Category: Academia

Academia, Congress, Constitutional Law

Turley to Speak Thursday At Federalist Conference In Washington

images-1Today I will have the pleasures of speaking at The Federalist Society’s 2015 National Lawyers Convention being held at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. The theme for this year’s convention is: The Role of Congress. I will be on a panel entitled “Administrative Law: Agency Rule: How Congress Can Reclaim its Legislative Authority” starting at 2 pm in the State Room. I will have the honor of speaking with Hon. Tom Coburn, Former United States Senator, Oklahoma; Mr. Christopher C. DeMuth, Distinguished Fellow, Hudson Institute; and Prof. Michael Uhlmann, Claremont Graduate University. The panel will be moderated by the Hon. A. Raymond Randolph, U.S Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

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Academia

Turley Speaks As 33rd Frobese Lecturer

display_photo.phpI was returned late last night from a wonderful visit to Abington Pennsylvania where I had the honor of serving as the 33rd Frobese Lecturer at the Abington Hospital outside of Philadelphia. This is an extraordinary tradition started to honor an extraordinary man of medicine. While the Frobese lecturer is usually a medical doctor, the staff broke from that aspect of the tradition to allow a J.D. to join the staff for the purposes of delivering the three speeches associated with Frobese day. It was a great experience not just to get to know the staff of this amazing medical center but to visit this lovely part of the Pennsylvania.

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Academia

Missouri Professor and Administrator Captured on Tape Leading Attacks On Journalists Trying To Cover Protests

Screen-Shot-2015-11-10-at-6.41.56-PM-620x375The controversy surrounding the resigned of University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe this week. Critics continue to debate whether Wolfe acted in a way that warranted demands for his removal while others view racial incidents on campus as the fault of the Administration. This is a worthy debate for any university. However, a recent incident should raise equally determined calls for the removal of school officials who appear to have led attacks on the media and free speech as part of student protests. Mass communications professor Melissa Click has since apologized for disgraceful conduct in attacking the media — a curious act by a mass communications professor and the antithesis of an academic committed to free speech.

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Academia, Society

Eighth Grader in Florida Disciplined For Giving Hug To Friend At School

MANSUR_SarahElla Fishbough, 14, is now an eighth grader with a record. Ella was given suspension by Jackson Heights principal Sarah Mansur-Blythe (left) for a hug. That’s right. She hugged a friend who was having a bad day and was immediately reported for discipline under a hopelessly undefined prohibition on “inappropriate or obscene acts.” As with the other story today of the student suspended for playing Power Rangers, this is a case of blind application of rules without any sense of judgment or fairness. It is part of the zero tolerance culture that has taken hold in our schools.

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Academia, Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Politics, Society

First Grader Plays A Power Ranger With Imaginary Bow and Arrow . . . Ohio School Suspends Him For Three Days

Joe for websiteWe have another absurd enforcement of the zero tolerance rule at our schools. This one occurred in Cincinnati, Ohio where Principal Joe Crachiolo, (left) at Our Lady of Lourdes School (a Catholic Elementary School) suspended a first grader who was caught playing a Power Ranger and used an imaginary bow and arrow in play. Just to repeat. This was a first grader and an imaginary bow and arrow.

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Academia, Politics, Society

Study: Virtually None of Eighth Graders In Detroit Meet Proficiency Levels In Math and Reading

SchoolClassroom250px-Flag_of_Detroit,_Michigan.svgWe have followed the continuing failure of the public school systems in cities like Detroit and Washington D.C. where students are graduating without basic skills or ability to compete in the new economy for valuable jobs. Instead, they are left without any meaningful chance to break the cycle of poverty that often holds them in a stagnant social strata. The most recent review of Detroit demonstrates just how badly we have failed these children. The 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress tests published by the Department of Education’s National Center for Educational Statistics shows that 96 percent of eighth graders are not proficient in mathematics and 93 percent are not proficient in reading. This is the result despite spending approximately $14,743 per student in the school system.

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Academia, Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Society

Mein Copyright: Controversy Erupts Over The Reprinting Of Hitler’s Infamous Work

Mein_Kampf_dust_jacket.jpegThere is an interesting controversy brewing between academics and Jewish groups in Germany as the deadline approaches for the end of the copyright over Hitler’s “Mein Kampf”, the book that laid the foundation for the Nazi takeover and ultimately the genocidal crimes of World War II. For seven decades, the copyright has rested with with Bravarian officials who have prevented the publication of the work. Now, academics are arguing that the book should be reprinted due to its obvious historical significance. However, Jewish and other groups are demanding a continuation of the ban on reprints.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Criminal law

South Carolina Officer Placed On Administrative Leave After Violent Arrest At School Is Posted On YouTube

Screen Shot 2015-10-27 at 7.13.14 AMThe video below has caused a public outcry after a South Carolina school resource officer identified as Richland County Sheriff’s Department Senior Deputy Ben Fields is shown tossing a female high school student to the floor and dragging her from a classroom after she refused to get up and leave with him. Fields has been placed on paid administrative leave.

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Academia, Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Politics, Religion

English Students Seek To Bar Appearance of Leading Feminist Due To Her Views On Transgender Individuals

CardiffUniversityCrestGermaine_Greer,_2006There is a new example of how free speech values are declining in England, particularly on college campuses this week. Students at Cardiff University launched an online petition trying to bar Germaine Greer, the Australian feminist author, from speaking at the school next month because of her views on transgender women. Rather than recognize that Greer has an opinion to share as part of the pluralistic academic forum, these students sought to bar her from sharing her views and engaging in a debate in the area. To its credit, the university has thus far stayed committed to free speech and refuses to bar Greer.

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Academia, Criminal law, Religion, Society

Saudi Arabia Sentences Leading Human Rights Advocate To 10 Years In Jail For Crimes Including “The Founding Of A Human Rights Organization”

200px-Coat_of_arms_of_Saudi_Arabia.svgWe recently discussed the sentencing of a political dissident in Saudi Arabia to being crucified and beheaded under the Kingdom’s medieval Sharia-based legal system. Now, as if to reaffirm the Kingdom’s opposition to basic human rights and freedoms, the Kingdom has reportedly sentenced a professor and activist to to 10 years in prison and barred him from traveling abroad for another decade. Abdel-Karim al-Khadar, a professor of Islamic studies from conservative Qassim Province, has been under arrest for over two years (since April 2013) for criticizing religious extremism and fighting for women’s rights. That is enough to jail you in the Kingdom, a country that remains one of our closest allies.

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Academia, Torts

TORTS WINS 2015 CHARITY PAINTBALL COMPETITION OVER CONTRACTS

unnamed The annual Torts versus Contracts paintball teams have met on the field of battle for the 2015 charity competition and I am thrilled to report that Torts emerged victorious — tying the competition now 2-2 over the last four years. It was a sweet victory given the two-year slump for Torts. As in prior years, it was extremely close and came down to the last game but legal descendants of Learned Hand overwhelmed those of Karl Llewelyn in the final minutes.

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Academia, Bizarre, Society

San Francisco Principal Withholds Results Of School Election After Students Fail To Elect Sufficiently Diverse Representatives

1442646280822.jpg_w235Everett Middle School in San Francisco’s Mission District is teaching its students a thing or two about democracy . . . or the lack of it. Parents were informed by Principal Lena Van Haren (left) that the winners of the recent student elections would not be announced (or possibly honored) after the election failed to produce a sufficiently diverse selection. The school is composed of 80 percent students of color and 20 percent white students. The students however appeared to pick their representatives based on their individual qualifications rather than their race and that was a problem for Van Haren who told parents that the results were “concerning to me because as principal I want to make sure all voices are heard from all backgrounds.”

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Academia, Society

Back to the Future With The Chicago Cubs

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The 6-4 win of the Cubbies was an incredible moment for those of us raised in Cubbie blue. We moved closer to making this scene in Back to the Future II a reality. You may recall Marty McFly standing within sight of Hill Valley’s famous clock tower when there’s a sports flash in the sky declaring that the Cubs have swept Miami to win the World Series. 2015 as foretold by the prophesy.
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