Archive | June, 2009

This week’s National Journal poll of bloggers asked about the chances that Congress will pass Cap & Trade and health care bills. As for “How likely is Congress to enact comprehensive health reform legislation this year?” 80% of the Left, but only 42% of the Right, thought that passage was “very” or “somewhat likely.” I […]

TMZ says that Michael Jackson was taken to the hospital and died this afternoon. UPDATE: Just after 6pm ET, MSNBC, FOXNews, and CNN are being more cautious, reporting only that he is in the hospital. 2D UPDATE: At 6:22pm, CNN reported (citing multiple unnamed sources) that Michael Jackson is in a coma. 3D UPDATE: At […]

A truly historic day for US international sport, though I suspect that State-side it got a lot less play than it did over here in Roma (or elsewhere in the soccer-mad world): USA 2, Spain 0 in the semifinals of the Confederations Cup down in Bloemfoentein, South Africa. The Confederations Cup is not one of […]

I’m afraid I don’t have time to blog more about this now, but I thought I’d note it, since it seems like a pretty important cyberspace law decision. The case is Zango, Inc. v. Kaspersky Lab, Inc., handed down today by the Ninth Circuit. Thanks to How Appealing for the pointer.

The Supreme Court today held that a school’s partial strip search of a thirteen year old girl, including requiring her to shake out her undergarments, “exposing her breasts and pelvic area to some degree,” violated her Fourth Amendment rights. School officials were looking for a prescription-strength ibuprofen (which means, in effect, 2 Advils!). Justice Souter, […]

On the eve of gay pride weekend, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has apologized to veteran activist Frank Kameny for firing him in 1957 solely because of his homosexuality. The letter, from the director of OPM, says in full: Dear Dr. Kameny: In what we know today was a shameful action, the United States […]

whose student article (Toward a Definition of

(to borrow a line from John Elwood). See Atlantic Sounding Co. v. Townsend.

Continued from here. What divides the two groups in the foreign law debate? I will make a few conjectures, again with the proviso that I am supplying broad generalizations and do not mean to attribute any of these views to any particular person (including Koh) on either side of the debate. Doctrine. Much of the […]

Back in March, in Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. v. O2 Micro Int’l Ltd., the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals held that the district court’s appointment of a nonpartisan expert under Federal Rule of Evidence 706 was not an abuse of discretion. That’s the good news, and it’s apparently better news than I initially thought, because […]

The Judiciary Act of 1789 authorizes the Attorney General to advise the President and executive agencies on questions of law. The Attorney General has delegated that responsibility to the Office of Legal Counsel. It is unusual, but not unprecedented, for people outside the government to learn of an OLC opinion request before advice is provided […]

Now that Harold Koh is on his way to confirmation, it may be possible to discuss why some people (not me) opposed his appointment while others pooh-poohed their objections and accused Koh

for his novel, The Invisible Heart: An Economic Romance. I recommend blurbing it immediately: hey daddy! i just wanted to let you know that the book you lent me is really good and your students need to read it. it’ll make them consider every side of good important economic issues and let them know that […]

while 50% think he favors the Palestinians. This is bad news for Obama’s Middle East plans, regardless of whether the poll results are objectively justified. If Israelis think that a pro-Israel president is putting justified pressure on a recalcitrant Israeli prime minister, that prime minister will have to yield or leave office. But if they […]

The reasoning of a Ninth Circuit panel decision last year seemed to suggest the answer was yes, on the grounds that the government may protect “captive audiences” near those places from potentially offensive speech. The decision was focused on the Seattle Center, a large park in Seattle, but the rationale would have equally applied to […]