Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and other politicos seem willing to let foreign mobs dictate the limits of American free speech. [Andrew Stuttaford, Matt Welch, more]
From the monthly archives:
April 2011
The so-called ministerial exemption to workplace anti-discrimination laws is not very popular in some quarters of legal academia. Were the courts not to recognize a strong exemption of this sort, however, churches and congregations might be forced to employ teachers or even ministers who hew to doctrines they regard as erroneous or sinful, courts would be thrust into intrusive inquiries as to competing claims of fealty to religious doctrine, and the sorts of court orders often issued to bind the conduct of conventional employers might obstruct believers’ freedom to organize church institutions as they see fit. Now the Supreme Court for the first time has agreed to hear a case construing the scope of the ministerial exemption. As public debate proceeds, some might even wind up concluding that the legitimate liberty interest in freedom of association is so important that non-religious organizations should enjoy it too. [Rick Garnett and Chris Lund, PrawfsBlawg]
Some Florida judges are punishing improperly handled foreclosures by giving homes to borrowers free and clear [Palm Beach Post]
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Even the Ninth Circuit’s not buying that one, note David Lehrer and Joe Hicks at City Journal.
We’ve traced the cases in which the Connecticut courts, reversing longstanding law, have thrown open lawsuits against towns over recreation injuries on public land. Bob Dorigo Jones records some of the results, as well as the public pressure that’s been building for legislative reform in Hartford:
As usually happens in a case like this, the collateral damage quickly spread across the state. A group of mountain bikers preparing new trails for a Livestrong charity project was forced to abruptly stop their work because of the lawsuit. …
[A new bill filed in the Connecticut House and slated for an April 4 hearing] would provide local governments and quasi-municipal entities like the water authority with protection from personal injury lawsuits if they open their property to the public for free recreation.
The legislation has drawn support from thousands of citizens and a broad coalition of groups including the Connecticut Forest & Park Association.
More: Rick Green, Hartford Courant.
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I was joined on March 3 by Roger Pilon, who directs Cato’s project on law and the Constitution, and by distinguished federal judge Douglas Ginsburg of the D.C. Circuit, who commented. You can also watch it (possibly in a larger format) at the Cato site.
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But suing a variety of “nontraditional defendants,” including the City of New York and the owners of the apartment building where the victim’s body was found, may not be a sure-fire formula for doing that. Among the defendants is Facebook, on which a paramedic improperly posted pictures of the victim’s body; while the pics were quickly taken down, the suit demands that Facebook take further remedial steps such as identifying who may have “downloaded” (i.e. viewed?) the images. [CNN]
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Per some in Australia, it may be too dangerous an activity: “‘The mayor said they would like to issue us a permit but can’t because it raises health and safety issues, in case somebody fell over a child on the footpath or into the street,’ [a cafe owner] said.” [Free-Range Kids]
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I’m a speaker at next Friday’s Cato Institute luncheon. Come be there!
Britain is rethinking its curiously limp penalties for illegal property occupation [Legal Blog Watch]:
As a result, for example, when hotelier Connan Gupta moved out of his house in Camberwell for a week while it was being renovated, he returned to find 10 unwelcome Italian students who had moved in and changed the locks. Gupta learned that the police were powerless to help him because under existing U.K. law, squatters may legally enter an empty property if they do not cause damage when gaining access. To his dismay, Gupta was required to hire lawyers and begin a lengthy process of trying to evict the squatters. “It’s as if the squatters have more rights than I do,” he said at the time.
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- Schumer: ban gun ownership by persons arrested but not convicted of drug offenses [Jeff Winkler, Daily Caller]
- Urban-farming pioneer in Oakland may come a cropper for selling produce without license [SFGate via Perry]
- Harvard-trained Obamanauts’ revenge? Feds investigate Yale for alleged sexually harassive environment [Zincavage] Related: strings attached to federal money for university “sexual assault prevention” include mandatory student sensitivity-training attendance [TBD, more]
- Trade dumping law as competitive shakedown mechanism [Tabarrok]
- “Forwarding a Sentence-Long Message from a Listserv = Copyright Infringement?” [Volokh]
- “Product Defect Case Over Ear Candle Cleared for Trial” [OnPoint News, McConnell/D&D, Abnormal Use]
- Oh, Title IX, couldn’t you at least leave our booster club alone? [Saving Sports] Wrestling team axe is just the start for men’s sports cuts at Liberty U. [same]
- “Wal-Mart v. Dukes [Lawyers] Ask Courts To Fix The World” [Dan Fisher, Forbes] Liptak/NYT on use of “social framework” evidence in case [Mass Tort Prof] Rhetoric about “day in court” tends to obscure actual stakes [Daniel Schwartz] More: Hans Bader, and Jon Hyman with many links.
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“Music blasted over the public address system during Washington Redskins games is part of the entertainment experience, and deaf fans should have access to the lyrics of those songs, a federal appeals court has ruled.” [Leigh Jones, National Law Journal]
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They’re a promotional wheeze Canadian lawyers would be better without, thinks B.C. injury attorney Erik Magraken. Related: Ron Miller (on lawyer “blogs” that do little more than recycle Baltimore Sun accident reports).
…and something bad might happen. Can you guess what that bad thing is most likely to be? [Free-Range Kids]
New plans at the National Labor Relations Board alarm some employers.
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