In my co-blogger Randy Barnett’s interesting new article, Who Won the Obamacare Case (And Why Did so Many Law Professors Miss the Boat)?, Randy argues that law professors didn’t predict the relative success of his arguments in the ACA case because they failed to recognize the dynamics of federalism of the Rehnquist Court — which […]
Archive | February, 2013
UN Invokes Absolute Legal Immunity in Haiti Cholera Victim Claims
As Kristen Boon reports over at Opinio Juris, the United Nations yesterday asserted complete legal immunity from any liability or claims arising from the Haiti cholera epidemic, which reportedly was the result of infected UN troops who were part of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. The United Nations benefits from a special treaty, […]
“Constitutionally Speaking”…About The Second Amendment
This morning, I did an hour-long talk show “Constitutionally Speaking” on New Hampshire Public Radio with University of Chicago law profesor Geoffrey Stone. Naturally, the topic was the Second Amendment. The focus of much of the discussion was the meaning of the Amendment, rather than its application to current gun control proposals, but we did […]
OK to Use Lindsay Lohan’s Name in a Song
So holds Lohan v. Perez (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 21, 2013), with regard to Pitbull’s line, So, I’m toptoein’, to keep flowin’, I got it locked up, like Lindsay Lohan. The court reasons — quite correctly, I think — that such references are protected under the First Amendment against a “right of publicity” (i.e., misappropriation of another’s […]
Rehearing En Banc Denied in Case Invalidating Illinois’ Ban on Carrying Loaded Guns in Public
The order in Moore v. Madigan, and a dissent from denial of rehearing en banc, is here; for David Kopel’s earlier coverage of the opinion, see here. The denial of rehearing was by a 5-4 vote (with Judge Kanne not participating). I suspect there’s a good chance that the Court will review the case if […]
Ilya Shapiro: “Like Eastwood Talking to a Chair: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the Obamacare Ruling”
No one was more involved in the challenge to the Affordable Care Act than Ilya Shapiro. Besides myself, I believe he was the only person who attended every court of appeals argument and we often sat together in the court room. Here is the abstract of his new essay on the decision in NFIB v. […]
Huntsman Endorses Gay Marriage
Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman endorses gay marriage in The American Conservative. Here’s a bit of his argument: All Americans should be treated equally by the law, whether they marry in a church, another religious institution, or a town hall. This does not mean that any religious group would be forced by the state to […]
FTC v. Phoebe Putney and the background of the antitrust state-action exemption
I’ve been posting about the FTC v. Phoebe Putney antitrust case (released Tuesday) here, here, and here. Now I’ve written up the opinion and its doctrinal background in a post on the Reason Foundation’s web site. Here’s an excerpt: Supreme Court Antitrust Ruling Supports Public-Private Neutrality, Reduces Barriers to Privatization On February 19, 2013, the […]
Does the Central California Women’s Facility Prison Unconstitutionally Prefer Chaplains of Non-Wiccan Religions?
So claim the plaintiffs in Hartmann v. California Dep’t of Corrections & Rehabilitation (9th Cir. Feb. 19, 2013), and the Ninth Circuit let the case go forward: Plaintiffs allege that the Policy violates the Establishment Clause because it “favor[s] some religions over others on a preferential basis.” They further assert that defendants do not apply […]
Ohio Court Strikes Down Ban on “Lur[ing]” Under-14-Year-Olds to Accompany Person Without Parent’s Permission
From State v. [John D.] Goode (Ohio Ct. App. Feb. 20, 2013): Mr. Goode was convicted of violating R.C. 2905.05(A), which provides, No person, by any means and without privilege to do so, shall knowingly solicit, coax, entice, or lure any child under fourteen years of age to accompany the person in any manner, including […]
Katyal on Executive Oversight for Drones
Former acting solicitor general Neal Katyal writes in today’s NYT in favor of an executive branch court to oversee the use of drones to combat terrorism. His op-ed begins: In the wake of revelations about the Obama administration’s drone program, politicians from both parties have taken up the idea of creating a “drone court” within the […]
The Torture of Solitary Confinement
George Will’s latest column suggests that the use of solitary confinement in American prisons is tantamount to torture, particularly when used for extended periods of time. Isolation changes the way the brain works, often making individuals moreimpulsive, less able to control themselves. The mental pain of solitary confinement is crippling: Brain studies reveal durable impairments and abnormalities in […]
Harvard Law Review Expands Affirmative Action Program to Include Gender
The Harvard Crimson reports: The Harvard Law Review, which has historically been staffed by disproportionately more men than women, has expanded its affirmative action policy to include gender as a criteria in its editor selection process. Following a year in which just 20.5 percent of its elected editors were female, the Law Review will consider […]
Immigration Stories Event in Lexington, MA
For readers who may be interested, my father, Yefim Somin, will be speaking on his experience of immigration from the Soviet Union to the United States at Cary Memorial Library in Lexington, MA on February 28 at 7 PM. His talk will be part of a panel on the experiences of immigrants who have settled […]
What (Legally) Happens to Our Social Media Accounts When We Die?
Not all legal scholarship is irrelevant twaddle; some of it addresses emerging legal questions that will indeed require answers in the real world. This student Comment, “What Happens to Our Facebook Accounts When We Die?: Probate Versus Policy and the Fate of Social-Media Assets Postmortem,” by Kristina Sherry, appears in the December 2012 Pepperdine Law Review […]