Archive | September, 2009

My small contribution is that the Supreme Court would be much more likely to invalidate elements of Obamacare on which there is no firm, direct precedent if the Republicans sweep the 2010 midterm elections than if they don’t. In my view, it’s no coincidence that Lopez, the first case to invalidate the a federal law […]

In his post below, my co-blogger Randy channels Seth Myers and asks if those who follow the Supreme Court closely think that the Court would actually uphold hypothetical legislation requiring a person to have health care coverage: [I]n the absence of any clear super precedent, are my more realist colleagues absolutely confident that the four […]

‘Gay’ vulture couple split up at Jerusalem zoo, then become fathers

OK, I totally get the whole IS-OUGHT distinction thing. The Constitution IS what the Supreme Court says it is. The Constitution OUGHT TO BE what the text says. Although a little jurisprudentially sophisticated for my taste, I think I grasp this. But let me ask what has to be a simple question for my more […]

reports the Daily Mail (UK). Note that this sort of thing is hard to evaluate without knowing exactly what was said, and that in turn is hard to do when there are just recollections of what was said in extemporaneous conversation. Nonetheless, the breadth of the law, which covers “abusive or insulting words” generally — […]

On October 23, Berkeley Law will be hosting a conference on the legal and ethical implications of social networking sites. I’ll be speaking on one of the panels, as will ATL’s David Lat and others. The schedule, with descriptions of the panels and the list of speakers, is here.

In a recent post on proposals for paternalistic regulation intended to correct consumer cognitive errors, I linked to my colleague Josh Wright and co-blogger Todd Zywicki’s critique of the Obama Administration’s proposal for a Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Those interested in the issue might want to check out Todd’s podcast on the subject for Reason […]

I come late to the debate over whether a federal law requiring people to purchase health insurance exceeds Congress’ powers under the Commerce Clause. In my view, the answer under current precedent is clearly “no.” At the same time, I do think that such a law would be unconstitutional under the correct interpretation of the […]

The new “Jedi” religion, based on the Star Wars movies, has grown rapidly to the point where it may be the fourth largest religion in Britain. However, no religion has really arrived until its adherents can claim to be victims of religious discrimination. And it seems that the Dark Side of the Force has finally […]

I spent the weekend in idyllic Orkney Springs, VA. After I left on Friday, the Office of Legal Counsel released two more opinions, both concerning “Einstein 2.0,” which sounds a little like a kid movie sequel (“Beethoven’s 2d,” anyone?), but actually is a cybersecurity initiative used to protect civilian unclassified networks in the Executive Branch […]

Looking over the exchange between Randy Barnett and Timothy Jost on what it means to say something is “unconstitutional,” I wonder if their disagreement is primarily semantic. We all recognize that there is often a difference between how the Supreme Court has construed the Constitution and how a particular person thinks the Constitution should be […]

On Big Hollywood, Kurt Schlichter has a tribute to my all time favorite lawyer movie: Anatomy of a Murder. Read the whole thing, and watch the trailer, but here is a taste: The plot is simple. Small-town lawyer Paul Biegler (Stewart), who is more concerned with fishing than his practice, is talked into meeting Army […]

The NYT reports on the looming debate over reauthorizing portions of the Patriot Act. Both the House and the Senate are set to hold their first committee hearings this week on whether to reauthorize three sections of the Patriot Act that expire at the end of this year. The provisions expanded the power of the […]

The evolution of Green Day is quite remarkable. They were basically a punk revival band when I saw them in concert some fifteen years ago. I liked their stuff, but I would never have thought them capable of producing work like 2004’s American Idiot and this year’s 21st Century Breakdown. These two albums are particularly […]

Federal District Judge Stephen Larson’s recent resignation from the bench has led to renewed claims that federal judges are underpaid and should get a pay increase (see also here). Larson cited low pay as the main reason for his decision to resign. I can understand Larson’s desire to for a higher salary. But the evidence […]