Free Speech
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Intellectual Property
'Foul' Ball II: Why The SCOTUS Decision On 'Scandalous' And 'Immoral' Trademarks Is Not What You Think
So you can register 'scandalous' and 'immoral' trademarks -- now what? Just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should do it. -
Courts
Tort Reform Used To Matter But That Was Before Torts Could Own The Libs!
A quick tour of conservative social media shows a lot of giddy excitement over an outrageous, laughable multimillion-dollar verdict. - Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Technology
Supreme Court OKs Retaliatory Arrests For Engaging In Protected Speech
So much for those protections.
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Law Schools
Law School Professors Protest Graduation Speaker -- Prepare For Fauxtroversy Over Free Speech
Former DHS Secretary withdraws from USC's Gould School of Law ceremony. -
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Law Schools
First Monday Musings By Dean Vik Amar: Sensitivity To The Possibility Of Long-Term Podium Pullback By Universities
The concern about the heckler’s veto is real, and important. But so too are universities’ concerns about safety and cost. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non Sequiturs: 03.24.19
* In the wake of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s retirement, I predicted that Chief Justice John Roberts, a staunch institutionalist when it comes to the Supreme Court, would serve as a moderating influence at SCOTUS — and so far that seems to be the case, with Adam Feldman noting a “a mild liberalizing over time” in JGR’s jurisprudence. [Empirical SCOTUS]
* Speaking of SCOTUS, it’s high time for the Court to resolve the messy circuit split on email privacy under the Stored Communications Act, according to Orin Kerr. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]
* The Trump Administration’s new executive order about free speech on university campuses might harm rather than help the cause of academic freedom, as Paul Horwitz points out. [PrawfsBlawg]
* Republicans aren’t the only ones with purity tests for judicial nominations; Demand Justice, a left-wing group focused on the federal judiciary, has high standards for Democratic opposition to Trump nominees. [Bench Memos / National Review]
* While you wait for the 2019 edition of Above the Law’s law school rankings, check out the latest installment of the “revealed preferences” law school rankings, by C.J. Ryan and Brian L. Frye. [SSRN]
* What’s next for Kira Systems, a leader in the world of legal AI? Co-founder and CEO Noah Waisberg isn’t resting on his laurels — and he’s putting that $50 million investment from last September to work. [Artificial Lawyer]
* Fastcase continues to forge new partnerships — and in its latest alliance, it will give its subscribers access to select titles from the American Bar Association (which, full disclosure, published my book (affiliate link) in 2014). [Dewey B Strategic]
* If you’ll be in New York this coming Wednesday, consider attending the inaugural Kenneth P. Thompson ’92 Lecture on Race and Criminal Justice Reform at NYU Law School, focused on wrongful convictions and the roles of prosecutors and others in the criminal justice system. [NYU Law]
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Non-Sequiturs
Non Sequiturs: 03.10.19
* “I Thought I Could Be A Christian And Constitutionalist At Yale Law School. I Was Wrong.” So writes Aaron Haviland, a 3L at Yale Law School. [The Federalist]
* But if you can survive YLS as a conservative, you might thrive in the world beyond — just ask Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who’s now a powerful voice on judicial nominations. [Bench Memos / National Review]
* How often does the Notorious RBG see a brief citing the Notorious BIG? Check out this fun read, filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of a constellation of hip-hop stars represented by Alex Spiro and Ellyde Thompson of Quinn Emanuel. [Supreme Court of the United States via New York Times]
* Yes, I’ve been on a hiatus from Twitter — and maybe I’m on to something, if you agree with Stephen Cooper. [Spectator]
* “For your information,” Georgia trial judges, “the Supreme Court has roundly rejected prior restraint.” [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]
* Retired Judge Nancy Gertner (D. Mass.) believes that U.S. sentencing needs reform — but Paul Manafort’s case is far from the ideal vehicle for it. [Washington Post]
* Congratulations to Fastcase on its latest alliance, this time with credit-reporting giant TransUnion. [Dewey B Strategic]
* And congrats to Neota Logic on its new Dashboard feature, which sounds nifty. [Artificial Lawyer]
- Sponsored
How Generative AI Will Improve Legal Service Delivery
Learn how emerging tools will likely change and enhance the work of lawyers for years to come in this new report. -
Technology
Maybe Fewer Rules Will Solve Toxic Social Media. But Probably Not.
Recent debate focuses on social media's pernicious problems. -
Government
From Threatening A Federal Judge To Arresting A Child Over The Pledge, A Lot Of Ridiculous Crap Happened This Weekend
There's one thread that ties these stories together and it's not pretty. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non Sequiturs: 02.17.19
* I share Allahpundit’s take on the retirement buzz around Justice Clarence Thomas (recently discussed by Jeffrey Toobin, but also in the air at last November’s Federalist Society conference): it’s certainly possible, and if it happens, Judge Amy Coney Barrett and Judge Amul Thapar are the two top picks. [Hot Air]
* And Judge Barrett is protecting her prospects for Supreme Court confirmation: she just joined the opinion of a fellow shortlister, Judge Diane Sykes, that dutifully applies Hill v. Colorado, the shaky but not-overruled Supreme Court precedent about free-speech rights outside abortion clinics. [Bench Memos / National Review]
* Speaking of SCOTUS, which amici boast the best track recorders in filing certiorari-stage amicus briefs in business cases? Adam Feldman crunches the numbers — and the dominance of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce should come as no surprise. [Empirical SCOTUS]
* And speaking of the Chamber, it also seems to be making progress on its goal of forcing more disclosure of litigation-funding arrangements, with the reintroduction of the Litigation Funding Transparency Act (LFTA). [Institute for Legal Reform]
* Litigation funders don’t reflexively oppose any and all disclosure requirements; Michael German of Vannin Capital, for example, argues for a sensible and limited disclosure regime. [New York Law Journal]
* If you’re looking for an interesting new podcast (besides Wondery’s exploration of the Dan Markel case), consider Bound by Oath from the Institute for Justice (Eugene Volokh is a fan). [Institute for Justice]
* Should Roger Stone be gagged? Joel Cohen weighs the pros and cons. [The Hill]
* Are you a lawyer who enjoys poker? Mark your calendar for February 23! [Attorney Poker Tour]
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Constitutional Law
The Life And Death Power Of Speech
Are words that encourage others to commit suicide protected speech? The state of Massachusetts says no. -
Constitutional Law
The Right to Criticize Police Distinguishes A Free Society From A Police State
The government is asking for a rule that functions as a bar on retaliatory arrest claims. That should frighten you.
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How Generative AI Will Improve Legal Service Delivery
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Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
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Government
Overrated: 'Are Ballot Selfies Legal?' Underrated: 'You Are The Creeping Narcissism Destroying America'
Can not everything be about you for just one day? -
Constitutional Law
Be Very Afraid! The Free Speech Chicken Littles Are Coming!
The struggle between societal elevation via unchecked competition of ideas versus fear of societal unrest continues. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 09.16.18
* Will Senator Susan Collins be persuaded by the campaign to get her to vote against Judge Brett Kavanaugh? Ed Whelan has his doubts. [Bench Memos / National Review]
* Speaking of the Supreme Court, Adam Feldman identifies his “Supreme Court All-Stars” (2013-2017): the lawyers and law firms with the most arguments — and wins — before the high court. [Empirical SCOTUS]
* Greg Lukianoff and Adam Goldstein offer tips for protecting freedom of speech on college campuses, inspired by a new book, The Coddling of the American Mind (affiliate link) by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]
* Charles Glasser to news organizations, on the subject of self-policing: do better. [Daily Caller]
* How should we evaluate the success of law firm mergers? Madhav Srinivasan of Hunton Andrews Kurth has some thoughts on methodology. [Law.com]
* And Orin Kerr offers a proposal for applying the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination to compelled “decryption” of a locked phone, computer, or file. [SSRN]
* Speaking of privacy, Google is taking some heat in Arizona over its alleged practice of recording location data of Android device owners even if they opted out of such tracking. [Washington Post]
* When it comes to learning how to integrate technology into the delivery of legal services, American law firms can learn a thing or two from the Brits — as the latest move by CMS suggests. [Artificial Lawyer]
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Crime
Man Responsible For Chilling Free Speech Argues Stormy Daniels Is Chilling Trump's Free Speech
Trump's latest argument in the Stormy Daniels case is laughable... and terrifying. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.29.18
* Trump’s now claiming that Stormy Daniels is impinging on his right to free speech because weaponizing that right’s worked so well so far, why not extend it to this? [NBC]
* In the same breath, we’re now talking about censoring Google to “own the libs.” [Recorder]
* And the First Amendment now protects sharing food with homeless people, because apparently we needed a rule to cover being a decent human being.
* Don McGahn may be on the way out after spilling the beans to Mueller. Trump insists on Twitted that McGahn is not a “rat” like John Dean, but just as this whole administration is “Nixon, but dumber” McGahn probably didn’t realize what he was doing while he did it. [Business Insider]
* People are up in arms over Lanny Davis being an anonymous source for CNN, but really what was CNN supposed to do? They couldn’t say, “Davis refused to comment on the record” because that would prove he was the anonymous source. It’s where dumb journalism rules hang people up because the right answer would be to make no mention at all of Davis, but journos feel they have to indicate that they tried to talk to principal figures in any given story. Anyway, Glenn Greenwald has thoughts on this and he used to be a real journalist before he went batshit crazy. [GQ]
* California ends money bail! California, man. They’re ahead on everything. Getting rid of bail, legal weed, regretting Reagan…. [Washington Post]
* One of the actions Trump is “most proud of” is one he never accomplished. Sounds about right. [Axios]
* Vermont changes its laws in bid to become a blockchain hub because it’s all about bad ideas. [VT Digger]
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Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 08.19.18
* Charles Glasser proposes replacing “Trump Derangement Syndrome” with “Trump Obsession Syndrome” — which might be more accurate, but isn’t nearly as fun. [Daily Caller]
* Speaking of anti-Trump sentiment, here’s an interesting new ranking — from Adam Bonica, Adam Chilton, Kyle Rozema, and Maya Sen — showing just how liberal certain law schools are. [TaxProf Blog]
* Trying to date in law school? You’re looking for love in all the wrong places, according to 3L Korey Johnson. [Black Girl Does Grad School]
* Speaking of law school, here’s Kat Griffin’s roundup of the best blogs for women law students (with a shoutout to ATL; thanks, Kat!). [Corporette]
* An “Abolish ICE” t-shirt might not be very fashionable — but it is constitutionally protected speech, as Eugene Volokh explains. [Volokh Conspiracy / Reason]
* Joel Cohen wonders: should more states ban secret recording of conversations — and could the odious Omarosa be the catalyst for such change? [The Hill]
* Neha Sampat discusses the problem of “imposter syndrome” — and what we can all do to address it. [Attorney At Work]
* “Sex pigs halt traffic after laser attack on Pokémon teens.” Yeah, you know you wanna click…. [Instapundit]
* Where does your law firm fall along the AI adoption spectrum? Jean O’Grady lays out the stages. [Dewey B Strategic]
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