Academia, Criminal law, Media, Politics

George Washington Toppled At George Washington University

300px-George_Washington_University_seal.svgWe have been discussing the destruction of statues and public art in the recent protests, including a new column this morning. I have been highly critical of the defacing of our monuments and destruction of public art.  Now the destruction has reached my own campus.  The Hatchet reports that one of our iconic busts of George Washington was torn from its foundation on campus. It has not however been discussed by the University or attributed to protesters.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Media, Politics

CNN Analyst Calls For Barr’s Impeachment

This-is-cnn-CNN’s legal analyst Asha Rangappa is calling for the impeachment of Attorney General Bill Barr.  Rangappa claims that Barr “tried to bamboozle the country” in the recent controversy over the replacement of Geoffrey Berman, who until Saturday had been the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. She further states that there is no ability for the Inspector General to investigate any improper conduct despite evidence that “Barr was attempting to obstruct justice by removing [Berman].  There is no such evidence and the call for impeachment shows a continuing misconstruction of the history and standard for impeachment.

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Columns, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Media, Politics

Bolton’s Win Could Cost Him More Than Just Profits

John_R._BoltonOn Saturday, federal district court judge Royce Lamberth denied a motion to enjoin the release of former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s tell-all book in a 10-page order.  The book, titled “The Room Where it Happened,” is already in circulation with reporters literally standing outside of the courthouse reading from it.  As argued in the column before the decision, Lamberth rejected the injunction.  However, he lambasted Bolton for his failure to complete the classification review that he agreed to as part of his taking the position with President Donald Trump.  There are already possibly classified subjects being teased out of the book by the media.  Lamberth decried the fact that Bolton has “gambled with national security” and said that his actions “raise grave national security concerns” but “the damage is done.” Perhaps it is done for the release but the damage to Bolton may only be beginning. As Lamberth noted, he now faces civil and criminal liability, which are discussed in the column. 

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Bizarre, Politics

Another Day, Another NDA: Trump Threatens Litigation Over A Nondisclosure Agreement With Niece

donald_trump_president-elect_portrait_croppedIn the Trump Administration, it seems that each day brings a new NDA.  From Stormy Daniels to Michael Cohen to John Bolton, NDA litigation has become the signature litigation issue of the Trump presidency.  Now, President Donald Trump has invoked a NDA in response to a new tell-all book by his niece Mary Trump.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Free Speech, International

Scottish Man Convicted Of Calling Ex-Girlfriend’s Boyfriend A “Leprechaun”

170px-Leprechaun_ill_artlibre_jnlI have been a critic of the alarming criminalizing of speech in Great Britain through hate speech laws.  Such laws create an insatiable appetite for greater and greater speech regulation and create a sense of empowerment among citizens to silence those with whom they disagree.  Now, a Scottish man has been convicted of a message that was grossly offensive, indecent or menacing. According to the Evening Express, the prosecutor (appropriately named Susan Love) cited the fact that Terry Myers, 41, called the Irish boyfriend of his ex-girlfriend a “leprechaun.”

 

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Justice

WA Police Recruit Steps Up To The Plate, And Inspires

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

In my travels I happened along a small act of community caretaking that brought a smile to the both of us. It was not so much what was done for a motorist with a disabled vehicle, but the degree of enthusiasm and resolve shown by a young police recruit in stepping up to the plate for a citizen in need that I found inspirational. So here’s a “hats off” to her and the WA Criminal Justice Training Commission for fostering such spirit.

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Justice, Lawyering, Politics

Barr v. Berman: Manhattan U.S. Attorney Refuses To Leave Office After Announced Replacement [Updated]

440px-William_Barr864px-Geoffrey_S._BermanAttorney General William Barr announced that Geoffrey Berman will be stepping down as the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan. That clearly came as a surprise to Berman who dashed off a blistering response that he is neither resigning nor stepping down until a replacement is confirmed by the United States Senate.  Berman could now be fired, but the move by Barr raises legitimate issues for congressional investigation since Berman has been at the forefront of the investigation into Trump associates, including an ongoing investigation into Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani’s business activities.  The sudden late Friday replacement only added to those concerns and Barr needs to address these questions fully and quickly.  This is a very serious matter if Berman is being canned due to his investigations, particularly given President Donald Trump’s continual criticism of those investigations. Update: As predicted, Trump has now fired Berman and Berman has agreed to leave immediately.

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Academia, Free Speech, Media, Politics

Syracuse Student Newspaper Sacks Columnist After Questioning “Institutional Racism”

downloadWe recently discussed the apology of the New York Times for publishing a column from a leading United States Senator on the possible use of troops to quell rioting after the death of George Floyd.  That decision, and the sacking of the opinion page editor, represented one of the lowest moments in American journalism.  It made echo journalism the official policy of one of the oldest news organizations in the United States.  The lesson was not, it appears, lost on young college journalists at Syracuse University who sacked a columnist because she questioned claims of “institutional racism.” Adrianna San Marco notably did not write her opinion in The Daily Orange but she was canned for challenging this widely held view.  My greatest concern is the lack of specificity from the editors on the objections to her column beyond “reinforcing stereotypes.”  Such actions demand a clarity in the standard being applied to writers.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

The “Unkindest Cut Of All”: Florida Man To Go To Trial For Machete Attack With Facial Machete Tattoo

As a criminal defense attorney, I would consider Justin Arthur Allen Couch, 25, a bit of a challenge.  He will have to be tried on a machete attack with a large machete tattoo prominently featured on his face.

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Animals, Environment, Society

Trump Administration Sued Over Impact of Expanded Grazing Operations On Wolf Populations

Canis_lupus_layingI have often criticized the Trump Administration for its environmental policies from blocking climate control measures to rolling back on pollution regulations to developing pristine natural areas, including recent changes to hunting rules in Alaska.  Now the Forest Service is being sued over its failure on how expanded grazing operations are impacting gray wolf populations.  Given the ruling on DACA yesterday on the failure of the Administration to satisfy basic procedures requirements under the Administrative Procedure Act, this litigation will hopefully succeed in forcing a reevaluation of the operations of these private businesses on federal lands.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society, Supreme Court

Supreme Court Rules 5-4 Against Trump Administration Of DACA Rescission

SCOTUSIn a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court had blocked the Trump Administration from ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program as an “arbitrary and capricious” change.  Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by the four liberal judges, ruled that Trump’s decision violated the Administrative Procedure Act. It was another self-inflicted wound due to a poorly executed policy change in this area.  The ruling is based on procedural failures, not the merits or the underlying authority.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Lawyering, Media, Politics

Democrats Hit Bolton After He Accuses The House Of “Impeachment Malpractice”

John_R._Bolton440px-Adam_Schiff_115th_official_photoLast year, in columns and testimony, I chastised the Democrats for the shortest investigation on the narrowest grounds with the thinnest record of any presidential impeachment in history.  The insistence of impeaching by Christmas doomed any chances of a compelling impeachment case.  It appears now that one person agrees with that assessment: former National Security Adviser John Bolton.  I referenced Bolton and his upcoming book as one of the reason why a little more time could vastly improve and expand the House case.  Bolton said that he simply wanted a court to refer the privilege claim, which could have been accomplished easily in the time wasted by the House (including the long delay in sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate).  In response, the Democratic leadership is lashing out at Bolton for refusing to come forward despite his offer to do so after a federal judge heard the privilege claim.

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Academia, Free Speech, Uncategorized

UCF Professor Under Investigation And Police Protection After Tweeting About “Black Privilege”

imagesWe have been writing about efforts to fire professors who have criticized the “Defund the Police” campaign or Black Lives Matter.  Now, Charles Negy, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Central Florida, is under school investigation and has received police protection after he tweeted about what he views as “black privilege.” While countless professors have written about “white privilege,”  Negy is looking at discipline or termination while police have been called to his house to protect his life.  Negy is not the first professor to be put under police protection after voicing criticism of the protests or BLM.  Once again, I am less interested in the merits of the underlying debate as the implications for free speech and academic freedom.  As one of the large free speech blogs, we have long discussed efforts to pressure or fire academics for their exercise of free speech and academic freedom.  Recently, however, these efforts have been joined by schools and fellow academics who seek to deter others from expressing opposing views.

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Criminal law, Uncategorized

Police Arrest New York Man Who Randomly Attacked 92-Year-Old Woman

Screen Shot 2020-06-17 at 1.55.48 PMMost of us were horrified by the video of a man randomly striking a 92-year-old womanin New York City who fell and hit a fire hydrant.  The young man is seen casually looking back and just continuing. Police say that they have arrested Rashid Brimmage, 31, and he is no stranger to the criminal justice system.

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Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

Google Targets Conservative Sites In Latest Crackdown

250px-googleGoogle has moved against another set of conservative sites. While many have celebrated the action against ZeroHedge and The Federalist, I remain deeply concerned over the free speech implications of such actions. I have written for years about public and private censorship, including recent actions to regulate and control speech on the Internet. Democratic leaders have been calling for censorship on the Internet and in social media for years, a move that will destroy the greatest forum for free speech in the history of the world.  Writers have joined in this movement and two such academics recently declared “China was right” all along about censorship.

As will come as no surprise to many on this blog, I view this latest action as another form of private censorship that targets conservative sites while ignoring similar rhetoric from the left.  I am not very complex when it comes to such conflicts over free speech.  I am not as much concerned with the merits of these fights as the implication of targeting some sites over others.  I know very little about ZeroHedge while I am familiar with some of the writers on The Federalist. Google has said comparatively little about the reason for barring the sites and what NBC originally reported has been contradicted by the company. However, it is the explanation given for the action taken against the Federalist that I wanted to address.  It seems to follow the pattern of politically biased, content-based discrimination against conservative sites by companies like Twitter, Facebook, and Google.  Despite the clear bias shown in these actions, most academics are either applauding the crackdown or remaining conspicuously silent as companies silence those with opposing or unpopular views.

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Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks