Okay, and the next one states that you have the right to have an attorney present prior to and during questioning, and what that means [sic] that if you want one, you’re allowed to have a lawyer here before and during you know my questions to you, okay. And then an attorney is a lawyer […]
Archive | 2010
1-to-3-Year Sentence for Knowingly False Accusation of Rape
The New York Post reports: A young mother who falsely cried rape, sending an innocent man to prison for nearly four years, will … spend one to three years behind bars for perjury…. McCaffrey, 33, of The Bronx, was locked up after [Biurny Peguero] Gonzalez accused him of raping her at knifepoint on a Bronx […]
A Setback for Nuclear Power
Yesterday the Vermont state senate voted overwhelmingly to block renewal of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant’s license after 2012. The NYT reports: In an unusual state foray into nuclear regulation, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 Wednesday to block operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant after 2012, citing radioactive leaks, misstatements in […]
Out-of-State Same-Sex Marriages Will Likely Be Recognized in Maryland
So opines the Maryland Attorney General, in 95 Op. Att’y Gen. 3, issued Tuesday. Thanks to Prof. Howard Friedman (Religion Clause) for the pointer.
Drones as Strategic Airpower and the Counter-Raiding Light Cavalry?
By Kenneth Anderson on February 25, 2010 10:43 am in Counter-Terrorism Policy, International Human Rights Law, Targeted Killing, War on Terror
David Rittgers, a Cato legal analyst and former Special Forces officer, has an excellent op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal on the use of Predator drones. He cautions, on the one hand, against reflexively regarding drone attacks as nonjudicial execution or, really, functionally different from other weapons that soldiers might use – as well as […]
Kristof on Environmental Toxins and Autism
Over recent decades, other development disorders also appear to have proliferated, along with certain cancers in children and adults. Why? No one knows for certain. And despite their financial and human cost, they presumably won’t be discussed much at Thursday’s White House summit on health care. Yet they constitute a huge national health burden, and […]
Does the Constitution Have a 14-Day Clause? A Comment on Maryland v. Shatzer
Have you heard of the “14-Day Clause” of the Constitution? If not, you should take a look at the Supreme Court’s opinion today in Maryland v. Shatzer. Shatzer is an intriguing example of how the Supreme Court makes rules in the area of criminal procedure. It’s particularly notable in that it introduces a very rare […]
Applications for Koch Associate Program – an Excellent Opportunity to get Experience in the Libertarian Public Policy World – Due Soon
Applications for the Koch Associate Program are due in just five days, and this is an opportunity that I think some of our readers might be interested in: The Koch Associate Program is a challenging job opportunity for professionals who are passionate about free-market ideas, and want to become more effective at advancing liberty throughout […]
President Obama to Nominate Prof. Liu to Ninth Circuit
Speaking of law professors at the University of California at Berkeley, the Los Angeles Times reported this morning that President Obama will nominate Professor Goodwin Liu to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit today. I blogged on this possibility a few weeks back when this nomination was first floated. […]
John Yoo Fires Back
John Yoo has an op-ed in today’s Wall Street Journal. The piece is titled “My Gift to the Obama Presidency,” though I doubt many in the Obama Administration will view it as much of a “gift.” It begins: Barack Obama may not realize it, but I may have just helped save his presidency. How? By […]
Two Homeland Security agencies lost almost thousand computers in one year
As detailed in an investigation by the Independence Institute’s Todd Shepherd. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) lost at least 985 computers in the 2008 fiscal year. ICE also lost 13 automobiles, while CBP lost 235 night vision scopes.
The Future of Same-Sex Marriage
That’s the title of a symposium to be held this Friday at the University of San Francisco School of Law. Panels will address empirical data on the effects of recognizing (or refusing to recognize) same-sex marriage, the ongoing federal Prop 8 litigation, the role of social movements in reforming marriage, and claims of conflict between […]
Oregon Legislature About to Repeal Statute Barring Wearing of Religious Dress by Public School Teachers
[UPDATE: I originally erroneously reported that the Legislature had repealed the statute; it turns out that the repeal seems about to happen: Prof. Howard Friedman (Religion Clause) reports that, “According to the Oregonian, yesterday by a vote of 21-9 Oregon’s state Senate approved House Bill 3686 repealing an 87-year old ban on teachers wearing religious […]
The Second Amendment and Domestic Violence Misdemeanants
The day after the Seventh Circuit agrees to rehear en banc a panel’s earlier decision in U.S. v. Skoien on this subject, the Fourth Circuit has decided to follow Skoien, in U.S. v. Chester (4th Cir. Feb. 23, 2010) (surprisingly unpublished): We agree in part with the Seventh Circuit’s approach to this unchartered realm of […]
Let’s Not Confuse Longevity with Greatness
Tom Goldstein: “For almost everyone, Justice Stevens’s retirement will be a deeply sad event. He is a great man – a historic figure.” I don’t think I’ve ever been sad when a Supreme Court Justice has retired. Surely hanging on like Stevens for thirty-five years until age ninety is long enough to suit anyone. There’s […]