Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler

The NYT reports on Barack Obama’s time teaching at the University of Chicago. Of particular interest, the article includes links to a syllabus and several exams from his classes. UPDATE: Brian Leiter comments on the story here.

Over at its fancy new digs, Opinio Juris is hosting a discussion on Benjamin Wittes’ new book, Law and the Long War. In addition to the OJ regulars, participants also include Marty Lederman, Steve Vladeck, Bobby Chesney, and Wittes himself, among others. So far it looks quite good (as does Wittes’ book, which I just […]

The Solicitor General’s office has joined the state of Louisiana in requesting reconsideration of the Supreme Court’s decision in Kennedy v. Louisiana, in which the Court held the death penalty for child rape to be unconstitutional. This is particularly interesting because the SG did not participate in the case initially, as the office had overlooked […]

When I first heard about the ballot initiative sponsored by Reform Michigan Government Now, I assumed it was just an aggressive effort to make several progressive state constitutional reforms in one fell swoop. Then I looked into it a little more — largely because I was curious about the proposed revisions to the composition of […]

Since I’m fishing in Montana — we’ve had two real good days on the Yellowstone River so far — “Gone Fishing” by Chris Rea seemed an appropriate lyric. I’m gone fishing I got me a line Nothing I do is gonna make the difference So I’m taking the time . . . I’m gone fishing […]

A new report from the U.S. Geological Survey concludes that there are substantial untapped oil and gas reserves in the Arctic, perhaps amounting to as much as one-fifth of global supply. As the NYT reports: Oil companies have long suspected that the Arctic contained substantial energy resources, and have been spending billions recently to get […]

The infamous “K Street Project” was really nothing new in Washington D.C. I witnessed this sort of thing firsthand before the GOP took over Congress — and it hasn’t gone away. As Kimberly Strassel reports, the new majority throws its weight around on K Street just like the old majority. Meanwhile, there’s hope that two […]

Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed California’s challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s denial of California’s request for a waiver of preemption of the state’s greenhouse gas emission vehicle emission controls. In a brief order, the Court explained that the letter from EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson to California Governor Arnold […]

Last week, a federal district court enjoined the Fish & Wildlife Service’s decision to remove Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the greater Yellowstone region. The NYT reported on the decision here., the LA Times here. The FWS press release about reinstating wolf protections is here. I may be in the greater Yellowstone […]

Louisiana has filed a petition for reconsideration in Kennedy v. Louisiana. Details here.

Andrew Hyman sends along the results from this interesting national Qunnipiac poll on various legal issues. Of particular interest, the poll asked the following question: “The Supreme Court has recently ruled that a mandatory death penalty for child rape is unconstitutional. Do you favor or oppose the death penalty for persons convicted of child rape?” […]

Former Rep. Bob Barr, running for president as a Libertarian, argues that conservatives who care about judicial nominations should not support John McCain for President because “his jurisprudence is likely to be anything but conservative.” According to Barr: The idea of a “living Constitution” long has been popular on the political left. Conservatives routinely dismiss […]

Today, in Bryant v. Gates, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that the advertising section of the Defense Department’s Civilian Enterprise Newspapers constitutes a nonpublic forum, and upheld the Department’s ban on “political” advertisements. Of particular interest may be Judge Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion, in which he suggests the government could (and […]

One thing the Clinton and Bush Administrations have in common is the excessive (and improper) assertion of executive privilege. In Clinton’s case, some of the erroneous privilege claims concerned the health care task force and the Monica Lewinsky scandal (see, e.g., here). Remember the effort to claim a Secret Service “protective privilege”? The Bush Administration […]

Christopher DeMuth will step down as President of the American Enterprise Institute at the end of the year. This week, AEI announced that DeMuth’s successor will be Arthur C. Brooks, Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government Policy at Syracuse University. The WaPo reports here.