Episode 231: Ah, September, when Europe unleashes a summer's worth of crazy
Episode 231 of the Cyberlaw Podcast
Volokh Conspiracy
"I'm afraid you can't say that, Dave"
Will AI save the Internet from Putin - and Drudge? Episode 232 of the Cyberlaw Podcast
Politico Symposium on How to Handle the Kavanaugh Sexual Assault Accusation
It includes contributions by a variety of legal scholars and commentators, including myself.
"The Schoolhouse Gate": The Constitution Goes to School
The Supreme Court is not omnipotent, but neither is it impotent, as its constitutional decisions from public schools helpfully illuminate.
Racism Coming and Going: The Cases of Sen. Tom Watson and Gov. George Wallace
For good or ill, politicians are politicians.
Jeffrey Rosen on "Madison's Nightmare"
Legal scholar and National Constitution Center President Jeffrey Rosen explains how many of the Constitution's safeguards against "mob rule" have frayed. His description of the problem is compelling, though he is less strong on possible solutions.
Kavanaugh Testimony, Part 5: On the Fourth Amendment
His testimony that Carpenter is a "game changer" could be a game changer for bulk data collection
Kavanaugh Testimony, Part 4: On following precedents
And why write dissenting and concurring opinions?
Kavanaugh Testimony, Part 3: unenumerated rights and more
"the whole document tilts toward liberty"--more on Judge Kavanaugh's judicial philosophy
Kavanaugh Testimony, Part 2: Colloquy with Senator Kennedy
A Republican Senator discusses natural rights, majoriarianism, linguistic ambiguity and the difficulties of identifying original meaning
Kavanaugh Testimony, Part 1: On Originalism
What he said about his judicial philosophy
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
A faithless elector feels the Bern, tasing a pregnant woman in the stomach, tasing a man in diabetic shock, and crosses in public parks.
Department of Education Decision May Pressure Universities to Restrict Some Anti-Israel Speech
The Office for Civil Rights decision is in some ways opaque and equivocal, but the message to universities seems pretty powerful -- such decisions about enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights of Act may turn on whether the university tolerates certain criticisms of Israel that OCR has now labeled "anti-Semitic."
Urinating in Public "Discarding or Depositing Any Rubbish, Trash, Garbage, Debris or Other Refuse"
Oregon law apparently doesn't ban public urination -- but it does ban littering, especially when it "create[s] an objectionable stench."
Another Brutal Review of Nancy MacLean, Democracy in Chains
Stanford historian Jennifer Burns' long march through a terrible book
Wiser Kids, Wiser Universities
What you can do to help protect free speech on campus.
Speech Codes and "Twisting Title IX"
The weird interrelationship between harassment law and campus free speech
New Draft Article: "Compelled Decryption and the Privilege Against Self-Incrimination"
I've blogged on these issues, and here's an article on them.
Cato Unbound Symposium on Federal Power Over Immigration
The lead essay on this month's Cato Unbound is my article outlining why the text and original meaning of the Constitution do not give the the federal government any general power to restrict immigration. There will be responses by critics, and ongoing discussion until October.
Speech Code Hokey Pokey: How Campus Speech Codes Could Rebound
If you believe that unconstitutional speech codes are a scandal at public universities, two recent cases should worry you.
California Ban on Handgun Ads at Gun Stores Violates First Amendment
So a federal judge just held.
Then-Candidate Trump's Speech at Rally Wasn't Constitutionally Unprotected "Incitement" of Violence Against Protesters
So a Sixth Circuit panel just held, and it also concluded that the statements weren't actionable under Kentucky law.
Saved by the Militia
My National Review Online Column After 9/11: In praise of the "unorganized" militia
Connecticut Prosecution for Forgery of Court Order, Aimed at Getting Patch.com Article Altered or Deindexed
The defendant, Imani Pennant, reportedly said that there's a web site that helps people create such orders.
Good News and Bad News About Campus Speech Codes
A very brief history of the rise and fall (and potential rise again) of campus speech codes. [UPDATE: Very sorry, at first accidentally labeled this as my post -- it's actually Greg Lukianoff's & Adam Goldstein's.]
Stanford Prof. Michael McConnell on the Kavanaugh Nomination
"The irony is that Kavanaugh is a remarkably un-Trumpian nominee.... The notion that any Trump nominee is illegitimate because he would shield Trump from hypothetical future subpoenas or prosecutions is belied by history. Nixon's appointments voted against him in United States vs. Nixon, and Clinton's appointments voted against him in Clinton vs. Jones."
Right to Cross-Examine Witnesses in University Disciplinary Proceedings
The Sixth Circuit reaffirms this, including for sexual assault accusations, in a case against the University of Michigan; and the court also allows plaintiff to proceed with his claim that the process was biased against him because of his sex.
The Coddling of the American Mind, Campuses, and the Law
Campus mental health, freedom of speech, and government policy.
Why "Settled Law" Isn't Really Settled -- and Why That's Often a Good Thing
The Supreme Court needs to have the power to overturn "settled" constitutional decisions in order to prevent the permanent entrenchment of terrible precedents.
A Mathematics Paper Two Math Journals Were Mau-Maued into Suppressing
Academic discourse is increasingly under threat from activist professors.
State Civil Protective Order Doesn't Preclude Federal Challenge to Criminal Harassment Statute
An interesting new Younger abstention case from the Ninth Circuit, arising in our challenge to Washington's very broad criminal harassment statute.
Short Circuit: A Roundup of Recent Federal Court Decisions
Satanic standing, Studebaker, and breaking into prison.
Discipline of UNM Med Student for "Unduly Inflammatory" Anti-Abortion Post Upheld
There is no "clearly established" First Amendment rights of public university professional school students to engage in such speech, a federal court holds.
Noteworthy Qualified Immunity Settlement
The state pays (and generously) to avoid the pending cert. petition in Allah v. Milling
California Legislature Tries to Stop "Patient Dumping"
Will the new law have the unintended consequence of accelerating the trend toward hospitals' closing down their emergency rooms?
Meanwhile, in a Texas Courtroom, Is the ACA in Trouble?
While all eyes focused on the Kavanaugh hearings (and an "anonymous" op-ed), a court heard argument in the latest ObamaCare challenge.
Thoughts on the Kavanaugh Racial Profiling Emails Revealed by Sen. Cory Booker
Conservative support for racial profiling is deeply problematic. But the e-mail leaked by Sen. Cory Booker actually shows Brett Kavanaugh advocating "race-neutral" post-9/11 security policies.
Challenge to Ban on "Literature with Offensive Content" at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
The policy -- here, applied to someone passing out religious valentines -- also bans "signs ... with offensive content," and more generally limits even nonoffensive signs and leafleting to a narrow "free speech zone."
