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. He is also the co-host of the Free Speech Unmuted podcast.
Eugene Volokh
Latest from Eugene Volokh
Should State Universities Have Official Positions on Whether Constitution Should Be Read as Protecting Abortion?
Apparently, "The Court's decision"—and by implication the position of students, staff, and faculty who endorse that decision—"is antithetical to the University of California's mission and values."
American U. Law Students Investigated for "Harassment" for Insulting Comments About Abortion in Group Chat
The complaining student alleged the students' remarks were "harassing and threatening" him because of his conservative "political affiliation" and his "religious beliefs."
The Attitude-Altering Slippery Slope and Extremeness Aversion Behavioral Effects, Plus …
are attitude-altering slippery slopes good or bad?
Thursday Open Thread
What's on your mind?
Divorced Couple Dispute Over Pre-Embryos: One Wants Them Destroyed, the Other Wants Them Implanted
Colorado law says that ordinarily the decision is in favor of the person who doesn't want the embryos implanted; the Colorado Court of Appeals held that this applies even when the person has religious reasons for wanting to donate them to another couple.
Former SG Paul Clement on Leaving Kirkland & Ellis After It Decided to Withdraw from Second Amendment Cases
"We could not abandon ongoing representations just because a client's position is unpopular in some circles."
"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.
