A Loss for Flynn and a (Temporary?) Win for McGahn
Multiple significant opinions from the D.C. Circuit on Judge Griffith's last day.
Month: August 2020
What Happens When Trump Judges Confront Trump Administration Deregulation?
Faced with a choice between the Trump Administration and the law, these judges had no problem following the law.
Judge Justin Walker on Bar Bureaucracies, Mental Illness, and More
"[One day, t]he Bar Bureaucracy will have to answer for a medieval approach to mental health that is as cruel as it is counterproductive."
Everybody Is Losing Their Damn Fool Minds
The Reason Roundtable spits fire at street violence, poison politics, and the nationalization of every local story.
May Legislature Restrict State Constitutional Right to Keep and Bear Arms in the Legislative Building?
A court should decide that question by interpreting the state Bill of Rights, the New Hampshire Supreme Court says; it shouldn't conclude that this is a "political question" to be decided purely by the Legislature and the people.
Trying to Unseal Affidavit and Block Pseudonymity in Cincinnati Police Officer Libel Case
The Cincinnati Enquirer and I have just filed a petition seeking this, in the Ohio Court of Appeals.
Los Angeles' Financially Strained Transit Agency Considers Eliminating Fares on Buses and Trains
Abolishing fares could lead to even more federal aid for L.A. Metro, which has already received a $861.9 million bailout this year.
Joe Biden Condemns Riots: 'Setting Fires Is Not Protesting'
"Do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?"
Classes #5: "Enumerated Powers III" and "Deeds & Warranties of Title I"
Heart of Atlanta, McClung, and Dole
Feds Finally Give Amazon Permission for Drone Deliveries in the U.S.
America has been lagging behind other countries.
CDC Data Confirm That Young People Face a Negligible Risk of Dying From COVID-19
The risk for the elderly is much higher, probably largely because of preexisting medical conditions.
In New Tests, Facial Recognition Products Are Consistently Thwarted by Masks
Defeating surveillance is a powerful argument for covering your face.
How Portland's Protests Drifted into 'Dangerous Territory'
"When terror is seen as justified, I think it's inevitable that something terrible is going to happen," journalist Nancy Rommelmann told Nick Gillespie last week.
A Summer Without Summer Movies
On missing the accessible fruits of giant corporate filmmaking
New Jersey Mayor Bills Teen Protest Organizer for Police Overtime Pay
Plus: Congress to vote on marijuana decriminalization, tech visas are getting turned down at high rates, and more...
Kentucky AG: Government Can't Shut Down In-Person Teaching at Religious Schools
The AG's opinion applies strict scrutiny under the First Amendment and the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and concludes that the medical evidence suggests total shutdowns aren't necessary to preserve public health.
Trump Promotes the Outlandish Claim That COVID-19 Has Killed a 'Minuscule' Number of Americans
The assertion, which contradicts the president's own warnings about the virus, is based on a misinterpretation of CDC data.
Should Universities Recommend (or Demand) Epithet Filtering on Students' and Professors' Internet Devices?
A thought experiment that came to my mind; I'd love to hear what others think about it.
The Controversy Over Quoting Racial Epithets, Now at UC Irvine School of Law
Plus a new draft law review article on the subject, by Prof. Randall Kennedy (Harvard Law School), a leading scholar of race and the law, and me.
Judge Rules Vegan 'Butter' Can Be Labeled as 'Vegan Butter'
American shoppers aren't idiots.
Ambazonia, Remedies, and the First Amendment
Across the Atlantic from Amazonia lies ... Ambazonia.
N.Y. Times Op-Ed on U.S. v. Cruikshank
"The Massacre That Emboldened White Supremacists"
Florida Supreme Court Follows the Marbury Model: Executive Violated the Law, but Finds Remedy Is "Legally Unavailable Under These Circumstances"
And what a way to welcome a new colleague: an opinion stating that she was appointed illegally!
Palin v. New York Times District Judge Refuses to Overrule Supreme Court Precedent
"Binding precedent does not ... come with an expiration date."
Sarah Palin's Libel Lawsuit Against the New York Times Can Go to Trial
There is enough evidence that the Times knew their allegations were false (or at least were likely false) to go to the jury.
Defendant Agrees to Bench Trial, But Government Insists on Jury Trial
Court says: Because of the epidemic and the resulting suspension of jury trials, bench trial it is.
President Donald Trump Pardons Alice Marie Johnson
Two years after commuting her life sentence, the president has pardoned Alice Marie Johnson.
Trump, Self-Proclaimed Ender of Endless Wars, Is Reducing the U.S. Troop Presence in Iraq to Where It Was in 2015
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Pentagon will be reducing troop levels in Iraq by a third.
Qualified Immunity Is a Disgrace, No Matter Where You Live
Even the most police-skeptical courts grant the doctrine in egregious circumstances.
Nixon May Be Trump's 'Law and Order' Model, but He Was Smarter on Crime
He did not overpromise, and he had the good sense to stop talking about a country beset by violence when he ran for a second term.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Anti-Riots, bright youth, and a sick puppy.
Antonin Scalia Law School's Commitment to Open Dialogue and Debate
"The faculty adopted the following Statement of Faculty Principles pertaining to respectful debate and the full and open exchange of ideas at the law school."
The Republican Convention's Defense of Trump's Trade War Fell Flat
A Wisconsin business owner who spoke about losing business to China ended up inadvertently undermining the administration's argument for protectionism.
The U.S. Prison System Has Reached 1,000 COVID-19 Deaths
The infection and death rates have surpassed those of the general population.
Can the Republican Party Survive Trump?
A political party can be destroyed by warring factions after it nominates a celebrity candidate and loses its coherence. That’s what happened…after 1848, when the Whigs backed Zachary Taylor.
Maximum Security Comes Up Short
The Sixth Circuit says neigh to the horse owners' challenge to the Kentucky Derby's disqualification of their horse.
Prepare Yourselves Now for a Miserable Fall Television Rollout
Two mediocre movies highlight what little there is to look forward to.
Protesters Tell Rand Paul, Who Wrote the Justice for Breonna Taylor Act, To Say Breonna Taylor's Name
Screaming "say her name" at the senator who sponsored a police accountability act named for Breonna Taylor
Trump Warns America: 'Biden's America' Will Look Like Trump's America
Plus: Alice Marie Johnson's RNC speech, Twitter bans bots pretending to be disillusioned black Democrats, and more...
