Canons of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges and are deemed prejudicial to the effective and expeditious administration of the business of the courts and the administration of justice.” The details of […]
Kay Hymowitz’s Response to Her Libertarian Critics:
Conservative writer Kay Hymowitz’s critique of libertarianism, published in Commentary and the Wall Street Journal, has attracted a lot of critics of its own, including responses to some of her points by co-conspirator David Bernstein, and yours truly. My main criticism of Hymowitz’s essay was that she falsely conflates libertarians’ opposition to government regulation of […]
A Huge Amount of Data on Supreme Court Justices,
on Northwestern law professor Lee Epstein’s Web site. Way cool.
Unconstitutional Restriction on Use of Fallen Soldiers’ Names:
As I wrote in July, the newly-enacted Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13-3726, which was apparently prompted by outrage over the sale of antiwar T-shirts that contain the names of soldiers killed in Iraq, provides: A. A person shall not knowingly use the name, portrait or picture of a deceased soldier [defined as referring to any […]