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
Some More on Expert Witnesses in Libel Lawsuits
Former Congressman Alan Grayson, now running for the Senate in Florida, is producing some interesting caselaw.
Court Dismisses Lawsuit Against Trump for His Use of the Terms "Chinese Virus" and "Kung Flu"
"No matter how deplorable the plaintiff finds the defendant's remarks, the First Amendment precludes civil liability for the remarks in order to protect the right to free and robust debate on matters of public concern, which the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus plainly is."
Residential Picketing in Virginia (Outside a Justice's Home or Otherwise)
A state law bans it -- but that law is very likely unconstitutional (though a different version of such a ban would have been constitutional).
Thursday Open Thread
What's on your mind?
Pennsylvania Appellate Court Allows Preliminary Injunction Against Repeating Material Found Likely Libelous,
cutting back on what seemed like a categorical prohibition on anti-libel injunctions from a 1978 Pennsylvania Supreme Court case.
Libel to Lay Out Facts About Law Clerk's Writings and Associations, and Say Clerk Is Thus Likely the Leaker?
Very likely no, if the clerk is domiciled in D.C. or Maryland (and pretty likely no if in Virginia), if the stated factual background is accurate.
Appellant Can't File Special Response-to-Amicus Brief Under Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure
Any response must go in the normal reply brief.
D.C. Police Department Allegedly Has Policy of Delaying/Denying FOIA Requests That May Lead to Criticism
A district court just allowed a First Amendment challenge to this policy to go forward.
Sign Restriction That Excludes Holiday Signs Is Unconstitutionally Content-Based
A “30-by-50-foot flag saying, ‘TRUMP 2020 Keep America Great’” was therefore wrongly forbidden by the City of Buffalo (Minnesota).
Boston Can't Exclude Christian Flag from City Hall Flagpole When It Allows Many Other Groups to Fly Flags
So the Supreme Court held this morning, though it made clear that a city could pick and choose which flags it flies, if it makes clear that the flags are its own speech.
Rape Victim Asks Court to Retroactively Redact Name from 16-Year-Old Opinion
Court redacts the name from the court-hosted official record, but refuses to order private sites to remove it.
"And Whomever You Ask in Russia / Everyone Will Say: 'Merci to the Leadership!'"
"Don't even doubt it / Or you will right away become a foreign agent."
Thursday Open Thread
What's on your mind?
A Different Sort of "Don't Say Gay"
A public school banned a "homosexuality is a sin" T-shirt on the grounds that it mentions "sex."
Continuing to Send Unwanted Political Mailings to a Business Isn't "Harassment" Under Minnesota Law
So holds the Eighth Circuit, even though a state trial court had indeed enjoined the Christian Action League's mailings under that law.
Law Requiring Sex Offenders to Report All New Online IDs to Government May Well Violate First Amendment
So holds a federal appellate court.
Virginia S. Ct. Declines to Unseal Allegations of Misconduct Against a Virginia Judge
The allegations had been filed in an appendix to a petition the judge filed in the state supreme court, challenging her suspension by the state Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission; but the court concludes they are nonetheless not records open to the public.
Monday Morning Media
What should we be watching? Reading? Listening to? Tell us in the comments.
