We have been discussing the arrest of people in other countries for participating in protests to boycott Israel and other measures. These actions raise serious free speech issues. Some states have created laws barring contracts with companies that join the boycott of Israel. Now, a controversial measure has passed the New York Senate that bars the funding of any student groups that encourage boycotts of Israel and other allies as well as those groups involved in “hate speech” and “intolerance.” However, the bill introduced by New York state Senator Jack M. Martins (R-Nassau County) is so ambiguously worded as to defy definition of the underlying violations — a critical flaw under first amendment analysis. However, over the objections of various groups, the bill has garnered growing support among politicians.
I am in Albuquerque, New Mexico today to speak to the 2016 Conclave of state, tribal, and federal judges and lawyers. There is an interesting forum being held nearby at the University of New Mexico where students and faculty are debating the change to the school’s seal which features a Spanish conquistador and a frontiersman. The Native American group The Red Nation have declared the seal to be offensive. Critics are calling the seal a celebration of colonization. The seal is approaching its 50th anniversary at the school. It was adopted in 1969.
Continue reading “University of New Mexico Seal Triggers Protests Over “Colonization” Imagery”
Today I will have the honor of speaking to the New Mexico Conclave, an annual conference with New Mexico judges and lawyers in conjunction with the University of New Mexico School of Law. Also speaking at the conference is my old friend Sam Donaldson from ABC News. I will be speaking on the history and reform of the Supreme Court.
The University of Missouri (MU) has been struggling in the aftermath of its Black Lives Matter protests, including the reported plunge in students and applications. It appears that even a vigil for the dead in Orlando at Mizzou inevitably leads to a confrontation over race. The conflict arose in a vigil held in front of Boone County Courthouse in Columbia, Missouri. MU graduate Tiffany Melecio appeared and expressed discomfort over speaking before a group with so many white people. When a gay couple objected to introducing divisive race issues, MU Multicultural Center Coordinator Stephanie Hernandez Rivera defended the comments and denounced the gay couple objecting to the introduction of race into the vigil.
Continue reading “New Controversy Erupts At Mizzou At Orlando Vigil”
Early this morning, we hit 29,000,000 views. It is an impressive milestone for our blog and its achievement is due to this entire virtual community at RIL. We continue to rank in the top legal blogs in the world and we are continuing to see a growing international readership. We often use these milestones to look at the current profile of the blog and its supporters around the world.
I have previously written about a large number of law firms on retainer to bring these actions and artists and companies that do little to limit them. The greatest problem is the success of this lobby in getting Congress and the Obama Administration to push through virtually any legislation that they demand — criminalizing violations, approving warrantless searches, and allowing for obscene awards. Every year it gets worse as companies claim ownership over common phrases and images — reinforced by these legal factory operations of bullying lawyers. We recently discussed the claim of Citigroup to ownership of “ThankYou.” Now in an all-too-rare ruling, The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has upheld an $81,000 sanction against three lawyers — John Steele, Paul Hansmeier and the late Paul Duffy — for being little more than legal trolls in harassing and threatening people into giving them money for downloading pornography. These three lawyers operated “Prenda law” which was little more than a disgraceful shakedown operation.
We have previously discussed the increasing appearance of graffiti in our national and state parks. As is well known on his blog, hiking is my passion and there is nothing more crushing than to see juvenile carvings and writings on trees and rocks in parks. Indeed, today I am heading to New Mexico for a speech and hope to hike in the wonderful trails outside of the city. I have written that the scourge of graffiti is due to the low detection rate and even lower penalties for those committing these crimes. The most recent case demonstrates vividly how the government still treats the crime as a minor matter. Recently, Actress Vanessa Hudgens posted a picture of her carving of a heart into a red rock wall during a trip to Sedona, Arizona on federal park land. However, when nabbed by the federal government, they allowed her to walk with just $1000 donated to a charity. Now we have another egregious case of a San Diego woman, Casey Nocket, 23, who defaced a series of national parks with graffiti and bragged about on social media. Yet, Nocket was sentenced to only two years’ probation and 200 hours of community service. The laughable sentence vividly illustrates why the destruction of our parks continues without any meaningful deterrence.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit handed down a major tort ruling in throwing out the $1.8 million judgment awarded to former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura. Ventura alleged that he was defamed in the late author Chris Kyle’s bestselling book “American Sniper.” The court cited various errors at trial, including a faulty instruction on the actual malice standard for defamation and the misuse of unjust enrichment as a basis for the damages. The trial showed clear and frankly surprising errors by both Ventura’s counsel and the trial judge.
Continue reading “Eighth Circuit Throws Out Judgment For Ventura In Chris Kyle Defamation Case”
We have had a running discussion of how copyright and trademark laws have continued to grow to encompass common terms and images. The latest insanity comes from Banking giant Citigroup, which is suing AT&T for its use of “Thank You” in ads to its customers. That’s right, Citigroup claims to own the trademark on “THANKYOU.” So now even the most common expression of civility is claimed as “unlawful conduct” amounting to wanton trademark infringement.
Continue reading “ThankYou For Suing: Citigroup Claims Ownership of the Use of “ThankYou””
London’s new mayor, Sadiq Khan, has signaled early in his term that he will continue the state regulation of speech and images that have ravaged free speech in England. He announced an end to the appearance of what he calls “body shaming” advertisements in London’s public transport, advertisements featuring skinny bodies viewed as unrealistic for most women. While some publications have suggested the that move reflects Khan’s Muslim background (he is the first Muslim mayor of London), in my view it reflects a long and disturbing trend in Europe (and particularly England) to regulate and criminalize speech. What some people may view as unrealistic or even demeaning for women, others view as artistic expression in advertising. While this may be the only way I could end up a Benetton model, I have long opposed such rules, which puts the government in the position of policing images to determine what is not demeaning for women.
Continue reading “London Mayor Announces Ban On “Body Shaming” Advertisements With Skinny Models”
I recently discussed the controversies involving for-profit “universities” associated with both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton. I have long been a critic of online programs and particularly for-profit universities. I have been vocal in my opposition to online courses at my law school, though many of my colleagues are highly supportive of the courses and their record. Now, a class action has been filed against George Washington University.
My criticism is that these online courses deny students the benefits of a traditional “brick-and-mortar” education and often produce a highly doctrinal and poor quality product. Students are denied the interaction with other students and teachers on campus. Online courses are on the rise with schools because they sell education (and degrees) at the lowest possible cost for schools. In my view, the trend will undermine traditional educational institutions and I have repeatedly objected that schools like GWU are courting their own demise in following for-profit companies in offering these online degrees.
We have another arrest brought about by social media . . . and breathtaking stupidity. Demarcus Davis, 22, a local rapper who goes by “Maine Musik,” decided to do an anti-Trump video and posted it on Instragam. Davis’ Instagram account has 53,000 followers and, in the video, Davis waves around various guns like a total thug. The former “Sons of Guns” reality TV star Joe Meaux happened to see the videotape. Meaux owns a Baton Rouge store, Meaux Guns and Ammo, that was burglarized in July, 2015. He recognized the distinctive, custom-made guns in the video (and later identified a Ruger 10/22 Krinker Plinker that Davis showed on his Facebook account) and called police. His call however did not start the investigation since the Secret Service had already seen the videotape and was investigating Davis for threatening a presidential candidate. He has now been arrested and faces a long stretch in prison.
There were two decisions last week that show the current legal tensions over transgender rights. In Oregon, Jamie Shupe, 52, who identifies as neither a male or female was allowed to change from a “female” to a non-binary classification. This is believed to be the first such order in the country. Across the country, Rowan Feldhaus, 24, (who was born a female but identifies as a male) was denied a name change by a judge. These cases follow a decision last month Haque said her organization increasingly hears from non-binary people. Last month, the Gresham-Barlow School District in Oregon paid an elementary school teacher $60,000 after the non-binary teacher complained of no gender neutral bathrooms and colleagues continuing to refer to “he” or “she” rather than using “they” in reference to the teacher.
As the country mourns the massacre in Orlando, the police have identified the murderer as Omar Mateen, 29, from Port St. Lucie in Florida. He was born to Afghan parents who came to this country in the 1980s. He is responsible for the largest massacre of people in U.S. history after killed at least 50 people at a gay nightclub called Pulse in Orlando. Mateen reportedly called 911 shortly before the shooting and swore allegiance to the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Continue reading “Orlando Killer Identified As Muslim Extremist Who Pledged Allegiance To ISIS”
As many on this blog know, I have been highly critical of Donald Trump. However, there has been a campaign of violence against Trump supporters that is highly unnerving and dangerous. While there were a few incidents of Trump supporters acting violently, there has not been the same level of outrage at the widespread violence against Trump supporters and police at these events. Now, a liberal Huffington Post columnist Jesse Benn has defended the “violent response” to Trump — a reckless and provocative column that seeks to legitimate mob justice. What Benn is describing is not democracy but ochlocracy — a sad statement of the state of affairs in our country. While I recently wrote about liberals finding “their inner Nixon,” this seems to be a case of finding Benn’s inner Mao. Benn insists “Violent resistance matters. Riots can led to major change.” Perhaps but what is certain is that violent resistance always leads to violence.
Continue reading “Embracing Mob Rule: Columnist Calls For Violence Against Trump Supporters”
