Columns, Free Speech, International

Getting the Hook: The Met Cancels Opera Singer for Refusing to Condemn Putin

“It is a great artistic loss for the Met and for opera.” Those words from the Metropolitan Opera Manager Peter Gelb makes it sound like soprano Anna Netrebko has died or lost her voice in some accident. In reality, Netrebko was cancelled for failing to denounce Vladimir Putin. As with the criminalization of support for Putin in some countries, the termination of Netrebko is an attack on free speech. It is perfectly bizarre for the Met to stand against tyranny by attacking free speech, the very right that combats tyranny in all forms. This is not just the day that the music died for Netrebko, it is the day that free speech died at the Met.

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Free Speech, International, Media, Politics

Czech Republic Reportedly Moves To Criminalize Speech in Favor of Putin or the Russian Invasion

This week, the Supreme State Attorney Igor Striz of the Czech Republic announced that the country is moving to criminalize speech supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin or the Russian invasion with sentences of up to three years. It is a curious way to fight tyranny . . . with tyrannical measures against free speech.

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Academia, Free Speech

University North Texas Protesters Cancel Event on Child Gender Transitioning

We have been following campaigns on college campuses to prevent dissenting or conservative views from being heard, including the recent successful effort to block a Georgetown professor from speaking at Hastings College of Law. Now a new videotape has been posted on conservative sites of protesters shouting down a father who is an opponent of child gender transitions at the University of North Texas.

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Columns, Congress, Courts, Lawyering, Politics, Supreme Court

The Crimson Tie: Why Judge Jackson May Have An Ethical Problem To Address

Below is my column in the Hill on the possible conflict of interest faced by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson if she is confirmed to replace Justice Stephen Breyer. If Judge Jackson becomes Justice Jackson, her service on a Harvard governing board will be a barrier to her sitting on one of the most significant cases of the term. While the Harvard Crimson quotes Professor Noah Feldman as saying that there is a “strong argument that she would not need to recuse,” I cannot see how she could ethically sit in judgment on the case given her board position.

Here is the column:

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Academia, Free Speech

Students Block Shapiro From Speaking at Hastings College of Law

We have been following the controversy at Georgetown over the effort to fire conservative law professor Ilya Shapiro. Now, the campaign to cancel Shapiro has extended to other schools, including law schools where free speech should be most fervently and faithfully defended. Yet, students at the UC Hastings College of Law in San Francisco shouted down Shapiro to prevent others from hearing his views on the upcoming confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. What is particularly chilling is to see the support of some faculty in this campaign.

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International, Media, Military

Does the Filming of the Russian POWs Violate the Geneva Conventions?

I recently wrote a column on why I believe that the Russians are now committing flagrant war crimes. Ukraine is the victim of those crimes and the images from that country are truly sickening.  Vladimir Putin and his government now stands as not just a pariah among nations but criminal actors who have shattered the most basic principles of international law and the Law of War. In that context, it is difficult to raise questions about the response of Ukraine, which is facing annihilation at the hands of a tyrant. However, Ukraine is reportedly showing videotapes of Russian POWs. While it pales in comparison to what is being done by the Russians, the practice may violate Article 13 of the Geneva Conventions. Despite my strong and ongoing support for Ukraine in this struggle, it is important to flag such potential violations when they occur. It also has bearing on the media in using such images.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Torts

“A Bit Unusual”: Federal Judge Rejects Palin Motion For New Trial

Senior U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff has issued a stinging rebuke to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in seeking a new trial. A new trial was unlikely given Rakoff’s ruling that he would dismiss the case regardless of the verdict of the jury. However, in my view, Rakoff made an utter mess of this case and this decision will only magnify the novel issues for appeal.

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Academia, Free Speech

“Abolish White People”: Berkeley Faces New Free Speech Controversy

The University of California at Berkeley has been ground zero for some of our most heated fights over free speech. Conservative speakers have been blocked or cancelled. A Berkeley physicist resigned after faculty and students opposed a presentation by a UChicago physicist due to his questioning the impact of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs. Faculty and students denounced a history professor who anonymously called for greater academic freedom protections. Now, conservatives are objecting after the discovery of a speech by Berkeley Professor Zeus Leonardo in which he discussed the need “to abolish whiteness.” As will come as little surprise to regulars on the blog, I oppose calls for Leonardo to be fired and believe that this is protected under principles of free speech and academic freedom.  Yet, it is the response of the Berkeley faculty and students that is most notable. Continue reading ““Abolish White People”: Berkeley Faces New Free Speech Controversy” →

Congress, Politics, Supreme Court

Taking the Offense: Is the Jackson Nomination “Beyond Politics”?

“I just find those words offensive frankly.” Those words of Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) on Fox Sunday were telling and timely. Klobuchar was responding to my column referring to the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as a “political deliverable” by President Joe Biden. Even before Jackson’s appearance on Capitol Hill, it appears that any acknowledgement of her nomination as fulfilling Biden’s express pledge is already being called “offensive.”

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Criminal law, Politics

Hunter Biden’s Ex-Partner Sentenced to Federal Prison for Fraud
Joe Biden, second right, and his son, Hunter, right, pictured golfing in the Hamptons with Devon Archer.
Fox/Tucker Carlson Tonight

For those of us who have covered the Hunter Biden scandal for years, one of the most prominent figures in his alleged influence peddling efforts is Devon Archer, his close friend and partner. Archer was sentenced yesterday by federal District Judge Ronnie Abrams to a year in jail. Archer is shown (far left) in this 2014 picture with Joe Biden and Hunter Biden.

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International, Military

Is Russia’s “Meat Grinder” Multiplying War Crimes?

Vladimir Putin may be the greatest proof of John Steinbeck’s claim that “war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal.” For most of us, there seems no plausible endgame for Putin in his invasion of Ukraine other than death and destruction for both countries. Putin seems to be thinking in a different century but using this century’s weapons.

For criminals, there is often a calculus of risk that is done in looking at the costs and penalties of a crimes. The same is true for most war criminals and Putin is clearly now in that class of criminals. There is mounting evidence of war crimes, particularly in attacks on civilian areas.

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Columns, Media, Politics, Supreme Court

Who Really is Ketanji Brown Jackson?
Whitehouse.gov

Below is my column in the Hill on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. What is most notable of the statements of support for Judge Jackson is how little is said about her judicial philosophy or approach to the law. The fact is that we have a comparably thin record of opinions in comparison to recent nominees. While she obviously has opinions as a district court judge, there are few opinions that shed light on her judicial philosophy. That is not surprising for a trial judge who issues hundreds of insular decisions on trial issues or outcomes. This is not about the years of experience on the bench, which I have repeatedly noted is a great strength in the nomination. It simply means that we have fewer opinions offering substantive insights into her approach to legal interpretation. The question is whether we will learn substantially more in this confirmation.

Here is the column:

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Academia, Constitutional Law

Federal Court Declares Diversity Initiative at Thomas Jefferson High School to be Unconstitutional

We recently discussed controversies on race criteria from college admissions cases pending before the Supreme Court to the threshold criteria used by President Joe Biden for his Supreme Court nominee. Now, a federal district court in Northern Virginia has handed down a major decision in Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board, ruling that a new admissions policy at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, in Fairfax, Virginia is unconstitutional.  Recently, the county decided to change the admissions system for the elite school to increase minority enrollment.  Judge Claude Hilton ruled that the county unconstitutionally engineered the reduction of Asian-American students to achieve greater racial diversity.

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Columns, Constitutional Law, Politics

“Eliminating Ideas is [the] Very Purpose”: The Court Accepts Major Free Speech Case Over Same-Sex Marriage

Below is my column in the Hill on the acceptance of a major new case by the Supreme Court on the issue of free speech and anti-discrimination laws. The nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (the subject of today’s Hill column) and the Ukraine war took attention from this addition to the docket. However, this case has the makings of a major course change for the Court.

Here is the column:

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Politics, Supreme Court

The White House Expected to Name Supreme Court Nominee Soon

Washington is abuzz this morning with rumors that President Joe Biden will name his nominee, an announcement that is expected as soon as today. As previously discussed, President Biden announced that he would only consider Black, female candidates — threshold criteria overwhelmingly opposed by the public. The pledge was as unnecessary as it was unfair. The three short listers — each with impressive backgrounds — are Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a federal appeals judge; Judge J. Michelle Childs, a federal judge in South Carolina; and Leondra Kruger, a justice on the California Supreme Court. I have previously said that Judge Brown Jackson remains the frontrunner for the position.

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