Overlawyered » hate speech http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:11:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 European roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/european-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/european-roundup/#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:05:33 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27274
  • Overseas press excoriates new FATCA tax-Americans’-foreign-earnings law; some foreign banks now turn away American customers [Dan Mitchell, Cato, Reason] “The Fatca story is really kind of insane.” [Caplin & Drysdale's H. David Rosenbloom, NYT via TaxProf] Will Congress back down? [Peter Spiro/OJ, more]
  • Important new book from James Maxeiner (University of Baltimore) and co-authors Gyooho Lee and Armin Weber on what the U.S. can learn from legal procedure overseas: “Failures of American Civil Justice in International Perspective” [TortsProf]
  • Don’t do it: British administration mulls further move away from loser-pays rule in search of — what exactly, a yet more Americanized litigation culture? [Guardian, Law Society]
  • Apparently in Norway it’s possible to lose one’s kids by feeding them by hand [Shikha Dalmia, Reason]
  • Financial transaction tax? Ask the Swedes how that worked out [Mike "Mish" Shedlock, Business Insider]
  • Notes from conference on globalization of class actions [Karlsgodt] Related: Adam Zimmerman;
  • “Another conviction in Europe for insulting religion” [Volokh; Polish pop star] Campus secularists’ speech under fire in the U.K. as “Jesus and Mo” controversy spreads to LSE [Popehat] British speech prosecution of soccer star [Suneal Bedi and William Marra, NRO]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/european-roundup/feed/ 0     “Austrian Court Upholds Conviction for ‘Denigrating Religious Beliefs’” http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/austrian-court-upholds-conviction-for-denigrating-religious-beliefs/ http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/austrian-court-upholds-conviction-for-denigrating-religious-beliefs/#comments Sun, 01 Jan 2012 16:45:25 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=26541 “An Austrian appellate court has upheld the conviction of Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, a Viennese housewife and anti-Jihad activist, for ‘denigrating religious beliefs’ after giving a series of seminars about the dangers of radical Islam.” [Soeren Kern, Hudson New York via Volokh]

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/01/austrian-court-upholds-conviction-for-denigrating-religious-beliefs/feed/ 6     Free speech and chilling effects roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/free-speech-and-chilling-effects-roundup/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/free-speech-and-chilling-effects-roundup/#comments Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:49:45 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25775
  • “Stamp Out Online Misogyny?” [Wendy Kaminer, Brendan O'Neill]
  • Jacob Mchangama of Danish think tank CEPOS on blasphemy laws and Islam-critical speech [Nov. 4 FedSoc., PDF]
  • Niall Ferguson to sue LRB scribe? “If he won’t apologise for calling me a racist, I will persecute him until he does” [Guardian; more, Atlantic Wire] New York judge quashes subpoena seeking to identify anonymous bloggers in rabbi-defamation suit [Paul Alan Levy]
  • “If bullying has gone down, how can it be a pandemic?” By broadening its definition to include such behaviors as “eye-rolling” and pointed non-invitation [Hans Bader/Examiner, Neal McCluskey/Cato]
  • “I strongly recommend an umbrella policy for all bloggers. Defending myself cost nearly $100,000, thankfully paid by insurance.” [@DianaHsieh]
  • Federal crime under CFAA to lie on the internet? [Kerr, more, yet more, Balko]
  • “Will Canada Repeal its Hate Speech Law?” [Peter Worthington, Frum Forum]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/11/free-speech-and-chilling-effects-roundup/feed/ 1     October 31 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/october-31-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/october-31-roundup-2/#comments Mon, 31 Oct 2011 12:14:37 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25295
  • A pack of gum, e.g.: “What the Proceeds of a BlackBerry Class Action Could Buy” [Rebecca Greenfield, Atlantic Wire]
  • A million law firm ads later: “Pfizer’s Anti-Smoking Drug [Chantix] Isn’t Riskier Than Patches, FDA Says” [Bloomberg]
  • Over 9/11 attacks: “Court Recommends al-Qaida Pay $9 Billion to Insurers” [NYLJ]
  • Green alarmism over cosmetics — justified? [Dana Joel Gattuso, CEI; related here, here]
  • Arpaio-Thomas follies continue in Arizona courtroom [Coyote, earlier]
  • Upcoming: November 4 conference “Silenced” in D.C. on blasphemy laws and hate speech; Bruce Bawer, Nina Shea et al. [Federalist Society]
  • “I dreamed I swayed the jury… in my Maidenform bra” [Retronaut, scroll]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/october-31-roundup-2/feed/ 2     “Supreme Court of Canada Stands Up for the Internet: No Liability for Linking” http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/supreme-court-of-canada-stands-up-for-the-internet-no-liability-for-linking/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/supreme-court-of-canada-stands-up-for-the-internet-no-liability-for-linking/#comments Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:17:34 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=25216 Sighs of relief after a decision in a defamation case (Crooks v. Newton) reported on earlier. [Michael Geist] Justice Abella:

    I would conclude that a hyperlink, by itself, should never be seen as “publication” of the content to which it refers.

    Adventurous litigants in U.S. defamation cases have occasionally argued otherwise. On Canada, see also proposals to criminalize links to so-called hate speech.

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/supreme-court-of-canada-stands-up-for-the-internet-no-liability-for-linking/feed/ 1     October 4 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/october-4-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/october-4-roundup-2/#comments Tue, 04 Oct 2011 05:45:14 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24880
  • Mass torts specialists vs. vendor: “Prominent Plaintiffs’ Attorneys Ordered to Pay Up After Losing Breach of Contract Trial” [Above the Law]
  • “You’ll have to get it on the street” — NYC’s thriving black market in pesticides [NYT, more]
  • Benjamin Barton on his new book, “The Lawyer-Judge Bias” [Truth on the Market, earlier here, etc.]
  • Medicare will not press “secondary payer” liability clawback claims below $300 [Miller and Zois, PoL, NLJ]
  • Class action roundup: “Sleeper” Supreme Court case raises question of whether class action certification requires consumer harm [Fisher/Forbes] Important Easterbrook opinion in Aqua Dots case puts curbs on class certification [PoL, Fisher/Forbes, Beck] Frey, Mortenson et al.: “The non-fiction class action” [Trask, OUP blog; earlier here, etc.]
  • Free speech roundup: Canada proposal could criminalize linking to alleged hate speech [Hosting Industry Watch] More on Canadian denouncers of speechcrime [Ken at Popehat] You don’t say: “$60,000 Ruling Against Truthful Blogger Tests Limits of the First Amendment” [Citizen Media Law] What happens when a defamation plaintiff asks a court for a takedown order? [same] Argentina: subpoenas step up pressure on reporters, editors who report on economy [NYT via Walter Russell Mead]
  • Should the law punish energy companies whose operations kill birds? Depends on whose osprey is being gored [Perry]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/10/october-4-roundup-2/feed/ 2     Australia: “A terrible day for free speech in this country” http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/australia-a-terrible-day-for-free-speech-in-this-country/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/australia-a-terrible-day-for-free-speech-in-this-country/#comments Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:12:35 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=24824 Popular commentator Andrew Bolt “was found guilty Wednesday of breaking Australian discrimination law by implying that fair-skinned Aborigines chose to identify as indigenous for profit and career advancement.” A judge “said he will prohibit reproduction of the offending articles,” and “Bolt and his publisher must meet with the plaintiffs to discuss appropriate court orders that would reflect the judgment.” [AP, earlier, Volokh](& Popehat)

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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/09/australia-a-terrible-day-for-free-speech-in-this-country/feed/ 5     May 2 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/05/may-2-roundup-2/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/05/may-2-roundup-2/#comments Mon, 02 May 2011 13:39:04 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=22798
  • In suit over weird, elaborate online hoax, court allows fraudulent-misrepresentation claim despite lack of motive of tangible gain [Chi Trib]
  • Service animal rodeo: “A trained rat probably would have had a good case in California” [AP/Statesman-Journal] Broward County, Fla. backs lonely widow’s right to keep “prescription Chihuahua” against rules of condo board [AOL, Sun-Sentinel] Oklahoma: “Depressed Woman Fights to Keep Therapy Kangaroo” [Newser] Earlier on recent change in federal rules;

    • DahliaCrateLabel

  • Should lawmakers screen bills for constitutionality? Ms. Lithwick has trouble sticking to a position [AEternitatis]
  • Human-relations complaint leads to arrest of U.K. man for singing “Kung Fu Fighting” [MSNBC]
  • Barney Frank: Yes, let’s talk about med-mal reform [The Hill] Ringing the bell: Roundups of more big med-mal verdicts [White Coat, more]
  • “Expert Witnesses Stripped Of Immunity From Negligence Suits In The UK” [Erik Magraken]
  • “Sustainability”: an empty idea? Or perhaps actively wrongheaded? [David Friedman via David Henderson]
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/05/may-2-roundup-2/feed/ 0     Law schools roundup http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/law-schools-roundup-7/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/law-schools-roundup-7/#comments Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:16:46 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=22648
  • ABA proposes retreat from use of accreditation as leverage for faculty tenure, AALS practically passes out on floor [Caron/TaxProf, Dave Hoffman/ConcurOp and more]
  • “Law professor calls for ban on Koran burning” [Volokh; Liaquat Ali Khan]
  • “Are Law Profs ‘Selfless’ Teachers and Scholars Engaged in ‘Public Service’?” [Tamanaha, Balkinization]
  • Behavioral law-and-econ has vanquished neoclassical economics? Not so fast, buster [Josh Wright, TotM]
  • Left-tilting legal academy? Perish the thought: conference simply aims to combat “spread of laissez-faire ideology” [ClassCrits]
  • Concurring Opinions symposium examines forthcoming Yale Law Journal study questioning whether clinic representation makes a difference in client outcomes [LEF, earlier] Hey, watch out, you’re giving ammunition to critics of legal services [Udell]
  • Schools for Misrule has spent a lot of time in recent weeks as #1 in the Amazon category of “One-L – Legal Profession.” Thanks for your support!
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    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/law-schools-roundup-7/feed/ 1     The U.N. vs. freedom of religion http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/the-u-n-vs-freedom-of-religion/ http://overlawyered.com/2011/04/the-u-n-vs-freedom-of-religion/#comments Wed, 20 Apr 2011 13:21:38 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=22615 While the campaign to ban “defamation of religion” appears to have lost some steam at the world body recently, continued efforts to curtail “religious hate speech” could restrict free expression in some of the same ways. [Nina Shea, NRO "Corner"; Ilya Somin, Volokh] Warns Nina Shea:

    In 2009, the Obama administration had the U.S. co-sponsor with Egypt, which represented the OIC [Organization of the Islamic Conference], a non-binding hate-speech resolution in the Human Rights Council. In contrast to U.S. constitutional law, that resolution urges states to take and to effectively implement “all necessary measures” to combat any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence. It thus encourages the worldwide criminalization of religious hate speech.

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