Two men were sentenced to death in Pakistan for “claim[ing] that they had seen God” and “invit[ing] other people to join them in their union with God through Chaman Sarkar” (apparently a local religious leader), The Express Tribune (affiliated with the International New York Times) reported Sunday. Thanks to Religion Clause for the pointer.
Archive | December, 2013
Drinking the Kool-Aid
Today’s Abidor v. Napolitano (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 31, 2013), which deals with border searches of electronic equipment, includes the following passage: Plaintiffs try to bolster their claim for standing in several ways. The NACDL [National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers] alleges that its members routinely travel abroad to “collaborate with foreign colleagues and/or as part of […]
New York 7-Round Limit Struck Down on Second Amendment Grounds, Assault Weapons Ban and >10-Round Magazine Ban Upheld
The decision, by a federal trial court, is today’s N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n v. Cuomo (W.D.N.Y. Dec. 31, 2013). The court’s conclusion: [T]his Court finds that the challenged provisions of the SAFE Act — including the Act’s definition and regulation of assault weapons and its ban on large-capacity magazines — further the state’s […]
The Privies Get Results — Judge Bybee Tries to Avoid Award for “Dumbest Privacy Case”
I’m shocked to discover that the august Ninth Circuit has been tampering with the balloting for the Privies, perhaps hoping to save its own Judge Bybee from winning the award for “Dumbest Privacy Case” of 2014. The nomination was for a decision that exposed Google to liabilty for gathering wi-fi signals while driving by on […]
Justice Blackmun’s File on Smith v. Maryland
Smith v. Maryland and the third-party doctrine have been much in the news recently thanks to the dueling Leon/Pauley NSA opinions. In light of that, law prof Kyle Graham has posted Smith-related materials from Justice Blackmun’s papers at the Library of Congress. You can read them here. The documents include conference notes, the cert pool […]
Last Chance to Vote for the 2014 Privies — Plus Sebelius v. Reding for Privacy Hypocrite of the Year
Voting for the 2014 Privy Awards for Dubious Achievement in Privacy Law will close at noon EST tomorrow, January 1, 2014. You can read the nominations here, and cast your vote here. There are still some tight races, whether in voting by the public or by privacy professionals. But there are differences between the two […]
Christian Burset on William Baude on Federal Eminent Domain
Last year I published an article in the Yale Law Journal arguing that the Constitution did not give the federal government the power of eminent domain. The Necessary Proper Clause was originally understood not to implicitly grant “great” powers to the federal government, and I argue that eminent domain (at least over land) was best […]
Confusing Cause and Effect for the Law School Bubble
Steven J. Harper has an essay on the popping of the law school bubble. The lawyer bubble began to form when vital institutions—law schools and the American Bar Association—abdicated their responsibilities in favor of misguided metrics and insularity. Law-school deans are supposed to be the profession’s gatekeepers, but far too many have ceded independent judgment in […]
Eric Posner’s New Blog
Former VC blogger Eric Posner has started a new blog, at EricPosner.com. Eric’s writing is always provocative and sharp, so be sure to visit.
Christmas Reading Report
Quick reactions to a couple of books I had a chance to read over the Christmas break. I can recommend Company Man by John Rizzo. Rizzo was one of the first lawyers at the CIA, and he recounts a thirty year career there with grace and a remarkable absence of rancor, even though he was denied […]
Privy Peek: Worst Use of Privacy Law to Serve Power — China or the Obama Administration?
Voting for the 2014 Dubious Achievements in Privacy Law is almost done, and the race is heating up. Who used privacy law most egregiously to serve power and privilege? There are plenty of candidates, but the leaders this year are two: On the one hand, the Chinese government, which adopted a privacy law and promptly […]
The Benefits of State Polarization
By Ilya Somin on December 30, 2013 1:50 pm in Democracy and Political Ignorance, Federalism, Political Ignorance
Many commentators decry the increasing polarization between “red states” and “blue states.” This recent Washington Post article summarizes some of the standard criticisms. But as my George Mason colleague Michael Greve explains, state polarization also has some valuable benefits: Polarization (whether measured by single-party control over states, policy outcomes, or whatever) has its downsides. Single-part […]
Upcoming Heritage Foundation Event on Our Book A Conspiracy Against Obamacare
By Ilya Somin on December 30, 2013 11:20 am in Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Uncategorized
On January 7, co-bloggers Randy Barnett, Orin Kerr, and I will be speaking at an upcoming event at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC on our recently published book A Conspiracy Against Obamacare: The Volokh Conspiracy and the Health Care Case, which details ours and the VC’s role in developing the arguments in the Supreme […]
Politifact’s “Lie of the Year” – Part Deux
Avik Roy writes on how Politifact’s assessment of the “if you like your plan, you can keep it” promise went from 100% true to half-true to a “pants on fire” lie to the “lie of the year.” The column is fairly devastating by itself, but then Politifact’s Angie Holan, who authored some of the relevant […]
It’s An Exciting Time for Fourth Amendment Geeks
Lawprof Miriam Baer reflects on that subject here. And Miriam doesn’t get into the remedies side of the picture: The fact that all this uncertainty is happening right when the remedies for Fourth Amendment violations are also very much in flux makes it all the more interesting.