I just ran across the Tennessee statute, Tenn Code Ann. § 36-6-404, that provides the factors that courts are to consider in determining physical custody as between two parents. Many states have such lists of factors, but the bold text seems to me to be unique to Tennessee: (b) … The court shall make residential […]
Archive | May, 2013
IRS Attorney to Take the Fifth
Via John Steele at Legal Ethics Forum comes news that Lois Lerner, the Internal Revenue Service official who oversees the tax-exempt office and who first disclosed her office’s targeting of Tea Party groups in response to a planted question at an ABA conference, will invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and refuse to testify […]
“What Will Happen to Us After We Pass Through the Dark Curtain of Death Is the Ultimate Non-Justiciable Question”
From today’s Ferguson v. Secretary (11th Cir. May 21, 2013) (thanks to How Appealing for the pointer). Here’s a longer excerpt: The Supreme Court has decided that a convicted murderer cannot be executed unless he has a rational understanding of the fact that he is going to be put to death and of the reason […]
Dumb footnote, cont’d
So I received a few interesting responses from readers to my post on Justice Scalia’s silly footnote in City of Arlington v. FCC. First, Jacob Gershman over on wsj.com writes: To be fair, though, it’s not exactly obvious what CTIA stands for. Yes, the group was originally called the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. But before […]
Obama Adviser Realizes that the Size of Government Matters After All
In his first Inaugural Address, President Obama famously said that we should not ask “whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works.” I criticized this indifference to the size of government in one of my very first posts of the Obama Presidency. More recently, however, longtime Obama adviser David Axelrod […]
Be Civil, You Lynch Mob Supporters
From James Taranto (thanks to InstaPundit for the pointer): In a CNN.com column Donna Brazile [writes] with a sinister twist: A government of, by, and for the people requires that people talk to people, that we can agree to disagree but do so in civility. If we let the politicians and those who report dictate […]
Leakers, Recipients, and Conspirators
Leaks to reporters — and investigations of the leaks that included subpoenas of reporters’ e-mail logs and searches of reporters’ e-mail — have been in the news; see this post by Orin about the AP story and this post by Conor Friedersdorf (The Atlantic) about the Fox News story. I thought I’d say a few […]
Weak Links in the Supply Chain
I’m testifying today on supply chain vulnerabilities and cybersecurity. The testimony is in a hearing held by the House Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. Here’s my quick diagnosis of the issue: Intrusions on our networks have reached new heights. They have moved from penetration of government and military systems to wholesale compromises of companies, trade […]
A Star Trek Round-Up
Patrick Allen Foster of the Pub Editor blog has an interesting round-up of commentary generated by Matthew Yglesias’ recent Slate article on Star Trek, including my own post on the subject.
A Really Dumb Scalia Footnote
Stuart and Jonathan have both commented on the legal analysis in today’s City of Arlington v. FCC opinion from the Supreme Court, about which I have nothing to say. I want to direct your attention to footnote 1 in Justice Scalia’s opinion for the majority. He has just introduced one of the parties, “CTIA-The Wireless […]
Former Prosecutor (Now Judge) Arrested and Charged for Past Prosecutorial Misconduct
I’m told that such arrests and charges are very rare, so I thought this was noteworthy, from the Austin American-Statesman, April 19, 2013 (thanks to Lawrence Goldman [White Collar Crim Prof Blog] for the pointer): Former Williamson County District Attorney Ken Anderson was arrested … after a specially convened court found that he intentionally hid […]
Puns as Legal Analysis
A comment reminded me of this passage from Justice Stevens’ opinion in County of Allegheny v. ACLU: It is also significant that the final draft [of the Establishment Clause] contains the word “respecting.” Like “touching,” “respecting” means concerning, or with reference to. But it also means with respect — that is, “reverence,” “good will,” “regard” […]
Statutory Rape of 15-Year-Old by 18-Year-Old
The Huffington Post has an article titled, “Kaitlyn Hunt, Florida Teen, Faces Felony Charges Over Same-Sex Relationship”; Opposing Views picks it up as, “Florida Teen Kaitlyn Hunt Arrested, Expelled Over Same-Sex Relationship”; Examiner.com, which is linked to by the Huffington Post piece, has the headline, “Florida teen fights expulsion and criminal charges for same sex […]
Agencies and Legislative/Judicial Power
City of Arlington v. FCC has some interesting nuggets. For instance, Scalia’s majority flatly states: “Make no mistake—the ultimate target here is Chevron itself,” though the dissent disclaims any such intent. But I want to flag here another iteration of debates over how to characterize agencies’ power. Roberts’ dissent says that Although modern administrative agencies fit […]
Supreme Court Holds Chevron Deference Applies to Scope of Agency Jurisdiction
Today, in Arlington v. FCC, the Supreme Court held 6-3 that courts should confer Chevron deference to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutory provisions concerning the scope of agency jurisdiction. Justice Scalia wrote for the majority. Justice Breyer filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment. The Chief Justice dissented, joined by Justices Kennedy and […]