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
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Expresses Doubt About Appellate Decisions About History in Second Amendment Cases
But wouldn't the arguments in the dissent equally cast doubt on all historical analysis in constitutional cases, or even statutory or common-law cases?
Ex-Alien Judge Speaks Out in Favor of Using the Statutory Term "Alien" Rather Than "Noncitizen"
"This word is not a pejorative nor an insult. I certainly did not consider it an insult to be referred to as an alien in my deportation proceedings."
Libel Lawsuit Over Tweet by Prominent Novelist Don Winslow Can Go Forward
Winslow had accused a doctor working on contract with an immigration detention center of "perform[ing] illegal hysterectomies on women at the direction of Trump and [DHS]."
Donald Trump v. Hillary Clinton Opinion
The court agrees with the defense position that "[w]hatever the utilities of [the Amended Complaint] as a fundraising tool, a press release, or a list of political grievances, it has no merit as a lawsuit."
Extra Discovery Allowed in States' Lawsuit Claiming Government "Colluded with and/or Coerced Social Media …
companies to suppress disfavored speakers, viewpoints, and contents."
Judges: Need Pro Bono Court-Appointed Amicus to Represent Public Interest as to Sealing/Pseudonymity Requests?
I'm glad to do such things, and to get students involved to give them practical experience.
"Virginia Can't Force Bookstores To Card Kids for Books on Gender and Sexuality"
at least through a preliminary injunction, even if the books include some moderately graphic descriptions.
Objective vs. Subjective Inquiry in Restraining Order Based on Divorcing Spouse's Allegedly Threatening Speech
Clearly hostile, but was it threatening?
Our Constitution: "Well-Regulated Democracy," "In Its Principles … Purely Democratical"
I keep hearing the same (pointless, I think) claims that America is a republic, not a democracy. It's both a republic and a democracy.
Cyberstalking Conviction for E-Mails to Nebraska Legislature Candidate Reversed
The Eighth Circuit tries to rein in the criminalization of the intentional infliction of emotional distress tort.
"The Pleading Needs More Hemingway, Less Faulkner"
"Clocking in at 443 words and almost one-and-one-half pages in length, Paragraph 14 is a series of run-on sentences and sentence fragments ...."
Cloudflare Says Its Online Security Services Won't Be Canceled Based on a Site's Ideology
"Just as the telephone company doesn't terminate your line if you say awful, racist, bigoted things, we have concluded ... that turning off security services because we think what you publish is despicable is the wrong policy. To be clear, just because we did it in a limited set of cases before doesn't mean we were right when we did. Or that we will ever do it again."
Court Rejects Suit by Volunteer Yale Psych Professor Fired for Public Diagnosis of Trump and Alan Dershowitz
"In January 2020, you called for 'an involuntary evaluation' of President Trump, and you said, 'I am beginning to believe a mental health hold ... will become inevitable.' That same month, you publicly suggested that President Trump, Rudolph Giuliani and Alan Dershowitz had a 'shared psychosis.'"
San Jose Unified School District Likely Discriminated Against Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Based on …
the FCA's requirement that leaders "abide by a Statement of Faith, which includes the belief that sexual relations should be limited within the context of a marriage between a man and a woman" -- so holds a Ninth Circuit's panel.
"It's Illegal for People Under 21 to Buy Canisters of Whipped Cream in NY"
UPDATE (see end of post): Perhaps this is just an example of the "chilling effect," where a law deters even behavior that it may not actually cover (perhaps in part because of how the law's own backers had initially described it).
Third Circuit Sends Down to District Court the Second Amendment Challenge to N.J.'s Ban on >10-Round Magazines
The appellate court would leave the matter for the district court to decide in the first instance, subject to appellate review; Judge Matey dissented, arguing that the appellate court should have considered the issue directly.
