The case is Brown v. Buhman (D. Utah Dec. 13, 2013); the plaintiffs are the polygamists from the “Sister Wives” reality TV show. The court did not hold that the state must recognize polygamous marriages as legally valid; it held only that the Utah law criminalizing entering into even non-legally-recognized polygamous marriages was unconstitutional. (Special […]
Archive | December, 2013
The 2014 Privies — Category Two “We All Got To Serve Someone” Worst Use of Privacy Law to Protect Power and Privilege a. Max Mosley, former president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile That Picture? Forget it. No, Really. I Insist. Max Mosley achieved fame and wealth as head of the Formula One racing association, FIA. […]
How Hackers Snooped on Government Officials at the 2011 G20 Summit Meeting
According to this story, dozens of computers of diplomats from countries including the Czech Republic, Portugal, Bulgaria, Hungary and Latvia had their computers infected with a virus designed to extract information when they were at the G20 summit in Paris in February 2011. The virus, believed to originate from China, came as an attachment to […]
Third Circuit Votes to Rehear Katzin En Banc on the Scope of the Davis Good Faith Exception [UPDATE: Second Circuit Weighs In, Too]
I’ve blogged before about United States v. Katzin, the Third Circuit decision imposing a warrant requirement for installing a GPS device on a car and limiting the scope of the Davis good faith exception. In my earlier post, I explained why the Third Circuit’s good faith analysis was not likely to be the last word […]
Reminder to Readers about Our Archived Posts–Mistaken Identity
I was just doing some research in the archived posts and noticed that a problem that occurred when we switched servers hasn’t been solved. All the old posts are there, but they often have the wrong “byline.” I.e., a post I wrote may have Eugene’s or Randy’s or Orin’s name on it. So I would […]
Crowdsourcing a Question on Democrats and Constitutional Issues
For a project I’m working on, I’m collecting examples of statements made by high-level Democratic officials (especially, but not exclusively, Barack Obama) before January 2009 that such and such is unconstitutional (e.g., using military force without congressional approval, use of executive signing statements) that those Democrats either flipped-flopped on publicly (in the case of the […]
Student Dismissed Partly Because His Expressed “Views … Were Deemed Not in Alignment” with Government Standards
Here’s yet another brief that the UCLA First Amendment Amicus Brief Clinic has filed in the last few weeks. This brief is in a Ninth Circuit university student dismissal case, and it’s filed on behalf of the Foundation for Individual Rights and the Student Press Law Center, in Oyama v. University Hawaii (the link is […]
The Returned
My wife and I have been much enjoying this new TV show, which we’re watching on Amazon Instant Video. It’s in French, with English subtitles, but they haven’t interfered with our getting into the story. The premise is that dead people are coming back to life (as apparently ordinary people, not zombies) in a small […]
The Not-So-Hypothetical
Robert Barnes’ piece in the Washington Post today recounts a hypothetical from Justice Breyer at yesterday’s argument in Lozano v. Alvarez, involving the tolling of the statute of limitations under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Following up on Justice Sotomayor’s hypothetical about the effect of a parent taking a child […]
The 2014 Privy Nominations — “Privacy Hypocrite of the Year”
I’m pleased to post nominations in the hotly contested first category of Dubious Achievements in Privacy Law. Take your time to make a choice. Voting will not open until all nominations have been published — likely December 15. Corrections and suggestions for additional nominees may be sent to vc.comments@gmail.com. But for those who think a […]
George Mason Law School Freezes Tuition
Here’s the press release: Visitors Freeze George Mason Law Tuition Fairfax, VA – December 11, 2013: The Board of Visitors of George Mason University voted today at its quarterly meeting to freeze the tuition of the law school for the upcoming year, for current and incoming students, and it declared its intention not to increase […]
Radagast the Brown on “The Climate of Middle Earth”
Here at the Volokh Conspiracy, we try to keep readers informed about important new academic research. So it’s essential that we link to this new paper by Radagast the Brown on “The Climate of Middle Earth.” Far from being “Radagast the Bird-tamer! Radagast the Simple! Radagast the Fool!,” as Saruman described him, or being diverted […]
My Hobby Lobby Posts, in a Single Word Document
Here are my Hobby Lobby posts in a single Word document, in case some of you might find them helpful.
A Response on the Hobby Lobby Posts, from Matt Bowman at the Alliance Defending Freedom
I thought I’d pass this along, since many of our readers are interested in the case. Naturally, I’m also open to posting something from one of the lawyers or academics on the opposite side of the issue. First, I want to thank Prof. Volokh for his fine series of posts on the cases involving the […]
The Aurora Mass Shooting, Choice of Law, and Newsgatherer Shield Statutes
Reporter, who is based in New York, gathers information in Colorado, related to a Colorado crime. She returns to New York, but is subpoenaed to appear in Colorado court proceedings, to testify about her confidential sources. Should New York newsgatherer shield law or Colorado newsgatherer shield law apply? An interesting and unusual choice of law […]