Author Archive | David Bernstein

courtesy of the TaxProf blog. Basically, an ABA task force could not reach a consensus on the issue. My previous post on the subject can be found here.

Washington Improv Theater is looking for students to fill its intro improv classes. I took classes with these folks several years ago, and they are lots of fun, and also a good way to overcome shyness about speaking/performing in front of groups. If you’re a local big-firm associate, you might even be able to get […]

I’ve mentioned that I’ve been reading up on the ritual sex abuse case of the 1980s. The victims included not only the wrongfully convicted, but the children who were fed false memories of abuse that never happened (and still to this day believe fantastic tales of ritual abuse), and others. The story that most affected […]

I just came across this eyebrow raiser: “In action arising from defendant’s alleged nonconsensual sexual touching of plaintiff merely 50 years [!!!!]before plaintiff filed her complaint, defendant moved in limine to exclude repressed memory evidence. The District Court, Harrington, J., held that validity and reliability of phenomenon of repressed memory has been established [!!!!].” Shahzade […]

Or should I say, “error.” The BBC is not known for acknowledging errors or bias, especially when it comes to Middle East reporting, so at first one might be pleasantly surprised to read that the BBC has acknowledged, and corrected, an error. But then one reads what the “error” was: The BBC apologized this week […]

Those who are familiar with the Book of Esther, the sacred text of the Jewish holiday of Purim, know that it starts with something like, “And it was in the days of Ahasueres, he was Ahasueres, who ruled from Hoadoo (India) to Kush, one hundred and twenty-seven states.” We know, of course, a fair amount […]

I knew, vaguely, that Janet Reno had prosecuted a couple of absurd ritual sex abuse cases when she was a Miami prosecutor, most notoriously the Country Walk case. I also knew that as Attorney General Reno was responsible for the gross mishandling (at best) of the Waco situation, resulting in dozens of deaths, and that […]

This New York Times story related to the debate over the meritless theory that autism is caused by mercury exposure raises a broader issue that has been troubling me lately: why do people develop such strong beliefs about particular things that no amount of evidence, or for that matter common sense, is enough to sway […]

A New York Times book review by Orlando Patterson gives us the following biographical details on Justice Thomas: Pin Point, where he spent his first six years, comes as close to a scene of rural desolation as is possible in an advanced society. This is black life in the rural South at its bleakest, in […]

Yahoo News: Allison Weiss Brady, 36, a venture capitalist and philanthropist who is on the board of her family foundation, said she likes to be practical when buying handbags preferring to buy bags in basic colors. Still, she spends $20,000 per season on accessories and typically spends $5,000 per bag, much more than the $2,000 […]

Amira Hass, a columnist for Ha’aretz, is, as I recall, an Israeli Jew so sympathetic to the Palestinian cause that she decided to live among them. I read her column regularly, and I think it’s fair to say that she routinely places the blame on Israel for anything that goes wrong in Palestinian/Israeli affairs. Until […]

The New York Times has an interesting piece on the changing priorities of the Civil Rights Division Justice Department under the Bush Administration. The article, however, contains this curious line: “Figures provided by the department show that from 2003 through 2006, there was a notable increase of hirings from religious-affiliated institutions like Regent University and […]

As soon as I get a chance, I’m going to write to Gov. Kaine and ask him to commute this sentence. Geez, I remember plenty of beer being available at various Sweet Sixteens I attended (when the drinking age was 18), and exactly no harm came of it. UPDATE: I didn’t mean to suggest that […]

I’ve argued before that it does, in particular in absolutely requiring that a technique be used properly in the case at hand, but other vehemently disagreed. One common criticism has been that I seemed to be the only person who adopted this position. I now have company. Paul C. Giannelli & Edward J. Imwinkelried, Scientific […]

NY Times: Musbah Abu al-Kheir, 17, passed several armed checkpoints on his way to school from a refugee camp outside Gaza City. “Fatah and Hamas have no appreciation for the fact we are having final exams today,” he said. “How are we supposed to take exams to the sounds of gunfire and ambulance sirens?” Memo […]