The transcript of today’s oral argument in the important Supreme Court takings case of Arkansas Game and Fish Commission v. United States is now available here. I discussed the issues in the case in this post. Legal reporter Lawrence Hurley of Greenwire interprets the oral argument as going badly for the federal government: A majority […]
Archive | October, 2012
The String Cheese Factors
A bit of local legalese, from Magistrate Judges Hegarty, Tafoya, and Mix of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado (58 cases) and from Senior District Judge Weinshienk of the same court. The factors are considered in deciding whether to stay discovery, and they are, the plaintiffs’ interests in proceeding expeditiously with the […]
Poll Suggests That Public Support of Harsh Interrogation Techniques in Terrorism Cases Greater Now Than in 2005
The story is here. An excerpt: It turns out that Americans don’t just like the general idea of torture more now. They like specific torture techniques more too. Respondents in 2012 are more pro-waterboarding, pro-threatening prisoners with dogs, pro-religious humiliation, and pro-forcing-prisoners-to-remain-naked-and-chained-in-uncomfortable-positions-in-cold-rooms. In 2005, 18 percent said they believed the naked chaining approach was OK, […]
GMU Law & Economics Workshop for Law Professors on Public Choice Economics
A reminder for those who are interested of the upcoming GMU Law & Economics Workshop for Law Professors on Public Choice Economics. It will be held January 25-28, 2013 at South Seas Island Resort in Captiva Island, Florida. Information and application information is here. The faculty are Fred McChesney, Barry Weingast, and yours truly. There […]
“Why People Are Rude Online” and the Audience for Online Speech
This essay on why people are rude online is interesting, although I think it mostly overlooks one of the key dynamics of online speech: When you write online, you don’t know who is in your audience. In regular speech, you know who your audience is because you observe the audience directly. As a result, you […]
Narcissiverse
A word apparently coined by our own commenter Kestrel, as part of the phrase “social media narcissiverse.” Nice! A quick Google search suggests that the only earlier substantive uses were as “Narcissi-verse,” as part of the Marvel Comics Multiverse series — apparently a very different sense.
Thoughts on the Oral Argument in the Fifth Circuit Cell-Site Case
The Fifth Circuit held its oral argument in its Fourth Amendment cell-site case today; the audio is here. On the whole, I thought the argument was pretty unilluminating. The judges spent a lot of time trying to figure out the statute and the facts, but they had surprisingly few questions about the Fourth Amendment questions […]
Tomorrow’s Important Takings Case Before the Supreme Court
Although it may be lost in the shuffle of more highly publicized cases, tomorrow the Supreme Court will be hearing oral arguments in Arkansas Game and Fish Commission v. United States, the most important regulatory takings case in a long time. In this case, the US Army Corps of Engineers inflicted extensive damage on a […]
Institute for Humane Studies Webcast on the Pros and Cons of Law School
The Institute for Humane Studies has an interesting webcast scheduled for tomorrow at 7 PM eastern time on the pros and cons of going to law school, especially for people interested in making a career of pursuing libertarian causes. The speaker will be Trevor Burrus of the Cato Institute. Interested readers can sign up here. […]
Harlan Institute Constitutional Law Opportunities for High School Teachers and Students
The Harlan Institute, run by South Texas College of Law professor and prominent legal blogger Josh Blackman, has all sorts of interesting materials on constitutional law for high school teachers and students. They include a “Fantasy SCOTUS” contest for teams of students. There is a separate sign-up site for teachers. The Institute also has opportunities […]
Does the Supremacy Clause mean that the federal government always wins?
By David Kopel on October 2, 2012 6:05 pm in Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure, Federalism, Habeas, Supreme Court
Last week, I filed an amicus brief on behalf of petitions for certiorari in Chafee v. United States and Pleau v. United States. These related cases could be among the most important federalism cases before the Court this term. The amici are the Cato Institute and the Independence Institute. The State of Rhode Island and […]
Professor Strips Naked in Class, Starts Shouting Abuse at Students
The Detroit News has an account. I can proudly say that I have never done this. The professor was a math professor, possibly unsurprisingly.
Voltonomics
Senator Blutarsky does an extensive analysis of the finances of the Chevy Volt and concludes: THE BOTTOM LINE: even with generous assumptions, the first generation of the Chevrolet Volt will consume about $1 billion in federal tax credits, and STILL result in an economic loss to GM shareholders in excess of $600 million over its […]
Are There Comparisons Between Financial Market High Frequency Algorithmic Trading and Automation of Weapons Systems?
File this under “extremely speculative” (and it also goes on for a while, so be warned). But I’ve been working – mostly with Columbia’s Matthew Waxman – on autonomous weapons systems for a while now, with particular focus on the incremental ways in which weapons platforms gradually increase their levels of automation until, someday, they […]
Ted Frank: The Single-Issue Libertarian Case for Romney
Frank: Justices Kennedy and Scalia are in their late 70s, and both are the critical fifth vote on tremendously important libertarian principles: There are four justices on the Supreme Court ready to hold that the First Amendment does not bar Congress from regulating political speech against incumbents. There are four justices on the Supreme Court […]