Of all the judges tasked with assessing the constitutionality of the individual mandate, the one to watch so far has been Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the Sixth Circuit. As some readers know, Judge Sutton is a Federalist Society favorite, one of Justice Scalia’s favorite former clerks, and a regular “feeder” judge to the Supreme Court. […]
Archive | June, 2011
Debate on Libertarianism and Foreign Policy
On July 13 at 7 PM, I will be debating George Mason University economist and prominent blogger Bryan Caplan on libertarianism and foreign policy. The debate will take place at George Mason Law School, 3301 Fairfax Dr., Arlington, VA, in Room 221. Bryan summarized his case for “pacifism” (by which he means opposition to all […]
Divided Sixth Circuit Panel Upholds Individual Mandate
A divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Martin, has upheld the individual mandate against a Commerce Clause challenge. The same panel, in an opinion by Judge Sutton, rejected the argument that the mandate can be sustained as an exercise of the federal government’s taxing […]
Cheap Beach Reading and an Interesting Pricing Model
Ebooks are not exactly new, but University of Chicago Press seems to be experimenting with an interesting pricing model for some of its ebooks, including mine. You can buy the ebook for $45, the same as the retail price of the book, or you can buy a 30-day license of the ebook for only seven […]
Which Justices Vote Together?
It’s commonly assumed that Justices Scalia and Thomas are the two Supreme Court justices who are most likely to vote together. However much that may have been true during Justice Thomas’ first several years on the Court, it is becoming less true over time. This past term, according to statistics collected by the folks […]
Businesses’ Record Before the Court This Term
My Mayer Brown LLP colleague Andy Pincus — one of the top business appellate lawyers in the country (and one of the top appellate lawyers in the country, period) — is testifying this morning before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary (full hearing web page here) about businesses’ record before the Court this Term. His […]
Suggestions for your periodical reading list
Although on-line reading continues to grow, many people still enjoy old-fashioned printed periodicals. In the spirit of gratuitous advice, here are some suggestions for print subscriptions. First of all, if you’re conscientious about registering for the frequent flyer program every time you step on an airplane, you may accumulate a few thousand points on various airlines which […]
The Roberts Court and Business Revisited
Tomorrow morning the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on “Barriers to Justice and Accountability: How the Supreme Court’s Recent Rulings Will Affect Corporate Behavior.” According to Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the hearing is the latest in a series examining “how the Court has misinterpreted laws meant to protect consumers and employees, shielded […]
LearnLiberty.Org
Learn Liberty is a collection of videos on various aspects of classical liberalism put together by the Institute for Humane Studies. If you’re interested in libertarian ideas, there’s a lot of good stuff to check out.
Utah Court Misses Chance to Be a Leader in Third Amendment Jurisprudence
The rare opportunity arose in American Fork City v. Smith, decided by the Utah Court of Appeals on June 23. From the opinion, with emphasis added: David M. Smith appeals from his conviction of electronic communication harassment, a class B misdemeanor. Smith asserts various constitutional issues to challenge his conviction. We affirm. Smith first asserts […]
Natelson’s reply to Time magazine’s essay on the Constitution
Time magazine managing editor Richard Stengel has penned a cover essay about the Constitution, One Document, Under Siege. My Independence Institute colleague Rob Natelson wrote a response addressing some of the many illogical or inaccurate claims therein. For example: Stengel: “The framers . . . gave us the idea that a black person was three-fifths […]
Updated Bibliography of Conservative/Libertarian Legal Scholarship
The Federalist Society has updated its bibliography of conservative/libertarian legal scholarship. A .pdf of the full bibiography is available here, or else you can access individual sections on the web from here.
No, the Fourth Amendment Isn’t Dead
Judge Kozinski and Stephanie Grace have a short essay posted online arguing that the Fourth Amendment is “dead” thanks to the third-party doctrine — the rule that a person loses Fourth Amendment protection in information knowingly disclosed to third parties. Their basic argument has been made many times before in the law reviews, but I […]
Wisconsin Supreme Court or WWE?
The Journal-Sentinel reports that there are now two official inquiries into the physical confrontation between Justices Prosser and Bradley, one by the Wisconsin Judicial Commission, the other by the Dane County Sheriff’s office. The Journal-Sentinel also reports that Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney endorsed Justice Prosser’s opponent, JoAnne Kloppenberg, in the just-concluded election contest. Meanwhile, […]
2,524 days
That is about how long it has been since DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel had a confirmed head. Jack Goldsmith resigned effective July 30, 2004. But the Senate has just confirmed Virginia Seitz by voice vote to be Assistant Attorney General for the Office, after a relatively “speedy” confirmation process lasting just under six months.* It may […]