Senator Arlen Specter (R D-PA) has an op-ed in USA Today explaining his decision to support the confirmation of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court. He explains that it was a close call, and that he was deeply troubled by her refusal to answer more substantive questions, but will support her nonetheless. As he summarizes: […]
Archive | 2010
Defrocking California’s Rock
Some California state legislators want to remove serpentine as the state rock of California and, according to the NYT, this has some geologists up in arms. The bill to defrock the rock — which recently passed the full State Senate and is awaiting a vote in the Assembly — is sponsored by Senator Gloria Romero, […]
Atheism, Agnosticism, and Certainty About the Origins of the Universe
In a recent Slate essay, Ron Rosenbaum argues that agnosticism is preferable to atheism because atheists wrongly believe that they can explain the origins and nature of the universe: I think it’s time for a new agnosticism, one that takes on the New Atheists. Indeed agnostics see atheism as “a theism”—as much a faith-based creed […]
Why Better Bar Exams are Not the Answer
In a thoughtful response to my recent post on the bar exam, prominent criminal lawyer Nathaniel Burney agrees with my view that the current bar exam system is flawed, but argues that the best solution is to adopt a new and better exam: We are not fans of the bar exam, either, but we think […]
Implausible TV Plot Lines
From squid314: As I mentioned in my last entry, I’ve been watching Babylon 5 lately. It’s not a perfect show, but it has one big advantage: it’s consistent and believable…. But then there are some shows that go completely beyond the pale of enjoyability, until they become nothing more than overwritten collections of tropes impossible […]
Libertarian Resources On-Line
The Ludwig Von Mises Institute has put a staggering array of libertarian literature on-line, including back issues of Liberty magazines, issues of defunct libertarian magazine from the 1960s and 70s, books and articles related to the Austrian School of Economics and to libertarianism, and much more. It’s a great resource for both the libertarian-curious, and […]
Richard Epstein and John Yoo on the Bar Exam
Richard Epstein and John Yoo have responded to Elizabeth Wurtzel’s critique of the bar exam, which I previously commented on here. Surprisingly, Epstein comes to the defense of the bar exam: There is a good reason why some Yale Law School graduates fail the bar. They do not learn enough law in law school to […]
Amicus Brief in Snyder v. Phelps
I’m pleased to say that we’ve just filed an amicus brief in Snyder v. Phelps that I wrote on behalf of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and Profs. Ash Bhagwat, Marin Redish, Nadine Strossen, our own David Post, and me. As readers of the blog might gather, the brief argues that the Court […]
Wiretapping and human rights
Quick quiz: A legislature proposes strict new limits on wiretapping, including penalties for leaking the results of a criminal wiretap in advance of trial, essentially making such leaks a felony for most people and a misdemeanor for journalists. Is this (a) good for human rights because it protects privacy and cuts down on prosecutorial abuses […]
Robots and Cyberattacks, Both! Surrogates, the Movie
As many of our readers know, I have long been fascinated by robotics, and have a particular interest in battlefield robotics and related questions of law. I felt I was late to the cyberwarfare field – and don’t know enough about it – and so have left it for others. But robotics … well! Robotics […]
When Are Bodyguards for Foreigners — or Mentally Disturbed or Drug-Addicted Rock Stars — Allowed to Possess Guns?
18 U.S.C. § 922(h) provides that “It shall be unlawful for any individual, who to that individual’s knowledge and while being employed for any person described in any paragraph of subsection (g) of this section, in the course of such employment” to possess a gun. (It also requires a supposed connection to interstate or foreign […]
Elizabeth Wurtzel’s Case for Abolishing the Bar Exam
At the Brennan Center for Justice, Elizabeth Wurtzel makes the case for abolishing the bar exam: In 2005, Kathleen Sullivan, then dean of Stanford Law School, took and failed the California bar exam. After many years in legal academia—Ms. Sullivan literally wrote the book on constitutional law—she was going to practice law and needed a […]
Second Circuit Strikes Down FCC’s Current Indecency Restrictions
The case is Fox Television, Inc. v. FCC, and it holds the policy violates the First Amendment. The court concluded that the current policy — which is considerably broader than the one upheld in FCC v. Pacifica Foundation (1978) — is unconstitutionally vague. A few key passages: [W]hen Judge Leval asked during oral argument if […]
Seventh Circuit Upholds Ban on Gun Possession by People With Past Convictions for “Misdemeanor Crime[s] of Domestic Violence”
The case is United States v. Skoien (en banc); Judge Frank Easterbrook wrote the majority opinion, and Judge Diane Sykes wrote a dissenting opinion. UPDATE: Josh Blackman has many details.
Copyright (and, of course, soccer):
Looking for opportunities to segue from my recent obsession with all things soccer-related to the more mundane matters of copyright law that I usually focus on here on the VC, and lo and behold . . . . Two opportunities, actually: 1. For the “Content Owners, Knee Jerk Protection Responses Of” file: I found the […]