I have been working through a draft SSRN paper on Ideological Diversity and Law School Hiring by Douglas M. Spencer and James C. Phillips of Berkeley (tip to Glenn Reynolds and Paul Caron). The paper concludes: Using regression analysis, we find no statistically significant relationship between political ideology and prestige of hiring, although we identify […]
Archive | 2010
Assessing the Survey Data on Tea Party “Racism”
The NAACP and others have accused Tea Party supporters of racism. There is no doubt that some Tea Party members are racist. But the same can be said for some members of any large group, including the Party’s opponents. The important questions are whether Tea Party supporters are on average more racist than the general […]
Westlaw Refuses to Correct Errors in Old Cases
[UPDATE, July 23: A comment from a Westlaw official reports that the Westlaw reference attorney I quote was misinformed, and that Westlaw will indeed correct such errors; the case I mention has indeed now been corrected.] A few weeks ago, I noticed that the Westlaw version of Thorn v. Blanchard, 5 Johns. 508 (N.Y. 1809), […]
Property Rights for Deities?
Co-blogger Eugene Volokh links to an Indian newspaper article about a ruling concerning the property rights of Hindu gods. According to the article, Hindu deities are allowed to acquire at least some types of property rights under Indian law, though perhaps “only deities of registered public trusts were allowed to acquire property in their names.” […]
Balkin “Flips”
Jack Balkin and I have been friends for a really long time. There is no law professor for whom I have a higher admiration and respect. An important aspect of my thinking about constitutional law began with a brilliant article Jack wrote many years ago called “The Footnote,” which I read before we ever met. […]
Syria Banning Wearing of Burqa at Universities — and Maybe Soon in Other Places, Too?
The Daily Star (UK) reports, Syria has become the first Muslim country to ban the burka, claiming the face mask encourages Islamic extremism…. Government officials made the move despite the nation’s 22million population being 87% Muslim. It came after several European states launched similar measures…. The ban will take place first in universities with plans […]
The UN’s “Programme of Action” on Small Arms
Here’s a short new paper, written by the Heritage Foundation’s Theodore Bromund and me: As the U.N.’s Arms Trade Treaty Process Begins, U.N.’s “Programme of Action” on Small Arms Shows Its Dangers.
Religion and Geography
The New Zealand Herald reports, Instead of facing Islam’s most holy city, a clerical error of astronomical proportions has seen the faithful [among the 200 million Muslims in Indonesia] directing their prayers towards Kenya and southern Somalia. The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), the country’s highest Islamic body, has admitted that they made an error in […]
Are Asian Carp a “Public Nuisance”?
Five states filed suit against the federal government and Chicago yesterday, alleging that the U.S Army Corps of Engineers and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago have created a “public nuisance” through the maintenance of water infrastructure (locks, intakes, etc.) that could enable the Asian carp to enter the Great Lakes (if they have […]
Now There’s a Commitment to State, Rather than Federal, Authority
A reader points out that Justice Thomas has at least three former clerks who are now Justices on state Supreme Courts: Justice Eid in Colorado, Justice Stras in Minnesota, and now Justice Lee in Utah. And Justice Thomas is of course the U.S. Supreme Court Justice who has the broadest view of the structural constitutional […]
May Gods Trade on the Stock Exchange?
No, reports the Economic Times (part of the India Times): [T]he Bombay High Court … dismiss[ed] a petition seeking orders to authorities to allow Hindu gods to open demat accounts[, …] remark[ing] that dealing in shares required some skill which could not be expected of a deity. The judges wondered that in the event of […]
“Of Constitutional Decapitation and Healthcare”
This new article in Tax Notes, by Professor Steven J. Willis and recent graduate Nakku Chung, both of the University of Florida’s Fredric G. Levin College of Law, explains why the non-insurance penalty provision of the new federal health control law is unconstitutional, at least if it is a tax. In brief, the argument is: The tax is […]
We win the Emmy!
The 1959 “time machine” episode of Colorado Inside-Out won the 2010 award (for 2009 programs) for best Interview/Discussion Program/Special from the Heartland Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
“Shall Not Be Infringed”
A commenter discussing the gun show case writes, among other things, So, along with Chicago and DC trying to keep poor people from exercising their “fundamental right” by pricing permits/licenses/training/registration out of their reach, now California is trying to reduce the Second Amendment to a “want” instead of a “RIGHT”. The standard of review should […]
Alcohol, from Oxford to Tokyo
From Henry Aldrich, an English theologian and philosopher (1647-1710): If on my theme I rightly think,There are five reasons why men drink: Good wine; a friend; because I’m dry;Or lest I should be by and by;Or – any other reason why From a sign in a Tokyo restaurant, reported by The Thought Experiment (thanks to […]