The lower courts are divided on whether the Fourth Amendment permits the police to search a cell phone discovered on a person incident to arrest without first obtaining a warrant. I have a very short essay (5 pages) on this issue that is the Foreword for a forthcoming symposium on law and technology appearing in […]
Archive | March, 2013
Prizes to Change the World
Andy Kessler argues that the greater use of technology-inducement prizes could reap dramatic social benefits — far greater benefits that the sorts of prizes given out to recognize past achievement. On the recently awarded Breakthrough Prizes in Life Sciences. This type of prize is commendable, its generosity admirable. But it prompts a question: Will such […]
A Real Life Prison Break for Ugly Gorilla?
I’ve never thought there was much romance in cracking the networks of American companies and agencies, but a recent LA Times article underlines just how dreary it can be. The piece is based on a blog diary kept by Wang Dong, identified in recent reports as the notorious Ugly Gorilla, whose code has been found in […]
Since We’re Talking About Ideological Diversity in the Academy….
I had a relatively recent conversation about this with a very prominent member of the Yale Law School faculty. I mentioned that in my lifetime I don’t think that Yale has ever hired a “right of center” constitutional law scholar. (Note: not my career, my lifetime; please note that Bork was hired before my lifetime […]
Conservatives in the Academy
In light of my post on Steven Hayward’s appointment at the University of Colorado, I thought it might be worthwhile re-posting some earlier thoughts on the general subject. Here are some thoughts from a post of mine from 2003, prompted by this David Brooks column. “LONELY CAMPUS VOICES”: Today’s David Brooks column struck a chord. […]
Sex, Drugs, Alcohol, Gambling, and Guns: The Synergistic Constitutional Effects
By David Kopel on March 16, 2013 4:21 pm in Asset Forfeiture, Constitutional History, Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Federalism, Guns, Supreme Court, Symposia, Tenth Amendment, War on Drugs
That’s the title of a new article by Trevor Burrus (Cato) and me, forthcoming in a symposium issue on drug policy, from the Albany Government Law Review. The symposium title is “Overdose: The Failure of the US Drug War and Attempts at Legalization.” Here is an excerpt from the introduction: In this Article we discuss the synergistic […]
Conservative Studies at the University of Colorado
Last week, the University of Colorado announced that Steven Hayward has accepted a one-year appointment as the university’s first “Visiting scholar in Conservative Though and Policy.” Hayward, who holds a Ph.D. in American Studies from Claremont Graduate School is the author of several books, including volumes on Reagan and Churchill, and has held positions at the […]
Americans’ (Relative) Sympathy for Israel at a 22-Year High
Times of Israel: Americans’ sympathy for Israel is at a 22-year high, according to Gallup figures released on Friday, just five days ahead of Barack Obama’s first visit to Israel as president. In figures gleaned from the polling organization’s early February World Affairs poll, 64 percent of Americans say their sympathies “in the Middle East […]
Let’s Play Spot the Fallacies
From a review in the most recent issue of Reviews in American History: Like most conservatives, Shlaes assumes a perfectly competitive marketplace in which the government can only make an unwarranted and counterproductive intrusion. This perspective leads Shlaes to discount the role of jobs programs such as the CCC and the WPA that contributed to […]
More on the Politics of the Scrolls
I earlier noted the White House’s description of the Dead Sea Scrolls as coming from “Israel.” It turns out that this contradicts the official Palestinian position, which is that the Scrolls are looted Palestinian artifacts. The PA made a kerfuffle when the scrolls were exhibited at a Canadian museum a few years ago: The P.A. […]
C.G.P. Grey
My two boys (ages 8 and 9) and I have been watching and much enjoying C.G.P. Grey’s YouTube videos. They’re educational but short, fast-paced, and funny (with lots of engaging visual humor, and none of the talking head quality that many educational YouTube videos suffer from). Is Pluto a Planet? is a good example; I […]
Trevor Paglen Drone Photographs
If you’re interested in drones, you might also enjoy Trevor Paglen’s photographs of them. Paglen is a fascinating artist who has a particular interest in photographing secret things — drones, military installations, spy satellites. Here is Paglen’s webpage, and here is a recent New Yorker profile of him. If the Conspiracy had an official artist, […]
New York’s Highest Court Agrees to Hear the Golb (Dead Sea Scrolls) E-Mail Impersonation Case
I blogged in January about the intermediate appellate court decision, which upheld Rafael Golb’s conviction for impersonating others in e-mails; I have now learned that on March 11, New York’s highest court agreed to hear the case (though that decision might not have become known until March 14). This also adds another perspective on the […]
Cavete Idus Martias
Soothsayer. Caesar! CAESAR. Ha! who calls? CASCA. Bid every noise be still: peace yet again! CAESAR. Who is it in the press that calls on me? I hear a tongue, shriller than all the music, Cry ‘Caesar!’ Speak; Caesar is turn’d to hear. Soothsayer. Beware the ides of March. CAESAR. What man is that? BRUTUS. […]
CIA Loses Drone Strike FOIA Appeal
By Jonathan H. Adler on March 15, 2013 12:46 pm in Counter-Terrorism Policy, Government Transparency, Targeted Killing, War on Terror
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sued the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) seeking information about drone strikes. The CIA filed a so-called “Glomar response,” refusing to confirm or deny the existence of material responsive to the ACLU’s request. The ACLU then sued, and the district court granted summary […]