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My colleague Steve Bainbridge writes: . . . I would like to see Bush turn the debate fully to the “who decides” question. Instead of talking about the sanctity of marriage (which heterosexuals like Britney Spears are doing a pretty good job of destroying without help), Bush should focus the debate on judicial activism. How […]

A bunch of people have forwarded to me versions of this news story: [S]ubpoenas were served last week on four of the activists who attended a Nov. 15 forum at [Drake University], ordering them to appear before a grand jury Tuesday, the protesters said. . . . In addition to records about who attended the […]

Here’s the introduction to my brief quote on NPR’s Marketplace Jan. 26, 2004: Eugene Volokh teaches law at USUAL. It was said quite right on the air, if I recall correctly; the error was in the transcript. Something to keep in mind when one is thinking of relying on what purports to be a verbatim […]

Letter responding to my op-ed on judges and Congress: Mark Allenbaugh writes this letter to the L.A. Times: The eponymous premise of Prof. Eugene Volokh’s “Congress Has Every Right to Judge the Judges,” Feb. 8, 2004, at M3, is quite surprising, especially coming from a constitutional law professor. While Congress certainly does have a right […]

Ramesh Ponnuru defends a particular proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, which reads: Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this constitution or the constitution of any state, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof […]

Is he the Chief Justice of the United States, or the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court? (The question was prompted by this How Appealing post and the BeldarBlog post to which it refers.) Readers familiar with my loosey-goosey views towards the language won’t be surprised that I say “both.” His generally accepted title is […]

A reader writes, apropos “Love That Dare Not Squeak Its Name,” that animals do things that we wouldn’t tolerate in humans: They are animals and we are not. We don’t need to use them as a guide for how humans should act.      I agree with this entirely — which is why, for instance, Jerry Falwell […]

I have some things to get done between now and Spring Break in mid-March, so very limited blogging for me until then, essentially links to papers and op-eds published elsewhere. I’m sure Eugene and the gang will keep you entertained.

Brian Leiter cites statistics purporting to show that residents of European and other Western social democracies are better off than Americans, thereby demonstrating the superiority of social democracy. A few comments on this. First, if we measure things by revealed preferences, i.e., voting with their feet, this seems false. For example, the number of Canadians […]

Pilot begins flight by asking people whether they’re Christians, calls those who aren’t ‘crazy.’ Partway through the flight he apologized– but only to the flight crew, who were having to bear the brunt of passenger complaints.

The U.S. and Australia have finally agreed on the text of a freer trade agreement. Australia declined to insist that the U.S. adopt its domestic environmental and labor regulations, which is a good thing. (And, presumably, even Richard Gephardt and Fritz Hollings won’t be able to complain with a straight face that the Aussies are […]

My paper, Defending the First Amendment from Antidiscrimination Laws, has been posted at SSRN.

A New York Times piece on homosexuality among animals. The introduction reminds me of Opus’s talk of “penguin lust,” though I’m pretty sure that Opus himself is pretty straight, though occasionally interested in other species.      Of course, the article also mentions the bonobos, always good for some prurient appeal (“Female bonobos have been observed to […]

According to the Chicago Tribune (emphasis added), Several parents and their children filed a lawsuit Thursday in federal court, saying the children’s 1st Amendment rights were violated last year when they were not allowed to wear a T-shirt bearing the word “Gifties” at a Chicago public school. The controversy began during the 8th graders’ annual […]

My book tour for Restoring the Lost Constitution: The Presumption of Liberty marches on. Today I am in Minneapolis. Here is the rest of this week’s schedule: MinneapolisMonday 2/9University of Minnesota (12:15pm, Law School, Room 40) William Mitchell College of Law (5:30pm, Kelley Board Room, 2nd Floor) Tuesday 2/10University of St.Thomas Law School (12:00pm, Moot […]