Eugene Volokh, Author at Reason.com - Page 139 of 189

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Volokh Conspiracy

Doe v. Doe Libel Lawsuit Over Allegations of Sexual Misconduct by a Business Executive

Unsurprisingly, the exact allegations that are said to be libelous don't appear in the complaint.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.19.2019 8:01 AM

Volokh Conspiracy

Doctor Liable to Patient's Sex Partner …

... for negligently (and erroneously) telling the patient he had tested negative for an STD.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.18.2019 3:21 PM

Volokh Conspiracy

N.Y. Court Refuses to Enjoin Allegedly Libelous Speech About Chinese Official

The plaintiff, Yan Huang, is vice minister of China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. Defendant, Wengui Guo, who also goes by Miles Kwok, has been described as a "renegade Chinese billionaire," who fled China and now lives in New York.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.17.2019 8:41 PM

Volokh Conspiracy

Runescape "Muting" Leads to First Amendment / Due Process Lawsuit Against Video Game Company

Unsurprisingly, the lawsuit goes nowhere.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.17.2019 7:49 PM

Volokh Conspiracy

When Are Athletes Liable for Injuries They Cause?

Plus a side note on Mormon church basketball.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.17.2019 11:20 AM

Volokh Conspiracy

The Tort of Loss of Sepulcher

I'll bet you never studied this (at least under this name) in your 1L Torts class.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.16.2019 12:38 PM

Volokh Conspiracy

Texas Court Rejects Once-Suspended Doctor's Lawsuit Over Reporting of the Suspension

Dr. Calvin Day had claimed that describing his suspension as based on "unprofessional conduct" was libelous. (He had also earlier sought to get dismissed criminal charges expunged, and tried to bind local news outlets to the expungement order.) He lost, and was ordered to pay over $80,000 in attorney's fees.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.16.2019 8:01 AM

Volokh Conspiracy

City May Not Bargain for Certain Speech Restrictions When Settling Lawsuits Against Police Department

The First Amendment makes such waivers of plaintiff's free speech rights unenforceable.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.15.2019 5:23 PM

Court Refuses to Issue Gag Order and Sealing Order in Sexual Harassment Suit Against YMCA of Pikes Peak

(Disclosure: I had filed an objection, on my own behalf, to the motion to seal.)

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.15.2019 8:01 AM

"Once the Cat Is Out of the Bag, the Ball Game Is Over."

More than just a mixed metaphor -- it's a legal doctrine.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.13.2019 2:31 PM

Do You Work for an ISP, a Blog Hosting Company, a Domain Name Registrar, or the Like?

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.11.2019 8:00 PM

Wash. Sup. Ct. Upholds Campaign Finance Voucher Tax

Quite correctly, I think.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.11.2019 1:16 PM

Limits of "Revenge Porn" Laws

An interesting D.C. trial court decision from last year, involving an image of nudity submitted as part of a court case.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.11.2019 8:01 AM

Corpus Linguistics in Court?

Two Sixth Circuit judges debate the issue, in an opinion filed today.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.10.2019 8:16 PM

The Rock Ethics Institute

So many rock artists give them so much to work with ....

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.10.2019 7:24 PM

Man Sues Anti-Homosexuality Group for Libel, Loses, Unsuccessfully Tries to Seal Court Opinions

The plaintiff had pleaded guilty to, among other things, having sex with a minor (apparently when he was 21 and the minor was 15); the alleged libel stemmed from, among other things, reports of that crime.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.10.2019 8:03 AM

New Orleans Mural Ordinance, Which Regulates "Works of Art," Is Unconstitutionally Vague

So a district court held today.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.9.2019 8:33 PM

Government-Run Fora on Private Platforms, in the @RealDonaldTrump User Blocking Controversy

Whether the First Amendment applies generally turns on who is imposing a restriction (the government vs. a private party), not on whether the speech is on public or private property.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.9.2019 3:09 PM

Second Circuit: Unconstitutional for @RealDonaldTrump to Block Twitter Users Based on Viewpoint

The reasoning would apply to other politicians' accounts that are seen as "official" rather than personal, and to accounts that are run by government entities (such as school boards) rather than individual politicians.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.9.2019 12:24 PM

Sealing Records of a Teacher's Prosecution for Sexual Conduct with Underage Students?

An interesting Massachusetts decision from a couple of months ago, upholding a trial court's refusal to seal under such circumstances.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.8.2019 5:25 PM

The Law of the Ice Cream Tub Licker

Licking an ice cream tub in a supermarket and putting it back -- is that second-degree felony "tampering with consumer product" in Texas?

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.5.2019 5:40 PM

If Children "Will Be Enrolled and Be Participants in the Catholic Religion," Does This Require Taking Them to Mass?

The enrolled/participants requirement was part of a divorcing couple's custody agreement -- may a court interpret this as requiring the parent with Sunday custody to take the children to mass, or give up the relevant part of her parenting time?

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.5.2019 3:24 PM

Is Wrongful Search Engine Optimization a Tort?

An anonymous lawsuit claims that it's tortious to try to artificially boost the prominence of an embarrassing article.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.5.2019 3:08 PM

OK to Let Muslim Witness Testify "Wearing a Scarf Over Part of Her Face"

So holds a Pennsylvania appellate decision.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.4.2019 11:17 AM

"Prominent Pornography Researcher Frames Defamation Claims As Sexual Harassment, Prompting a Defamation Suit by Her Target"

An academic debate turns into professional and legal accusations.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.3.2019 1:22 PM

First Amendment Likely Bars Arizona's Withdrawal of Tax Benefits to Nike Over Betsy Ross Sneaker Controversy

The Supreme Court has held that the government generally may not terminate contracts with contractors based on their constitutionally protected speech; the same likely applies to financial incentives..

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.2.2019 11:24 PM

Want to Donate Your Papers to a University, to Be Opened Some Years Later? Donate to a Private University, Not a Public One

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.2.2019 8:02 AM

No Preliminary Injunction, No Pseudonymity, No Sealing in Internet Libel Case

That's what a New York trial court decision just posted online today held -- correctly, I think.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.1.2019 6:24 PM

Purdue Student Expelled for Alleged Sexual Abuse Can Proceed With His Due Process and Sex Discrimination Claims

"Fairness can rarely be obtained by secret, one-sided determination of facts decisive of rights."

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.1.2019 2:42 PM

Rape Claims, Speech Restrictions, and Consent

Noted political publicist Trevor FitzGibbon (who had represented Julian Assange) sues whistleblower lawyer Jesselyn Radack (who had represented Edward Snowden) -- a second time.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 7.1.2019 8:01 AM

Justice Breyer's opinion in the FUCT Trademark Case and the Neurology of Language

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.28.2019 8:05 AM

First Amendment Limits Media Liability for Inducing Breach of Nondisclosure Agreement -- Now a Precedent in California

The Court of Appeal has ordered that the formerly nonprecedential decision, which I blogged about four weeks ago, will now be precedential.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.27.2019 8:18 AM

Minnesota Supreme Court Holds That Nonmedia Speakers Are Fully Protected by First Amendment

Prior Minnesota precedents had said that some First Amendment protections against defamation liability applied only to media speakers.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.26.2019 11:39 AM

A Nice Analogy, from Justice Kavanaugh

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.26.2019 10:39 AM

Zombified

The first use of the term in a Supreme Court opinion, in today's concurrence by Justice Gorsuch in the administrative agency deference case.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.26.2019 10:33 AM

Attempt to Vanish Newspaper Articles About Elected School District Trustee Lynette Boggs-Perez

Boggs-Perez is the recently elected trustee of the San-Antonio-area Judson Independent School District, and the requests aimed to deindex columns about her in the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the San Antonio Express-News.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.25.2019 5:26 PM

Facebook Posts Lewdly Insulting Elected Official Are Criminally Punishable (at Least If They Relate to a Private Dispute)

Such speech, whether about elected officials or others, is punishable, the court held, if it "[does] not express social or political beliefs or constitute legitimate conduct" and "could only serve to harass, annoy or alarm the complainant."

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.25.2019 8:12 AM

Incipit

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.24.2019 8:25 PM

Facially Viewpoint-Based Statutes Are Unconstitutional Even if They Aren't "Substantially" Overbroad

So the majority held in today's decision about the exclusion of "immoral or scandalous" marks from trademark registration (the FUCT case).

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.24.2019 12:08 PM

Congress May Not Bar Registration of "Immoral or Scandalous" Trademarks -- But "Vulgar or Profane" Marks, Maybe

The Supreme Court rules that the bar on "immoral or scandalous" marks is viewpoint-based, but Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Breyer, Alito, and Sotomayor say that an exclusion of "vulgar or profane" marks would be viewpoint-neutral though content-based. (The other five Justices express no opinion on a hypothetical "vulgar or profane" mark ban.)

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.24.2019 12:02 PM

Rhode Island Court Issues Temporary Restraining Order Requiring Blogger to Take Down All Posts About a Person

According to the ACLU of Rhode Island, which is representing the blogger, the order was issued without any adversarial hearing at which the blogger could appear.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.22.2019 9:54 PM

Volokh Conspiracy

There's No Graphy Like Stega-No-Graphy

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.17.2019 7:19 PM

Volokh Conspiracy

Professor Stephen Gillers (NYU) Unwittingly Demonstrates Why ABA Model Rule 8.4(g) Chills Protected Speech

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.17.2019 8:01 AM

Volokh Conspiracy

Who Are You?

(Post bumped to the top.)

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.17.2019 12:57 AM

Volokh Conspiracy

Calling All Guamanians

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.16.2019 10:58 AM

Volokh Conspiracy

Vermont Supreme Court Reads Revenge Porn Law Narrowly

Alice sends nude picture to her ex, Bob. Bob's new girlfriend (or maybe would-be girlfriend) Carol gets it and posts it online. Carol wouldn't be guilty under the state revenge porn statute, the court rules.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.14.2019 7:07 PM

Volokh Conspiracy

No Take-Backs, No Do-Overs, No Data Replevin

A lawyer caught on tape criticizing his client (a judge), in the making of a documentary about the prosecution of rapper Meek Mill.

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.13.2019 5:27 PM

Volokh Conspiracy

"Photoshop the Change You Want to See in the World"

A funny line from an interesting story about a photoshopped photograph in GQ, "more a cheapfake than a deepfake."

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 6.13.2019 3:07 PM

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