I have the honor of speaking today at the Tenth Circuit judicial conference in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I will be part of a panel discussing the Supreme Court’s recent religious freedom cases and related First Amendment issues. The highlight of the conference will be separate events with Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Continue reading “Turley Speaks at Tenth Circuit Judicial Conference”
Many of us (including some Democrats) have criticized President Joe Biden for his inflammatory speech in Philadelphia that cast Republicans as “threats to the foundations of our republic.” I also objected to the use of Marines at the political speech like nutcracker props flanking the President as he accused millions of their fellow Americans of being enemies of the state. Now, a Trafalgar poll shows that a majority of Americans believe that Biden tried to “incite conflict” with his speech.
When U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon issued an order for the appointment of a special master, she instantly became the latest jurist targeted by a furious mob of media and pundits. Rather than simply disagree with her order, these critics attacked Cannon personally and ethically, including lawyers and law professors. It is a familiar pattern but the fury shown in the last two days is chilling for our federal judges who have seen increasing attacks, including an alleged attempted assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Nevertheless, legal and media figures seemed to rush to outdo each other in the most extreme statements about a judge with a distinguished background.
In another defeat for the Justice Department, a federal court has ordered not just the appointment of a Special Master but halted the use of the seized Mar-a-Lago documents by prosecutors until the legal status of these documents is established (The ongoing intelligence security review of classified material can continue). As with the compelled release of a redacted affidavit, the Justice Department seriously overplayed its hand (as it did in earlier filings) in claiming that an appointment would undermine national security and making extreme, unestablished legal arguments. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon will not necessarily change the ultimate trajectory of the case but it will force critical reviews and rulings on issues from attorney-client privilege to executive privilege. Continue reading “Federal Judge Orders Appointment of Special Master and Halts Use of Seized Mar-a-Lago Material by Prosecutors”
Below is my column in the Hill on the recent focus on obstruction as a possible charge against former President Donald Trump. There is no question that the filings reflect a belief that the Trump team, and potentially Trump himself, engaged in obstructive conduct. That could be an easier case to make than a prosecution for the retention of material, including classified material, at Mar-a-Lago. However, Hillary Clinton’s case will loom large for many Americans in judging the basis for the prosecution, even on obstruction.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “Hats Off to Hillary: Prosecuting Trump in the Shadow of Clinton’s Emails”
Country singer Jason Aldean has been dropped by his longtime PR firm, GreenRoom PR, after his wife, Brittany Aldean, criticized early interventions on gender transitioning for young children. Brittany Aldean said that she was thankful that her parents did not intervene during her “tomboy phase” because she loves being a female. Various stars and advocates denounced her and GreenRoom then dropped her husband. What is interesting is that the company had its client list displayed yesterday but just removed the list and its home page. The effort may be to protect other country stars from the backlash of staying with the company when it is effectively blacklisting an artist for the political or social views of his spouse.
Continue reading “GreenRoom’s Blacklist? Country Singer Jason Aldean Dropped by Longtime PR Firm Over Wife’s Gender Comments”
Below is my column in the New York Post on the controversial speech of President Joe Biden in Philadelphia. The speech has received sharply different reviews from “disgusting” and “hateful” to a historic declaration of war against the enemies of the state. Some like MSNBC regular (and writer for The Nation and Above the Law) Elie Mystal insisted that the speech did not go far enough because all Republicans are white supremacists, not just MAGA Republicans. I thought the speech was divisive and inflammatory. However, it was not the content but the optics of the speech that was particularly unsettling. Framing Biden were two Marines standing like nutcracker props in a highly political speech. His use of the Marines (and the Marine band) violated long-standing rules for shielding the services from such political events.
Here is the column:
There is an interesting new lawsuit out of Southern Utah University where theater professor Richard Bugg has refused to use plural pronouns for a nonbinary student. It is only the latest such challenge on free speech grounds by those who reject the use of different pronouns for religious, social, or purely grammatical reasons. There are a couple of aspects of the case that are particularly interesting. Continue reading “Southern Utah Professor Sues Over Mandatory Use of Pronouns”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Just a few quick photos to spirit us away from the politics of this past week…I took two days off and headed for the coastline. Having returned later to e-Mail and the online news, it was decidedly apparent nature was a far better pursuit.
Below is my column in the Hill on the latest controversy over President Joe Biden’s unilateral use of executive power. Despite an impressive list of court losses, Biden is now asserting such authority as the basis for the single largest debt forgiveness in history.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “College-Loan Forgiveness Plan Reveals Biden’s Constitutional Cynicism”
When the Justice Department filed its opposition to a Special Master, there were a number of elements that immediately stood out. The first that I noted was the most important: the allegation that the FBI believed that Trump or his associates “likely” acted to obstruct their investigation. Such public statements are always serious in a criminal case because they can commit investigators to the path of prosecution. I also later noted the curious inclusion of the now widely known photo of classified files that has been widely published. I warned that the photo could leave a misleading impression that this was how the documents were found by the FBI, which has occurred. I then asked why it was included as Attachment F. At best, it seems superfluous. At worst, it could be staging. That debate is now raging on cable programs and the Internet. Update: the photo came up in the hearing after the Trump counsel called it “perfectly staged” but there was no ruling on the Special Master.
Continue reading “FBI Faces Criticism Over Release of Photo of Classified Documents on Floor”
We recently discussed students at Marquette University blocking the convocation for students at the start of the new school year. Now students have shut down the University of Pennsylvania’s freshmen convocation with President Liz Magill. The students were demanding that the school help in an eviction case near campus. According to Inside Higher Education, Daily Pennsylvanian, and College Fix, there is an eviction of a nearby affordable housing complex that led students and outside protesters to stop the convocation. Some 70 units are scheduled to be sold. Continue reading ““Stop Penntrification!”: Penn Students and House Activists Stop Convocation for New Students” 
A new study offers further evidence of the alarming decline of ideological diversity on our law faculties. A study by Georgetown University’s Kevin Tobia and MIT’s Eric Martinez was featured on College Fix that finds that only nine percent of law school professors identify as conservative at the top 50 law schools. Notably, a 2017 study found 15 percent of faculties were conservative. This is the result of years of faculty replicating their own ideological preferences and eradicating the diversity that once existed on faculties. When I began teaching in the 1980s, faculties were undeniably liberal but contained a significant number of conservative and libertarian professors. It made for a healthy and balanced intellectual environment. Today such voices are relatively rare and faculties have become political echo chambers, leaving conservatives and Republican students increasingly afraid to speak openly in class.
Continue reading “Study: Only Nine Percent of Law Professors Identify as Conservatives”
Last night, Department of Justice filed in opposition to the appointment of a Special Master in Florida. It used the filing to add new facts and allegations to the public record, including the statement that “obstructive conduct occurred” at Mar-a-Lago by concealing or moving documents. The Department makes many of the same claims that it used to opposed the release of a redacted affidavit, claims shown to have been misleading and exaggerated after the magistrate ordered the release. Notably, this filing contained details that were likely redacted in the affidavit but just released on the public record. Continue reading “Justice Department Opposes Any Special Master and Alleges That “Obstructive Conduct Occurred” at Mar-a-Lago”
The long and vengeful campaign of Oberlin College against a small family-owned grocery has come to an end at the cost of a breathtaking $36 million for defamation. The Ohio Supreme Court had rejected what should be Oberlin College’s final appeal of a verdict in favor of Gibson’s Bakery. The bakery has been the target of an unrelenting attack by the school after it had the temerity to fight a false charge of racism in a shoplifting case involving Oberlin students who later pleaded guilty to criminal charges. Oberlin President Carmen Twillie Ambar and the Board burned through millions in litigation costs above the damages rather than admit that the college was wrong in the targeting of this grocery. That money could have been used for scholarships and other worthy purposes. Instead, Amber and the Board will simply ask alumni to foot the bill for a legal effort that seems to become little more than a revenge fetish. Continue reading “Oberlin’s Revenge Mania: College Finally Runs Out of Appeals in Campaign Against Family-Owned Bakery”
