Although President Obama has asked Congress to authorize the use of military force against Syria, he and other administration officials continue to insist that he has the power to order a strike even if Congress refuses his request. In my view, anything more than an extremely limited operation requires congressional authorization under the Constitution. But […]
Archive | September, 2013
FTC Commissioner Josh Wright on DC Taxicab Commission Efforts to Block Uber
Confronted with consumer and tech-friendly innovations such as Uber, traditional taxicab companies have responded by the challenge of making their services less expensive and their taxis more pleasant in order to meet this new competition. Just kidding. Of course, they have responded not by meeting competition, but by trying to use the regulatory process to […]
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor on Political Ignorance
By Ilya Somin on September 6, 2013 8:09 pm in Democracy, Democracy and Political Ignorance, Education, Political Ignorance, Voting With Your Feet
Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor recently gave a speech lamenting widespread political ignorance in the United States: Two-thirds of Americans cannot name a single Supreme Court justice, former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor told the crowd that packed into a Boise State ballroom to hear her Thursday. About one-third can name the three branches […]
No Right to Victorious Defense Counsel
From State v. Cahill (Ohio Ct. App. Aug. 30, 2013): For all of Cahill’s protestations to the contrary, this was an open-and-shut case, competently presented by the prosecutor. The finest criminal defense lawyer in the land cannot work a miracle. Cahill was not constitutionally entitled to a victorious defense counsel, he was merely entitled to […]
Fifth Circuit Rejects Canadian Libel Judgment Against Blogger
By Eugene Volokh on September 6, 2013 2:53 pm in Defamation, Foreign and Religious Law in American Courts, Freedom of Speech
The case is Trout Point Lodge, Ltd. v. Handshoe (5th Cir. Sept. 5, 2013), and it applies the SPEECH Act, a federal statute that, among other things, provides: Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal or State law, a domestic court shall not recognize or enforce a foreign judgment for defamation unless the domestic court determines […]
Unprecedented Book Tour
Unprecedented will be officially released on Tuesday, September 10. I will be giving a number of talks about the book, followed by book signings in the New York area and Washington. If you are in the area, I hope to see you there. 9/9/13 at 12:00 p.m – Columbia Law School Federalist Society Chapter, with commentary by Professor David Pozen (Jerome […]
The U.N. Weighing in on the Zimmerman/Martin Investigation
According to a United Nations press release, A group of United Nations independent experts today called on the Government of the United State to finalize the ongoing review of the case involving the death of teenager Trayvon Martin, an African-American teenager who was shot in 2012 by a neighbourhood watchman in the state of Florida. […]
Does the Constitution Embody a Vision Hostile to a Leading Law Professor Blog?
From R.I. Chapter, Assoc. Gen. Contractors v. Kreps, 450 F. Supp. 338 (D.R.I. 1978) The First Amendment … embodies an analogous vision: a diverse country free of balkinization …. And from Dickerson v. Bailey, 336 F.3d 388 (5th Cir. 2003): The [Supreme] Court explained further in Bacchus that … [“]It is also beyond a doubt […]
Francis Lieber (1839) on Interpretation
An interesting and influential passage, most recently quoted by Judge Posner in United States v. Phillips (7th Cir. Sept. 4, 2013), but long discussed in the legal interpretation literature (some paragraph breaks added): Let us take an instance of the simplest kind, to show in what degree we are continually obliged to resort to interpretation. […]
Missouri Considering Ban on Publishing Names of Gun Owners or Concealed Carry Permit Holders
Here’s one part of a Missouri bill that passed both houses of the legislature, that was vetoed by the Governor, and that is now up for a veto override vote: 1. [It shall be a misdemeanor for a] person or entity [to] publish the name, address, or other identifying information of any individual who owns […]
Could Global Warming Reduce the Threat Posed by Atlantic Hurricanes?
National Geographic reports on a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that suggests that climatic warming could actually reduce the likelihood that hurricanes make landfall along the Atlantic Coast. Here’s the abstract: Superstorm Sandy ravaged the eastern seaboard of the United States, costing a great number of lives and billions of dollars in […]
How a “Free” Program Could Cost Over $500 Million
The National Law Journal has an interesting report on the rising costs of the federal “Rails-to-Trails” program. What seemed like a neat way to create hiking and biking trails has spawned substantial amounts of litigation by landowners who assert the federal government cannot convert abandoned railroad easements to other uses without paying compensation. According to the […]
Coase on Contemporary Economics
One of Ronald Coase’s last essays was a short co-authored piece in the Harvard Business Review lamenting the current state of academic economics. Here’s a snippet: In the 20th century, economics consolidated as a profession; economists could afford to write exclusively for one another. At the same time, the field experienced a paradigm shift, gradually […]
Coase and UVA
The Charlottesville Hook has an article suggesting Ronald Coase and James Buchanan were both pushed out of the University of Virginia due to ideological objections to their work. (HT: Michelle Meyer) If true, UVA got its just deserts, as both were awarded Nobel Prizes in Economics after their respective departures. More here.
Former Solicitor General Seth Waxman to Participate in Elevator Repair Service Theater Benefit
By Nick Rosenkranz on September 5, 2013 12:26 am in Constitutional Law, First Amendment, Freedom of Speech
Last week, I posted about the excellent avant-garde theatre company Elevator Repair Service and the upcoming world-premiere of their new show, Arguendo, at the Public Theater in New York City. Arguendo is a dramatization of the oral argument of Barnes v. Glen Theatre, an important Supreme Court case about nude dancing and the First Amendment. […]