In response to attacks on Justice Alito for shaking his head and mouthing “that’s not true” in response to the President’s criticism of the Citizens United decision, Dahlia Lithwick writes: There was absolutely nothing wrong with the president’s criticism of the court’s decision, although as Linda Greenhouse points out, he was less than precise in […]
Archive | 2010
“Justice Alito Overshadows Obama on the Day After the President’s Address”
A very interesting point by Prof. Ann Althouse (thanks to InstaPundit for the pointer): Isn’t it fascinating that the lengthy, amplified, magnified speech of the most powerful man in the world with his big captive audience — in the magnificent room and in smaller rooms all over the country — is outweighed by one man’s […]
May a Person’s “Be[ing] Unable to Fully Practice His Faith in Prison” Be a Factor in Favor of Releasing Him on Bail?
The Wall Street Journal reports: [Several Orthodox] rabbis … are demanding the release on bail of Rubashkin as he awaits sentencing on the 86 counts of financial fraud that a federal jury found him guilty of last fall…. Speaking at a press conference at the National Press Club Tuesday, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel of Agudath […]
How Did You Find the Idea for a Successful Student Note?
I’m working on the fourth edition of my Academic Legal Writing textbook, and I’d like to give students some more ideas about finding a Note topic. I already have a list of general ideas. But I thought I’d make it more vivid by giving quotes from people who had written successful Notes, and who could […]
What Was the First Federal Court in the United States?
I’m speaking here of standing courts, rather than just the Congress or its committees sitting in a judicial role, or ad hoc commissions appointed by Congress for a particular occasion.
Mid-Atlantic Tour
I’m usually remiss about noting upcoming speaking events. In the off chance readers are interested, here are a few upcoming Federalist Society student chapter events at which I’ll be speaking: Today at noon I’ll be at Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law to talk about “The Fable of Federal Environmental Regulation.” Next Tuesday, Feb. 2, […]
Obama Perpetuates the Myth of Bush as Free-Marketeer
In the State of the Union, Obama continued to blame Bush and the Republicans for our current economic problems. This is understandable for two reasons. First,the GOP does deserve a good deal of blame, though my list of their misdeeds would probably look different from Obama’s. Second, pretty much any president in Obama’s position would […]
Two Surprises in the State of the Union – Gays in the Military and “Drill, Baby, Drill”
There weren’t many surprises in the State of the Union. However, there were two interesting unexpected twists. First, Obama called for gays to be allowed to serve openly in the military. I’m not surprised that Obama supports this. But I am surprised that he has decided to make a push on that front right now. […]
An Exchange on Comment Moderating
A few minutes ago I deleted a comment from a conservative commenter, “Gaydude,” that was an obnoxious and personal attack in response to liberal commenter “ArthurKirkland.” GayDude then wrote another comment directed to me that I think deserves a wider audience: Wait, my post criticizing Arthur’s post was removed? Oh, right, this is an Orin […]
Awkward Moment At the State of the Union Address
President Obama criticizes the Supreme Court’s recent campaign finance case, and the Justices have to sit there silently and motionless with the cameras focused in directly on them while the rest of the room applauds Obama’s criticism: Justice Alito has the very human reaction of mouthing disagreement, but I tend to think the episode shows […]
“Judicial Nominations in the First Year of the Obama Administration”
Tomorrow I will be participating on a panel discussion hosted by the American Constitution Society, “Judicial Nominations in the First Year of the Obama Administration,” at the National Press Club. The event is moderated by Michael Gerhardt and my co-panelists are Lynn Rhinehart of the AFL/CIO and Doug Kendall of the Constitutional Accountability Center. It […]
Archived State of the Union Addresses
C-SPAN’s archives go back to 1988, with additional video of 1974, 1975 and 1977. So if you really want to watch Reagan’s 1988 address, Clinton’s 1995 addess, or Nixon’s 1974 address, knock yourself out.
Anything I Should Add to the Next Edition of Academic Legal Writing?
I’m working right now on the next edition of my Academic Legal Writing book, which I hope will be out this Fall. If you’ve used the book, and thought it was missing something, or said something incorrectly or unclearly, I’d love to hear your suggestions.
Cat-Fart Spam
The latest in comment spam, apparently aimed at posting links back to some site, and thus increasing that site’s search engine ranking. The only purpose of the text is to pass any automated spam filter, and to pass any cursory inspection by a human being who’s checking the comments, either the published ones or the […]
No Constitutional Right to Dance in the Jefferson Memorial
So holds the Oberwetter v. Hilliard. The court concluded that the Jefferson Memorial qualified as a “nonpublic forum” for First Amendment purposes, so that restrictions on speech there were constitutional if they were viewpoint-neutral and reasonable, and the limitation on conduct in the Memorial “which involve[s] the communication or expression … [and] has the effect, […]