We recently discussed the cancellation of a Princeton class on oppressive language when the professor used the n-word. I was strongly critical of actions in the controversy and the ultimate cancellation as an attack on both academic freedom and a reflection of the loss of objectivity on our campuses. Now, law students have made a similar complaint to DePaul University. Professor Donald Hermann is under fire for using the word in a hypothetical. It is particularly distressing to see law students objecting to the use of this word, which arises often in legal cases and was used for a legitimate purpose by Professor Hermann.
Category: Society
As we approach the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx, the state of socialism is not especially encouraging. The socialist reign of Hugo Chávez and successor Nicolas Maduro have reduced oil-rich Venezuela to pre-historic conditions with 4000 percent inflation and near starvation levels of food supply. In Cuba, the socialist government continues to limp by with an economy frozen in the 1950s. Indeed, there is only one real success of socialism in the world: the National Football League. When Marx said that “Democracy is the road to socialism,” he could easily point to the 32 owners of America’s football teams. It turns out that socialism works really well for billionaires in a small group with an effective monopoly on an industry.
Continue reading “THE NFL MOVES AGAINST JONES FOR THE ULTIMATE OFF-SIDES VIOLATION”
Below is my column in the Washington Post on the question of whether a president can be indicted while in office. Many academics believe that there is an implied immunity from such indictments in Article II of the Constitution. I do not agree as explained in the column below. Once again, I have stated that I do not see compelling evidence of any prosecutable crimes against President Trump. However, if such evidence did arise and satisfied a grand jury, the Special Counsel could indict even before any impeachment.
Continue reading “Yes, A President Can Be Indicted While In Office”
I have previously expressed my surprise that people enjoy shooting animals in the wild. As an avid hiker and animal lover, I go to great lengths to see animals in nature but I fail to see why it is exciting or fulfilling to shoot some animal with high-powered rifle. These trophy hunters seem to want to collect these animals. Australian businessman, Nick Haridemos, appears to go further and pose with dead animals. A series of photos like this Twitter image were posted on social media and led to Haridemos being hounded out of Hellenic Club.
Continue reading “Australian Hunter Under Fire For Photos With Dead Animals”
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on my view of the current evidence of collusion in the Russian investigation. I wrote the column to explain my skepticism over these oft-stated theories. President Donald Trump included my view in a quote in the Trump tweet which triggered something of a torrent of irate emails. He did not misrepresent my views. As explained below, I still do not see the compelling evidence for such a claim. As discussed yesterday, that is obviously not the view of CNN Legal Analyst and former White House ethics attorney Norm Eisen who declared that the case for collusion is now “devastating” and that Trump is “colluding in plain sight.” The column is an effort to actually bring some legal content to this debate. There have been countless hours of broadcast “analysis” but very little of the actual cited evidence and how it could fit with any criminal provision or even credible definitions of collusion.
Here is the column:
I just posted a column detailing why I am “skeptical” of collusion theories against President Donald Trump, a view that the President recently tweeted. CNN Legal Analyst and former White House ethics attorney Norm Eisen responded yesterday to my quote in the Trump tweet with his own analysis that the criminal case for collusion is now “devastating” and that Trump is “colluding in plain sight.” His evidence? Trump’s failure to respond sufficiently to Russian attacks. It does not seem to factor into Eisen’s analysis that the government is responding on various levels, imposed some sanctions, and that the specific means used to combat the Russians is a discretionary policy question that balances a wide array of technical, legal, and diplomatic factors. Nevertheless, Eisen assured the public that the criminal case is now devastating.
During the campaign, President Donald Trump was roundly criticized for his comments about the ethnicity of a judge who was presiding in a case involving his now defunct Trump University. He argued that, because of the Mexican heritage of U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel (who was actually born in Indiana), the judge was biased against him and referred to him as a “hater.” That “hater” however just handed down a major 101-page ruling in favor of Trump’s signature policy: the wall with Mexico. President Trump did not mention the controversy in his tweet praising the decision.
Continue reading “Judge Once Maligned By Trump As A “Hater” Rules In Favor Of Border Wall”
We have previously discussed the unparalleled bravery of the women fighting discriminatory Islamic law requiring them to wear veils and limiting their freedoms due to their gender. This is particularly true of the women engaged in protests over compulsory headscarves in Iran. Now however the Islamic regime is cracking down and not just arresting women but charging them with “inciting prostitution.” It is the perfect sexist charge to go with deeply sexist legal system. A woman who asserts her most basic right to expression and religious choices is treated by the Islamic government as fostering prostitutes.
The Supreme Court turned down the effort of the Trump Administration to circumvent the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and hear the challenge over the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The decision not to grant review is clearly a victory for challengers of the Trump policy but it is also important not to read too much into the decision given the procedural posture of the appeal. Notably, on Tuesday the Supreme Court ruled in another immigration case and adopted the type of narrow interpretation sought by the Administration in the DACA litigation. In its decision in Jennings v. Rodriguez, the Court overturned the Ninth Circuit and rejected the right to twice-a-year bond hearings. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr ruled that “[t]he meaning of the relevant statutory provisions is clear—and clearly contrary to the decision of the Court of Appeals.”Continue reading “Supreme Court Declines To Hear DACA Appeal”
I am often struck by old mugshots in their stark elements. I came across this mugshot recently of opium and cocaine dealer William Stanley Moore from 1926. The standing shot is a particularly gritty shot of a hardened criminal.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that a prominent lawyer and an animal shelter volunteer has been arrested in a bizarre bestiality case involving his Labrador Snoopy. Ivan DeVoren, 61, is charged with 10 felony counts of animal cruelty, 10 counts of sexual intercourse with an animal in addition to drug charges. After police found crack cocaine and other drugs in his home, they added possession charges.
DeVoren represents energy companies on regulatory challenges and compliance. He has described himself as a “lawyer and philanthropist” according to Heavy.com.
Continue reading “Prominent Pennsylvania Lawyer Charged With Bestiality”
Colton Haab, a survivor of last week’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., has appeared on national television to voice his allegation that CNN tried to get him to read a scripted question at the network’s recent Town Hall event with survivors and leading politicians. The allegation led President Donald Trump to tweet that CNN had been caught in an act of “fake news.” Now however CNN has posted the original email and accused Haab of “doctoring” the emails and lying about its exchange with its producer. If CNN is doctoring the emails (which is unlikely), Haab could sue for defamation. However, the network says that critical language was removed by Haab or his family.
Continue reading “CNN Accuses Florida Student Cited By President As Lying About Scripted Question”
The greatest beneficiary of the Gates plea may not be Rick Gates himself but Tony Podesta, the former head of the Podesta Group and the brother of John Podesta, the former head of the Hillary Clinton campaign. Tony Podesta recently resigned by the Podesta Group and has been cited as one of the Democrats who also engaged in work for Russian-backed interests in the Ukraine. Podesta suddenly registered as a foreign agent in the midst of the Russian investigation. (The Manafort-Gates indictments contained Foreign Agent Registration Act charges). Now, Special Counsel Robert Mueller may have given Podesta legal shelter from any charge in working for the same interests as Manafort and Gates. Buried in the Gates plea agreement is a key section that could have been written by Podesta counsel in establishing a defense to a future charge. While there is still the possibility of charges against Podesta or his former company, the filings strongly suggest that Manafort and Gates knowingly hid both critical facts and sources of payments from two lobbying groups including the Podesta Group. Mueller has been filing “speaking indictments” and these papers notably do not speak to any criminality on the part of Podesta.
This week was the 75th anniversary of a sad but inspiring moment. On this day, Sophia Magdalena Scholl and her brother Hans Scholl were executed by the Nazi regime on February 22, 1943. These young people were part of the White Rose movement of Germans who resisted Adolph Hitler. They put their lives at risk to oppose Hitler and, in giving their lives, stood for those Germans who refused to yield to madness of the Nazis.
The court order for Special Counsel Robert Mueller to share exculpatory evidence with former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has raised intriguing questions about whether evidence might have been withheld from Flynn before his plea deal. As I stated on air, I do not believe that the issuance of this order by Judge Sullivan should be assumed as evidence of any second thoughts by Flynn. As I state in my column below in The Hill newspaper, I do not see a real option for Flynn in trying to undo his plea deal. However, the disclosure of the evidence could raise questions for Flynn.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Did Mueller Withhold Evidence From Michael Flynn?”