Scotland is considering a new law that would grant official recognition to wedding ceremonies performed by practitioners of the new “Jedi” religion: The Force is strong with the Jedi in Scotland. A bill under consideration in Scotland would grant those who have literally made “Star Wars” a religion the power to perform marriage ceremonies. The […]
Archive | March, 2013
Kudos to Obama
His speech today in Israel was fantastic. Discuss in the comments.
McConnell on the Same-Sex Marriage Cases
By Jonathan H. Adler on March 21, 2013 10:40 pm in DOMA, Federalism, Same-Sex Marriage, Supreme Court
In Friday’s WSJ, Stanford law professor Michael McConnell, a former judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, argues that the Supreme Court should hold that Proposition 8 supporters lack standing to defend the ballot initiative in federal court and that the federal government lacks the power to define marriage. the court need […]
On Conservatives & Environmental Protection
Earlier this week I was interviewed by Brad Plumer of the Washington Post‘s Wonkblog about my ideas for “conservative” approaches to environmental protection (and my recent paper on the subject). The resulting article is here.
Louisiana Trial Court Strikes Down Louisiana Felon-in-Possession Ban, as Violating Newly Strengthen Louisiana Right to Bear Arms Provision
In November 2012, Louisiana voters strengthened the Louisiana Constitution’s right to bear arms provision, to read The right of each citizen to keep and bear arms is fundamental and shall not be infringed. Any restriction on this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny. Today, Louisiana Judge Darryl A. Derbigny, in State v. Draughter (La. […]
United States v. Auernheimer, and Why I Am Representing Auernheimer Pro Bono on Appeal Before the Third Circuit
On Monday, Andrew Auernheimer was sentenced to serve 41 months in prison for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Auernheimer’s case has received a lot of press attention, and I think that attention is merited: I think the case against Auernheimer is deeply flawed, and that the principles the case raises are critically important […]
“For Lawyers, Joining the Supreme Court Bar is a Vanity Trip”
The Associated Press has this story on what it means for lawyers to join the U.S. Supreme Court bar. As the article suggests, being a member of the Supreme Court bar doesn’t mean much. Pretty much any lawyer who pays the $200 is admitted, at least if they have been in good standing in a […]
Ban on Saying “Bingo” for Six Months?
The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that Austin Whaley was found guilty of disorderly conduct for going into a bingo hall and shouting “bingo” as a hoax. “This caused the hall to quit operating since they thought someone had won,” a police officer who was moonlighting as a security guard at the bingo hall at the time. […]
That’s a Pretty High Bar
The New Hampshire Constitution, I just learned, provides: It is the right of every citizen to be tried by judges as impartial as the lot of humanity will admit. It is therefore not only the best policy, but for the security of the rights of the people, that the judges of the supreme judicial court […]
Unconstitutional Prior Restraint Against Lifetime Movie About Murderer Christopher Porco
Tuesday, a New York trial judge temporarily restrained the Saturday Lifetime broadcast of a movie about murderer Christopher Porco; the judge accepted the plaintiff’s allegation that the movie was likely “fictionalized” and therefore likely constitutionally unprotected. But preliminary injunctions against alleged libel violate the First Amendment, because they are “prior restraints” — restraints on speech […]
The Supreme Court’s Small (But Helpful) Step Towards Copyright Sanity
The Court’s opinion in the Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley case, which came out on Tuesday, has some interesting fodder for those looking for glimpses of how copyright law is evolving these days. The case centered on a hyper-technical question involving three interlocking statutory sections in the Copyright Act (I blogged about it in some detail […]
Fourth Circuit Upholds Maryland Restrictive Licensing System for Gun Carrying
The case is Woollard v. Gallagher (4th Cir. Mar. 21, 2013). UPDATE: The court claims that it’s not deciding whether the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in self-defense extends to carrying a gun outside the home. Rather, the court concludes that, even if such a right exists, Maryland’s licensing scheme — which […]
DOMA: “Conservative Principles, Properly Understood”
In his column for today, George Will backs the federalism-based equal protection argument against Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act that Ernie Young and Lynn Baker, along with co-Conspirators Randy, Jonathan, Ilya, and I made in an amicus brief filed in United States v. Windsor.: Conservatives who supported DOMA should, after 17 years’ […]
What a Recent Labor-Relations Decision Teaches Us About the Meaning of “Public” and “Private”
My new post is up on the Reason Foundation web site. (Earlier, I had posted there on the Supreme Court’s antitrust decision in FTC v. Phoebe Putney.) Here’s the beginning: In June 2010, the Chicago Alliance of Charter Teachers & Staff filed a petition to be certified as the exclusive bargaining representative of teachers at […]
How’s that “law of cyberwar” thing working out for you?
Can cyberwar be limited by international law and diplomacy? Those who believe in international “norms” for cyberwar usually argue that cyberattacks on financial institutions are beyond the pale. For example, Harold Koh has declared the State Department’s view that cyberwarriors “must distinguish military objectives … from civilian objects, which under international law are generally protected from […]