Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler

In contrast to Senator Kennedy’s op-ed (which I discuss here), Benjamin Wittes offers a thoughtful essay in today’s Washington Post on the judicial confirmation process, based in part on his interview of Chief Justice Roberts. (Interestingly, Senator Kennedy’s essay is on the front page of the Post‘s Outlook section this morning, while Wittes’ piece is […]

Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) did nearly all he could to derail the confirmations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. Having lost those fights, Kennedy is still at it, as evidenced by this Washington Post op-ed alleging that both nominees misled the Senate Judiciary Committee and concealed their judicial philosophies during their […]

At the Knowledge Problem, Lynne Kiesling has a useful and informative post on the fundamentals of gas prices.

Last March, Emily Bazelon wrote a Slate column accusing Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Lindsay Graham (R-SC) of misleading the Supreme Court in their amicus brief discussing the legislative history of the Detainee Treatment Act. The Kyl-Graham brief relied, in part, on a colloquoy that was inserted into the Congressional Record rather than delivered on […]

The disagreements over death penalty litigation continue on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The latest round comes from the case of Poindexter v. Mitchell, in which a three-judge panel unanimously upheld a capital defendant’s claim that he received ineffective assistance of counsel during the sentencing phase, but in the process produced […]

Landowners challenging the use of eminent domain for economic development in Norwood, Ohio have emerged victorious. According to a unanimous Ohio Supreme Court, the economic benefits of redevelopment projects, by themselves, do not satisfy the “publc use” requirment of Article I, section 19 of the Ohio Constitution. The Court further held that the relevant standard […]

The ACLU has filed suit on behalf of a religious group that pickets military funerals with anti-gay messages. The suit challenges the state of Missouri’s law barring picketing near military funerals. An equivalent federal measure was signed into law earlier this year. According to the Washington Post: The church and the Rev. Fred Phelps say […]

Check out this post by Orin Kerr at OrinKerr.com on the repeated reference to “treason” in the Constitution, and what it means.

Jim Chen has announced two new contributors to the Jurisdynamics blog: Daniel Farber and J.B. Ruhl. With their contributions, Jurisdynamics should become even more of a must read. Speaking of Jurisdynamics, VC readers might be interested in this post on unanimous-but-wrong Supreme Court decisions.

As a big fan of ’80s alternative, it should be no suprise that I own more than one Depeche Mode album. While I do not think that their music was ever particularly original or complex, it had a certain appeal (particularly when I was in high school and college). I have not bought a new […]

As a follow-up to my post below on Marriott’s decision to eliminate smoking rooms, let me provide more fodder for deabte. First, here is Thomas Lambert’s “The Case Against Smoking Bans” available on SSRN. The abstract reads as follows: In recent months, numerous localities and states have banned smoking in public places (i.e., privately owned […]

The Marriott hotel chain will no longer allow smoking in any of its guest rooms, according to this report. Interestingly, the decision appears to have been motivated by Marriott’s concern for the bottom line. Two decades ago, about half the company’s rooms were set aside for smokers, but demand has steadily dropped, with only 5 […]

Some House Republicans have talked about impeaching wayward judges for quite some time. According to this story, they have finally found a target. House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., introduced a resolution to allow his committee to investigate U.S. District Judge Manuel Real, who has served on the federal bench in Los Angeles since […]

I have been at a conference in Montana the past several days. While here I learned some interesting facts about the state. Approximately 30 percent of Montana’s 700,000 residents purchase fishing licenses, and nearly 25 percent purchase hunting permits. I would be surprised to see higher numbers in any of the other lower 48 states. […]

The W$J reports that the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) may change its name to the “American Association for Justice.” Why? Well, according to ATLA president Ken Suggs, “”Our research shows that if our message is about helping lawyers, we lose. On the other hand, if we’re about getting justice and holding wrongdoers […]