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
COVID Lockdown Violation Conviction Reversed, Based on N.J. Policy Exempting "Political Activities"
Defendant was "walking along the highway holding up signs to passing motorists stating 'PHUCK,' '#THIN BLUE,' and 'Slow Down Police Ahead.'"
If Colleges Ban "Advocacy of Genocide," What Would That Mean for Speech Supporting Israeli Actions in Gaza?
Most 18-to-24-year-old registered voters, a recent poll reports, view Israel's actions as "genocide."
Harvard/Harris Poll: Huge Majorities of 18-to-24-Year-Olds Believe Jews, Whites "Are Oppressors"
The survey was of 2,034 registered voters
Court Allows Sealing of Video of Police Shooting of 11-Year-Old Aderrien Murry
The boy's name has been publicly reported (apparently with his parents' permission), but the court nonetheless concludes that releasing the video would violate his privacy. (The grand jury has just declined to indict the police officer.)
Seemingly Hallucinated Cases, in Michael Cohen Post-Conviction Motion
It's the twelfth case I've seen this year in which something like this apparently happened.
Publishers' Claims Over Alleged Harassment Campaign by eBay Can Go Forward
"A group of eBay employees devised and engaged in a campaign of harassment, stalking, and threats to stop the Steiners from reporting about eBay" in their ECommerceBytes trade publication.
OK for Law School to Consider Whether "Students Possess the Mental and Emotional Stability to Join the Bar"
"[T]he wide-ranging conspiracy Doe posits, one that tormented an ordinary law student for months on end using actors, poison, and a weapon that can send electricity wirelessly through brick walls, is too far beyond the pale of human experience to credit without supporting evidence, of which Doe has provided none."
Nate Silver on "Why Liberalism and Leftism Are Increasingly at Odds"
"The progressive coalition is splitting over Israel and identity politics."
Prof. Andrew Koppelman, "Universities Must Quit with the BS"
"The job of academia is the discovery of truth. Universities should not be in the bullshit business."
Texas's Ban on TikTok Use by Government Employees on Government Computers Upheld
The ban also extends to private devices that are used to access state networks.
An Interesting Decision from Last Year on a Security Clearance for an American-Israeli Joint Citizen
I expect that the situation in this case was quite similar to that faced by many Americans who are also citizens of allied foreign nations.
When Should Security Clearance Be Denied Based on Interest in QAnon and Three Percenters?
Security clearances can be denied based on constitutionally protected speech; but there's an adjudicative process aimed at reviewing whether such denials make sense in light of the facts of each case.
More on Advocacy of Genocide
Let's focus concretely on proposed bans on advocacy of "genocide," at Stanford and beyond.
"Moral Rot": Rude Awakenings, Lessons, and Being Not Sure How to Cope
"We have had no end of a lesson: it will do us no end of good."
Social Media Political Insults of Public Employee in Election Campaign Aren't Protected by the First Amendment
So a Minnesota Court of Appeals panel concluded this Summer, over a sharp dissent.
David Lat, "Against Free-Speech Hypocrisy"
"And in (partial) defense of Harvard President Claudine Gay's controversial congressional testimony."
"This Will Not End Well": FIRE on Penn President's Backtracking on Free Speech
"Conservatives like Rep. Elise Stefanik should ask themselves: Do you honestly believe this [proposed new rule against "calls for genocide"] won't be weaponized to ban an Israeli cabinet official from speaking at Penn? An Israeli Defense Force soldier?"
FIRE's Statement on the House Hearings on Anti-Semitism
"Double standards are frustrating, but we should address them by demanding free speech be protected consistently — not by expanding the calls for censorship."
