There was a major and somewhat surprising ruling in the case of Abigail Zwerner, the elementary school teacher who was shot by a 6-year-old student in January. Zwerner sued the school district for $40 million after learning that school officials knew that the child had brought a gun to school that day and that the child had previously threatened teachers. Newport News Circuit Court Judge Matthew Hoffman ruled that Zwerner was not confined to recovery under worker’s compensation because the shooting did not fall within the scope of her employment. Continue reading “Virginia Teacher Wins Major Ruling Against the School District After Being Shot by Six-Year-Old”
Jazmine Hughes, a writer for the New York Times Magazine, resigned this week after a conflict with her editors over signing of an anti-Israeli letter. New York Times Magazine Editor Jake Silverstein said Hughes violated the company’s policy on public protest. The incident exposes the inherent conflicts — and hypocrisy — in the shift away from neutrality in reporting in media companies and graduate programs. Continue reading “New York Times Controversy Exposes the Inherent Conflict in Advocacy Journalism”
Yesterday, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit voted 2-1 to overturn an injunction against Illinois’ “assault weapons” ban. The panel declared that AR-15s are not protected by the Second Amendment in overturning the preliminary injunction win in Barnett v. Raoul by U.S. District Judge Stephen P. McGlynn. The case could set up a major test for gun rights for the United States Supreme Court.
Continue reading “The Seventh Circuit Rules for Illinois AR-15 Assault Ban”
Yesterday, I posted the account of one of my children who followed another student at George Washington University as she tore down flyers of the Hamas hostages from poles around campus. The vandalism near our law school is occurring across the country as activists seek to prevent others from expressing their views on the war. When I posted the GWU incident yesterday, I noted that this is behavior that has been reinforced by faculty members who have engaged in violent and destructive conduct for years targeting pro-life and other causes. One such incident involved an adjunct professor at City University of New York. Callen Zimmerman is also accused of shoving a person confronting her on her actions. Continue reading “CUNY Adjunct Professor Shown Tearing Down Hamas Hostage Flyers”
Below is my column in The Messenger on the new information on “loans” benefiting the Biden family. It seems that no interest loans are the common practice for the Bidens. After this column ran, the House Oversight Committee released a new report of an additional “loan repayment” from James Biden to Joe Biden. The money again appears to have come from a transfer sent from one of the foreign sources in the Biden influence peddling scandal, CEFC China Energy Co. It is all part of the “Wonderful Life” at the Biden Bros. Savings & Loan.
Here is the column: Continue reading ““Your Money’s in Joe’s House”: The Biden Family’s Version of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’”
Like many, I have been highly critical of the statements made by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) accusing Israel of bombing the hospital in Gaza and other inflammatory comments. However, I also opposed the effort to censure Tlaib on free speech grounds. I was impressed by the comments of Speaker Mike Johnson on the measure and the 23 GOP members who took the unpopular step of voting against the measure even though they disagreed with her viewpoints. Continue reading “Republicans Join Democrats in Defeating Censure of Rep. Tlaib”
Below is my column in Fox.com on free speech controversies brewing in the “House of Mouse” as both the company and its talent face public backlash over public statements. Free speech in the corporate setting presents unique challenges and conditions that are vividly demonstrated by the tough month the company is experiencing. Continue reading “Disney’s Latest Dilemma: Free Speech In the Happiest Place on Earth”
Below is an expanded version of my column in the New York Post on the return of Halloween and joy of little litigators in anticipation of the return of the festival of Samhain.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Tykes and Trial Lawyers Gather for All Hallow’s Eve”
Here is my annual list of Halloween torts and crimes. Halloween of course remains a holiday seemingly designed for personal injury lawyers around the world and this year’s additions show why. Halloween has everything for a torts-filled holiday: battery, trespass, defamation, nuisance, product liability and more. Our annual listing is not intended to belittle or ignore the serious losses that can occur on this and other holidays. However, my students and I often discuss the remarkably wide range of torts that comes with All Hallow’s Eve.
So, with no further ado, here is this year’s updated list of actual cases related to Halloween. Continue reading “Spooky Torts: The 2023 List of Litigation Horrors”
Below is my column in The Hill on the rise of advocacy courses and degrees in higher education. Activism has always been a valued part of our colleges and universities. Indeed, many departments have long incorporated advocacy subjects in their course of study, including in law schools. My concern is the degree to which advocacy is now overwhelming academics in some of these programs. It is often hard to tell the difference between advocacy groups and advocacy programs in these universities. For some schools, a new B.A. model — a Bachelors of Advocacy — is emerging in higher education.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “Bachelors of Advocacy: The Rise of Activism over Academics in US Higher Education”
Below is my column in The Messenger on the renewed effort of Special Counsel Jack Smith to gag former President Donald Trump. At the same time, Judge Arthur Engoron has repeatedly fined Trump for his public statements about the New York fraud case. Engoron declared this week “Anybody can run for president. I am going to protect my staff.”
There is widespread support for barring attacks on court staff and Trump did attack the Court’s clerk in a prior posting. However, most of his comments have been directed at Engoron and his alleged hostility toward Trump. Where to draw this line is the subject of this column. In my view, criticism of the case, the court, and the prosecutor should be treated as protected speech.
Here is the column:
There was a bizarre arrest in Palm Coast, Florida, where Shawn Madden, 40, proved that he was no threat by stripping naked and asking “where’s my weapon?” There is ample evidence to support charges of disorderly conduct and exposure in the video below. However, a couple of the charges are as baffling as Madden’s full Monty performance. Continue reading ““Where’s My Weapon?” Florida Man Hit With Multiple Charges After Full Monty”
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) has pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor after he was caught on videotape pulling a fire alarm in the middle of a key vote to avoid a government shutdown. The misdemeanor was the charge that I discussed when this first arose. However, the release of the videotape raises another issue: whether Bowman has clearly lied to not just the court but Congress in his account. Continue reading “Bowman Video Contradicts His Account to Congress, the Court, and the Public”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration has ordered state universities to ban a pro-Palestinian student organization, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The state has denounced SJP as supporting a “terrorist organization” after the massacre of Israelis by Hamas. I have previously written how Hamas is morally and legally a terrorist organization. However, this move would, in my view, violate the First Amendment and chill the exercise of free speech in higher education. Continue reading “Florida Moves to Ban Pro-Palestinian Student Group from Campuses”
We have previously discussed platforms like GoFundMe barring conservative groups and causes after cancel campaigns by activists to cut off financial support for opposing groups. The latest such controversy concerns Riley Gaines who was barred from using the ticketing company Eventbrite for an upcoming event on promoting biological women in sports. Continue reading “Eventbrite Bars Riley Gaines Promotion”