The effects of federal recognition of same-sex marriages across the full spectrum of federal benefits, including for those domiciled in states that ban the recognition of their marriages for state purposes, are bubbling up on an almost daily basis. According to the Dallas Voice, the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) has denied an in-state tuition […]
Archive | September, 2013
Understanding Today’s Ruling About New Jersey Civil Unions
A New Jersey trial court just invalidated New Jersey’s current civil union regime, holding that the state is required to let same-sex couples marry, not just get civil unions. I’ve blogged about this issue before, but let me quickly summarize the situation: Both sides of the litigation agree that same-sex couples are entitled to access […]
Judge Weinstein’s Reply to the Second Circuit
It looks like Judge Jack Weinstein is releasing child pornography opinions almost as fast as we can blog about them. Orin has already posted about the Second Circuit reversing the sentence in United States v. Reingold yesterday. Later that same day, Judge Weinstein issued a nine-page opinion decrying the injustice of the decision — citing […]
Government Shutdowns Past
I have no idea whether there will be a government shutdown next week. If there is, it won’t be the first, or even the second. As detailed by WonkBlog, there have been seventeen federal government shutdowns since 1976. And, contra Chris Matthews’s recollection, there were seven when Ronald Reagan was President and Tip O’Neill was […]
Dignity of Recognition and Federalism
Yesterday I discussed my recent essay The Trouble with Dignity and Rights of Recognition. I want to explain further why I believe the Court’s decision ultimately does not rest on a federalism rationale, in part addressing Professor Ernest Young’s thoughtful response to my essay. The Court’s right of recognition is linked to the substantive right […]
A Notable Correction
From Wired‘s recent article on Dropbox: Correction appended [2:37 P.M. PST/9/17]: A previous version of this story incorrectly quoted Dropbox cofounder Drew Houston saying “anybody with nipples” instead of “anybody with a pulse.” Thanks to GeekPress for the pointer, and to Judge Ito for having a wet nose — no, wait ….
DOMA and Dignity
By Dale Carpenter on September 26, 2013 9:43 pm in Beyond DOMA, Federalism, Fifth Amendment, Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Marriage, Sexual Orientation
Why is the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional? Here are two propositions that United States v. Windsor might be thought to stand for: (1) The federal government’s decision not to recognize state-sanctioned marriages of same-sex couples was an unconstitutional intrusion on federalism (a structural claim); or (2) The federal government’s decision not to recognize state-sanctioned marriages of same-sex […]
Off-GPA-Balance-Sheet: Splitting the Higher Education Tension Between Education and Credential Through Online Education
By Kenneth Anderson on September 26, 2013 8:48 pm in Academia, Education, Higher Education, Online Education
The New York Times has a useful article today on MOOCs – Massive Open Online Courses. Reporter Alan Finder points out that online education has been around in one form or another for a decade. What’s different today is the rise of the MOOCs; the article walks through the three leading MOOC providers – EdX, […]
As Expected, Second Circuit Reverses Judge Weinstein in Child Porn Case
Back in 2011, I had a post titled “Second Circuit Clerks, Get Ready: Judge Weinstein’s New Opus Concluding Mandatory Minimum For Child Porn Distribution is Unconstitutional (At Least for Younger Defendants).” My post began: There are a lot of debates about “judicial activism” in which some question whether the term has real meaning. Fortunately, there […]
DC Court of Appeals Strikes Down Law Making It a Felony to Be Present in a Car When There is a Gun in the Car
The very interesting decision is Conley v. United States, authored by Judge Glickman with a concurring opinion by Judge Thompson.
Curious Cases at the Supreme Court
That’s the title of my magazine-length article for the Phi Kappa Phi Forum. It begins: Every first-year law student learns that the United States Supreme Court only presides over real “cases” and “controversies,” according to the Constitution in Article III, Section 2. No matter how pressing the concern, the Supreme Court must wait for a […]
New Talent for October Oral Arguments
The Supreme Court’s 2013 October Term begins in a few weeks, and while the hearing list has not yet been released, the arguments are shaping up to be interesting. — Erin Murphy, my immensely talented co-clerk and “protege of former Solicitor General Paul Clement” will be arguing McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, an interesting challenge […]
Amicus Brief in D.C. Tour Guide Testing Case
I’m delighted to report that the new UCLA First Amendment Amicus Brief Clinic has filed its first brief, on behalf of the Cato Institute, in Edwards v. D.C. (D.C. Cir.). My students Charles Linehan, Jun Shimizu, and Scott Sia worked on the brief, and my coblogger Erik Jaffe was kind enough to serve as Counsel […]
Ted Cruz Derangement Syndrome
So apparently liberals don’t like Ted Cruz (nor do establishment Republicans either from what I read). But I think one of the more amusing things I’ve read so far is this one by Josh Marshall, who admits that he doesn’t really remember Ted but his wife does and–here’s his big news hook–all of Josh Marshall’s […]
Windsor and the Problem with Rights of Recognition
Commentators on Windsor v. United States, in which the Supreme Court invalidated Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, have puzzled about whether the Court’s opinion relies on a federalism rationale or instead some broader rationale about rights for same-sex couples. In The Trouble with Dignity and Rights of Recognition, recently published in the […]