That’s the issue in Frudden v. Pilling, a case I’ve blogged about before; I argued it before a Ninth Circuit panel (Judges N.R. Smith, Jacqueline Nguyen, and Gordon Quist [W.D. Mich.]) on Monday, and the argument video is now available, posted on YouTube. Ready to go viral!
Author Archive | Eugene Volokh
Unconstitutional to Ban All Felons from Becoming Precious Metals Dealers
So holds last week’s Barletta v. Rilling (D. Conn. Sept. 26, 2013), in a decision that — if upheld — may pave the way for similar decisions with regard to bans on gun ownership by (nearly) all felons. The court applies the “rational basis” test, under which nearly all legal classifications are upheld, but concludes […]
Court Upholds Ban on Photographing Border Checkpoint
Lower courts have recently been holding that the First Amendment protects people’s right to audiorecord and videorecord in many public places, especially when they are recording the conduct of government officials. (See, e.g., ACLU v. Alvarez (7th Cir. 2012) and Glik v. Cunniffe (1st Cir. 2011).) This makes a good deal of sense; just as […]
“Alice in Wonderland Has Nothing on Section 518 of the New York General Business Law”
So begins Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 3, 2013): Under the most plausible interpretation of that section, if a vendor is willing to sell a product for $100 cash but charges $102 when the purchaser pays with a credit card, the vendor risks prosecution if it tells the purchaser that the vendor is […]
It’s a Crime to Say This About Muslim Men in Denmark
According to the Copenhagen Post (Sept. 18, 2013), Danish-Iranian artist Firoozeh Bazrafkan was convicted under “anti-racism legislation” for posting this blog entry on a newspaper Web site, quoting and endorsing an earlier statement by Lars Kragh Andersen: I am very convinced that Muslim men around the world rape, abuse and kill their daughters. This is, […]
California High School Blocks NRA T-Shirt Because It Depicts a Weapon
[UPDATE: The school has backed down, see below.] So reports CBS Los Angeles: Sophomore Haley Bullwinkle said when she wore her NRA shirt to Canyon High School last month, she landed in the principal’s office for violating the school’s dress code that forbids offensive, violent or divisive clothing…. The shirt … features a buck, an […]
Could Doctors’ Public Condemnation of Homosexuality Lead to Medical Board Investigation of Doctors?
Yes, say 60% of the state medical boards respondents surveyed in Greysen et al., Online Professionalism Investigations by State Medical Boards: First, Do No Harm, 158(2) Ann Intern Med. 124-30 (2013). Here’s the vignette that was given in the survey: Discriminatory Speech Online A concerned staff member at a local hospital reports discriminatory language on […]
Son of Palestinian Authority President Loses Libel Lawsuit
The decision is Abbas v. Foreign Policy Group, LLC (D.D.C. Sept. 27, 2013); the defendants were the company that publishes Foreign Policy magazine and Jonathan Schanzer, the VP for Research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. An excerpt: Mr. Abbas contends that the Commentary poses two “libelous questions:” (1) “Are the sons of the […]
Nita Farahany Joining the Conspiracy
I’m delighted to report that Prof. Nita Farahany (Duke) is joining the Conspiracy. Nita is a Professor of Philosophy and a Professor of Genome Sciences & Policy, as well as a law professor. She is the author of Searching Secrets, 160 U. Penn. L. Rev. 1239 (2012), which deals with technology, intellectual property, and Fourth […]
Ban on “Advis[ing or] Encourag[ing] … Another” to Commit Suicide Violates First Amendment
So holds today’s State v. Final Exit Network, Inc. (Minn. Ct. App. Sept. 30, 2013). The court concluded that the statute “criminalizes any and all expressions of support, guidance, planning, or education to people who want to end their own lives, whether from a public platform, such as a book, or in the private setting […]
A Notable Correction
From Wired‘s recent article on Dropbox: Correction appended [2:37 P.M. PST/9/17]: A previous version of this story incorrectly quoted Dropbox cofounder Drew Houston saying “anybody with nipples” instead of “anybody with a pulse.” Thanks to GeekPress for the pointer, and to Judge Ito for having a wet nose — no, wait ….
Amicus Brief in D.C. Tour Guide Testing Case
I’m delighted to report that the new UCLA First Amendment Amicus Brief Clinic has filed its first brief, on behalf of the Cato Institute, in Edwards v. D.C. (D.C. Cir.). My students Charles Linehan, Jun Shimizu, and Scott Sia worked on the brief, and my coblogger Erik Jaffe was kind enough to serve as Counsel […]
Neomi Rao, Guest-Blogging about Windsor, Dignity, Recognition, and Individual Rights
Prof. Neomi Rao (George Mason) has a very interesting essay on Windsor — one of the same-sex marriage cases — called The Trouble with Dignity and Rights of Recognition [UPDATE: link fixed], and I’m delighted to say that she’ll be guest-blogging about it for the next few days. Here’s a summary of the paper: In […]
Religious Freedom Lawsuit Over Street Naming
From NorthJersey.com (via Prof. Howard Friedman [Religion Clause]): The leaders of a city mosque filed a federal lawsuit on Sunday saying municipal officials violated their Constitutional rights of freedom of religion by naming the street where the building is located after a deceased member of the Islamic group. The lawsuit also accuses Councilman Mohammed Aktraruzzman […]
World Constitutions, Searchable and Indexed by Topic
Looks like a cool site — ConstituteProject.org — though of course the constitutional text often doesn’t tell us that much about how the legal and political system actually operates. For more about the project, see here. Thanks to Jamie Fletcher for the pointer.