Academia, Free Speech, Media, Politics

Former Yale Professor Bandy Lee Sues University Over Termination
I have long been an out-spoken critic of Dr. Bandy Lee, a former faculty member in the School of Medicine and Yale Law School, who has made bizarre and unprofessional statements about the mental fitness of not just former president Donald Trump but his supporters. A favorite expert of MSNBC, Lee never disappointed hosts in declaring that Trump and his supporters are mentally ill and dangerous.  I was one of the first to call out Lee for violating the “Goldwater Rule” in such public diagnosis as she and others laid the foundation for a 25th Amendment removal of Trump within a year of his taking office. After numerous columns denouncing her, I should be relieved by the termination of Lee at Yale, as detailing in her recent  complaint, but free speech and academic freedom tend to make all such controversies more difficult. I actually have serious concerns about the termination.

Continue reading “Former Yale Professor Bandy Lee Sues University Over Termination” →

Bizarre, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media

Turkey Prosecutes French Journalists For Cartoon Mocking Erdogan
In 2015, I wrote a Washington Post column criticizing the world leaders who marched for free speech and the free press after the massacre of editors with from the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, particularly the vehemently anti-free speech and anti-free press president of Turkey Recep Tavyip Erdogan. The editors were murdered because the magazine published a cartoon of Mohammad. Seeing the authoritarian Erdogan at the front of the march was the ultimate mocking of these deaths and proof that world leaders cared little for these rights or the 12 dead. Not only did Erdogan’s government follow the march by prosecuting a cartoonist, but now it is seeking long prison sentences for four Hebdo journalists for a cartoon mocking Erdogan.

Continue reading “Turkey Prosecutes French Journalists For Cartoon Mocking Erdogan” →

Bizarre, Criminal law

“Enticing The Crowd With Music”: Miami Police Charge Rapper With Rioting Offenses
There was rioting in Miami Beach over the last week as spring breakers vandalized property, blocked streets, and attacked police. At least five officers were injured. One of those charged was Javon Washington, 30, faces an array of charges due to his role in playing music and encouraging defiance of the police. I have serious reservations about some of those charges, including resisting arrest without violence (which I have criticized in the past as dangerously ill-defined as a criminal provision). Continue reading ““Enticing The Crowd With Music”: Miami Police Charge Rapper With Rioting Offenses” →
Free Speech, Media, Politics

Media Misinformation or Protection? Pro-Biden Media Figures Clash Over Pressing Biden On Immigration Surge

In the first White House press conference held with President Joe  Biden, many noted that the second question was given to “PBS NewsHour” correspondent Yamiche Alcindor who has been previously criticized for breathless accounts of Biden and what she called “the super heros” of his cabinet. Alcindor raised the issue of the crisis at the border with a massive increase in unaccompanied minors. However, she framed her question as to whether Biden can resolve the “tension” of having people come to the United States because he is such a “moral” and “decent” person. One critic however objected that the question was unfair to Biden and based on disinformation. That of course was Jennifer Rubin, who has been repeatedly criticized for false postings from congressional hearings to court decisions to even Shakespeare. She even once attacked me  for a theory that I did not agree with in a column that I did not write.  However, during the week of the House hearing on calls for expanded censorship on the Internet of “disinformation and misinformation,” the ensuing disagreement between Alcindor and Rubin shows how fluid these concepts have become where Alcindor could be accused of spreading misinformation for just asking the question.

Continue reading “Media Misinformation or Protection? Pro-Biden Media Figures Clash Over Pressing Biden On Immigration Surge” →

Academia, Criminal law

Former BSU Professor Arrested For Defacing Lincoln Statue With Feces And Paint

We have been discussing campaigns against Lincoln statues as well as the destruction of such statues.  The latest example is in Boise, Idaho where former Boise State University adjunct professor Terry Wilson, 37, has been arrested for defacing a Lincoln statue. He has previously served as a spokesperson for Black Lives Matter in Boise. Both BLM and Antifa groups were reportedly involved in the defacing of the statue. Continue reading “Former BSU Professor Arrested For Defacing Lincoln Statue With Feces And Paint” →

Torts

Strikeout at The Boilerplate: Court Rules For Fan Contesting Fine Print On Baseball Ticket

In my torts class, we discuss sports torts and defenses. One of those issues is the common inclusion of waivers and binding arbitration language on the back of tickets in microscopic type. That issue came up in an interesting case involving the Chicago Cubs. (For full disclosure, I am a lifetime Cubs fan and personally secured their last World Series win). Last week, a three-justice panel of the Illinois First District Appellate Court in Chicago ruled against MLB and the Cubs in seeking to enforce the boilerplate language on arbitration printed on the back of baseball tickets.  The Cubs have not been so shocked since Steve Bartman reached out and interfered with Cubs outfielder Moises Alou catching the ball with the Florida Marlins in 2003.

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Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics

Michigan AG Nessel Unleashes Political Diatribe Against Defiant Restaurant Owner

We previously discussed the controversial threats of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) against those who were raising electoral fraud allegations. She is currently in another controversy involving the arrest of restaurant owner Marlena Pavlos-Hackney. Fox Host Tucker Carlson has alleged that the owner was arrested due to her appearance on his show. (For full disclosure, I am a contributor to Fox News). Nessel can certainly point to a long history of noncompliance to justify the arrest but her statement issued in response to the allegations is, in my view, highly inappropriate and shows raw political bias. Continue reading “Michigan AG Nessel Unleashes Political Diatribe Against Defiant Restaurant Owner” →

Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Religion, Society

“The Defendants May Pick Their Poison”: Christian Group Scores Major Legal Victory Against University of Iowa

A Christian group at the University of Iowa scored a major win this week before the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.  In an opinion (below) with sweeping potential impact, the court reversed District Court Judge Stephanie Rose and ruled that University of Iowa officials can be held personally liable for targeting a Christian club and denying the rights of free speech and association. The University ultimately did not appeal findings that it violated the rights of this religious group and these students in its discriminatory application of university policies.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society

“Tomorrow It Could Be Somebody Else”: Bernie Sanders Comes Out Against Trump Twitter Ban

Twitter LogoSen Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) came out against the Twitter ban of former president Donald Trump yesterday.  Sanders expressed his discomfort with the role of Big Tech in censorship viewpoints, a sharp departure from his Democratic colleagues who have demanded more such corporate censorship. Continue reading ““Tomorrow It Could Be Somebody Else”: Bernie Sanders Comes Out Against Trump Twitter Ban” →

Academia, Free Speech

Self-Cancellation: CUNY Law Dean Resigns And Seeks Counseling After Referring To Herself As A “Slaveholder”

CUNY Law Dean Mary Lu Bilek is back in the news in what people are calling a case of “self-cancellation.” After referring to herself as a “slaveholder” in a faculty meeting, Bilek announced her early retirement in response to what she called as momentary but serious lapse of judgment last year. We previously discussed Bilek’s troubling view of free speech after conservative law professor Josh Blackman was stopped from speaking about “the importance of free speech.”  Bilek insisted that disrupting the speech on free speech was free speech. She has now effectively ended her own speech, at least as the Dean of CUNY. She has also sent herself into counseling to overcome her “biases.”

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media

USD Law Professor Under Investigation For Column Criticizing Chinese Government

University of San Diego Law Professor Thomas Smith has been put under investigation for the use of an offensive term in a column criticizing the Chinese government and its role in the pandemic.  The column, written on the site The Right Coast discussed a Wall Street Journal article on China’s lack of real cooperation in the World Health Organization’s investigation into the origins of the coronavirus. In the column, Smith refers to accepting “a lot of Chinese c**k swaddle.” That led to a campaign to have Smith fired and a statement from Dean Robert Schapiro that not only announced a  formal investigation but appeared to denounce Smith.  The USD controversy is the latest attack on free speech and academic freedom. It shows the same combination of student cancelling campaigns and the enabling actions of school administrators. Continue reading “USD Law Professor Under Investigation For Column Criticizing Chinese Government” →

Columns, Constitutional Law, Politics

Warren’s Wealth Tax: How A New Bill Would Convert The Tax Code Into A Canned Hunt

Below is my column in The Hill on introduction of Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax.  The bill contains two notable addition: a massive increase in the size of the IRS and what I call a “captivity tax” to try to keep the wealthy from fleeing. The odds are that Democratic leadership will see some of the same problems with this bill, but the danger is that such legislation will be difficult to oppose due to its public appeal. Moreover, there is a lack of honestly about the constitutional and practical issues surrounding a “wealth tax.” Such details are lost as Warren pledges to go after the “Rembrandts … diamonds and … yachts”  of the wealthy.

Here is the column: Continue reading “Warren’s Wealth Tax: How A New Bill Would Convert The Tax Code Into A Canned Hunt” →

Constitutional Law, Media, Politics, Torts

Project Veritas Wins Victory Against New York Times In Defamation Action
While it has received little coverage in the mainstream media, the conservative group Project Veritas won a major victory against the New York Times this week in a defamation case with potentially wide reach.  In a 16-page decision, New York Supreme Court Justice Charles Wood ruled against the newspaper’s motion to dismiss and found that Project Veritas had shown sufficient evidence that the New York Times might have been motivated by “actual malice” and acted with “reckless disregard” in several articles written by Maggie Astor and Tiffany Hsu. The decision will allow the Project access to discovery which can be extremely difficult for a news organization.

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Academia, Politics, Society

“White Supremacist Thinking”: San Fran School Board Vice President Under Fire For Allegedly Anti-Asian Tweets

We previously discussed the controversial position of Alison Collins, Vice President of the San Francisco school board, in her campaign against meritocracy and effort to shut down the gifted programs at Lowell High School.  The Asian community was particularly opposed to Collins’ efforts since Asian students composed 29 percent of the students but 51 percent of the Lowell student body. Now Collins is under fire for prior tweets attacking Asians as promoting “the ‘model minority’ BS” and of using “white supremacist thinking to assimilate and ‘get ahead.’” Continue reading ““White Supremacist Thinking”: San Fran School Board Vice President Under Fire For Allegedly Anti-Asian Tweets” →

Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks