Over at Lawfare, I’ve posted a new review of three academic books on combatants, civilians, and POWs, if you’re interested in fairly technical academic writing on laws of war issues. My conclusion about the principle of humanitarianism that two of the three books take as essentially overriding is below the fold:
Archive | November, 2011
Nordyke v. King — the Ninth Circuit’s Second Amendment Gun Show Case — Going En Banc Again
That’s the news today from the Ninth Circuit. For more decisions in this case, see here; for more on the panel decision that is now going to be reconsidered en banc (and my views on the decision), see this post. Thanks to Gene Hoffman for the pointer.
Careful With the Inferences of Bias
A commenter on the Amish heretic hair-cutting thread writes: How sexist is everyone — the Amish, the Feds, especially — when stretching to such absurd reaches (scissors transported across state lines) for felony hair assault — to say n-o-t-h-i-n-g of RAPE. Oh, that… It is more than disgusting and even outrageous that beard cutting, is […]
Student Writing Competition, Hosted at UCLA, on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
UCLA hosts the journal Dukeminier Awards: Best Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law Review Articles. (Many of our lawyer readers have seen Jesse Dukeminier’s work in their property and wills and trusts classes; he was a leading casebook author and scholar in both fields.) The journal mostly reprints articles that it selects from those published […]
Auer Deference on the Docket
Among this morning’s cert grants was Christopher v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., in which the Court will have to determine whether pharmaceutical sales representatives are subject to the “outside sales” exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime requirements. At first glance, Christopher may seem like a rather pedestrian labor law case. Don’t be fooled. Christopher has […]
Thoughts on Messerschmidt v. Millender, A Pending Case on Search Warrants and Qualified Immunity
On December 5th, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a Fourth Amendment case, Messerschmidt v. Millender, that concerns the particularity of search warrants and the qualified immunity standard. In this post, I’ll explain the facts and issues in the case and then offer my thoughts on how I think the Court should rule. I. […]
Pierre Schlag on Law School Appointments
A very amusing post, and, unfortunately, pretty accurate.
Religious Fundamentalists Attack Alleged Heretics and Heretics’ Backers
The allegations are in this FBI affidavit; here is the summary, from Prof. Howard Friedman (Religion Clause): The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that authorities [Wednesday] arrested Samuel Mullet, Sr., the Bishop of a break-away Amish group, known as the Bergholz clan, as well as three of his sons and three other followers, on charges of […]
Takings Issues in the AIG Bailout Litigation
Starr International, a firm headed by former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg, has recently sued the federal government, claiming that some provisions of the 2008 AIG bailout violated AIG shareholders’ constitutional rights (Starr was a major AIG shareholder at the time of the bailout). One of the claims Starr has advanced is that the takeover violated […]
NLRB on the Brink
This Wednesday, the National Labor Relations board is scheduled to vote on a controversial proposed rule to streamline and accelerate the union election process. The Board is acting now because it could lose a quorum when the recess appointment of Craig Becker expires at the end of the year. Only three of the NLRB’s five […]
An Originalist Argument for the Unconstitutionality of Sex Discrimination
By Jonathan H. Adler on November 27, 2011 11:30 am in Constitutional Theory, Originalism, Sex Discrimination
It is generally accepted that the Supreme Court’s sex discrimination jurisprudence cannot be reconciled with an originalist interpretation of Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment. Originalists and non-originalists alike accept that the original intent of Section One was to preclude racial discrimination against blacks, and that there was no intent to prevent sex discrimination […]
Yet Another Issue Where Barack Obama and I Agree
I have an occasional series of posts highlighting issues where Barack Obama and I agree. So far, the list includes creating a playoff system for college football, allowing gays in the military, ending the home mortgage interest deduction for high-income taxpayers (though I would go further and abolish the deduction for everyone), the president’s right […]
UN Report Alleges Large-Scale Human Rights Abuses by the New Libyan Regime
A recently leaked United Nations report claims that the new rulers of Libya have committed numerous human rights violations: Thousands of people, including women and children, are being illegally detained by rebel militias in Libya, according to a report by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Many of the prisoners are suffering torture and systematic […]
Paying Too Much for an Unneeded Smallpox Drug that Can’t Be Tested
This past Spring the federal government awarded $433 million for the development of a new smallpox drug, at an inflated cost, after a non-competitive bid, even though a new drug is unneeded and cannot be tested. Smallpox has been eradicated, for all practical purposes, and the government already has substantial vaccine stockpiles. With no actual […]
The Political Battle Over Eminent Domain Reform in Virginia
By Ilya Somin on November 26, 2011 10:50 am in Eminent Domain, Political Ignorance, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights
Virginia was one of several states that enacted a strong eminent domain reform law after the Supreme Court ruled in Kelo v. City of New London that it was permissible for government to take private property and transfer it to other private individuals in order to promote economic development. Supporters of the Virginia law are […]