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
Judge Strikes Trump's Complaint in Libel Lawsuit Against N.Y. Times
"The complaint continues ... with much more, persistently alleged in abundant, florid, and enervating detail." "[A] complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and invective—not a protected platform to rage against an adversary. A complaint is not a megaphone for public relations or a podium for a passionate oration at a political rally or the functional equivalent of the Hyde Park Speakers' Corner."
Court Upholds Florida School District's June 2020 Decision to Cancel Food Supply Contract with Farm Whose Owner Viewed as Covid as Hoax
"[T]he evidence shows that the school system's interests in food safety were the reasons for its decision to break ties with Oakes Farms—not its bare disagreement with [owner's] political views."
David Cole Said It Would Be Like This: The ACLU's Smart Move in Representing the NRA in NRA v. Vullo
The right would likewise be smart in protecting speech on the left today.
Accused Buffalo Mass Shooter's Speech Wasn't "Incitement" Under First Amendment Rules
So holds the judge in rejecting this as an aggravating factor in the government's death penalty case, though many other aggravating factors remain.
AG Pam Bondi Says "We Can Prosecute You" for Refusing to Print Posters for Charlie Kirk Vigil
But there doesn't seem to be any federal law actually authorizing such prosecutions (or civil lawsuits).
Doctor Can't Be Disciplined by Washington Medical Commission for Blog Posts About COVID
The posts were "downplaying the severity of the COVID pandemic, promoting the use of ivermectin over a vaccine, and criticizing the government's response to the pandemic."
Plaintiff Must "Reconcile Herself to the Fact That Litigation Is Often Accompanied by Public Attention and Scrutiny"
"Outside of certain narrow and presently inapplicable circumstances, federal lawsuits are public proceedings and members of the public are free to comment on them."
"The Danger of Social Media": "It Allows People to Publish Their Internal Monologues"
"Can civilization survive now that we have been made witness to the interior lives of others?"
Hospital Fired Employee for On-the-Job Sex: She Claimed It Was Rape but Other Person Said It Was BDSM
The employee sued, claiming the firing was retaliation; the jury found for the hospital, and the Sixth Circuit upheld the verdict (among other things upholding the admission of evidence of the employee's interest in BDSM).
California Public Charter Schools' Independent Study Programs Can Insist on Secular Curricular Materials
"The Supreme Court has recently confirmed that the Free Exercise Clause does not prohibit a state from providing 'a strictly secular education in its public schools'"—and, the court held, that extends to California charter schools and their parental "home-based direct instruction approved by the school and coordinated, evaluated, and supervised by state-certified teachers."
Teacher Disciplined for Saying "Privilege" Training Involved "White-Bashing BS" Can Go Forward with First Amendment Claim
"[T]he only evidence of disruption pointed to by Defendants is the fact that a teacher felt uncomfortable at a session designed with the expectation that participants would feel uncomfortable."
"Are You a Jew? … Are You a Zionist?"
Federal judge allows "pattern or practice" claim of discrimination against Jews by coffee shop to go forward.
Excluding Religious School That "Forfeited a Girls' Playoff Basketball Game to Avoid Playing a Team with a Transgender Athlete" Violated Free Exercise Clause
So the Second Circuit held today, concluding that the facts surrounding this particular exclusion showed hostility to religion, and not just the neutral application of generally applicable rules.
Oklahoma AG on the First Amendment and Drag Shows
Such drag shows are protected unless they fit within the (fairly narrow) category of obscenity, which is limited to certain material that depicts sexual conduct (not just cross-dressing).
Third Circuit Holds Fired "Alt Right" Prof. Jason Jorjani's Speech Was Constitutionally Protected,
though it remands for a decision on whether he would have been fired in any event based on other misconduct.
