An article I coauthored came out in the Journal of Legal Analysis that might be of interest, and that I’m pretty jazzed about. Here is the abstract: Should a strategic Justice assemble a broader coalition for the majority opinion than is necessary, even if that means accommodating changes that move the opinion away from the author’s […]
Archive | September, 2012
City Councilman Seeks Criminal Charges Against Critic Who Threatened to Recall Him
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A Fraternity Is Not a Monastery
You’d think that there wouldn’t need be a court case deciding this, but now there is, Myers v. City of Chicago (N.D. Ill. Sept. 12, 2012). The question was whether a fraternity could qualify for a special zoning rule applicable to a “convent or monastery,” defined as housing for “persons (such as nuns or monks) […]
Your Name In Lights
Or in soybean-based ink. George Will’s column today discusses the Elane Photography case that Eugene has been blogging (and participating in as amicus curiae). The case involves a First Amendment Free Exercise Clause/New Mexico Religious Freedom Restoration Act defense to penalties the New Mexico Human Rights Commission assessed against Christian photographers who refused for religious reasons […]
Just Say No to Terrorism
In the 1980s, First Lady Nancy Reagan famously urged kids to “just say no” to drugs. Although I’m no fan of the War on Drugs, she was certainly correct to point out that saying “no” is a good way of avoiding the dangers of drug use. Co-blogger Eugene Volokh makes a similar argument with respect […]
Riot and Arson Over Apparent Koran Desecration in India
Times of India reports; it’s not clear to me from the article whether the dead were the rioters or innocent victims of the rioters: [S]ix people were killed and 12 injured, including two critically, in violence and arson during a protest against alleged desecration of the Quran. This is the sixth incident of communal violence […]
Political Norms and the Unwritten Constitution
In a post commenting on recent guest-blogger Akhil Amar’s book The Unwritten Constitution, Gerard Magliocca suggests that the scope of the unwritten Constitution is broader than the book states: [M]y main criticism of the book is that I don’t like Amar’s definition of the unwritten Constitution. What do I mean by that? I mean that […]
Why Punishing Blasphemous Speech That Triggers Murderous Reactions Would Likely Lead to More Deaths
In recent days, I’ve heard various people calling for punishing the maker of Innocence of Muslims, and more broadly for suppressing such speech. During the Terry Jones planned Koran-burning controversy, I heard similar calls. Such expression leads to the deaths of people, including Americans. It worsens our relations with important foreign countries. It’s intended to […]
Landmark Foreign-Investment Suit Filed
If you deal regularly with the federal government, there are more candidates for the “most important government office that you’ve never heard of” than you can count. My post tonight concerns not an office, but a federal interagency committee: the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known by its acronym CFIUS, which is undeniably powerful, […]
The Arab Spring and the Video Riots
Ever since the Arab Spring began, I have been concerned that it could ultimately result in the establishment of Islamist regimes as bad or worse than the more secular dictatorships they replaced. One of the reasons for that fear is that public opinion in many Arab nations is highly illiberal and intolerant. As a result, […]
Property Rights Panel at the Cato Institute’s Constitution Day
Next Tuesday from 1 to 2:15 PM, I will be speaking at a panel on “Increasing Protections for Property Rights” at the Cato Institute’s Constitution Day. We will be covering the Court’s most recent property rights decisions, and also considering prospects for the future. Despite the recent unusual unanimous decision in Sackett v. EPA (which […]
Administration Seeks to Have “Innocence of Muslims” Removed from YouTube
By Jonathan H. Adler on September 14, 2012 2:38 pm in "Hate Speech", Blasphemy, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Speech Restricted by Thugs
The LA Times reports: Administration officials have asked YouTube to review a controversial video that many blame for spurring a wave of anti-American violence in the Middle East. The administration flagged the 14-minute “Innocence of Muslims” video and asked that YouTube evaluate it to determine whether it violates the site’s terms of service, officials said […]
Assessing Gary Johnson’s Environmental Views
At LegalPlanet, Dan Farber takes a look at the environmental policy positions of Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson.
Hatch Act Violations
The Office of Special Counsel has concluded that Secretary Sebelius violated the Hatch Act, which limits political activities by federal employees. As The Hill reports, “One of the imperatives is to make sure that we not only come together here in Charlotte to present the nomination to the president, but we make sure that in […]
Life of Brian and Innocence of Muslims (the Anti-Islam Video)
The connection: Terry Jones. Coincidence? You be the judge.