During storms like this weekend’s Hurricane Irene, trees and branches often fall from people’s yards into their neighbors. As a property professor, I sometimes get asked whether the person whose tree fell into their neighbor’s yard is liable for any resulting damage. The answer varies somewhat from state to state. But as a general rule, […]
Archive | August, 2011
A Question for Federal Prosecutors About the Emotionally Distressing Tweets/Blog Posts Case
Here’s one thing that puzzles me about United States v. Cassidy, the federal prosecution for intentionally “engag[ing] in a course of conduct that caused [substantial] emotional distress” to a Buddhist leader via thousands of insulting Twitter posts and blog posts: Federal prosecutors, as I understand it, have many more cases coming in the door than […]
Mickey Jesus Banned in Russia
RIA Novosti reports: A court in central Russia has ruled that a painting of the Sermon on the Mount that features Mickey Mouse instead of Jesus Christ [reproduced above -EV] is extremist, … [which means] the painting will be banned from exhibitions, newspapers, magazines or television…. “During the court hearing, it was established that [artist […]
Adult Children Sue Mother, for Allegedly Having Been Really Mean
No, really. From Miner v. Garrity (the excerpt is long, because I wanted to include all the allegations quoted by the court); thanks to Dan Gifford for the pointer: Adult children brought suit against mother, raising claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress as a result of “bad mothering.” […]
Federal Government Prosecuting Man for Writing Many Insulting Tweets and Blog Posts About Religious Leader
Somini Sengupta at the New York Times wrote today about this case, in which William Lawrence Cassidy is charged with violating the federal antistalking statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2261A by “with the intent to harass and cause substantial emotional distress to a person … us[ing] an interactive computer service … to engage in a course […]
“Gunpowder Lust”
A commenter on the thread about the London Olympic Games’ initial decision to exclude shooting sports from its ticket giveaway to schoolchildren inadvertently makes the point I was getting at: Another post today I am missing the point of. Are we now supposed to be outraged when other societies do not share our gunpowder lust? […]
Judge Blocks Implementation of Missouri Law Banning Teachers from Facebook “Friendships” with Under-18 Current or Former Students
The newly-enacted Missouri Revised Statutes § 162.069.4 provides, No teacher [in a Missouri public school] shall establish, maintain, or use a nonwork-related internet site [i.e., a “website or web page used by a teacher primarily for personal purposes and not for educational purposes”] which allows exclusive access with a current or former student [i.e., “any […]
Children Going to See Olympic Shooting Events — the Horror!
As the Evening Standard (UK) reported Tuesday (thanks to Robert Dittmer for the pointer), London schoolchildren are eligible for 125,000 [free] Olympic tickets but these will not include any featuring guns, as Games organisers and City Hall fear a backlash from the anti-gun lobby. Giving children tickets to the events, at the Royal Artillery Barracks […]
Petraeus and the Internal Culture of the CIA
The Wall Street Journal’s Siobhan Gorman has an interesting profile today of Michael Morell, a veteran CIA insider (31 years in) who is tapped to help guide the new director, David Petraeus, as he steps out of the uniform and into the suit, through the maze of internal CIA culture. (It might be behind the […]
Becket Fund Job
The Becket Fund is looking for a lawyer: The Becket Fund is seeking an attorney to serve as senior legal counsel in Washington, DC. Becket Fund attorneys litigate cutting-edge cases involving religious liberty across the country and around the world. The ideal applicant will have an appellate clerkship, at least 2-6 years of top-level litigation […]
A Tip for Those Who Want to Represent Themselves in Court
If you’re arguing that colleagues defamed you by calling you discourteous, disrespectful, and otherwise unpleasant (e.g., “rabid with bitterness”), and you insist on representing yourself, try to avoid litigation tactics that the judge sees as discourteous, disrespectful, and otherwise unpleasant.
Judge Rescinds Order That Barred Blogger from Posting Anything About the Mayor’s Sister
So reported the Cleveland Plain Dealer a few days ago, but I didn’t notice until today. The order is the one that provided, “respondent is prohibited from posting any information/comments … on any Internet site regarding the petitioner [the mayor’s sister] and … her immediate or extended family”; as I argued then, the order was […]
Reinstatement of Florida Teacher Who Was Reassigned After Anti-Same-Sex-Marriage Facebook Posts
So reports WFTV (thanks to Prof. Howard Friedman (Religion Clause) for the pointer. For more on the original story, see this post. The Orlando Sentinel also reports that the teacher (Jerry Buell) has been ordered by the school to remove certain statements by Buell on his school materials: [T]he school district questioned statements on Buell’s […]
Linda Greenhouse Questions Roe v. Wade
That wasn’t her intent, of course–Greenhouse was famously rebuked by her editors at the New York Times for marching in an abortion rights rally in 1989 in D.C.–but consider her recent blog post: Earlier this month, the American Bar Association traveled north to Toronto for its annual meeting. Doing some homework for a panel I […]
Unnatural Corn Class Action
Grist reports on a class-action suit that is being filed against ConAgra for allegedly deceptive marketing of its various vegetable oils. The core of the complaint seems to be that some ConAgra products, such as Wesson corn oil, are labeled as “100% natural” even though they contain oil from genetically modified corn. If something comes […]