In my recent law review article at Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, I discuss the recent student survey showing that over 82 percent of Harvard faculty self-identify as liberal or very liberal. What is striking is that, even as Harvard is ranked as one of the most hostile academic environments for free speech, students are rallying in support of the effective purging of conservatives from the faculty.
On Wednesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit narrowed the order of U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon by allowing the Justice Department to regain access to the roughly 100 classified documents seized among roughly 11,000 documents at Mar-a-Lago. It was not unexpected. As previously discussed, this was the “smart move” by the Justice Department to first seek access to this small group of documents with classified markings, the strongest of its arguments against the order. In the meantime, former President Donald Trump gave a full hour-long interview with Fox’s Sean Hannity, a risky decision in a case with potential criminal charges. In the interview, Trump suggested that he could declassify any or all documents “with a thought.” It is a position likely to further alienate both the Special Master and the appellate court, which have already expressed frustration with the lack of support offered for declassification claims. Continue reading “Eleventh Circuit Rules for DOJ on Classified Documents As Trump Claims the Right to Declassify with a Thought”
Today I have the pleasure of giving a keynote address on the Supreme Court at Christopher Newport University on the 15th anniversary of its Center on American Studies. I will be speaking at 4:30 and the keynote is entitled “Dangerous Times for the “Least Dangerous Branch”: The Supreme Court in the Age of Rage.” I will later give a dinner address on “Free speech and Higher Education: The Struggle Over Viewpoint Diversity on College Campuses.”
Continue reading “Turley Gives Keynote Address on Supreme Court at Christopher Newport University”
The undocumented migrants who were transferred to Martha’s Vineyard have quickly adopted one common American practice: litigation. A firm, Lawyers for Civil Rights, in conjunction with the migrant-led nonprofit Alianza Americas, filed the action on behalf of Yanet Doe, Pablo Doe and Jesus Doe who are using pseudonyms for the action “on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated.” The filing is a Jackson Pollock of legal claims with twelve claims thrown against Florida from false imprisonment to intentional infliction of emotional distress to misuse of the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund. The splattering of claims face considerable legal barriers based on the consent of the migrants, as shown in a waiver released by Florida.
Continue reading “Three Martha Vineyard Migrants File Lawsuit Against DeSantis”
I am a bit delayed but, a few days ago, Res Ipsa passed the 62,000,000 mark in views on the blog. We have used these moments to give thanks for our many regular readers around the world and share our traffic data to give you an idea of the current profile of readers around the world. We do not have a running data page so these periodic postings allow our community to see the traffic profile of our blog. Continue reading “Res Ipsa Hits 62,000,000”
House Democrats on the Oversight Committee took a vote on Tuesday that could come back to haunt them. All of the 23 Democrats voted not to inquire into the influence peddling scheme of Hunter Biden and the Biden family. Rep. James Comer (R-KY) proposed a “resolution of inquiry” in light of growing evidence of not just a possible multimillion dollar influence peddling operation by Hunter and his uncle, but the knowledge of his father, President Joe Biden. At a minimum, it appears that President Biden’s repeated public denials of any knowledge of these dealings is false. Yet, the Democrats blocked any inquiry into the corruption. If Republicans take the House as expected in the midterms, the Democrats now effectively took ownership of Hunter — a political proprietary claim that few would relish. The vote comes after 33 senators asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel in the matter, a call that I have repeatedly made in prior columns for over two years. The letter is below.
We have another anti-free speech incident involving liberal protesters shutting down an event. Fox News pundit Tomi Lahren was cancelled at the University of New Mexico by students who refused to let others hear her remarks. There is, however, a major (and hopeful) difference in this incident: the school is actually pledging to hold the students accountable. Some of us have called for such action for years to quell the anti-free speech movement sweeping across campuses. Continue reading “New Mexico Students Shutdown Conservative Speaker in Latest Attack on Free Speech” Below is my column in the Hill on the claims that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) and other governors are committing crimes ranging from kidnapping to human trafficking in shipping undocumented immigrants to other states. The claims are legally baseless. While MSNBC regular Elie Mystal said this week, “kidnapping is a thing,” it is just not “this thing.” While insisting that migrants should be seen as a “blessing,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has declared the free trips to be “crimes against humanity.” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Cal.) has also demanded criminal investigations even though Newsom, as mayor of San Francisco, shipped homeless people “back home” to other cities with free bus tickets. There are now threats of some blue states suing as well as New York City but those lawsuits are likely to fail absent evidence of systemic fraud or coercion. These migrants are allowed to engage in interstate travel and other states can facilitate such travel.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Democrats Allege Crimes Ranging from Kidnapping to Human Trafficking to “Crimes Against Humanity” in Migrant Transfers”
There were a couple of eye-raising moments this weekend during an interview of President Joe Biden on CBS’ “60 Minutes.” One was his continued blanket denial that his son Hunter had done anything that had any impact on him or the country. However, it was the President’s sudden announcement that the pandemic “is over” that may have taken some people by surprise, including Administration lawyers still using the pandemic as a basis for policies and programs. This includes a major appellate case this week. Continue reading “Biden Declares Pandemic “Over” Despite Continued Use in Policies and Programs”
I have been writing about the claim of Hillary Clinton and others that the transportation of migrants to places like Martha’s Vineyard is “literally human trafficking” and other crimes. Despite the utter lack of legal basis for these allegations, major media has continued to air such claims. This weekend, MSNBC’s Tiffany Cross and MSNBC regular (and past writer for Above the Law and the Nation) Elie Mystal repeated the false claim that the trips constitute kidnapping. Continue reading ““Kidnapping is a Thing”: MSNBC Continues False Claim that DeSantis is Kidnapping Migrants”
This weekend I gave a keynote address to the California Lawyers Conference. While my time in San Diego was very limited, I was able to break away after the speech to hike along the ocean and ended at the Sunset trail in time for sunset. It is spectacular. For hikers, you feel like you are at the Louvre where every turn reveals another masterpiece. Continue reading “Hiking Toward the Sunset in San Diego”
Late Friday, the Justice Department filed its long-awaited appellate filing related to the special master order of United States District Judge Aileen Cannon. While the Administration previously argued that the appointment itself is a threat to national security and unsupportable, it notably dropped its opposition to the appointment on appeal and only appealed one aspect of the order. In its motion for a stay pending appeal, it is only asking the 11th Circuit to allow it to continue using classified documents seized from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in a criminal investigation. The filing may reflect that time is running out for the Administration since a special master is now in place and is likely to prioritize (and release) these very documents. The motion pending appeal does not prevent the DOJ from later challenging the whole appointment but it will come after the special master has begun his work.
This morning, I have the honor of addressing the 2022 California Lawyers Conference in San Diego. The keynote address will cover “Emerging Cases and Controversies Before the Roberts Supreme Court.” It is a particular privilege to address the conference on Constitution Day. We are experiencing a crisis of faith in our Constitution, including attacks on the Court and individual justices. There has also been a rise of opposition to “constitutionalism” as well as attacks on the Constitution as “trash.”
The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said “We have the oldest written constitution still in force in the world, and it starts out with three words, ‘We, the people.'” It was a simple and powerful statement. It is incumbent on each of us to defend a constitution that not only defines us as a people but has served us well through hundreds of years of political, social, and economic upheaval.
Hillary Clinton today agreed with MSNBC host Joe Scarborough that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sending 50 undocumented migrants to Martha’s Vineyard is “literally human trafficking.” There are good-faith reasons to oppose the transportation to migrants to the island, but, as a legal matter, this is legally nonsense. Continue reading “No, Transporting Undocumented Migrants to Martha’s Vineyard is Not “Literally Human Trafficking””
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), in partnership with College Pulse, has released the third annual College Free Speech Rankings, ranking the speech climates of 203 of America’s largest campuses. I am happy to report that my alma mater, the University of Chicago, took the top position in protecting free speech. At the bottom of the list is Columbia university. George Washington University does not fair well. It is 171 out of 203 near the bottom of the ranking. Continue reading “UChicago Ranked as Top Free Speech School While Columbia, Georgetown, Penn Rank at the Very Bottom”