Our nation’s capital is known as “Washington, DC.” But that name is kind of redundant, right? After all, “Washington” is the only thing in “DC.” So you can refer to “DC,” or you can refer to “Washington,” but they’re the same thing, at least as long as you make clear you’re not referring to Washington […]
Archive | 2010
Acquittal in “I Didn’t Know I Was a Felon” Felon-in-Possession Case
I mentioned this Friday, but it was buried in a post on a slightly different facet of the case. And since I blogged about the case when it first arose, I thought I’d also note the result, which some of our readers might find surprising (judging by the comments to the original post). The jury […]
Louisiana Bill Would Outlaw Insulting an Under-17-Year-Old By E-Mail
The Louisiana House bill — passed by a 12-0 vote in committee, and scheduled for floor debate this Wednesday — would make it a crime (up to 6 months in jail for the first offense, up to a year for the second, and up to three years for the third), to transmit by “any … […]
Arabic Language Expertise in the Military
From Prof. Mark Liberman (Language Log): While there’s no question that more interpreters would have been better, I wonder whether deficiencies in military language training bear any significant responsibility for the well-documented problems in managing the American occupation of Iraq…. The most relevant criticism of the U.S. military’s Arabic language training would not, I think, […]
Recess Appointments to Art. III Courts, 1789-2004
When I was in the Office of the Solicitor General, I was the Assistant who worked on the (many) briefs in opposition to cert petitions challenging the recess appointments of Judges William Pryor and Charles Pickering in 2004. In connection with those opps, Bristow Fellow Ileana Ciobanu and I compiled this list using DOJ and […]
Racism and The Tea Partiers
Cathy Young has an interesting column digging deeper into the data. Here’s how it starts: Ever since the “Tea Parties” gained national attention, the debate has raged on whether they are a grass-roots protest movement in the proud tradition of American dissent, or a hysterical mob driven by fear, intolerance and selfishness. Recently, two much-discussed […]
Supreme Court Agrees to Review Constitutionality of Ban on Distributing Violent Video Games to Minors
The opinion below is Video Software Dealers Ass’n v. Schwarzenegger (9th Cir. Feb. 20, 2009) (see here for my brief summary of that opinion). Should be a very important First Amendment case, and on a subject — speech to minors — that the Court has discussed relatively rarely. Hope to have more on this later […]
The District of Potomac
I’d never heard of the federal district court for the District of Potomac until today, but it turns out there was such a court, albeit only briefly, in 1801-02. The District of Potomac included the territory of “Columbia” together with parts of Virginia and Maryland. The new district was set up by Section 21 of […]
“The Irrelevancy of the Fourth Amendment in the Roberts Court”
Lawprof Thomas K. Clancy has posted a short essay, “The Irrelevancy of the Fourth Amendment in the Roberts Court,” predicting “the substantial elimination of Fourth Amendment litigation in the Roberts Court.” Clancy’s claim is provocative, but I’m not sure I agree. I am particularly unpersuaded by Clancy’s first argument, that the number of Fourth Amendment […]
When a Police Officer Pulls Over a Law Student
At least as told by the law student.
Brief Blogging Hiatus
I have not been blogging as much as usual lately because of several major personal and professional obligations (shopping a book proposal on Kelo and economic development takings; a pro bono project; wedding planning, and others). This coming week, I will be out of town in Arizona and Chicago, attending two different academic conferences. So […]
Everything Old Is New Again
AD 711-718: Muslims conquer Visigothic Spain. AD 2010: Ann Althouse: “Is radical Muslim the new Goth?“
Sunday Song Lyric
Leonard Cohen has to be among the greatest living lyricists. His music and lyrics have inspired countless musicians and songwriters (and more than one VC post). He also seems a particularly appropriate source of Sunday Song Lyrics as so many of songs, like this week’s selection — “Tower of Song” — are about music. “Tower […]
Criminal Conviction in England for Leaving Anti-Religious Leaflets in Airport Prayer Room
By Eugene Volokh on April 25, 2010 12:37 am in "Hate Speech", Freedom of Speech, Religion and the Law
Harry Taylor was convicted of “causing religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress,” and sentenced to six months in jail (suspended for two years), 100 hours of community service, and 250 pounds in costs; he was also barred from “carrying religiously offensive material in a public place.” A few details on the leaflets, from Asian News […]
Immigrants and Nazis, Communists and Cardinals
I finally had a chance to read Arizona’s new law on illegal immigration. It’s rather different from the press portrayal. Maybe I’ll blog about that, but I want to start with the astonishingly vituperative attack by Cardinal Roger Mahony on what he calls “Arizona’s Dreadful Anti-Immigrant Law.” Here’s what he said on his blog: I […]