Government

A Law Professor Wrote The Stupidest Tweet Ever And Now It's The Law

The erosion of the rule of law is becoming parody.

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This driver better hope the guy in the crosswalk has a ‘Give Peace A Chance’ sign.

In 2016, a law professor made one of the dumbest statements ever made on the Interwebs. Glenn Reynolds, took to Twitter under his handle @Instapundit and advocated vehicular manslaughter in response to protests mildly inconveniencing someone’s commute. Well, his defenders argued that it wasn’t about convenience but about protecting motorists from violent protesters. And by “violent” they meant “Black people” because… that’s the Instapundit audience. As an institution deeply committed to the rule of law, Tennessee Law responded by doing absolutely nothing. As primal forces of the universe, basic human decency can’t hold a candle to tenure.

When Heather Heyer was killed a year later by a white supremacist jackhole, we saw exactly the world Reynolds was cheerleading and Tennessee Law was underwriting.

To be honest, I thought Heyer’s death would finally shock these people back to reality. Finally force them to confront the dangerous reality of their armchair racist commentary. But humanity once again disappoints me. Someday I’ll learn to put my chips on the no pass line.

Multiple states are in the process of legalizing car murder as long as it’s done in the service of killing protesters. From the Oklahoma bill signed into law this week:

A motor vehicle operator who unintentionally causes injury or death to an individual shall not be criminally or civilly liable for the injury or death, if … the injury or death of the individual occurred while the motor vehicle operator was fleeing from a riot,” the bill says.

The thing is, self-defense already exists. If someone were actually in danger they already have a defense against liability. But that’s not what this law is really about. This is about codifying the Purge as a model of governance. For the next 24 hours — after a police killing or white nationalist rally or Trump appearance — everything is legal! And just as those movies are about an elitist class using the event to stomp on the downtrodden, this law is all about quelling First Amendment rights to protest under threat of indiscriminate legal murder.

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Take a moment to place yourself back in 1L Crim Law when you’re discussing the moral philosophy behind the law and untangling this one. If you had trouble wrapping your head around “we treat an unarmed lookout as a first-degree murderer to deter people from joining a robbery” you’re going to have convulsions over “it’s open season on pedestrians to deter people from thinking Black Lives Matter.”

And there will be some contrarian idiot raising his hand — it will obviously be a “his” — saying that protesters shouldn’t be blocking streets. And that might be true except the answer to that isn’t authorizing civilian vigilantism! Not that becoming a real-life Frogger player is the only threat protesters face under these bills. Oklahoma’s edition includes a year’s prison sentence for protesters in streets.

You know the rule of law is in trouble when governments start deputizing the AR-15 couple to issue snap death penalty decisions. Those jokers thought they were “threatened” by protesters passively walking by their house, imagine if they’d been in a car at the time under this legal regime.

The stupidest thing on the internet 5 years ago is the law in multiple states. That’s what happens when law professors line up against the rule of law.

Earlier: Law Professor Suspended On Twitter — Cue The Crybaby Tour Of His Supporters
White Terrorists Are Not The Problem, Intellectuals Who Give Them Aid And Comfort Are

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HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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