Legal scholar Peter Irons, a leading academic expert on the Japanese internment cases, has written a powerful article calling on the Supreme Court to explicitly repudiate those decisions [HT: Constitutional Law Prof blog]. Those notorious cases, most notably Korematsu v. United States, upheld the forcible detention of over 100,000 Japanese-Americans in internment camps during World […]
Author Archive | Ilya Somin
My Review of Einer Elhauge’s Obamacare on Trial
By Ilya Somin on March 11, 2013 4:45 pm in Commerce Clause, Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Necessary and Proper
The Liberty Law Blog recently posted my review of Harvard Law Professor Einer Elhauge’s book Obamacare on Trial, which was possibly the first academic book on the Obamacare litigation published by a legal scholar since the Supreme Court issued its decision in NFIB v. Sebelius. Elhauge is a topnotch scholar, and his book makes some […]
Attorney General Eric Holder Responds to Rand Paul’s Question on Domestic Use of Drones Against US Citizens
Attorney General Eric Holder has sent the following response to Republican Senator Rand Paul’s question about when the president has the authority to use drones to target US citizens on American soil: Dear Senator Paul: It has come to my attention that you have now asked an additional question: “Does the President have the authority […]
University of Michigan Law School Talk on Property Rights Since Kelo
On Thursday, March 14, I will be giving a talk on “Property Rights Since Kelo” at the University of Michigan Law School. The event will run from 11:45 to about 12:50. I will cover both the legislative and judicial reactions to the Supreme Court’s controversial 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London, which […]
Debate at Rutgers University Law School in Camden on Whether the Constitution Protects Economic Rights
On Monday, March 11, I will be debating Georgetown Law Professor Michael Seidman at the Rutgers University School of Law in Camden, NJ, on the subject of whether the Constitution protects economic rights, broadly defined to include property rights as well as freedom of contract. The event will begin at 11 AM and continue for […]
Science, Political Ignorance, and Deference to “Authoritative” Experts
By Ilya Somin on March 6, 2013 7:39 pm in Junk Science and Quackspertise, Political Ignorance, Politicizing Science, Public Opinion
Economist David Friedman has an insightful post on the problems inherent in deferring to the views of “authoritative” scientific bodies: A pattern I have observed in a variety of public controversies is the attempt to establish some sort of official scientific truth, as proclaimed by a suitable authority—a committee of the National Academy of Science, […]
Public Opinion and the California Gay Marriage Case
In a recent post, co-blogger Orin Kerr cites a poll showing that 61% of Californians now support gay marriage, and considers the implications of this result for the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on the constitutionality of California’s ban on gay marriage. He predicts that: If last year’s debate over the popularity of the Affordable Care […]
The Supreme Court’s Options in the California Same-Sex Marriage Case
By Ilya Somin on March 1, 2013 4:19 pm in Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Sex Discrimination, Sexual Orientation
Georgetown law Professor Marty Lederman has a very helpful post outlining the Supreme Court’s options in the case challenging the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage in the state: [T]hese are the five options offered to the Court: (i) The Court could uphold the constitutionality of Proposition 8 — that is, hold […]
Hawaii and New Mexico Legislatures Consider Bills to Decriminalize Marijuana Possession
Committees in the Hawaii and New Mexico state legislatures recently approved bills that would decriminalize the possession of marijuana [HT: Tom Angell of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition]. Unfortunately, the bills would only decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Nonetheless, they would be a major change from the status quo. If the laws are enacted, […]
Yankees Admit that they are “Baseball’s Evil Empire”
Fans of rival teams, especially Red Sox fans, have long known that the New York Yankees are the Evil Empire, as well as major recipients of corporate welfare. But in a recent legal proceeding, the team has now officially admitted it [HT: Josh Blackman]: A panel of trademark judges in Washington, D.C., earlier this month […]
Comstock, Bond and Predictions About the Individual Mandate Case
By Ilya Somin on February 22, 2013 11:54 pm in Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Necessary and Proper
In his recent response to Randy Barnett, co-blogger Orin Kerr argues that previous precedent, especially the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in United States v. Comstock justifiably led many observers to expect that the Court would readily uphold the individual health insurance mandate, and that its failure to do so under the Commerce and Necessary and […]
Immigration Stories Event in Lexington, MA
For readers who may be interested, my father, Yefim Somin, will be speaking on his experience of immigration from the Soviet Union to the United States at Cary Memorial Library in Lexington, MA on February 28 at 7 PM. His talk will be part of a panel on the experiences of immigrants who have settled […]
Immigrants as Our “Future Rulers”: Does the Danger of Political Externalities Justify Restrictions on Immigration?
In a recent post, co-blogger Eugene Volokh raises an important potential objection to unconstrained migration – the danger that immigrants with abhorrent values will become our “future rulers”: The bottom line is that for all the good that immigration can do… unregulated immigration can dramatically change the nature of the target society. It makes a […]
Symposium on the Battle of Hoth
Following up on Spencer Ackerman’s critique of Imperial strategy at the Battle of Hoth, Wired magazine has posted a symposium on the battle with commentary from six defense policy experts. I myself commented on Ackerman’s article here. I’m not entirely convinced by the symposium participants who argue that Darth Vader actually had a good strategy […]
The Catholic Church and Science Fiction
Co-blogger Sasha Volokh asks for examples of Catholic science fiction. As with the debate over Jewish fantasy literature a couple years ago, a lot depends on the definition of the relevant field. But even under a pretty narrow definition, there are many, many examples. One of my personal favorites is Frank Herbert’s Dune series, where […]