Overcriminalization

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) has introduced H.R. 4115, the Open Access to Courts Act of 2009, to restore notice pleadings, i.e., the status quo ante Twombly and Iqbal. Nadler's news release announced the bill, "Nadler, Johnson, and Conyers Introduce Bill... […]

Diana Furchtgott-Roth warns of another labor-backed bill gathering steam in Congress. Earlier here and here.... […]

Our own Marie Gryphon on the Bear Stearns acquittals.... […]

A "new Associated Press poll says most Americans support curbs on medical malpractice lawsuits. The AP poll found that 54 percent favor making it harder to sue doctors and hospitals for mistakes taking care of patients, while 32 percent are... […]

Moving beyond judicial elections? Chamber's Institute for Legal Reform has a new report out (PDF) on the subject of "Best Practices in Judicial Merit Selection" More: Gavel Grab. Earlier: here, here, etc. Latest from the Jury Verdict Research people:... […]

Glenn Beck likes Muse.  He’ s hardly alone, given the award-winning British Altrock band’s growing popularity in the U.S.  While most other Muse fans may be drawn in by the music, Beck likes the lyrics.  “These guys are brilliant, they know the time that we live in,” he said during a September broadcast. “All of [...] […]

Longtime readers may recall that I was initially positive about Sarah Palin because her record was much more libertarian than that of most other major national politicians. Later, I had to reassess my view of Palin, as her ignorance of many important policy issues became apparent. But I also emphasized that ignorance is not [...] […]

In a recent post, Orin expresses doubts about whether the “traditional” form of the Socratic method is still used in many law schools. If by “traditional form” he means something like what is portrayed in The Paper Chase, I agree that not many use it. Very few lawprofs are as obnoxious as the mythical Professor [...] […]

A local controversy here in Colorado involves an auto dealer who used the billboard on his property to ask the question ““PRESIDENT or JIHAD?” The rest of the billboard attempts (not very successfully in my view) to connect this question to the issue of Obama’s birth certificate. Last night I was briefly interviewed about the [...] […]

In a post below, Ilya writes: The traditional law school reliance on the the Socratic method, which I criticized on other grounds in this series of posts, is part of the problem. Many professors and students assume that it is the only correct way of teaching law classes, especially large intro courses, and therefore don’t bother [...] […]