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
"Anti-BDS" Statute Imposing No-Boycott-Israel Term in Arkansas Government Contracts Is Constitutional
So holds the Eighth Circuit, sitting en banc.
#TheyLied Prosecution Over Alleged Perjury and Faked Evidence
The defendant is one Rovier Carrington, who "sued Hollywood executives alleging that the executives had sexually assaulted him, and that they had defrauded him in connection with a decision to refuse to produce [his] reality television program."
Exclusion of Religious Schooling from Generally Available School Choice Programs Generally Unconstitutional,
except for the training of the clergy, holds the Supreme Court.
Criminal Libel Law, Partly Coming Back in Washington State in Harassment Order Cases
When a judge hearing a protection order petition thinks the defendant is engaged in "harassment," which can include two or more statements the judge thinks is libelous, the judge can effectively criminalize future libels of the plaintiff by the defendant.
Accessing Google Drive, Using Inadvertently Revealed Long URL, Can Violate Computer Fraud & Abuse Act
So holds a federal district court, in a dispute arising from the school policy wars.
Contract Lawsuit Can Proceed, Over Private School Disciplining Student for Alleged Racial Epithet Use
The plaintiff alleged that the Wardlaw-Hartridge School had failed to comply with its own procedural rules in the Student-Parent Handbook.
>$10M Libel Verdicts: They're Not Just for Johnny Depp
But here the Iowa Supreme Court reduced the verdict to $3M, with an interesting analysis of the law of libel.
Iowa S. Ct. Overrules Decision Subjecting Abortion Restrictions to Strict Scrutiny Under Iowa Constitution
The Court doesn't decide whether that means they are subject to an "undue burden" test (as under Planned Parenthood v. Casey) or whether there is no right to abortion under the state constitution.
What Are Ya, Some Kind of Comedian?
Qualified immunity denied in case alleging a probable-cause-less arrest based on plaintiff's (comedian Hannibal Buress's) speech "roast[ing a police officer's] ass."
N.J. Supreme Court: "Danger Invites Rescue" Doctrine Doesn't Apply to Attempts to Save Pets
If Ann saves Beau from peril, and is injured in the process, she could sue whoever negligently endangered Beau (that's the "danger invites rescue" doctrine). But the court holds this doesn't apply if Beau is a dog.
"[W]ell, People Really Be Tellin', People Be Tellin'. That Is Not Right, That Is Not Right."
A Snapchat post containing this line and "a copy of the police report summarizing [a witness's] identification of [a person] as the shooter" leads to a four-year prison sentence for witness tampering; a New Jersey court says the post is a constitutionally unprotected true threat of violence.
Seventh Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Over School Ban on T-Shirts That Depict Guns,
and reverses a precedent that suggested that viewpoint-neutral speech restrictions in public K-12 schools are generally permissible.
Institute for Free Speech Looking for Litigator (with 7+ Years of Experience)
One of the very few jobs where you'd get to litigate free speech law every day
Not Libel or IIED to Accuse Ex-Son-in-Law of Trying to Turn His Daughter (Accuser's Granddaughter) Lesbian,
at least in text messages to the grandchildren.
$125K Libel Punitive Award Excessive When Jury Found No Compensatory Damages
The award was entered against entertainment executive Damon Anthony Dash, former business partner of Jay-Z; $650K in libel damages to another plaintiff, plus likely $25K of the $125K, remain.
No First Amendment Problem with Routine Anonymous Criminal Juries
"[I]n this internet age, where jurors' names can trigger lightning-fast access to a wealth of biographical information, including addresses, any slightly positive role in divulging jurors' names to the public is outweighed by the risk to jury integrity."
Texas Ban on "Transmitting" Nude Photos Without Request or Consent: Does It Apply Just to Posting Them Online?
It looks like it was intended to cover unwanted sexual images sent to a particular person, but its text seems broad enough to potentially cover even posting things on your own site.
Court Limits Ban on Speech That Causes "Substantial Emotional Distress" with "Intent to Harass or Intimdate"
The court concludes that the federal "cyberstalking" statute covers only speech intended to "put the victim in fear of death or bodily injury" or to "distress the victim by threatening, intimidating, or the like."
The Ukraine v. Ukraine, Kiev v. Kyiv, Turkey v. Türkiye, Moscow v. Moskva
English names for foreign places have long differed, in many situations, from the local names. (And that's likely true of most languages.)
