Archive | September, 2007

I noted two days ago that one possible explanation for the actions of at least some of those who apparently pressured* Michael Drake to rescind the offer to Erwin Chemerinsky was a desire to derail the new law school. As the LA Times article quoted below notes (Hat tip to Brian Leiter), a delay in […]

The securities law case mentioned by Todd below, Stoneridge v. Scientific Atlanta is an extremely important case, probably the most important securities law case in the past decade. On Friday, October 5, the Center for Business Law & Regulation at the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, in conjunction with the Federalist Society’s Corporate […]

An early case on the Supreme Court’s calendar this fall is Stoneridge v. Scientific Atlanta. Extensive background is provided in Peter Lattman’s extensive coverage on the Wall Street Journal Law Blog–a collection of his posting can be found here. Larry Ribstein and Stephen Bainbridge have co-authored an amicus brief (with several others) and have blogged […]

Some have suggested that not hiring Chemerinsky based on his being politically controversial violates article 9, § 9 of the California Constitution: The university shall be entirely independent of all political or sectarian influence and kept free therefrom in the appointment of its regents and in the administration of its affairs …. The courts have […]

I’m delighted to report that Stuart Taylor and K.C. Johnson, authors of Until Proven Innocent: Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustices of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case, will be guest-blogging next week about their book. Stuart is a contributing editor for Newsweek, a weekly opinion columnist for National Journal, and a nonresident senior fellow with […]

The politics are 180 degrees apart, but I find a significiant similarity in style and method between the first and last few paragraphs of this analysis of the Supreme Court by Ronald Dworkin and the first and last few paragraphs of this essay about Ted Olson’s prospects as AG from the Wall Street Journal editorial […]

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell fined New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick $500,000, and ordered the team to pay an additional $250,000 and lose one or more draft picks, for violations of league rules against taping an opposing team’s play signals. The Patriots will have to give up their first-round draft pick in 2008 if they […]

Barack Obama has been criticized by pro-Israel forces (undoubtedly egged on by the Hillary team) for naming Zbignew Brzezinski, Jimmy Carter’s National Security advisor, as one of his foreign policy gurus. Ezra Klein links to, and endorses, a post by one Matthew Duss, relying on a story from the Politico website, suggesting that the “Israel […]

UC Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake has issued a new statement on his decision to rescind Professor Erwin Chemerinsky’s offer to become the dean of the new UCI Law School. This statement is a lot more substantive than the Chancellor’s previous effort. It denies rumors that the Chancellor’s decision was influenced by pressure from conservative donors, […]

Yale law professor Jack Balkin makes an argument that is very commonly heard these days: that the separation of powers has broken down and presidents can engage in warfare with little or no congressional support: The sad lesson of the past year is that the modern Presidency– armed with control over military intelligence and a […]

“The four particles ‘do a merry dance around each other in a fuzzy, lump-less soup.’” The world is an even weirder place than I had thought. Thanks to GeekPress for the pointer.

Someone at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution liked our “mentee” thread — and quoted a substantial chunk, all from the commenters: he verbal warfare broke out late last month on “The Volokh Conspiracy,” a blog run by UCLA law Professor Eugene Volokh. The squabble began during a discussion of misspellings, when one poster took off on the […]

The public College of Staten Island refuses to officially recognize groups that discriminate based on sex; this refusal denies the groups various benefits. Last year, a federal district court held that the College’s policy violated a fraternity’s right to intimate association. Today, the Second Circuit reversed the district court’s decision. (Thanks to How Appealing.) I […]

People have asked why Erwin Chemerinsky’s political activism might have been seen as troublesome by UCI when Ken Starr’s activism — including continuing public commentary — isn’t seen as troublesome by Pepperdine, and Chrisopher Edley’s past activism hasn’t been seen as troublesome by Berkeley. My sense is that different schools make these decisions with an […]

As I mentioned yesterday, I think canceling the Chemerinsky UCI deanship plans was a big mistake on the UC’s part. There are also credible claims that the decision might violate state law (a complicated matter, which I might blog about later). But the incident also raises a broader question: What role do the First Amendment […]