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
"Purported Robberies Were Staged" to Support "Fraudulent Visa Applications"
A system for encouraging cooperation by crime victims was allegedly turned into a means of producing visa fraud.
News Website Publisher Gets Harassment Restraining Order Against Insistent Seeker of Coverage
The trial court found that "Decker continued contacting Siewert after she had asked him to stop five times" and "Decker's intent was to impose his will on Siewert to make her write about certain issues and to cover those issues in the way that he wanted them covered."
"[Mother] Shall Not Post on Social Media About [Her Parental Rights Termination] Case"
A Florida appellate court just overturned the injunction on First Amendment grounds.
Monday Open Thread
"С новым годом, с новым счастьем"—to the new year, to the new happiness!
Institute for Justice: Totally Worth Your Donations
As I've mentioned before, it's one of the public interest law firms that I admire most.
Court Rejects Fan's Libel Claims Against L.A. Clippers Player Russell Westbrook and the Utah Jazz
Westbrook and the Jazz characterized the fan's insults to Westbrook as racist; in context, the court concluded, these were constitutionally protected statements of opinion.
In Which States Is an Employee Protected from Firing for Making and Posting Porn Videos Off-Duty?
Colorado, North Dakota, probably Montana, and maybe New York.
Nebraska Court Upholds Order That Father Not Take Son to Sweat Lodge
The court is silent on whether it would be OK to take him to Houston in July.
First Amendment Likely Protects Even Unlicensed Engineers' Right to Provide Expert Opinion in Government Proceedings
(Note that the court dealt with a professional licensing board's threat of punishment for such engineers; it doesn't deal with the separate question whether a government body may refuse to accept testimony from an unlicensed expert.)
Tweet Accusing Man of Rape Led to Gag Order Against the Accuser
The trial judge concluded the Tweet was “harassment by defamation.”
New Yorker Article Seems to Misdescribe S. Ct.'s Decision on School Library Book Removal
The article claims that a prohibition on viewpoint-based removals of school library books is "settled law" announced by a "majority opinion." But that's not so.
Adam Unikowsky: "Is the Supreme Court Seriously Going to Disqualify Trump? (Redux)"
"The chances are still low, but improving."
Abortion-Funding/-Supporting Groups' Challenges to Texas Abortion Laws Can Proceed for Now
The district court just dismissed certain procedural objections to them, though it wasn't asked to consider the substantive arguments.
Nirvana Nevermind Cover Baby's Child Pornography Lawsuit Isn't Barred by Statute of Limitations,
the Ninth Circuit rules, though expressly noting that "The question whether the Nevermind album cover meets the definition of child pornography is not at issue in this appeal."
#TheyLied Libel Lawsuit Over Allegations of Sexual Harassment Can Proceed,
recommends a Magistrate Judge, in a case brought over defendant student organization chair's claims that plaintiff had engaged in "sever[e], consisten[t], and widespread" misbehavior.
Libel Suit Terminated Because of Plaintiff's Discovery Misconduct
The flip side of what happened with defendant-side discovery misconduct in the Rudy Giuliani and Alex Jones cases, though with much smaller stakes.