New on Lawfare: The Abuse of the Pardon Prevention Act Would Criminalize Politics
Seth Barrett Tillman and I consider the constitutionality of this new bribery regime.
Volokh Conspiracy
Three Cool New Features from Microsoft Teams for Virtual Classrooms
Arrange students in "virtual auditorium," live captions, and class is automatically transcribed.
Defendant Ordered "Not to Post Pictures or Comments About" the Administrator of Nursing Home Where Defendant's Mother Lives
Unconstitutional, says a Massachusetts appellate court (correctly).
"The Information [U.S. Customs & Border Protection] Wants to Seal … [Is] Not Secret Anymore"
"CBP asks the Court to close the stable door to keep an invisible horse from bolting. But that stable door sat open for five months before CBP asked the Court to secure it. Neither the Court nor CBP know whether the horse is gone, but the possibility that it's still be there can't outweigh public's interest in open doors."
Government's Seeking to Force Landlord to Evict You Because of Your Threatened Lawsuit Against Police
would clearly violate the Constitution, and so would giving a ticket to your lover because of the romantic relationship.
Lawsuit Against Pro-Palestinian / Anti-Semitic Protesters Outside Synagogue Thrown Out
The First Amendment protects "'anti-Israeli, anti-Zionist, [and] antisemitic" speech, the court correctly observes.
The Case for Paying People to Take a Coronavirus Vaccine
Economist Robert Litan makes a strong case that this step is likely to save both lives and money.
How Many Universities Built COVID Potemkin Villages To Lure Students Back To Campus?
My cynical take on the first week back.
Iowa State English Professor Forbids Papers "Against Gay Marriage, Abortion, Black Lives Matter,"
threatens to kick students out of class for "othering." Fortunately, the university has stepped in and rejected this position.
The Supreme Court's Refusal to Reinvigorate the Contract Clause
The Court has said almost nothing interesting about the Contract Clause this millennium, and in 2018 it continued to apply the Clause loosely.
Cato Unbound Symposium on the 50th Anniversary of Albert Hirschman's Classic Book "Exit, Voice, and Loyalty" [Updated]
The symposium includes contributions by Adam Thierer, Mikayla Novak, Max Borders, and myself. The relationship between exit and voice is as important an issue as ever.
Cincinnati Enquirer Writes About the Police Officer's Pseudonymous Libel Lawsuit,
mentioning the name of an officer against whom publicly available complaints -- the contents of which matches the contents of the allegedly libelous post -- were filed.
University of Southern Maine Asks Students and Faculty to Sign "Black Lives Matter Statement and Antiracism Pledge"
The President of the University will post a public list of signatories. Nonsignatories may be subject to retaliation.
In Committee v. McGahn, There is no Equitable Cause of Action to Enjoin Unlawful Executive Action
This issue keeps popping up in litigation against the Trump Administration. The Supreme Court should resolve this question.
Justice Kagan Orders Parties To Submit A Brief "Not To Exceed 100 Words"
Students can never again complain about word limits.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Government snipers, objector blackmail, and PACER fees.
Cancelling John Marshall?
Will the Great Chief Justice be given the Roger Taney Treatment?
The Eleventh Circuit Grants Rehearing En Banc on the Victims' Challenge to Epstein's Non-Prosecution Agreement
The full Court will consider whether Jeffrey Epstein's victims can argue for invalidating the immunity provisions in the Epstein deal.
Eighth Circuit Panel Finds that CJ Roberts's Opinion in June Medical is Controlling
And panel agrees with Justice Kavanaugh that "five Members of the Court reject[ed] the Whole Woman’s Health cost-benefit standard."
En Banc D.C. Circuit Concludes House Has Standing to Enforce Subpoena in Court (Updated)
At the same time, the court punts on whether the House has standing to challenge allegedly unlawful expenditure by Executive Branch.
"The Most Gullible Man in Cambridge" and 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)
Professor Bruce Hay sued an LLC in diversity jurisdiction, but failed to note the citizenship of each member of the LLC.
"The Most Gullible Man in Cambridge" Story Gets Even Stranger
The legally strange dimension: A claim that the magazine article author sexually harassed the subject of her article, apparently by "seek[ing] inappropriate personal and romantic intimacy with Plaintiff."
Sargon of Akkad Wins Attorney Fees in We Thought She Would Win/SJW Levels of Awareness Copyright Lawsuit
"[T]he Court has little difficulty concluding that Hughes's dual goals in bringing her baseless suit were to inflict financial harm on Benjamin and to raise her own profile in the process."
HLLI Challenges Constitutionality of Pennsylvania Rule 8.4(g)
The Hamilton-Lincoln Law Institute files suit in EDPA on behalf of a FIRE attorney who speaks at CLE events on "hot-button legal issues."
Supreme Court's Growing Popularity Reduces the Risk of Court-Packing and Other Threats to Judicial Review
Its approval rating - 58 percent - is at its highest level since 2009, far outstripping the other two branches of government. That doesn't prove the justices are doing a good job, but will make it harder to pursue court-packing or other attacks on the Court.
Calvary Chapel to Hold Prayer Service (for Trump) at Las Vegas Casino.
Evangelicals find a way to pray en masse in Nevada.
"Made in Hollywood, Censored by Beijing"
A new report from the writer's group PEN America.
Did Judge Reeves Reach the Correct Result in Jamison v. McClendon?
A blistering criticism, but I'm not sure this was the right case for it.
More Policing, Same Amount of Policing, or Less Policing?
A new poll reports on attitudes on this subject, broken down by race.
Seventh Circuit Recognizes that McGirt v. Oklahoma Departed From Longstanding Precedent
Justice Gorsuch's majority opinion may have promoted textualism, but it did not recognize a departure from Stare Decisis.
