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 Denies Mega-Law-Firm's Request to Litigate Arbitration Confirmation Under Seal
Dentons US LLP sought to “initiate a civil case under seal by filing a petition to confirm an emergency arbitration award.”
Jerome Corsi & Larry Klayman Seem on Track to Losing Libel/Trademark Lawsuit Against Infowars and Alex Jones
Defendants had said Klayman "'could be the single worst lawyer in America,' has 'never actually won a courtroom victory in his life,' and is an 'idiot' and an 'egomaniac,'" and that "Corsi he seemed to mentally be extremely degraded to the point of what I would call dementia."
Anything You File in Court Can and Will Be Used Against You by People Who Google Your Name
A future Miranda warning for litigants? "I wish the SDNY pro se clinic had made me aware that many third-party commercial services download court documents ... and publish this information on the internet."
No Sealing in Ex-Record Exec Charlie Walk's Malpractice Lawsuit vs. Trump Lawyer Marc Kasowitz
Kasowitz had negotiated a confidential settlement agreement for Walk with UMG Recordings; but the agreement has now been made public, because the judge order it had to be unsealed for the malpractice lawsuit.
Serial Killer's Contract Lawsuit over Author's Promise to Visit and Call Can Go Forward
"[T]he plaintiff could fairly prove that the defendant got what she wanted under the contract and then cut the plaintiff loose."
"Judicial Opinions Serve Many Functions, and One of Those Is Journalistic"
"Our opinions are dispatches from the edge—moments, recounted for posterity, of how Oregon’s laws ... and the lives of its citizens, intersect."
Can Tenure Reviewers' Names Be Sealed in Employment Discrimination Lawsuit Filings?
No, says a district court at first; yes, it says six days later. Always good to check the docket for follow-up orders, if you have the time.
Thursday/Friday Open Thread
Better late than never!
Lawsuit Over School District Terminating Food Supply Contract for Anti-George-Floyd, COVID-Is-a-Hoax, Media-Are-Brainwashing-Us Speech
can go forward, as a First Amendment retaliation claim, holds a federal judge.
Dogs and Cats, Elections, and Prior Restraints
A Tennessee trial court "enjoined the parties [including a recent candidate for elected office] from making any public comments about each other and from making any 'negative or disrespectful comments' about each other to third parties."
Wrongly Ejecting Teenager from Sports Club for Sexual Misconduct May Be Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress,
if it's done without adequate investigation, and as a means of retaliating against the teenager's parent.
Police Officer's Libel Lawsuit Over Netflix's Making a Murderer Can Go Forward,
at least through discovery and until the motion for summary judgment; Netflix’s motion to dismiss has been denied.
Laurence Tribe, Several Others, and Me on "The Free Speech Implications of the 'De-Platforming' of Donald Trump"
I much enjoyed being on this American Constitution Society chapter panel.
Censor of Anti-China Speech Among Us
Two Illinois legislators meet with a high school principal complaining about an anti-China poster distributed by a student group, which promptly loses its faculty sponsor and has to
Avenatti v. Fox News Goes Full-On Civ Pro
Remember, the lawyer’s true superpower is to turn every question into a question about procedure.
Texas High Court Upholds Revenge Porn Statute,
by limiting it to exclude people who sincerely believed the material wasn't revenge porn (i.e., the participants had agreed that it be publicly released).
Is It Libelous to Falsely Say Someone Is Working with the Police?
Special bonus connections: disbarred lawyers, Tupac Shakur, New York City political figures, and then-not-yet-Attorney-General Michael Mukasey.
Alan Dershowitz's Libel Lawsuit Against CNN Can Go Forward
The lawsuit stemmed from CNN's coverage of Dershowitz's argument in the first Trump impeachment trial.
"How the Liberal Media Dismissed the Lab-Leak Theory and Smeared Its Supporters"
An article by Jonathan Chait (formerly of The New Republic and The American Prospect) in New York magazine.
Labeling Video Filed in Court "Confidential" Doesn't Make It So
Yet "[i]t is particularly troubling to the Court that [the lawyer] appears to have survived this motion more by dumb luck than any concerted effort on his part to comply with either his professional responsibilities or the orders of this Court."
Does Libel Dispute About Whether "TheDemonatrix" Comics Are "Lolicon" Belong in Federal Court?
(Lolicon is "A Japanese term derived from the English phrase 'Lolita complex,' lolicon describes a fascination with cartoons of very young-looking girls engaged in varying degrees of erotic behavior.")
California Bill Would Ban "Protest Activities" Within 300 Feet of Vaccination Site
But people have as much right to protest vaccination sites as they do to protest factories, stores, or abortion clinics.
Can Conspiring to Engage in a Legal Act Be Actionable "Civil Conspiracy"?
An interesting discussion of the question—with a vivid example—in a South Carolina case.
If You Deserted While Still in Boot Camp, You're Not a "Veteran"
So holds a Pennsylvania court, affirming a conviction for fraudulently obtaining money by claims of veteran status.
Affidavit Supporting Search Warrant, Considered in Motion-to-Suppress Hearing, Can't Be Sealed
But modest redactions are permissible.
Texas Lawyers Can Be Sued for Libel for Press Releases About Complaints,
even if the press release accurately summarizes the Complaint; the rule is different in some states, such as California.
The Doge Conspiracy
I think I have it all figured out.
My Thoughts on Dogecoin
I, for one, am delighted to see people acknowledging the long and important history of banking, and the role of the medieval Republic of Venice and its doges in that history.
Federal Race-/Sex-Based Restaurant Revitalization Fund Grants Blocked
A court issues a temporary restraining order, finding plaintiff's claim was likely to succeed on the merits.
