Google has begun notifying individual Gmail account-holders that they may be the targets of “state-sponsored” attacks: Google doesn’t say how it knows that particular accounts have been targeted, or even which “state” is sponsoring the attacks. But here’s my guess. Computer security experts have learned a lot from analyzing the most pervasive attacks. The attackers […]
Archive | June, 2012
Consulting on the Aaron Walker / Brett Kimberlin Case
I’m pleased to say that I’ll be consulting with Aaron Walker’s defense lawyer in the case I discussed last week, in which a Maryland judge issued a “peace order” — in other states, generally called a “restraining order” — that the judge seemed to interpret as limiting Aaron Walker’s blogging about Brett Kimberlin. (See, e.g., […]
Police Searching for Bank Robber Stop All Cars at Intersection, Handcuff Drivers, Search Cars
So reports ABC News: Police in Aurora, Colo., searching for suspected bank robbers stopped every car at an intersection, handcuffed all the adults and searched the cars, one of which they believed was carrying the suspect. Police said they had received what they called a “reliable” tip that the culprit in an armed robbery at […]
Disestablishment of Norway’s Church
Michael Lorton writes: Norway is now planning to separate the Protestant Lutheran Church from the government. I am serenely indifferent to this fact. I [am] devastated, utterly gutted, however, that the news coverage of this event did not include any mention of the politicians who opposed the step. My God, just think of it: MPs […]
Ninth Circuit Denies Rehearing En Banc in California Same-Sex Marriage Case — Next Stop, the Supreme Court
At least four judges — possibly more, but we don’t know — voted to rehear the case, and three (Judges O’Scannlain, Bybee, and Bea) noted their reasons; Judge N.R. Smith, who dissented from the panel opinion, noted his vote but didn’t join Judge O’Scannlain’s dissent from the denial of rehearing. I strongly suspect that the […]
College Graduation Speeches About False Perceptions
I enjoyed two recent graduation-related speeches found online: Judge Frank Easterbrook’s Commencement Address at Swarthmore, and Michael Lewis’s Baccalaureate Remarks at Princeton. At bottom, both are about false perceptions. Lewis takes on the common perception among successful people that success is the product primarily of merit, and not of lot of luck. Easterbrook takes on […]
Judge Dismisses Suits Over “Birther” Parody
Today a federal district court judge in Washington, D.C. dismissed World Net Daily‘s lawsuit against Esquire for posting a satirical item on the web claiming that WND would recall author Jerome Corsi’s birther book due to the White House’s release of President Obama’s long form birth certificate. In addition to defamation and false light, WND […]
Do Religious Freedom Restoration Acts Apply When Courts Enforce Civil Causes of Action?
I blogged earlier today about the New Mexico Court of Appeals decision in Willock v. Elane Photography, which held that a wedding photographer could be held liable for refusing to photograph a same-sex commitment ceremony. I argued that the decision violated the photographer’s First Amendment rights not to create expressive works (such as photographs) that […]
Funniest Comment on the New York Times online
News item: Bloomberg Backs Plan to Limit Arrests for Marijuana ALBANY — Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said on Monday that he would support a proposal by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to significantly curb the number of people who could be arrested for marijuana possession as a result of police stops. Best reader comment: Just don’t get […]
Defendant May Have Right to Religious Exemption from the Requirement of Rising in Court
As I noted last October, “Amina Farah Ali, on trial in federal court for ‘allegedly funneling money to a terrorist group in Somalia’ (AP), [was] found in contempt of court for refusing to stand for the judge and jury.” Ali claimed that she had a right to a religious exemption under the Religious Freedom Restoration […]
Wedding Photographer May Be Required (on Pain of Legal Liability) to Photograph Same-Sex Commitment Ceremonies
So the New Mexico Court of Appeals held last week in the long-pending Elane Photography v. Willock (N.M. Ct. App. May 31, 2012). The court began by holding that the state law that bans sexual orientation discrimination in places of public accommodation applies to professional wedding photographers’ decisions not to photograph same-sex commitment ceremonies: Such […]
The Audiences for Legal Scholarship
Shapiro and Pearse’s latest study of the most-cited law review articles has inspired a lot of blogging and commenting about the proper audience for legal scholarship. This topic arises from time to time, so I wanted to offer some thought on it. In my view, what makes legal scholarship so interesting is that there are […]
Podcast on The Auto Bailouts and the Rule of Law
I sat down with Richard Reinsch for a conversation on the auto bailouts and the rule of law, which he has posted on the Law and Liberty website.
About “The Most-Cited Law Review Articles of All Time” (Posting 1)
The Michigan Law Review has just published an article by myself and Michelle Pearse updating my 1985 study of “The Most-Cited Law Review Articles” (73 California Law Review 1540). The original study received considerable attention in the legal community and beyond (for example, a front-page profile of me in the Wall Street Journal). The new […]
Travel Blog Recommendation: View from the Wing
One of my favorite blogs is Gary Leff’s travel blog, View from the Wing. I used to read it occasionally, but once I started to notice unusually rich credit card signup offers a little over a year ago, like 100,000 British Airways Avios points, I started to read it religiously. Since then, I’ve accumulated around […]