I am in Utah to speak at the Constitution Day celebrations at Utah Valley University and its conference on privacy in America. The conference is the latest national conference organized by the Center for Constitutional Studies. The speakers at the event include Governor Thomas Ridge, former Homeland Security Secretary, who gave a surprising speech that questioned the growth of the department and the raised concerns over the threat to privacy poised by recent disclosures of warrantless surveillance. Ridge repeatedly returned to expressing his trepidation over the sweeping assault on privacy as well as the lack of safeguards under the FISA court and existing laws.
Category: Academia
Fights over beer are hardly unknown, particularly in the hard drinking circles of Russia (though vodka would appear the more likely fuel). However, police were called to a fight between two men standing in line over beer where one shot the other after arguing over . . . the writings of philosopher Immanuel Kant. It is clear that Kant and beer do not mix.
The rankings from the good people at U.S. News and World Report are out and Princeton has grabbed the top spot among national universities. The top five universities (six this year due to a tie) are Princeton (1), Harvard (2), Yale (3), Columbia (4), and University of Chicago (5) and Stanford (5). I am happy to see my alma mater UChicago at 5th place, though I would quibble with the precise line up. The most useful aspect of these rankings is to see the spread on tuition costs and other objective criteria.
Continue reading “Princeton Takes Top Spot In Ranking of National Universities”
Today I learned what is missing in my torts class. (The Causation Rhapsody perhaps?)
It is the profound disgust that I must report the results of the 2013 annual Torts v. Contracts Paintball competition. Contracts prevailed this year 2-1-1. The annual competition is the outcome of an auction to support our public interest law program at George Washington University. These contests have raised thousands of dollars of indigent clients and public interest work.
Continue reading “Contracts Beats Torts In 2013 Paintball Competition”
GJ 1214 b is a planet that is getting a great deal of attention this month after Japanese astronomers found evidence that the planet (some 40 light years away) could be a “super Earth” with a thick, steamy water-rich atmosphere.
The video below of Michigan State University Professor William Penn on the first day of his creative writing class has triggered an investigation by the university into a diatribe against Republicans. A student filmed the comments (and it was released by a conservative group) where Penn is heard attacking Republicans for “raping” America and refusing to pay taxes. The case will pit values of academic freedom against the need for an open and welcoming environment for students at universities.
There is a very cool discovery to report this week out of Duke University, now to be known as those “Plastic Fantastics.” The team has invented a “mechanophore” a material that responds to mechanical force rather than light, heat or chemical exposure. In this case, they have invested a plastic that actually gets stronger when it is stressed. That’s right. As mechanical force or pressure is add, it gets stronger — a breakthrough that could transform material for cellphones, medical devices, prosthetic limbs etc.
Despite the obvious free speech concerns, UCLA’s undergraduate student government unanimously passed a resolution last week to declare that any use of the term “illegal immigrant” is now deemed racist and offensive. It is an example of how anti-discrimination policies are cutting deeply into free speech. Millions of people in this country are indeed here illegally. While many would prefer to use “undocumented workers,” many others believe that these individuals are illegal by definition and should not be allowed to circumvent immigration laws. It is a worthy debate with arguments on both sides. However, I am very uncomfortable with students (who historically have been voiced for free speech) declaring that use of this descriptive term is now considered racist or prejudicial.
Continue reading “UCLA Students Declare “Illegal Immigrant” To Be Racist And Discriminatory”
Yesterday, one of the greatest minds of our generation died. Ronald Harry Coase, the Clifton R. Musser Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Chicago Law School and creator of the “Coase Theorem”, died at the age of 102. I teach Coasean theory in both my torts and legal theory classes. His rich and brilliant life is a testament to the potential of human beings in understanding the world around them through sheer intellect and logic. I had the honor of meeting Coase and it is difficult to express one’s thanks for such a beautiful mind.
As most football fans know, the NFL has been struggling with rules changes to address the danger of concussions and Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in players in the wake of expanding medical research on injuries. Colleges and High Schools have implemented strict new guidelines, particularly in preventing helmet to helmet hits. None of that seems to have sunk into Frostburg University, which is accused of a shocking display of ignorance and negligence in the death of Derek Sheely, a 22 year old fullback. According to a lawsuit, Sheely was bleeding and complaining that he did not feel right, but the coach told him “Stop your bitching and moaning and quit acting like a pussy and get back out there.” Sheely collapsed a short time later and never regained consciousness.
Continue reading “Family Sues Frostburg University Coaches And NCAA Over Death Of College Student”
There is a controversy brewing at Tulane Law School where I began my academic career. The law school was the scene of a confrontation between controversial conservative filmmaker and activist James O’Keefe and former U.S. Attorney James Letten whose office handled the prosecution of O’Keefe for his entry in the office of Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu under false pretenses. Letten is now an Assistant Dean at the law school. Letten never explained why he recused himself from the case but O’Keefe suggests that he was responsible for leaking confidential information to the media. In the video below posted and edited by O’Keefe, Letten confronted O’Keefe and accuses him of “terrorizing” his wife and violating state and federal law by appearing at the law school. Letten calls O’Keefe and his crew a bunch of “hobbits” and berates the filmmaker. While I am no fan of O’Keefe, I am afraid that I do not see the basis for the alleged crimes by O’Keefe or the basis for his being held by law enforcement outside of the law school. The school has banned O’Keefe from the campus after the confrontation with Letten.
Stacey Dean Rambold, 54, is a former teacher who confessed to a sexual relationship with Cherice Morales, a 14-year-old girl at his high school — a girl who later committed suicide. Despite the original charge of multiple counts of statutory rape and a sentencing to 15 years in prison, Yellowstone County District Judge G. Todd Baugh suspended all of that sentence but 31 days and then gave him credit for one day in jail. That left a sentence of 30 days for statutory rape.
We have previously discussed how students are being punished for out-of-school postings and statements on social media sites, a trend that I have criticized. Now, with the Supreme Court expanding the power of school officials to discipline students and teachers for outside activities, schools are creating their own surveillance and monitoring systems in our society. The Glendale Unified School District has hired a company called Geo Listening to monitor the conversations and postings of all of its students to detect any areas of concern. It is the latest example of how privacy in America is dying by a thousand papercuts.
After leading an assault on civil liberties and privacy in his Administration (as well as blocking efforts to prosecute Bush officials for torture), President Barack Obama may just be the last person who should be giving advice on training lawyers. Yet, Obama told lawyers last Friday that he would like to see law school cut by one-third to reduce time studying legal principles and history. Of course, given the number of constitutional provisions that Obama has effectively negated, it may take less time to study the remaining laws after the Obama years. Before law schools follow his lead to a fast-food version of legal education, we need to ask what we want in our lawyers. The President would reduce legal training to a program slightly longer than current paralegal schools.