Chief Justice Roberts: “We are the most transparent branch of government.”
During the Annual Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Conference, Chief Justice Roberts made a number of comments on a wide-range of issues, from Justice Kagan’s new frozen yogurt machine to the benefits...
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Congratulations to the Winners of FantasySCOTUS October Term 2010
The results are in for FantasySCOTUS October 2010 Term. Congratulations to Melech, also known as Jacob Berlove, who is the Chief Justice of FantasySCOTUS. I recorded a PodCast with Jacob, where I talk...
View ArticleThe Declaration of Independence and the Force of Law
At PrawfsBlawg, Eric Johnson writes that the Declaration of Independence ought to have the force of law. In at least one important ways, it does. In order to be a Representative, or Senator, a person...
View Article7th Circuit Reverses District Court in Ezell v. Chicago (Chicago Gun Range Case)
Following McDonald v. Chicago, the City of Chicago enacted a number of new firearm ordinances. In order to obtain a firearm permit, a person would have to take 1-hour of firearm training at a firing...
View ArticleDoes Chicago’s New Firing Range Ordinance Moot Ezell v. Chicago?
On Wednesday in Ezell v. Chicago (analysis here), the 7th Circuit effectively issued an order to Chicago ordering them not to prohibit the construction of firing ranges in city limits. On Tuesday,...
View ArticleSupreme Court, in 5-4 Per Curiam, Denies Stay in Texas Execution Despite...
The Per Curiam Opinion (from the Chief, and Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito, obviously) in Leal Garcia v. Texas is available here. The majority rejected a plea by the Solicitor General to...
View ArticleWhy is the Second Amendment different from all other rights?
The title of this post captures a current blogosphere disagreement between Dave Kopel and Doug Berman regarding the interpretation of the Second Amendment in Ezell v. Chicago (analysis here and here)...
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The Curves of Social Cost
In the comment thread of my post on Why is the Second Amendment different from all other rights, frequent commenter A.J. Sutter makes an interesting point about the relationship between liberty and...
View ArticleOp-Ed: Oliver Wendell Breyer
David Bernstein and I co-authored an Op-Ed in today’s Newark Star Ledger about Justice Breyer’s jurisprudence and views on individual liberty. His dissent in Brown v. EMA harkens back a Progressive...
View ArticleFollow-Up to Breyer Op-Ed
There has been a considerable discussion about an Op-Ed I co-authored with David Bernstein on Justice Breyer both here and at Volokh.com. I wanted to clarify a few things in this follow-up post. The...
View ArticleLinda Greenhouse on Justice Breyer’s Dissent in EMA: “most unusual judicial...
In the New York Times, Linda Greenhouse labels Justice Breyer’s dissent “most unusual judicial performance” this term. If it makes the top of Linda’s end-of-term scorecard, perhaps this answers, in...
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60 New Recipes for Carolene Products Co.’s Milnut from 1939
All this talk about fundamental rights, strict scrutiny, and the New Deal has made me hungry, and the only thing that can hit the spot is a tasty, healthful, and “unadulterated” snack made with Milnut...
View ArticleNon-Lawyer Squats in Abandoned Foreclosed $330,000 House, Tries to Acquire It...
Kenneth Robinson is currently squatting in a house in foreclosure that the owner had abandoned with hopes of acquiring it through adverse possession. After filling out a $16 “Affidavit of Adverse...
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The Social Cost Frontier
In Terror in the Balance, Eric Posner and Adrian Vermeule introduce a “tradeoff thesis” to explain how courts balance between security and liberty in times of criss. To illustrate this tradeoff, the...
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Ginsburg’s Greatest Hits! Match the Justice with the Quote from Oral Arguments
Howard Bashman (via Jess Bravin) links to a speech Justice Ginsburg gave before the Otsego County Bar Association. In the speech, she lists some of the best questions from oral arguments this Term....
View ArticleDoes “Ignorance of the Law Excuses No One” Make Sense When No One Knows How...
The WSJ has a lengthy piece about the proliferation of federal criminal laws, and tells the story of a number of people who unknowingly violated obscure federal criminal statutes–many of which lack a...
View ArticleCounterfactual: Without the “War on Drugs” what would Constitutional Law look...
How many criminal procedure cases arose based on investigations, interrogations, arrests, trials, prosecutions, and incarcerations of defendants on drug charges? Without the “War on Drugs” how would...
View ArticleDistrict Court Finds Florida Drug Law That Lacks Intent Requirement “Facially...
WSJ Law Blog links to a habeas opinion from the Middle District of Florida in which a District Court Judge found the Florida Drug Abuse Prevention and Control law–which criminalizes the delivery of a...
View ArticleFarewell, and See you Soon
My stint blogging on this virtual faculty workshop ends tonight. Many thanks to Danielle and company for bringing me on board for the past 2 months. It’s been a blast, and I’ve really enjoyed...
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Book Review: A Brief History of Judging – From the Big Bang to Cosmic...
J. Harvie Wilkinson, III, Cosmic Constitutional Theory (2012) Opining on Justice Stephen Breyer’s book, Active Liberty, Judge Richard Posner wrote that “a Supreme Court Justice writing about...
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