Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” (written by Paul Jabara) won both a Golden Globe and Academy Award in 1978. So one might not expect it to provoke much controversy in 2010 — at least that’s what folks at Wendy’s thought when it included the song in a kids meal “Car Karaoke” music CD. Not so fast. […]
Author Archive | Jonathan H. Adler
FedSoc v. ACS
After live-blogging much of the American Constitution Society’s annual convention, Josh Blackman says he sensed a difference in “tone” from Federalist Society conferences, particularly from the leadership. While I am not sure that the difference is quite that which he identifies (I’ve heard my share of polemics at Federalist Society gatherings), the differences are real […]
Stoneridge Survives (for Now)
Professor Bainbridge reports that the Supreme Court’s 2008 decision in Stoneridge Investment Partners v. Scientific-Atlanta has (at least for now) survived legislative efforts to over turn it, and explains why this is a good thing. Some prior VC posts on Stoneridge can be found here, here, and here.
Live-Blogging ACS
Josh Blackman is live-blogging the American Constitution Society national convention at his blog. Alas, he won’t be covering my panel (Orin’s is more interesting I suppose), so I may have to live blog that myself. UPDATE: Josh Blackman’s coverage of Randy Barnett’s debate with Jack Balkin on the constitutionality of the individual mandate is here […]
Preventing the Next Oil Spill with Liability
The University of Chicago’s Richard Epstein argues against liability limits for environmental accidents, like BP’s Gulf oil spill in today’s WSJ. Tort remedies are essential to protect people (and their property) who do not have contractual relations with defendants from harms such as air and water pollution. The legal system should never allow self-interested parties […]
Is Legal Ethics the “Least analytically Rigorous and hence Most Subjective” Subject?
Justice Scalia apparently thinks so. Writing in dissent in Holland v. Florida, Justice Scalia (joined by Justice Thomas) wrote the following: The only thing the Court offers that approaches substantive instruction is its implicit approval of “fundamental canons of professional responsibility,” articulated by an ad hoc group of legal-ethicist amici consisting mainly of professors of […]
“Justice Souter’s Bad Constitutional History”
By Jonathan H. Adler on June 14, 2010 8:23 pm in Constitutional History, Constitutional Law, Fourteenth Amendment, Racial Discrimination, Supreme Court
Last month, retired Justice David Souter delivered the commencement address at Harvard. His speech was a veiled challenge to proponents of originalism. Some commentators, such as Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, Slate‘s Dahlia Lithwick, and TalkLeft’s Big Tent Democrat were impressed. Others, not so much. In today’s WSJ, Northwestern University’s John McGinnis and USD’s Michael […]
Congressional Conflicts of Interest
The Washington Post reports that many members of Congress have substantial investments in the industries they oversee. Specifically, many members’ investments overlap with their respective committee jurisdctions. On the House Agriculture Committee, which holds sway over farm policies and subsidies, members had farming and agribusiness investments worth five times on average the amount held by […]
Revolt of the Junior Justices?
Among the four decisions handed down today was Dolan v. United States, which considered whether a sentencing court may order restitution despite missing the statutory deadline of 90-days after sentencing for restitution to be ordered. The Court held, 5-4, that the answer is yes, “at least where, as here, that court made clear prior to […]
Sunday Song Lyric
It seems like a good day to dip back into the great American songbook, so how about Irving Berlin’s “A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody.” Said ABC Radio in 1945: “If the Ziegfield Follies glorified the American girl, it was Irving Berlin who painted her picture in music. Here’s a song that reflects all […]
Sotomayor a “Reliable Liberal Vote” on the Court
The LA Times reports: The early returns are in, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor is proving herself to be a reliable liberal vote on the Supreme Court. Cases this year on campaign speech, religion, juvenile crime, federal power and Miranda warnings resulted in an ideological split among the justices, and on every occasion, Sotomayor joined the […]
Kagan Sought to Lead OLC
This Washington Post story on the newly released batch of memos from Elena Kagan’s tenure in the Clinton Administration includes an interesting tidbit: Kagan sought, unsuccessfully, to get nominated to head the Office of Legal Counsel.
Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks
Tonight the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup. An overtime goal against the Philadelphia Flyers captured game 6 and sealed the series win. In doing so, they ended the longest Stanley Cup drought in the NHL and capped a marvelous season. The young, explosive, and versatile team earned their victory. While I am a die-hard […]
Defamation by Government Still Political Question
Today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, sitting en banc, dismissed a lawsuit against the federal government by owners of a Sudanese pharmaceutical plant targeted by a U.S. missile strike on political question grounds. Judge Griffith wrote the opinion for the court in El-Shifa Pharmaceutical Industries Co. v. United States, which begins: […]
“Judicial Activism” – The Podcast
It seems that everyone’s against “judicial activism,” but what does it mean? Does labeling a judge or decision “activist” indicate anything more than disagreement with the outcome? Is it fair to label a judge or judicial nominee “activist”? The Federalist Society has just posted a podcast debate on these questions featuring our own Randy Barnett, […]