The Empty Threat of 2Ls and 3Ls Transferring To Receive In-Person Instruction
Students would be foolish to transfer to another school in the middle of a pandemic when there is no guarantee in-person instruction will continue anywhere.
Volokh Conspiracy
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Unpaid college athletes, cannabidiol gummies, and jailhouse informants.
Requiring Creation of Computer Code Doesn't Violate the First Amendment
Seems right to me, at least as a general matter.
N.C. Trial Court Holds Preliminary Injunctions Against Alleged Libel Are Unconstitutional
But permanent injunctions after a full trial on the merits might be a different story.
A Typical University Day in the COVID-19 Era.
Students who want to be on campus may find the experience very, very different than they expected.
Can the Michigan Attorney General prosecute Ford for hosting the President, while the factory is under a DPA contract?
McCulloch v. Maryland, always and forever.
What are Presidential Electors?
Marbury v. Madison and McCulloch v. Maryland could help decide the Faithless Electors Cases
No, the Supreme Court's "Bridgegate" Decision Doesn't Vindicate Trump on Impeachment [Updated with Comment on Josh Blackman's Clarification of his Position]
An abuse of power that doesn't violate federal fraud statutes can still be an impeachable offense - and still violate other criminal law.
The Supreme Court Opines on the Impeachment Trial, Two Months Too Late
Kelly v. U.S. distinguished between property-based fraud and abuse of power
Justice Thomas Expresses Doubts About the Overbreadth Doctrine
I anticipated this change, which is consistent with Thomas's Murphy v. NCAA concurrence
SCOTUS Rebukes Ninth Circuit Panel for "Radical Transformation" of Case
Yes, it was Judge Reinhardt.
Michigan House and Senate Move to Intervene, and Petition for Rehearing En Banc in "Basic Minimum Education Case"
"When the executive branch concedes a ruling that will effectively result in compelled legislative appropriations and court supervision and control of the public-school system, the legislative branch’s exercise of its core appropriation function has been 'completely nullified.'"
Does the ACA require "seamless" access to contraception?
No. That phrase came from Judge Pillard's opinion in Priests for Life.
What will Chief Justice Roberts do in Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania?
Justice Kagan offers one possible middle ground: "Cover only those who have objections to the existing accommodation."
Have the Little Sisters's Plan Been "Hijacked"?
This issue turns on the arcana of ERISA.
Three Initial Observations from Little Sisters of the Poor v. Pennsylvania
Ginsburg pages, Thomas and Gorsuch delegate, and Alito extends.
Over 200 federal judges write in opposition to Advisory Opinion 117
The effort was spearheaded by Judges Katsas, Oldham, Pryor, and Thapar.
DoD vs. FCC
Why does it matter is a federal agency is independent of Presidential control? Ask the Department of Defense.
What's Sauce for the Anatoly is Sauce for the Meherunnisa
An interesting election law (and name law) case from New York.
Islamic Prenuptial Agreements (Mahrs) Are Enforceable by American Courts, Like Other Prenups
So a Maryland appellate court held last month, I think quite correctly (and consistently with the broad trend in other states):
Josh Duggar ("19 Kids and Counting") Lawsuit Thrown Out
Josh Duggar had sued over the government's releasing records of his juvenile investigation.
Ninth Circuit on ALPR Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment
A fascinating new case.
Texas Supreme Court Rejects Original Jurisdiction Challenge to Coronavirus Orders, But Four Justices Concur
"As more becomes known about the threat and about the less restrictive, more targeted ways to respond to it, continued burdens on constitutional liberties may not survive judicial scrutiny."
The Trump Administration Did Not Support The Total Invalidation of the "Entire" ACA before the 5th Circuit
But the nuanced legal position is politically irrelevant.
Crime Victim's Petition for Rehearing En Banc Just Filed in the Eleventh Circuit Jeffrey Epstein Case
Epstein's victims ask the full Court to rehear this case, which upholds concealing "secret" non-prosecution agreements from crime victims.
Will the Trump Administration Finally Abandon Its Bizarre Position in the Texas ACA Case? (Update: No)
CNN reports that Attorney General Barr is (again) voicing opposition to DOJ's argument that zeroing out the mandate penalty should upend the entire law.
18-to-20-Year-Olds and the Second Amendment: Challenge to Florida Law Can Continue
So holds a federal district court.
"The Modern American Law of Race"
My article explores how the standard racial category boxes that we are asked to check came to be, and what proof the government requires of belonging to a minority group.
"Clear, Compelling, Written Language Is Required to Waive" Free Speech Rights
An important First Amendment holding in a factually fascinating case, which involves an alleged breach of contract, a World War II Medal of Honor, a dispute over a history book, and a discussion of anti-libel injunctions.
The Demise of the Short-Lived Government Edits Doctrine
People interested in government, and in editing, would have surely found it interesting.
What Motivated the Supreme Court's pre-New Deal Liberty of Contract Jurisprudence?
I have a new article reviewing the latest developments in the debate among legal historians.
