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
No One-Sided Pseudonymity in Case Against Political Candidate Alleging Revenge Porn
“Plaintiff has not conducted this litigation as though it involves matters of a highly sensitive and personal nature—instead, she would cloak herself in pseudonymity, and the protections it affords, while publicly lobbing allegations at Defendant by name.”
Wednesday Open Thread
Playing around with the post time (shifting to the start of the day to midday). "It is an experiment, as all life is an experiment."
Trump "Global Gag Rule" as to Abortion Likely Doesn't Violate the First Amendment
That's because it apparently covers only grants to foreign organizations operating abroad, and a 2020 Supreme Court decision generally held that the First Amendment doesn't apply in such situations.
Settlement in Heartbeat of Miami v. Jane's Revenge Pro-Life Pregnancy Center Vandalism Lawsuit
The settlement of the civil case follows guilty pleas or convictions in related criminal cases.
Mother Convicted of "Unlawful Posting of a Message" for Website Sharply Criticizing Woman Who Accused Mother's Son of Rape
The Michigan Court of Appeals just upheld the conviction, under a statute that requires showing of purpose to (among other things) "harass[]" or "molest[]," and reason to know that third parties would send the target unwanted and "harass[ing]" or "molest[ing]" messages. The statute doesn't require any showing that the accusations were false.
Devin Nunes Loses Defamation Appeal Against Ryan Lizza and Esquire
Nunes and his family's farm can't sufficiently show damages, so the court doesn't have to reach any of the other elements of defamation.
Federal Public Defender Submits Brief with Nonexistent Citation, Apparently Refuses to Admit This to the Judge at a Hearing
It's not the hallucination, it's the coverup.
Calling Someone "White Supremacist" in Online Debate Is Opinion …
and thus not actionable defamation, unless defendant "implies undisclosed facts by insinuating that the plaintiff" engaged in specific racist acts or made (undisclosed) racist statements.
"TikTok's Tech Partners Face Massive Legal Risks by Relying on Trump's Promises Not to Enforce the Ban Law, …
as courts rarely protect defendants who count on executive non-enforcement," writes Prof. Alan Rozenshtein (Minnesota).
Man Sues HBO, Claiming He Is the Pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, Inventor of Bitcoin
But "[n]othing in Plaintiff's conclusory assertions suggest that Plaintiff could plead facts plausibly linking his identity with that of the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto."
"Another Email Account Impersonating a Banker Working for [Plaintiff] Invited … Recipients … to Join a Fictitious Neo-Nazi Banking Club"
One of many allegedly defamatory statements allegedly sent by a former summer intern at a financial company; the court holds a proposed preliminary injunction against future speech by defendant about plaintiff would be an unconstitutional prior restraint, but issues a narrower injunction.
