Eugene Volokh is the Thomas M. Siebel Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, and the Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus and Distinguished Research Professor at UCLA School of Law. Naturally, his posts here (like the opinions of the other bloggers) are his own, and not endorsed by any institution.
Eugene Volokh
Latest from Eugene Volokh
Georgia Universities Entitled to Reject Illegal Alien Applicants (Including DACA Recipients)
So holds the Eleventh Circuit, I think quite correctly.
Discrimination Against Religion, and the "Churches Are Tax-Exempt" Red Herring
Tax exemptions are an argument for treating churches like other tax-exempt nonprofits, not for specially excluding them from benefits available to such nonprofits.
"Cleaning Up the Lemon Mess"
"What lower courts and local governments desperately need is not guidance on hypothetical cases that have never arisen. They need guidance on the many cases they're wrestling with today. Lemon doesn't provide that guidance. It makes the problem worse."
Your Dog Is Too Cute for This Deposition
OK, it wasn't just about the dog, but I think its presence (and effect) was likely especially telling ....
Can a Person Be Banned from Posting Anything About Someone Else, Because His Past Speech Supposedly Stems from a "Vendetta"?
Yes, said an Ohio Court of Appeals majority opinion, reasoning that the speaker's past speech "was not engaged in for a legitimate reason, but instead for an illegitimate reason born out of a vendetta seeking to cause mental distress to his mother and sister and to exact personal revenge." No, argue the EFF, Prof. Aaron Caplan, and I in a brief we've just filed with the Ohio Supreme Court.
Seven Seeds of Freedom In Islam
Islam contains concepts or practices that express religious freedom in a significant way but that fall short of a full and broadly respected human right of religious freedom.
Court Ordered Divorcing Husband Not "to Post Anything on Facebook … in Regards to This Action"
Fortunately, the California Court of Appeal has just reversed the decision, on First Amendment grounds.
"Federal Judges Are Appointed for Life, Not for Eternity"
From today's Supreme Court opinion holding that a judge's vote may not be counted in an opinion released two weeks after his death.
Defendant Has No First Amendment Right to Wear "Black Lives Matter" T-Shirt at Trial
So holds the Kansas Court of Appeals, in reasoning that applies equally to any clothing that displays a message; the defendant in this particular case was on trial for setting fire to a truck that was displaying Confederate flags.
"Cyberstalking" Ban Violates the First Amendment
So a federal district court in Washington just concluded, about a Washington statute that criminalized "anonymous or repeated" speech intended "to harass, ... torment, or embarrass."
"The American Legion Briefing: Four Characters in Search of an Establishment Clause Standard"
An analysis of the amicus briefs in the Establishment Clause / cross monument case, from Eric Rassbach at the Becket Fund.
"Free Speech Rules," My New YouTube Video Series -- Episode 2 (Hate Speech) Now Out
Please share it widely -- there will be at least nine more in the upcoming months.
The 3 Rules of Hate Speech and the First Amendment
Episode 2 of Free Speech Rules by UCLA Law Professor Eugene Volokh
Community College Bans Pro-Second-Amendment Banner with Picture of Rifles
A clear violation of the First Amendment -- and not even justified under the College's own stated reasons.
Another "Stop Talking About Him" Order -- Apparently Covering Even Republishing Police Report
"Defendant shall not post on the internet ... any information whatsoever regarding William Siegle."
Dark Law: Published Michigan Precedents on Protection Orders Missing from Westlaw
Three cases, including the two leading Michigan precedents on the First Amendment and restraining orders, are invisible to lawyers who rely on Westlaw. Lexis is also missing two of the three, but it's changing its policies to include them. And a federal statute is behind this.
Los Angeles Demanding That City Contractors Disclose Ties to the NRA
But the new ordinance violates the First Amendment, because it tends to deter (and deliberately so) association with an advocacy group.
Zestimates, Estimates, and Opinions
Zillow has no obligation to take down (or revise) property value estimates to which the property owners object.
Professor at Augsburg University (Minnesota) Suspended for Classroom Discussion About Quoting the Word "Nigger"
The discussion stemmed from a student's reading a sentence in class from James Baldwin's The Fire Next Time.
Lesson on Islam Didn't Violate Establishment Clause or Free Speech Clause
The Fourth Circuit rejects a challenge to a history class being shown a slide stating "Most [Muslims'] faith is stronger than the average [Christian's]," and being required to fill in the blanks in "There is no god but __ and Muhammad is the __ of Allah," as part of a worksheet on the "Five Pillars" of Islam.
Court Reverses Order That Barred Former Church Member from Saying Anything About Pastor
The order, entered under the Illinois Stalking No Contact Order Act, barred Chester Wilk from "communicating, publishing or communicating in any form any writing naming or regarding [Pastor Eric Flood], his family or any employee, staff or member of the congregation of South Park Church in Park Ridge."
"Rational Basis" Test Not So Deferential Under Many State Constitutions
An important reminder from a recent Iowa Supreme Court decision; some lawyers know this point well, but many don't.
English Woman Reportedly Arrested, Partly for "Misgendering" Trans Activist, Ordered by Court to Stop
A judge "issued an interim injunction that bans [Kate Scottow] from posting any personal information about [Stephanie] Hayden on social media, 'referencing her as a man' or linking her to her 'former male identity.'"
"[A]nti-Capitalist Societies Have [Newspapers], But Only in the Sense That Grigory Potemkin Had Villages"
A great line from Megan McArdle's recent article on newspapers and their "pivot to dust."
Right to Carry Guns in Public Headed for Ninth Circuit En Banc
A panel decision had said there is such a right to carry (though the state can decide whether people must carry openly or may carry concealed); the Ninth Circuit has just agreed to rehear the matter with an 11-judge panel.
Is Threatening To Publish Bezos' Nude/Lewd Pics Criminal Blackmail?
When is a threat to reveal something embarrassing blackmail, and when is it permissible? Plus a special Bill Cosby (but non-sexual-assault) connection.
Gun Decontrol, 1986 to Now
The latest map of state laws related to concealed carry, 1986 to 2019, is out -- and it's striking.
Does the Second Amendment Secure a Right to Carry Guns in Most Public Places?
Another cert. petition asks the Supreme Court to resolve the circuit split on this question.
Second Amendment Right Regained, Despite 20-Year-Old Conviction
Federal law treated the conviction -- for altering a motor vehicles department certificate that allowed the owner to have tinted windows on his car -- as a felony, because the maximum penalty was five years in prison. But state law treated it as a misdemeanor, and the defendant was sentenced only to a year's probation.
