In my first post on this I was trying to elicit information and discussion rather than taking a position and making an affirmative argument. The whole arrangement just seemed odd to me–I just hadn’t heard of a lawyer who was not active under any state bar being able to represent a private third-party in litigation just […]
Archive | October, 2012
Supreme Court to Consider Chevron Deference for Agency Jurisdiction
Among the Supreme Court’s seven cert grants today were the potentially important takings case Ilya notes below and another potentially important administrative law case: City of Arlington v. FCC. In City of Arlington (consolidated with another case), the Court limited the grant to the question whether Chevron deference should extend to agency interpretations of ambiguous […]
Perfecting an Appeal
A non-lawyer friend of mine asks me a question: “I was reading a Tenn. State Supreme Court decision on paternity fraud, linked to by Glenn Reynolds, and I came across this line: “Ms. Hodge perfected an appeal. Why ‘perfected’? It’s obviously a technical usage, and the meaning is clear enough in context, but what’s the reason […]
Heather Gerken’s Progressive “Federalism All the Way Down”
Leon Neyfakh of the Boston Globe has a detailed article discussing Yale Law School Professor Heather Gerken’s outstanding work developing a new “progressive” theory of federalism: Election reformers tend to shudder at the patchwork inconsistency with which the United States approaches its national elections, and they regard the process as a woefully disorganized mess. Yale […]
Ninth Circuit Upholds Sex-Offender Registration as “Necessary and Proper” Under NFIB v. Sebelius
Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected a constitutional challenge to federal sex offender registration requirements under SORNA. Specifically,in United States v. Elk Shoulder, the court rejected a claim that the registration requirement was beyond the scope of Congress’s enumerated powers because so long as Congress had the authority to enact […]
Supreme Court Decides to Hear Important Regulatory Takings Case
The Supreme Court has just decided to hear an important regulatory takings case, St. Johns River Waste Management District v. Koontz. Paul Beard of the Pacific Legal Foundation, which is representing the property owner, has a helpful summary of the case: Coy A. Koontz wants to develop commercial land, most of which lies within a […]
Supreme Court to Reconsider Role of Juries in Mandatory Minimum Sentencing
The Supreme Court just granted cert in Alleyne v. United States, 11-9335, which asks the Court to reconsider Harris v. United States. There, Justice Kennedy (writing for a plurality), plus Justice Breyer (who concurred only in the judgment), held that facts that increased the mandatory minimum sentence need not be decided by the jury. Two members […]
Highly Unsubstantive, but Pretty Funny
A Taiwanese animated look at last night’s debate (thanks to Sarah Hoyt, guest-blogging at InstaPundit, for the pointer).
Was Elizabeth Warren Eligible to Practice in Federal Court?
Most of the discussion about Elizabeth Warren’s law practice has focused on the question of whether she violated UPL laws by practicing in Massachusetts without a Massachusetts license. But there is another issue that I’ve been wondering about. As her defenders have noted, her practice has been in federal court, including the Supreme Court. Under […]
Public High School Math Teacher Allegedly Tells Student to Leave Class for Wearing Pro-Romney T-Shirt
So reports Philly.com, and there appears to be some acknowledgment from the school district that the teacher acted improperly: The teacher allegedly told the girl to take off the shirt, saying it was like wearing a Ku Klux Klan sheet. The teacher allegedly threatened to use a marker to cross out Romney’s name and that […]
Why the Presidential Debate Should Have Covered the Issue of Judicial Nominations
In this Politico post, I expanded on my recent VC post about dogs that didn’t bark during last night’s presidential debate. It was especially unfortunate that both candidates and the moderator completely ignored the issue of judicial nominations: [N]either of the candidates or the moderator even mentioned judicial nominations, even though this is one of […]
Dogs that Didn’t Bark in Tonight’s Presidential Debate
By Ilya Somin on October 3, 2012 11:22 pm in Elections, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Obama, Political Ignorance
In addition to Willow, there were two major dogs that didn’t bark during tonight’s presidential debate. First, even though the debate was supposed to focus on domestic policy, neither the moderator nor the candidates ever focused on some of the most important domestic issues on which the president can have a big impact: issues such […]
Retriever Debate Prep
Even as the presidential candidates get set for tonight’s debate, our 16 month-old golden retriever Willow is fully prepared for her very first presidential debate-watching experience:
Ukrainian Bill Banning “Promotion of Homosexuality” Passes First Reading, with 289 Votes (out of 350 Present)
So report RIA Novosti, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Kyiv Post, and Lenta.ru (in Russian). From the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty story: The draft, approved by lawmakers on October 2, would make what it calls “promotion of homosexuality” — defined as taking action to create a positive portrayal of gays — a crime. Supporters of […]
Louisiana amendment to strengthen right to arms, on November ballot
By David Kopel on October 3, 2012 7:04 pm in Constitutional Amendments, Constitutional History, Constitutional Law, Elections, Guns, Militia, Popular Constitutionalism, Right to carry, State Constitutional Law
In state elections, the most important vote this November will be in Louisiana. A referendum there would significantly strengthen protection of the right to keep and bear arms in the state, and would set a very significant national precedent. Before the Civil War, the Louisiana Constitution did not mention a right to arms. The Louisiana […]