This is a cool new website on the history and philosophy of libertarianism. Especially recommended is David Boaz’s essay on the history of libertarianism, which I like because of its implicit Harold Berman themes (Berman’s book Law and Revolution has been a huge intellectual influence on me). Also not to be missed, of course, is […]
Archive | November, 2011
New Study on Alleged Google Search Bias
As I understand it, the simmering potential antitrust action against Google is premised on the idea that Google has market power in the search engine market that it exploits by biasing its search engine results in favor of its own content. Well, according to this new study by my colleague Josh Wright, to the extent […]
The Problem of Voluntary Torture
Let me present you with a problem I have found quite fruitful to contemplate, both because I find it intrinsically interesting and because it seems to carry a larger lesson. It is the problem of voluntary torture. Imagine the following proposal by a wild-eyed legislator for making our criminal justice system more efficient. “The point […]
French Weekly Publishes Cartoon of Mohammed, Gets Firebombed
Agence France Press reported: The offices of a French satirical newspaper that published a special Arab Spring edition with the Prophet Mohammed on the cover as “guest editor” were destroyed in a suspected firebomb attack Wednesday. The attack came after Charlie Hebdo renamed the weekly newspaper Charia (Sharia) Hebdo for the occasion and featured a […]
Student Loan Securitization
I would be interested if anyone could point me in the direction of the documentation for a student loan securitization, online so that I can work with it on a blog or posted for classroom use. It’s strange – I study and teach securitization, but though I routinely work and have my students work through […]
“Taliban Toyota” Slander Verdict: $2.5 Million in Compensatory Damages, $5 Million in Punitives
From the Press-Register (Alabama): A jury awarded $7.5 million in damages to the Iranian-born owner of Eastern Shore Toyota on Monday evening after his competitor called his business “Taliban Toyota” and accused him of being a terrorist. Shawn Esfahani, owner of the mega-dealership on Interstate 10, sued Bob Tyler Toyota in Pensacola and its sales […]
Colbert on OWS
This is VERY funny. Hat tip to my colleague Chris Newman. The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive
Okay Someone Explain It To Me
I am sure that many readers have seen this floating around the internet. I am not great at math; I’m not intuitive at it and hate trick questions most of all, because they are … tricky. On the other hand, ever since realizing when I started law school that in my life I couldn’t avoid […]
Why Is the Law So Either/Or?
One of the main things a law teacher does in class is to explore the boundary regions of a legal doctrine—the hard-to-categorize cases that are most likely to give rise to litigation: Is it an assault for a man to kiss a sleeping woman? Has the hunter acquired ownership of a wild animal when one […]
Diversity Within Student Groups vs. Diversity Across Student Groups
I agree with most of what co-blogger Eugene Volokh writes about the benefits of have a wide range of student groups at law schools, including ones that focus on specific ethnic or religious groups. I addressed a similar issue in this 2007 post: Those who argue for diversity in higher education implicitly envision a school […]
Now There’s a Harassment Claim That Was Quite Rightly Rejected
From Walker v. Jackson (EEOC Oct. 6, 2011): On December 1, 2011 [sic], Complainant filed a formal EEO complaint alleging that he was subjected to harassment and reprisal on the basis of his religious beliefs (Pentecostal). Briefly, the complaint alleged that, on November 18, 2010 [sic], Complainant was the recipient of an email from the […]
Debate with Maggie Gallagher, Round 467
This time we were debating a proposed amendment to the Minnesota state constitution banning same-sex marriages, although the focus was on the merits of same-sex marriage itself. The debate was held at the University of St. Thomas Law School in Minneapolis and was hosted by the Terence J. Murphy Institute for Catholic Thought, Law and Public […]
Diversity and Homogeneity
A commenter writes: If law schools care so much about diversity, then why do they encourage segregated student groups? Law schools should cut all funding to identity groups, except where that identity is directly related to law. Want to hang out with your black friends and discuss black issues? Do it on your own dime. […]
May Judges — Elected in Partisan Elections — Chair Political Caucuses?
This question is part of the general matter of the First Amendment rights of elected judges who are required to be political and yet expected to be in certain ways apolitical; In re Young (N.Y. Comm’n on Judicial Conduct Oct. 7, 2011) has a long discussion in a concurrence that says New York’s elected trial […]
Antidiscrimination Policies and Student Groups
A commenter to another post writes, pointing to what he sees as an improper double standard: Just like there is allowed to be a Black Law Students Association at UCLA that doesn’t admit white students, but there’s not allowed to be a Christian Law Students Association that doesn’t admit non-Christians. I’m happy to acknowledge there […]