1st Amendment

Morning Docket: 05.17.22

* Gov. DeSantis doesn't want protestors being big meanies outside of people's homes. Remember: You only have the right to protest if it doesn't like...inconvenience anyone. [AP] * In Texas, the right to free speech includes broadcasting murderous rampage. Yup, progress is totally linear. [Invenglobal] * Law firms like to see their employees faces so much, they're threatening to cut salaries for working from home. [Law.com] * Oregon's failure to provide public defenders has landed them in court. [AP] * Have you been considering Cuba? Might be a little easier to visit now. [Miami Herald]

Morning Docket: 05.13.22

* I know that Nietzsche had some thoughts on the utility of truth and lies, but actively fighting history is just silly. [NBC News] * No, Patrick, you cannot puff, puff, drive. [Oregon Live] * Sports betting was legalized in Kansas. Finally, something to do for fun besides eat barbecue. [Kansas Reflector] * Ding Dong Protest: Wonder who was behind the SCOTUS home meet and greets? [USA Today] * The Louisiana bill that tried to classify abortions as homicides didn't make it into law. Woop Woop! [Reuters]

So I Guess ‘Small Government’ Now Includes Compelling Corporate Speech?

I can't believe they suspended me! All I said was literally the most hateful thing I could think of about Mexicans!

Ilya Shapiro Wants To Be A Victim So Bad… Kavanaugh Isn’t Too Happy Either

How will I remain relevant if they don't reprimand me? :'(

Morning Docket: 05.09.22

* Goodbye: ABA recommends dropping the LSAT as an admissions requirement. But how will we know who is the next Learned Hand? [NYT] * Who cares about the 1st when you have a gun? Trump asked if it was okay to "Just shoot protestors" he didn't like while he was in office. [NPR] * Law school speed run sub 20: South Texas College of Law has just minted its youngest JD. Maybe they finally have the time to watch a few Elden Ring playthroughs. [KHOU] * About 60% of Americans think that abortion should be legal federally. That's larger than the percentage of people that approve of the SCOTUS. I wonder if they are related concepts? [The Hill] * Senate will vote on if Roe ought be codified into law on Wednesday. Time to see where our leader's allegiances lie. [Reuters]

Morning Docket: 04.24.22

* Meaning what you say: Climate change activist self-immolated in front of the Supreme Court on Earth Day. [Independent] * Are our founding principles stronger than historical revisionism? This 1st Amendment suit against banning history will let us know. [WCGU] * Nixing the 77%: Mississippi now requires that women be paid the same amount as men for the same work. Fanfare aplenty. [ABC News] * ...And Mississippi is also banning vaccination mandates. Being newsworthy twice in a row counts for something, right? [Clarion Ledger] * Three's Company: Brandeis must be overjoyed about this relapse into old antitrust jurisprudence. [Bloomberg]

Morning Docket: 03.31.22

* Texan student who was threatened with being given a failing grade for not reciting the Pledge of Allegiance earns a lot of lunch money. Gotta love the 1st Amendment. [Chron] * Facebook and Apple were so deferential to cops that they gave sensitive information to kids pretending to be them. What happened to two-factor authentication? [Dudes Code] * Loan company hit with a million-dollar fine for misleading its clients about loan forgiveness. Stop playing with people’s money! [Business Insider] * Pentagon drops a 700+ list of places named after members of the Confederacy they're considering renaming. About time we stopped handing out participation trophies to the pro-slavery people. [Military] * Tennessee is trying to overturn Obergefell. See what you’ve started now, Texas? [LBGTQNation]

Morning Docket: 03.18.22

* In memoriam: A son remembers a legal giant. [The Pulse] * Gagging the 1st: 11th Circuit considers the constitutionality of a law that imposes heightened penalties on a class of protesters. [CBS 12] * The police are called on Yale students who protested a Federalist Society lecturer. What happened to fighting speech with speech? [New York Post] * Texas is locking up folks without filing charges or giving them lawyers. No way this is legal. [The Texas Tribune] * Turns out Pepe does not go to the moon: 500k lawsuit follows after an NFT buyers faces the power of ctrl + v. [Notebook Check]

Morning Docket: 03.17.22

* On truth and lies in a legal sense: Ever wonder about politicians fibbing? [NPR] * Judge fired pregnant woman 10 days before she was due. Now that’s petty. [WaPo] * Three anti-sexual-harassment laws are a prime opportunity to dunk on Cuomo. [NY Post] * Stop hitting yourself: Microsoft so focused on preventing theft it labels itself a scammer just to be safe. [Bleeping Computer] * Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Not you if the mayor of NY has anything to say about it. [Audacy]

Morning Docket: 03.07.22

* White House condemns Russia's legal campaign against fake news. [Reuters] * Nevertheless, they persisted: More Texans than expected were able to get healthcare access despite SB8's limitations. [NYT] * Washington's House just approved limitations on gun magazine sizes. Oddly enough, the nerf will not effect Nerf products. [Seattle Times] * Six feet! Oregon wants to prevent home buyers from getting a little too personal with their please-sell-us-the-house "love letters." [USA Today] * Long legacy: lawmakers are trying to get rid of a 1950 California Constitution addition meant to keep Black families out of White neighborhoods. [SFGate]

Clearview AI Is Basically Making The Dark Knight Database Thing And It’s Legal

Privacy and intimacy as we know it will be a memory.

Morning Docket: 01.31.22

* GULC's Black Law Student Association wants Ilya Shapiro's teaching contract revoked. My only question is, how do you get fired on your day off? [Newsone] * Swiper, No Swiping! Jersey has new heavy penalties for porch thieves. [UPI] * Another gun rights case could be headed to the Supreme Court soon if these 25 states get their way. [The Center Square] * Is recording officer arrests speech? The legality of a law meant to prevent interference with Miami officer's arrests may be unconstitutional. [Miami Herald] * An Arizona senator wants to make the state more crypto-friendly by recognizing Bitcoin as legal tender. I'll give it two weeks before an employee who makes $1500 a week sues for receiving a paycheck below the federal minimum wage because  the crypto-market tanks after a spicy Elon tweet. [CryptoPotato]

Morning Docket: 01.19.22

* Company that probably played a massive role in proliferating anti-global warming propaganda fears the chilling effects of accountability. [Mother Jones] * New Jersey governor renews law that prevents cops from being near polling places because of that whole voter suppression by force thing. When are we getting a new Voting Rights Act again? [New Jersey Globe] * Illinois is trying to make birth control a little more accessible. It's not over the counter, but it’s a start! [WTTW] * Jersey just passed some harm reduction-focused legislation that will increase access to safe needles. [Inquirer] * Find it suspicious that you're getting advertisements for Sweet Baby Ray's after privately making fun of Zuckerberg? These congresspeople are looking to stop that. [ZDNet]

Republicans Think Companies Can Say What They Like, As Long As They Like It

It's almost as if they're trying to use the media to push their agenda or something.

Morning Docket: 11.30.21

* Actor Jussie Smollet is about to go to trial for attempting to manipulate racial tensions to propel his career. He should have done it the right way, like Kyle Rittenhouse. [BBC] * Law school applications are down again. Maybe you didn't go to law school to become an accountant... [Reuters] * Folks are still salty about social media platforms and censorship. I think the free speech people haven't realized the whole corporate personhood thing means Twitter has 1st Amendment rights too. [The Bulwark] * Before it's made history, here's a quick historical review of how the right to abort in the U.S. came to be. [NPR] * Good news: You'll be hearing a lot about this thing called Omicron, which is a cool ass name. Bad news: it's a new COVID variant that will likely impact office returns and lead to more mask boo-hooing. [CNN]