Overlawyered » politics

IRS scandal, cont’d: “It was pretty much a proctology exam through your earlobe”

Walter Olson — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:18:48 +0000

As Ezra Klein says IRS furor has nowhere to go, more and more keeps tumbling out [Althouse, Examiner, flashback, Chronicle of Philanthropy, MSNBC video, WaPo, WSJ ("Higher-Ups Knew of IRS Case"), Kim Strassel/WSJ]
Background: partisans on both sides have taken shifting positions of convenience on whether nonprofit political advocacy is abuse of the tax laws or free speech worthy of protection [Dave Weigel] Now if only the IRS would stop behaving like one of the partisans [Scott Walter, NY Post] Ideas for reform [Conor Friedersdorf]
“A note on 501 (c)4 corporations” [Coyote] Paul Caron/TaxProf latest daily link roundup;
Apologia for Service’s misconduct does no credit to New Republic or Noam Scheiber [Nick Gillespie]
Echoing my post of yesterday, Jonathan Adler at Volokh Conspiracy seeks to distinguish between political affiliations of IRS personnel that have some arguable relevance to the scandal, and those that really seem like stretching;
If you missed it: Cato video, “The I.R.S. Abusing Americans is Nothing New.”

IRS scandal, cont’d: “It was pretty much a proctology exam through your earlobe” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Why Betting You’ll Win Minorities on Social Issues Is the GOP Cargo Cult”

Walter Olson — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 22:25:40 +0000

My new article at The Blaze, based (among other things) on a precinct analysis of the election results last month in Prince George’s County, Maryland: “the black precincts in P.G. with the strongest inclination toward social conservatism… gave Republican candidates a vote percentage more often associated with Libertarian candidates and rounding errors.” Although some Republicans have been keeping the runways clear and waving at every dot on the horizon for 20 years or more, the planes still aren’t landing (& welcome David Frum/Daily Beast readers).

Tags: Maryland, politics, same-sex marriage, WO writings

“Why Betting You’ll Win Minorities on Social Issues Is the GOP Cargo Cult” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Convicted Maryland delegate prepared to sue to regain seat

Walter Olson — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 13:51:54 +0000

Washington Post:

She was convicted in June of stealing $800 from the Maryland General Assembly to pay an employee of her private law firm. But on Tuesday… [Tiffany] Alston’s attorneys said that the Prince George’s County Democrat is prepared to sue, if necessary, to continue serving in the House of Delegates. …

How she intends to do that is unclear. Her sentencing last month on a charge of misconduct in office triggered her “permanent” removal from the House under the state constitution, according to a lawyer for the General Assembly.

Alston’s attorneys disputed that interpretation after Tuesday’s court hearing, in which an Anne Arundel County Circuit Court judge agreed to modify Alston’s one-year suspended jail sentence to probation before judgment, essentially striking her conviction.

Update: Curiouser and curiouser, with revelations about potential Alston replacement Greg Hall.

Tags: Maryland, politics

Convicted Maryland delegate prepared to sue to regain seat is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

A Facebook observation

Walter Olson — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 04:47:19 +0000

Many politically active people “like” candidates and causes to which they are in fact ardently opposed, since following the opposition’s Facebook stream can be a smart way to keep tabs on what it’s doing. But as a result Facebook keeps feeding us sponsored posts — often very misleading ones — that follow the formula “[my friend] likes [candidate/cause X]“.

By the way, if you’re on Facebook, you really should be liking Overlawyered, here. That’s true even if you can’t stand the site and just want to keep tabs on its nefarious ways.

Tags: about the site, Facebook, politics

A Facebook observation is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Florida: “Trial lawyers who frequent the Supreme Court also financing pro-justices ads”

Walter Olson — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 11:53:54 +0000

The retention campaign for liberal Florida Supreme Court Justices Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente, and Peggy Quince is “outspending the opposition 20-to-1,” fueled by large donations from plaintiff’s injury law firms that practice before the court, such as the law firms of Wayne Hogan, Tom Edwards, and Fred Levin, Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, Grossman Roth, and Pajcic & Pajcic — not to mention defense lawyers. [Orlando Sentinel]

P.S. And from which side do you think the left-leaning Justice at Stake detects a threat to judicial independence? Right. You guessed it.

Tags: Florida, judicial elections, politics

Florida: “Trial lawyers who frequent the Supreme Court also financing pro-justices ads” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

If a massive storm KO’s turnout in the Northeast…

Walter Olson — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 04:03:29 +0000

…it’ll probably be the first time a lot of folks grasp one of the solid advantages of the Electoral College over a national popular vote system. (Background on the approaching Hurricane Sandy: “And with some trees still leafy and the potential for snow, power outages could last to Election Day, some meteorologists fear.”)

More: Derek Muller reviews Tara Ross, “Enlightened Democracy: The Case for the Electoral College” [Law and Liberty]

Tags: politics

If a massive storm KO’s turnout in the Northeast… is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Pulpit Freedom Sunday”

Walter Olson — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 17:20:52 +0000

At Prawfsblawg, Paul Horwitz, Rick Garnett and others have a discussion of claims (typified here and here) that it’s oppressive not to let churches electioneer with tax-deductible funds. Other views: Religion News Service/HuffPo, Bloomberg editorial, Stephen Colbert via TaxProf (to an IRS-defying pastor: “Other people have to use after-tax money for their political speech, but you guys get to use pre-tax money for political speech.”) Or is the better answer to liberate both secular and religious 501(c)(3)s to express election views, with the possible result of enabling political donors generally to take a tax deduction on money spent to promote their preferred candidates and causes?

Tags: churches, politics, taxes

“Pulpit Freedom Sunday” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Politics roundup

Walter Olson — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 23:28:21 +0000

Visual representation of debate result (courtesy Chris Fountain) “Obama should have spent more time in court” [David Frum] “Can you imagine the rewards points we earned by paying for wars with the national credit card?” [@BCAppelbaum via @TPCarney]
Correcting the tax side of the debate: factory relocation, oil deductions, corporate jets [Daniel Mitchell, Cato-at-Liberty]
Race heats up for three Florida justices [Insurance Journal, earlier] Unions campaign for incumbent justices even as court deliberates on pension lawsuit [Sunshine State News]
Maybe Rep. Todd Akin isn’t the most unscientific member of the House Science Committee after all [TPM]
Yes, the HHS welfare work waiver is a real issue [WSJ editorial]
“Whistle-Blower Lawyers Throw Support Behind Obama” [NYT via FedSoc]
Michael Greve doesn’t hold back, tells us what he really thinks of Mme. Warren [Law and Liberty]

Tags: Barack Obama, Florida, Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, politics, taxes, U.S. House of Representatives, whistleblowers

Politics roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Belated debate commentary

Walter Olson — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 21:25:37 +0000

My Twitter comments as the Presidential debate was in progress can be read here.

Tags: Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, politics

Belated debate commentary is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Gibson Guitar agrees to $300,000 fine

Walter Olson — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 04:21:26 +0000

The fine is well below the cost of mounting a legal defense in a case that had become a symbol of trigger-happy regulatory prosecution. [Nick Gillespie/Reason, Ann Althouse, AP] Besides, Ted Frank argues, “Gibson was planning on setting up camp at the RNC to promote the problem of overcriminalization,” so the Obama administration gets something of value too in an election season.

More: “The Lacey Act: Protectionism Through Criminalization” [K. William Watson, Cato at Liberty]

Tags: crime and punishment, environment, politics

Gibson Guitar agrees to $300,000 fine is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system