Since I’m in blegging mode today, I thought I’d ask this as well. I vaguely recall a Supreme Court opinion that says something like: Precedents are not to be treated like statutes, binding in their literal text, but should rather be read in the factual context in which they arose. Does that ring any bells? […]
Archive | May, 2010
Westlaw on Windows XP Professional Hanging Firefox
Over the last week or so, I’ve been getting frequent hangs using Firefox to access Westlaw, on Windows XP Professional on my office computer and on Vista on my home computer. The process stops responding, and I have to kill it and restart it. This doesn’t happen with Internet Explorer. Our tech people don’t know […]
The Latest School Choice Controversy Now Before the Supreme Court
George Will writes about the petition for certiorari in Winn v. Arizona Christian School Tuition Org.. The panel decision was written by Judge Fisher, joined by Judges Reinhardt and D.W. Nelson, and there’s a dissent from denial of en banc rehearing by Judge O’Scannlain, joined by Judges Kozinski, Kleinfeld, Gould, Tallman, Bybee, Bea, and N.R. […]
The OAS Firearms Convention Is Incompatible with American Liberties
By David Kopel on May 19, 2010 12:47 pm in Freedom of Speech, Guns, International Law, Registration, Regulation
Just published on-line this morning is the above Backgrounder from the Heritage Foundation. My coauthors are Theodore Bromund and Ray Walser, of Heritage. We argue that the CIFTA gun control convention, which was drafted by the Organization of American States, and which President Obama has urged the Senate to ratify, would harm First and Second […]
Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett Subpoenas Identity of His Critics, for a Criminal Probe
TechCrunch reports on this subpoena issued to Twitter, seeking the identity of two twitterers that had apparently been critical of Corbett. The striking thing is that this is a subpoena to provide evidence in a criminal investigation. If it had been a subpoena related to a civil libel lawsuit, then either Twitter or the anonymous […]
“Mapping the Demographics of American English with Twitter”
A very interesting Language Log guest-post by Prof. David Bamman.
Taking the Yglesias Challenge on Human Rights Watch
Matthew Yglesias writes of Benjamin Birnbaum’s piece on HRW in The New Republic: What I had in mind is that I don’t see what there is to rebut in the piece. As we’ve known for a while, some folks don’t like it that Human Rights Watch criticizes Israel. Some of those people aired their grievances […]
Is Superfund Unconstitutional?
The BLT reports on the latest act in General Electric’s longstanding effort to challenge the constitutionaliity of portions of the Comprehensive Emergency Response, Cleanup, and Liability Act, aka “Superfund.” Before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit yesterday, GE’s lawyers argued that the Environmental Protection Agency’s use of administrative orders to force cleanup […]
Is Carbon Capture a Pipe Dream?
The stimulus bill included over $2 billion for the development of carbon capture technologies. The just-introduced Kerry-Lieberman climate bill would authorize $2 billion more. Will anything result from these investments? I would hope so, but Robert Bryce argues carbon capture has substantial — perhaps insuperable — economic obstacles to overcome. He writes: That’s a lot […]
The Bybee Immigration Memo
Yesterday’s Washington Post reported that the Obama Administration’s potential legal challenge to Arizona’s new immigration law is complicated by a 2002 Justice Department memo that suggests states have the authority to enforce federal immigration law. The document, written in 2002 by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, concluded that state police officers have “inherent […]
Change I Can Believe In
Jack Conway, Kentucky’s attorney general and one of the two leading candidates for the Senate seat on the Democratic side [said about Rand Paul, who has won the Republican nomination for Kentucky Senator]: “He wants to do away with the Department of Agriculture. He wants to do away with the Department of Education.” Lt. Gov […]
Kurt Lash on Privileges or Immunities
Part 2 of 3-part series. This installment, “The Origins of the Privileges or Immunities Clause, Part II: John Bingham’s Epiphany,” has a very detailed analysis of changes in the drafts of the 14th Amendment. Lash argues that the drafting history shows that the Fourteenth Amendment was intended to protect every part of Amendments I through […]
Nice Words About Academic Legal Writing
My blogging about the new edition of Academic Legal Writing reminded me about this message I got from a student three months ago; I got the student’s permission to reprint it, though the student asked that his name not be used: Professor Volokh, I write to thank you for your book Academic Legal Writing. Last […]
Connecticut Secretary of State Legally Barred from Running for Connecticut Attorney General
The New Haven Independent reports: [Susan] Bysiewicz …, a popular Democrat who’s secretary of the state … ran for attorney general instead …. [But] it turned out she might not legally qualify for the job, because she hasn’t been practicing law for the past 10 years. The matter went to court. Bysiewicz convinced the lower […]
Academic Legal Writing (Fourth Edition)
The Fourth Edition of my Academic Legal Writing: Law Review Articles, Student Notes, Seminar Papers, and Getting on Law Review book is now out. Besides being on Amazon, it’s also available directly from Thomson. Call me biased, but I think this makes an excellent present for anyone who’s about to go to law school, or […]