If you are in the DC area on Monday, January 25, you might want to check out this event at ASIL Tillar House, 2:30-5:00 pm. This looks to be a terrific discussion with great people on the program, on a topic much under debate currently. The question of how far human rights law enters, if […]
Archive | 2010
A Less Discretionary Docket for the Supreme Court
Today, we continue our series of posts (here and here) summarizing our draft article, Judicial Duty and the Supreme Court’s Cult of Celebrity. Over the years, critics of the Supreme Court, especially political conservatives, have argued that Congress should strip it of jurisdiction over hot-button issues like abortion, busing, and school prayer. Here we advance […]
Citizens United
The Supreme Court’s opinions in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, including the syllabus, are a whopping 183 pages. There are five opinions in all. Justice Kennedy’s opinion for the Court, concurring opinions by Justice Scalia (joined by Alito and Thomas in part) and Chief Justice Roberts (joined by Alito), and opinions concurring in part […]
Speech About Candidates Constitutionally Protected, Even When Funded by Corporations
That’s what SCOTUSblog is reporting about Citizens United v. FEC; Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1990), has been overruled. The majority seems to consist of the 5 conservatives, and the dissent of the 4 liberals. There is also a separate debate about disclosure requirements, which were apparently upheld. I have child duties until noon […]
Homeopathy
I’ve met a lot of well-educated people who think that a “homeopathic” remedy is simply a “natural” remedy. Here’s a welcome reminder that it’s actually quackery of the highest order. Meanwhile, if you have “brusing and injury”–or any other malady, really–I’d be happy to sell you patented Bernstein© brand Placebo Pills for an even lower […]
John Eastman for Attorney General?
Looks like Chapman Law School dean John Eastman is running for the Republican nomination for California attorney general. It’s hard to believe that California voters would elect someone so competent and qualified, but good luck, John!
Richard Posner Speaks
The WSJ Law Blog points out some interesting video of Richard Posner speaking on all sorts of topics over at BigThink. It looks like the video is about a year old, but it’s still pretty interesting.
Returns on Investment in Law School Education
The New York Times ran a much emailed piece talking about the declining value of a top-tier law degree, and now law professor Sarah Waldeck has followed up at Concurring Opinions with a blog post urging potential law students to be very tough-minded in deciding whether to go to law school: Forty-five thousand dollars per […]
My School’s Great Logo Debate
I am not very good with graphic design, illustration, and anything that requires good visual instincts. So I don’t really regard myself as fit to have an opinion about this. However, a current debate at my school is between Old Logo: And New Logo: Opinions at the school seem to be divided; naturally, a Facebook […]
Tailgating, or, the Taleb Distribution
I am often on the prowl for metaphors to explain things in finance law to students, and I liked this discussion today (January 20, Comment) by the Financial Times’s John Kay on the distribution of returns described in Fooled by Randomness and The Black Swan: Some people have described the process as picking up dimes […]
Fourth Amendment Bleg: Good Faith Exception For Changing Law
Back in October, I filed a pro bono petition for certiorari in McCane v. United States asking the Supreme Court to resolve the circuit split on whether the good faith exception to the Fourth Amendment applies to changing law. The government has filed its BIO, and I’m working on the reply brief. I was hoping […]
Advice for nervous state legislators, and candidates
Get out and knock on doors. My father’s latest column explains why, based on his own experience as a candidate (with an 11-2 election record). Six months of door-knocking–every two years–helped him far outperform his party, and win some tough elections. The column also examines how the Colorado state Department of Regulatory Affairs might regulate medical marijuana […]
Debunking rumors about Texas gun shows
Austin Gun Rights Examiner Howard Nemerov once again shows why he is one of the best journalists writing on the gun issue. His latest column debunks an Internet rumor that the BATFE forced a Texas gun show to allow sales only by federally licensed firearms dealers.
Cardozo Law Rev. symposium on McDonald v. Chicago
Cardozo De Novo, the online companion to the Carodozo Law Review, has a symposium issue on firearms law and policy, with a focus on McDonald v. Chicago. Articles include The Second Amendment in the Living Constitution, by me; a critique of the Stevens dissent in Heller, by David Hardy; and a proposal by Michael Anthony […]
Fun SCOTUS Lineups
Based on the initial reports from SCOTUSBlog, there were some interesting line ups in today’s opinions. In Wood v. Allen, an AEDPA case, Justice Sotomayor wrote the majority, while Justice Stevens dissented, joined by Justice Kennedy. Also, in South Carolina v. North Carolina, an original jurisdiction case, Justice Alito wrote the majority opinion, while Chief […]