Constitutional Law, Justice, Lawyering, Politics, Society

Report: Barr Refused To Hold Press Conference Exonerating Trump Of Ukraine-Related Crimes

The New York Times and other papers are reporting that Attorney General William Barr refused a request from President Donald Trump to hold a news conference to declare that Trump did not violate any laws in his telephone call with Ukraine’s president. I have known Barr for years and I am not surprised by the report. If such a call to Barr was made, it was inappropriate and shows that the President is still acting incautiously and impetuously in managing these scandals. With various investigations going forward on the Ukrainian matter, it would have been deeply troubling for Barr to make such a statement. While no crime has been identified, there could be potential criminal conduct related to the call as well as questions of the abuse of power. Trump has denied the report.

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Bizarre, Politics, Religion

Trump Spiritual Adviser Accuses Trump Critics Of Using Sorcery and Evil Spirits

President Donald Trump’s personal spiritual adviser, Paula White, has previously made news with prayers that denounced the ‘demonic networks” and stating that Christians who vote against Trump will be called to account before God. A controversial “prosperity gospel” preacher, White will now lead the president’s Faith and Opportunity Initiative. In a prayer on a conference call White proclaimed “Lord, we ask you to deliver our president from any snare, any setup of the enemy, according to Ephesians 6:12. Any persons [or] entities that are aligned against the president will be exposed and dealt with and overturned by the superior blood of Jesus.” What troubles me most is the implied message that opposing Trump a sin or, at a minimum, an act that will bring divine retribution.

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Academia, Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society

No Free Speech For “Overtly Racist Old White Dudes”: Northwestern Protesters Force The Cancelation of Jeff Sessions Event

I have previously written about the curtailment of free speech and the refusal of both faculty and students to allow opposing views to be heard on campuses. Northwestern University (one of my alma maters) has been particularly complicit in this trend against free speech. Now, protesters have blocked students and faculty from hearing remarks (and have a dialogue with) former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The incident at Northwestern follows a growing list of such conservative speakers barred from being heard by protesters.

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Bizarre, Politics

Jim Jones or George Washington? The Extreme Divide Over Donald Trump Widens

The divide over President Donald Trump was vividly demonstrated by two comments this week. Fox host Lou Dobbs declared Trump to be “the greatest president in the history of our country” while former Trump associate (and Communications director) Anthony Scaramucci called him a “cult leader” in the vein of Jim Jones.

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Animals, Bizarre, Torts

Great Danes Kill Ohio Woman
Facebook

This week, I taught (with our esteemed visiting Professor Luna) animal-related torts, including the “one-free-bite rule.” One question that came up in class was whether the size of the dog could be treated as knowledge of the vicious propensity of the animal. I explained that it did not correlate to viciousness and gave Great Danes as an example of a large but thoroughly gentle dog. Right on cue, a story ran that night of a woman in Ohio who was killed by her Great Danes. The case actually tracked some of the issues that we discussed in class with the notable exception of the breed commentary on my part.

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics

Zuckerberg “Should Pay A Price”: Clinton Denounces Facebook For Refusing To Censor Political Ads

I recently published a column on the effort by Democrats to get Facebook and other companies to implement a system of censorship of political ads, which would be entirely unconstitutional if carried out by the government. Now, Hillary Clinton has declared that Mark Zuckerberg “should pay a price” for the damage that he is doing to democracy. It is a curious argument since, according to Clinton, Zuckerberg is apparently harming democracy by not curtailing free speech by censoring political speech. I have previously criticized President Donald Trump for his own anti-free speech and anti-free press rhetoric.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Society

“It’s Okay To Be White”: Oklahoma Law School At The Center Of New Hate Crime Controversy

The Oklahoma City University School of Law is the focus of the latest controversy over campus speech deemed hateful. Fliers were put up around school that read “it is okay to be white.” The police were called to investigate the potential hate crime and Law school Dean Jim Roth declared that such hatred and exclusion “will not be tolerated.” The controversy however reignites concerns in the free speech community over the use of hate crime laws as a surrogate for hate speech laws. Hate speech remains protected under the First Amendment despite recent calls for the adoption of European-style hate speech laws by various Democratic leaders and figures. Indeed, that is the subject of my most recent USA Today column this week.

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Animals, Bizarre

North Carolina Hunter Injured After Shooting Bear Out Of Tree
Dept. of Interior

I still do not get the thrill of big game hunters, but a case in North Carolina shows that even the most one-sided hunts can take a bizarre twist.

Two hunters used dogs to force a black bear into a tree so they could stand below and shoot it. The bear tumbled out of the tree but was still alive and chased one hunter off a small cliff in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The hunter suffered bites and other injuries.

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Academia, Animals, Torts

Professor Luna Teaches Animal Liability At GW Law

Professor Luna returned to my Torts class last night to teach animal liability under the common law and various state statutes. This is a picture with a few of her academic devotees during the break. The students did not seem to mind that the Professor would occasionally doze in front of class. Such is the life of a tenured canine academic.

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Columns, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering, Media, Politics

If Trump is Guilty Of Bribery, The Democrats Are Guilty Of Solicitation

Below is my column on the latest alleged crime by President Donald Trump: “Felony bribery.” The allegation shows not only a fundamental misunderstanding of legal standards but a fundamental failure in legal analysis.

Here is the column:

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Bizarre, Media, Military

“Something He Made Up”: Military Denies Trump’s Claim About Al-Baghdadi Death

The New York Times and various media outlets are reporting universal denials of the military that there was any evidence to support President Donald Trump’s repeated assertions that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, died “whimpering and crying and screaming all the way” to his death. The embarrassing denials comes after a videotape contradicted Trump’s claim that “almost all” of farmers who attended his signing of an executive order were crying. The videotape shows no one crying. The statement on al-Baghdadi is particularly curious because al-Baghdadi ran down an alley and blew himself up with a suicide vest. Military sources say that there is no evidence of the whimpering and crying described by Trump.

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Uncategorized

Louisiana Clerk Arrested For Selling False Doctor’s Notes To High School Students
Belina Fondren, 52, allegedly sold fake medical excuse notes to students at Evans High School in Louisiana, according to officials.

There is an interesting case out of Louisiana where Belina Fondren, 52, has been criminally charged for writing high school students fake doctor’s notes to get them out of school for $20 each. Two students alone purchased 14 such notes to use at Evans High School.

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Bizarre, Society, Torts

Connecticut Man Arrested For Allegedly Putting Razor Blades In Halloween Candy Bags

I recently presented my annual “Spooky Torts” powerpoint to my Torts class of the latest holiday litigation cases. At the time, I noted that the whole fear of razor blades in apples appears an urban legend. Well, give it enough time and someone will prove you wrong. That is the allegation of Waterbury, Connecticut police who say that Jason A. Racz, 37, put razor blades in candy bags of at least two trick-or-treaters.

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Bizarre, Politics

Children Reportedly Asked To Help Build The Wall At White House Halloween Event

As many of you know, I love Halloween and we put on an embarrassingly excessive display each year at our house. It may be for that reason that I found a story in  Yahoo News so disturbing. Children who came to the White House for the annual Halloween party were reportedly asked
to help “build the wall” by placing their own paper bricks onto a mural. If true, it was a remarkably low-grade move. Children should not be pulled into our politics or used for a prop.

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Bizarre, Media, Politics

Ha, Ha . . . Trump: Hillary Laughs About Conspiracy Theories Surrounding Epstein’s Death

Recently, a leading coroner declared that the autopsy of child abuser Jeffrey Epstein (who died in prison) was more consistent with strangulation than suicide. That proved material for jokes by Trevor Noah, the host of the Daily Show, with his guests Hillary and Chelsea Clinton. asked Hillary Clinton in an interview about conspiracies that suggest the Clintons have murdered people.  Noah asked Clinton “I have to ask you a question that has been plaguing me for a while, how did you kill Jeffrey Epstein?” That led to a great laugh. However, it was a tad off-putting because they were discussing a child rapist and abuser who entertained Clinton’s husband repeatedly and reportedly flew him on Epstein’s infamous “Lolita Express” private jet. Ha, Ha . . . Thump. Or more accurately “Ha, Ha, . . . Trump.” The point was that the Clintons are the subject of wild conspiracy theories by Trump and his supporters — a fair point. However, when it comes to a sexual predator who was friends with your husband, Bill Clinton, there might be another source for late night humor.

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