That’s H.F. No. 826, which requires schools — including private schools that get any “public funds or other public resources” — to ban, among other things, “bullying” at school, defined as use of one or a series of words, images, or actions, transmitted directly or indirectly between individuals or through technology, that a reasonable person […]
Archive | March, 2013
No, Arabs Living Under Israeli Control are Not Going to Outnumber Jews Any Time Soon
I often see lines like this in articles about Israel, this one from the AP: “… with Arabs living under Israeli control expected to outnumber Jews in the coming years.” Let’s do the numbers. There are approximately 6.4 million Jews (including “Jews” who are not recognized by the Israeli Interior ministry as such because they […]
A New Civility Standard
Prof. Brian Leiter is apparently grossly offended that an attorney sent him an email stating “You’re a ‘Law and ______’ Professor, not a lawyer. How would you know how to ‘think like a lawyer’?” Leiter not only sent his correspondent a pointed lengthy response criticizing his “impertinent,” “juvenile,” and “insolent” email, but added at the […]
US Surveillance Drones Aid French Airstrikes in Mali
By Kenneth Anderson on March 4, 2013 1:01 pm in National Security, Robotics, Science Fiction/Fantasy, War and Armed Conflict
The Wall Street Journal national security reporting team has a new article in today’s Journal on how US surveillance drones are providing intelligence and targeting information to French forces in Mali, which then use the information to direct French (manned) airstrikes. The drone surveillance marks, according to the article, a widened role for the US […]
Public Opinion and the California Gay Marriage Case
In a recent post, co-blogger Orin Kerr cites a poll showing that 61% of Californians now support gay marriage, and considers the implications of this result for the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on the constitutionality of California’s ban on gay marriage. He predicts that: If last year’s debate over the popularity of the Affordable Care […]
Hackback Debates — The Rematch
Last fall, Orin Kerr and I engaged in an online debate over the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act — specifically whether it is lawful for the victim of computer crime to follow his stolen data into networks controlled by the thief. The debate spread across several posts and into the comments, but it’s been pulled […]
New Poll: Californians Favor Allowing Same-Sex Marriage By 2-1 Margin
According to a new Field Poll, registered voters in California now favor allowing same-sex marriage by a very wide margin — about 2-1, with 61% favoring SSM and 32% opposing it (+/- 3.5%). The report also indicates that Prop 8 was enacted somewhere near the time of the break point when more registered voters favored […]
That Troublesome First Amendment, Michigan Edition
On January 18, 2013, the Circuit Court in Wayne County preliminarily approved a settlement in a class action charging that McDonald’s had sold non-“halal” Chicken Mcnuggets that had been advertised as “halal.” A local activist named Majed Moughni was unhappy with the settlement terms (which required McDonalds to pay some money to two local Dearborn […]
The Supreme Court’s Options in the California Same-Sex Marriage Case
By Ilya Somin on March 1, 2013 4:19 pm in Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Orientation
Georgetown law Professor Marty Lederman has a very helpful post outlining the Supreme Court’s options in the case challenging the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in the state: [T]hese are the five options offered to the Court: (i) The Court could uphold the constitutionality of Proposition 8 — that is, hold […]
A Federalism-Based Equal Protection Argument Against DOMA
By Dale Carpenter on March 1, 2013 2:43 pm in Constitutional Law, Equal Protection, Federalism, Same-Sex Marriage, Supreme Court
Over the past few days, the Court has been treated to an avalanche of briefs submitted by law professors, professional associations, prominent Republicans, and even football players arguing that California’s Proposition 8 and Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act are unconstitutional. Today I’m proud to join three of my co-Conspirators — Jonathan Adler, Randy […]
In Other Pirate News
By Eugene Kontorovich on March 1, 2013 1:33 pm in International Law, National Security, War and Armed Conflict, War on Terror
A group of armed men attack a U.S. warship on the high seas. Piracy under international law? Yesterday, the U.S. District Court in Richmond convicted a group of Somalis for an attack on the U.S.S. Ashland (such incidents are not uncommon). Boy these guys were dumb – what were they thinking? Of course, if Judge […]
D.C. Circuit Rejects Challenges to Polar Bear Listing
This morning the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit handed down a unanimous opinion rejecting both industry and environmentalist group challenges to the Fish & Wildlife Service’s decision to list the polar as a “threatened” species. Environmentalist groups argued the FWS should have listed the polar bear as “endangered. Industry groups and their […]
Edith Ramirez Named New FTC Chair
Sitting FTC Commissioner Edith Ramirez has been named the Chair of the FTC. For those who are not aware of the FTC’s operating structure, one must be Senate confirmed to a seat as a Commissioner but the President simply designates the Chair with no Senate confirmation. So for a sitting Commissioner no further confirmation vote […]
Volokh v. Ukraine
It turns out there’s a 2006 case from the European Court of Human Rights called Volokh v. Ukraine. (It’s labeled Volokhy v. Ukraine in the linked document, but that’s just the Ukrainian plural of Volokh, so it’s like Volokhs v. Ukraine — cf. our own Cohens v. Virginia — and usual American citation practices would […]