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

ELONIS AND THE NEAR MISS FOR INTERNET FREE SPEECH

Supreme CourtBelow is my column today in USA Today on the decision of the Supreme Court to reject the Obama Administation’s argument for a low standard in criminalizing speech on the Internet and other forums. The Court did not have to directly deal with the free speech implications of the case since it ruled on the standard for criminalization. The Court rejected the lowest standard of a reasonable person in establishing a criminal threat. However, with the remand, the issue may come back to the Court under another effort to adopt an alternative standard of recklessness.

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Bizarre, Politics, Society

San Francisco Considers New Labeling Requirements and Advertising Bans On Sugary Drinks

sodaSeal_of_San_FranciscoIt is no secret on this blog that I am a critic of efforts to ban fatty foods and sugary drinks as with former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s ill-considered campaign in New York. San Francisco attempted the same paternalistic legislation in imposing a tax on such drinks — only to have voters reject the measure. Undeterred, the Land Use Committee in San Francisco is considering a host of proposals to label sodas or bar advertisements. I remain opposed to such measures as punishing people for lifestyle choices. While the city would not oppose any number of life style choices, it will not tolerate citizens who disregard the city’s view of healthy living.

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

SUPREME COURT RULES AGAINST ADMINISTRATION ON CRIMINALIZING INTERNET SPEECH

Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court has handed down its decision in Elonis v. United States, a case that had sweeping implications for free speech on the Internet. The Obama Administration sought to establish a low standard for criminalizing speech based on a reasonable person standard that would have gutted the requirement of scienter or intent in establishing a criminal threat. The Court adopted the narrowest basis to remand the case but it clearly rejected the lower standard sought by the Administration. In doing so, free speech dodged a bullet today and the Obama Administration came perilously close to rolling back on protections for free speech on both the Internet and social media.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Welcome to Painesville: Ohio Judge Orders Woman To Either Accept Jail Or Being Sprayed In Eyes With Pepper Spray

judge-01Welcome to Painesville. In this aptly named Ohio town, Painesville Municipal Court Judge Michael Cicconetti ordered Diamond Gaston, an assault suspect who pepper-sprayed someone in the face at a fast-food restaurant, that she could choose between 30 days in jail or be pepper-sprayed by her victim. Cicconetti then had the pepper-spray replaced with harmless saline spray without telling Gaston.

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Criminal law, International, Media, Politics, Society

Nothing But Blatter: FIFA President Issues Mocking Rebuke To Those Calling For Reform and Prosecution to End Corruption

Flag_of_FIFA.svgSepp_Blatter_Nov_2013_ZurichAs we discussed earlier, FIFA has responded to the arrests of soccer officials in its latest corruption scandal with open contempt for the public and prosecutors. Sepp Blatter, 79, was reelected as FIFA’s president for a fifth term by the world governing body’s 209 member associations. FIFA officials were still be processed as arrestees in the corruption investigation in the United States, but Blatter was reelected by a group that seems little more than made men in an international criminal organization. Now, Blatter has gone public with a mocking public rebuke of everyone who has tried to reform his organization and fight corruption.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Media, Politics, Society

Women Banned From Voting in Parts of Pakistan Under New Agreement

Pakistan flagIn parts of Pakistan, women are now banned from voting after an local politicians and religious elders came to an agreement. Obviously, they were all men in Hangu and parts of Malakand, districts of the north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is all part of the Purdah traditions of the deeply conservative Islamic Pastun tribes in the area. Local mosques recently placed men with batons to beat any women who tried to vote in parliamentary elections. Now, all women are simply banned from voting.

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Uncategorized

Last post.

by Chuck Stanley

I am advising Professor Turley that I am out of here. There have been profound changes in my life this past week, and I no longer wish to play.

I will not be reading, nor responding, to any comments. If any are addressed to me, you will be talking to yourself. If this does not make sense to you, you can find my writings on Daily Kos (as Otteray Scribe) and Flowers for Socrates.

Have a nice day.

Uncategorized

Public perception and the SCOTUS: Love to hate it or “Meh…”

By Cara L. Gallagher, Weekend Contributor

Futility. Making sense of both public knowledge and opinion of the third branch of government is an exercise in futility. Either people love to hate the Supreme Court or they know nothing about it. There’s no middle ground. I wrote about Court rancor two years ago when Pew Research Center released data from a survey taken at the end of a big term. The timing of the poll, rather the release of the poll results, struck me as convenient given the rulings on same-sex marriage cases Part I, affirmative action, and voting rights had come down three months before. It seemed poised to affirm conventional wisdom that public reaction to the decisions falls in either the “Love it” or “Hate it” camp. There is seldom any middle ground to the average voting age citizen. Follow that up with “What do you think of the job the Court is doing?” and the answers are an ambiguous “Meh…” or return to “Same response. Hate it.” Continue reading “Public perception and the SCOTUS: Love to hate it or “Meh…”” →

Congress, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Justice, Lawyering, Media, Politics, Society, Uncategorized

Bankers Make a Mockery of the Law, and No One Goes to Jail

200px-Jamie_Dimon

Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Weekend Contibutor

It has happened again.  Several big banks have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar and are paying billions in fines for their admitted transgressions.

“On Wednesday, four large global banks — Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland — pleaded guilty to a series of federal crimes over a scheme to manipulate the value of the world’s currencies. The Justice Department accused the banks of collusion in one of the largest and yet least regulated markets, noting that at one bank one trader remarked “the less competition the better.”

That lack of oversight, coupled with the pressure to squeeze profits from a relatively middling business, set the stage for this scandal, one that unfolded nearly every day for five years. The crimes described on Wednesday also painted the portrait of something more systemic: a Wall Street culture that enabled many big banks to break the law even after years of regulatory black marks after the crisis.” New York Times Continue reading “Bankers Make a Mockery of the Law, and No One Goes to Jail” →

Bizarre, Society

Blackhawks Head To The Stanley Cup But Should The NHL Move To Deal With The Ducks

200px-ChicagoBlackhawksLogo.svgWe had a great party with friends to watch the seventh and final game of the Western Conference Championship last night. I was, of course, thrilled by the crushing win by the Hawks and the return of the team to the Stanley Cup. This is the third Stanley Cup appearance for the Blackhawks in five years. They have won five Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926 as part of the “Original Six” NHL teams with the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers.

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Bizarre

The Uber Undertaker: Puerto Rican Taxi Driver Given Unique Send Off With His Hands On The Wheel

MV5BMTQ1Nzg3MDQwN15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNDE2NDU2MQ@@._V1_SY317_CR9,0,214,317_AL_We previously discussed the growing trend of posing dead bodies at funerals in activities that were most associated with the deceased from a woman at a kitchen table to a young man partying with a beer in his hand. The family of Puerto Rican taxi driver Victor Perez Cardona outdid the competition by having his entire taxi on display with the deceased at the wheel. You can see the pictures at these sites (here and Fox.

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Criminal law, International, Politics

Made Man: Sepp Blatter Reelected FIFA President Despite Expanding Corruption Scandal and Arrests

Flag_of_FIFA.svgSepp_Blatter_Nov_2013_ZurichIn the ultimate signal from the FIFA leadership that it cares little about corruption or public opinion or even criminal prosecution, Sepp Blatter, 79, was reelected as FIFA’s president for a fifth term by the world governing body’s 209 member associations. FIFA officials are still be processed as arrestees in the corruption investigation in the United States, but that was not a barrier to Blatter who has been accused for years of ignoring and even encouraging corruption in the organization.

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Congress, Criminal law, Politics

Former House Speaker Hastert Indicted

220px-Dennis_Hastert_109th_pictorial_photoThe details on the indictment of former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, 73, have remained hazy with some notable gaps in the underlying criminal enterprise alleged in the complaint. The theory is that Hastert was paying millions to a blackmailer and tried to hide the payment through “structuring” of withdrawing less than $10,000 to avoid reporting to the federal government. What is interesting however is that the underlying alleged blackmailer has not been charged. There is also the question of the subject of the earlier “misconduct” and whether it could be charged. Some offenses like child molestation can be charged many years after the fact. Hastert was indicted on two counts for charged with lying to the F.B.I. and the structuring of withdrawals, both carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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Academia, Environment, International, Science, Society

Creationist Finds 60 Million Year Old Fossils In His Basement But Maintains That It Proves Nothing

imrs.phpWe have previously discussed the struggle that creationists have with the daily disclosures of scientific research, particularly the discovery of fossils and other items that are dates in the millions rather than thousands of years. It is hard to maintain that the Earth is less than 6,000 years old given the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. However, Canadian Edgar Nernberg has shown just how easy it is to live in denial. Nernberg was not just confronted with a fossil from over 60 million years ago, but he actually found it in his basement. However, Nernberg does not think God is trying to tell him something. He maintains that “There’s no dates stamped on these things” and it proves nothing if you just reject isotopic dating and basic geology.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society

FEDERAL COURT HEARS SEPARATION OF POWERS CHALLENGE

800px-Capitol_Building_Full_ViewThe hearing on the Administration’s motion to dismiss the House challenge was heard yesterday in Washington, D.C. as reported widely in the media. (Wall Street Journal, NBC, Daily Mail, Rollcall, New York Times,AP, The motion is now under advisement and the parties will wait for a decision on whether the House can be heard on the merits of this historic challenge. If the Court rules against the motion, the parties will then be able to present their arguments on the merits of the constitutional challenge. If the Court rules for the motion, the case can proceed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for review. (Thanks to Claire Duggan for the photographs)

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