The Associated Press recently ran a long story about Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who disappeared while in Iran. Levinson later showed up in Internet photos suggesting he was a hostage. The AP story made clear that the former agent had a long relationship with the CIA and was likely working on a CIA […]
Archive | December, 2013
Why the Utah Law Criminalizing Polygamy Is Unconstitutional
By Eugene Volokh on December 16, 2013 12:35 pm in Freedom of Speech, Religious Freedom, Same-Sex Marriage
I’m no fan of the Utah federal court’s opinion striking down the Utah law criminalizing polygamy. But I do think that the law, at least as currently interpreted by Utah officials, is indeed unconstitutional. Here’s a brief sketch of my thinking. 1. The relevant statute states, A person is guilty of bigamy when, knowing he […]
Brown v. Buhman and Bestiality
By Eugene Kontorovich on December 16, 2013 4:16 am in Constitutional Law, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom, Sexual Conduct Restrictions, Sexual Orientation
The Utah polygamy-rights decision is truly a courageous civil rights ruling. Most sexual liberties decisions going all the way back to Griswold v. Connecticut come at a time when the relevant practices have won very broad acceptance, especially among the educated elites. Not so with polygamy, which is quite far from the lives of the […]
The Privies — Time to Vote
The 2014 Privies — It’s Time to Vote! Today we’re publishing the third set of nominees for our Dubious Achievements in Privacy Law awards. And at last it’s time for the public to be heard. Voting is now open, to privacy professionals and to members of the public. The votes of privacy professionals will determine […]
The Recess Appointments clause: Amicus brief on original meaning based on State practices
By David Kopel on December 15, 2013 7:19 pm in Constitutional History, Constitutional Law, Originalism, Presidency
As VC readers know, an all-star cast of constitutional legal scholars, including three Volokhians, submitted an amicus brief in NLRB v. Noel Canning. Blog posts about that brief are here (pro forma sessions), here (“recess” and “session”) and here (“happen”). That brief focuses mainly on the text of the Constitution and interpretive practice, especially early […]
The Privies — Category Three — Dumbest Privacy Case of the Year
The 2014 Privies — Category Three Dumbest Privacy Case of the Year a. Boston Police Department (Commissioner William Evans) Record Your Talk with Boston Police, Face Felony Wiretap Charges When Taylor Harding called the Boston Police Department’s press spokesman about his case, he recorded the call and posted it to YouTube. At which point […]
Is France Trying to Game the Privies?
Why else would the New York Times report today that France is expanding its legal mandate for intelligence surveillance [caution, paywall, more here]– all on the eve of voting for the Privies? Francois Hollande is already in the running for Privacy Hypocrite of the Year for criticizing U.S. surveillance while France is doing much the same thing. […]
How Broader Acceptance of Universal Jurisdiction Makes it Look Worse
By Eugene Kontorovich on December 15, 2013 9:03 am in Alien Tort Statute, Federal Jurisdiction, International Law
At JustSecurity, Ryan Goodman challenges the methodology of Amnesty International’s updated report of universal jurisdiction, which finds the vast majority of nations implement UJ in their legislation. Prof. Goodman argues Amnesty over-counts (see Kevin Jon Heller’s dissent). Yet even if Amnesty’s numbers are accurate, they may actually paint a dismal picture of UJ. The broader […]
Verse for Sunday
Treason doth never prosper, what’s the reason? For if it prosper, none dare call it Treason. –Sir John Harington, Epigrams (1603).
Study Linking GMOs to Tumors in Rats Retracted
In September 2012, Food & Chemical Toxicology published a peer-reviewed study purporting to show that rats fed genetically modified corn had a higher incidence of tumors than those that were not. This was significant, as this study was the first to find evidence of an adverse health effect in any mammal species from the consumption of GM […]
Is Refusing to Provide Commercial Services for a Circumcision Discrimination against Jews?
Here’s the hypothetical: Shlomo Cohen has been blessed with a son, but he lives in San Francisco, where there is a vocal anti-circumcision movement. He emails his neighbor, a photographer, and asks him if he would photograph his son’s bris. The photographer responds, “Shlomo, no offense, but I think circumcision amounts to genital mutilation, and […]
Frivolous Ethics Complaint Against Judge Sykes Dismissed
Last month, Rep. Louise Slaughter, Common Cause, and the Alliance for Justice filed an ethics complaint against Judge Diane Sykes of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit claiming that she had violated the Code of Conduct for federal judges by speaking at the annual dinner of the Federalist Society. A similar complaint, […]
Politifact’s “Lie of the Year”
“If you like your plan, you can keep your plan” is Politifact’s 2013 “Lie of the Year.” That’s interesting, especially because Politifact previously rated this promise as “true” (when made during the 2008 campaign) and “half-true” (when made in 2009), and claimed challenges to this pledge in 2012 were “false” (here and here). Now, of […]
Brown v. Buhman isn’t so complicated
By David Kopel on December 14, 2013 4:35 am in Criminal Law, Fourteenth Amendment, Gay Rights, Privacy, Religion and the Law, Religious Freedom, Sexual Conduct Restrictions, Sexual Orientation, Supreme Court, Television
To me, today’s decision of the United States District Court for the District of Utah in Brown v. Buhman is much clearer and carefully-reasoned that Orin finds it to be. There may be plenty of blogging on the case, and Eugene’s analysis next week, after he’s had a chance to analyze it, will provide the perspective […]
The Reasoning of the Utah Opinion Partially Striking Down and Rewriting the State’s Bigamy Law
In his post below, Eugene notes the new decision in Brown v. Buhman, involving Utah’s bigamy law. In the case, a group that considers polygamy a core part of its religious practice challenged a Utah law that states: “A person is guilty of bigamy when, knowing he has a husband or wife or knowing the […]