Overlawyered » United Kingdom http://overlawyered.com Chronicling the high cost of our legal system Sun, 27 May 2012 14:01:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Free speech roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/free-speech-roundup-3/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=free-speech-roundup-3 http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/free-speech-roundup-3/#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 04:04:15 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=29024 “People’s Rights Amendment” paves way for government control of media and trampling of many other rights. Is your Rep a sponsor? [Volokh, more, Somin] Indian skeptic charged with blasphemy for revealing secret behind “miracle” of weeping cross [Doctorow] “Arab world’s most famous comedian” jailed in Egypt on charges of “insulting Islam” [Volokh] “Is the Real [...]

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

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  • “People’s Rights Amendment” paves way for government control of media and trampling of many other rights. Is your Rep a sponsor? [Volokh, more, Somin]
  • Indian skeptic charged with blasphemy for revealing secret behind “miracle” of weeping cross [Doctorow] “Arab world’s most famous comedian” jailed in Egypt on charges of “insulting Islam” [Volokh]
  • “Is the Real Intent of Cyber-Bullying Laws to Eliminate Criticism of Politicians?” [Coyote]
  • Timothy Kincaid: why I oppose the California “don’t say ex-gay” therapy-ban bill [BTB]
  • More on unreasonable IRS demands of tea party groups seeking nonprofit status [Stoll, Anne Sorock/Bill Jacobson, Houston Chronicle, earlier]
  • Denmark Supreme Court, 7-0, strikes down conviction of Lars Hedegaard for criticizing Islam in own home [Mark Steyn] Institute of Public Affairs launches campaign to defend free speech in Australia [Andrew Bolt case earlier] Free speech in Britain looking the worse for wear [Cooke, NRO] Belgian court throws out lawsuit seeking ban on allegedly racist “Tintin” comic book [Volokh] Group files criminal complaint against Swiss magazine over cover story on Roma crime [Spiegel]
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    Free speech roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/free-speech-roundup-3/feed/ 4     At the sound of English bell-ringing… http://overlawyered.com/2012/04/at-the-sound-of-english-bell-ringing/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=at-the-sound-of-english-bell-ringing http://overlawyered.com/2012/04/at-the-sound-of-english-bell-ringing/#comments Sun, 29 Apr 2012 12:50:43 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=29365 “…your heart will lift up, unless you are the noise nuisance officer of North Somerset….For the time being, the chimes of Wrington have been silenced,” owing to a noise complaint lodged by a weekending Londoner. [A.N. Wilson, The Independent] Tweet Tags: churches, environment, music and musicians, United Kingdom

    At the sound of English bell-ringing… is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     “…your heart will lift up, unless you are the noise nuisance officer of North Somerset….For the time being, the chimes of Wrington have been silenced,” owing to a noise complaint lodged by a weekending Londoner. [A.N. Wilson, The Independent]

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    At the sound of English bell-ringing… is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/04/at-the-sound-of-english-bell-ringing/feed/ 3     Free speech roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/free-speech-roundup-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=free-speech-roundup-2 http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/free-speech-roundup-2/#comments Fri, 30 Mar 2012 04:16:34 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=28385 Keeping prosecutors busy? Georgia lawmaker files bill that would make Internet defamation a crime [Fulton County Daily Report] Sarkozy calls for law banning visits to pro-terror websites [Ken Paulson, First Amendment Center] “Ron Paul Campaign Drops Effort To Identify Anonymous Videographer” [Paul Alan Levy] Playboy caused how many divorces? Junk science in the service of [...]

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

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  • Keeping prosecutors busy? Georgia lawmaker files bill that would make Internet defamation a crime [Fulton County Daily Report]
  • Sarkozy calls for law banning visits to pro-terror websites [Ken Paulson, First Amendment Center]
  • “Ron Paul Campaign Drops Effort To Identify Anonymous Videographer” [Paul Alan Levy]
  • Playboy caused how many divorces? Junk science in the service of big-government conservatism [Andrew Stuttaford, NRO] How Santorum’s plans to get porn off internet go beyond GWB’s [Josh Barro] Contra Santorum, “arrival of Internet was associated with reduction in rape incidence” [Steve Chapman]
  • “Brian Deer and the British Medical Journal File An Anti-SLAPP Motion Against Andrew Wakefield” [Popehat]
  • Iowa passes law penalizing animal rightsers who spy on farms [Reuters, earlier] Illinois turns thumbs down on “ag-gag” proposal [Steve Chapman]
  • “What’s happened to free speech in Britain?” [Alex Massie, John O'Sullivan/NRO, earlier here and others]
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    Free speech roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/free-speech-roundup-2/feed/ 0     U.K. man jailed over racially offensive tweeting http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/u-k-man-jailed-over-racially-offensive-tweeting/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=u-k-man-jailed-over-racially-offensive-tweeting http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/u-k-man-jailed-over-racially-offensive-tweeting/#comments Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:36:40 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=28600 Life without a First Amendment: a student in Swansea, Wales, is jailed for posting racially offensive comments on Twitter while drunk [Nick Cohen, Spectator] Tweet Tags: hate speech, Twitter, United Kingdom

    U.K. man jailed over racially offensive tweeting is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     Life without a First Amendment: a student in Swansea, Wales, is jailed for posting racially offensive comments on Twitter while drunk [Nick Cohen, Spectator]

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    U.K. man jailed over racially offensive tweeting is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/u-k-man-jailed-over-racially-offensive-tweeting/feed/ 16     March 21 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/march-21-roundup-4/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=march-21-roundup-4 http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/march-21-roundup-4/#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2012 04:11:06 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=28468 Shame on DoJ: “Systematic concealment” of evidence when feds prosecuted Sen. Ted Stevens [WaPo, Caleb Mason/Prawfs] NYT notes feds’ losing streak in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prosecutions [NYT, our latest] Italy: tax officials stop luxury cars, demand drivers’ most recent tax returns [Secular Right] Pinterest: casual users (perhaps especially casual users) might be opening themselves [...]

    March 21 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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  • Shame on DoJ: “Systematic concealment” of evidence when feds prosecuted Sen. Ted Stevens [WaPo, Caleb Mason/Prawfs] NYT notes feds’ losing streak in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prosecutions [NYT, our latest]
  • Italy: tax officials stop luxury cars, demand drivers’ most recent tax returns [Secular Right]
  • Pinterest: casual users (perhaps especially casual users) might be opening themselves to copyright liability [DDK Portraits, WSJ Law Blog] And in case you needed a reminder not to publish photos grabbed from random web sources… [Webcopyplus]
  • In new Atlantic special report, Philip K. Howard collects papers on outdated government law and regulation from contributors Robert Litan, Julie Barnes, Mark Warner, Jim Cooper;
  • Institute for Justice sues IRS over its new licensing requirements for tax preparers [Ilya Shapiro and Chaim Gordon/Cato, Paul Caron/TaxProf, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Barton Hinkle]
  • “It is acceptable to refer to all court proceedings as a ‘trial,’ because seriously, you ever sat through one of those things?” [@FakeAPStylebook]
  • Christopher Booker series on child-snatching by UK authorities [Telegraph: first, second, third]
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    March 21 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/march-21-roundup-4/feed/ 0     “Hobbit pub in Southampton threatened with legal action” http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/hobbit-pub-in-southampton-threatened-with-legal-action/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hobbit-pub-in-southampton-threatened-with-legal-action http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/hobbit-pub-in-southampton-threatened-with-legal-action/#comments Wed, 14 Mar 2012 05:20:35 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=28286 Sad, inevitable, or both? “I can’t fight Hollywood,” says the mistress of the pub and music venue in the south of England, which has operated for 20 years and has now drawn a legal threat from a California firm that owns many Tolkien rights. [BBC] Tweet Tags: copyright, United Kingdom

    “Hobbit pub in Southampton threatened with legal action” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     Sad, inevitable, or both? “I can’t fight Hollywood,” says the mistress of the pub and music venue in the south of England, which has operated for 20 years and has now drawn a legal threat from a California firm that owns many Tolkien rights. [BBC]

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    “Hobbit pub in Southampton threatened with legal action” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/hobbit-pub-in-southampton-threatened-with-legal-action/feed/ 4     U.K. man’s suit: church misled him “into following false beliefs” http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/u-k-mans-suit-church-misled-him-into-following-false-beliefs/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=u-k-mans-suit-church-misled-him-into-following-false-beliefs http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/u-k-mans-suit-church-misled-him-into-following-false-beliefs/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:24:06 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=28141 “A retired semi-professional footballer who claims his faith ruined his chances of playing for Manchester United is suing the Baptist Church for £10 million.” Arquimedes Nganga “quit the sport aged 25 when he converted to the Baptist faith. He said: ‘I could definitely have had a long career in the Premiership’” had he not given [...]

    U.K. man’s suit: church misled him “into following false beliefs” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     “A retired semi-professional footballer who claims his faith ruined his chances of playing for Manchester United is suing the Baptist Church for £10 million.” Arquimedes Nganga “quit the sport aged 25 when he converted to the Baptist faith. He said: ‘I could definitely have had a long career in the Premiership’” had he not given it up. [Evening Standard]

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    U.K. man’s suit: church misled him “into following false beliefs” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/u-k-mans-suit-church-misled-him-into-following-false-beliefs/feed/ 5     U.K.: “Mega pig-farm could breach human rights, council warned” http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/u-k-mega-pig-farm-could-breach-human-rights-council-warned/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=u-k-mega-pig-farm-could-breach-human-rights-council-warned http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/u-k-mega-pig-farm-could-breach-human-rights-council-warned/#comments Wed, 07 Mar 2012 15:57:04 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=28059 Creative application #95,724 of international human rights law: maybe it turns out to ban U.S.-style factory farming. Activists are urging the Derbyshire county council in England to deny planning permission to a large hog facility on the grounds that it violates local residents’ protected right to private and family life [Guardian] Tweet Tags: agriculture and [...]

    U.K.: “Mega pig-farm could breach human rights, council warned” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     Creative application #95,724 of international human rights law: maybe it turns out to ban U.S.-style factory farming. Activists are urging the Derbyshire county council in England to deny planning permission to a large hog facility on the grounds that it violates local residents’ protected right to private and family life [Guardian]

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    U.K.: “Mega pig-farm could breach human rights, council warned” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/u-k-mega-pig-farm-could-breach-human-rights-council-warned/feed/ 4     Australian: “G’day sport” teasing is rights violation http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/australian-gday-sport-teasing-is-rights-violation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=australian-gday-sport-teasing-is-rights-violation http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/australian-gday-sport-teasing-is-rights-violation/#comments Fri, 02 Mar 2012 05:27:41 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27929 Anti-antipodean harassment? “An Australian community warden whose colleagues greeted him with ‘G’day Sport’ is taking his racial abuse case to the European Court of Human Rights.” [Telegraph; Dymchurch, Kent, U.K.] Tweet Tags: Australia, hostile environment, international human rights, United Kingdom

    Australian: “G’day sport” teasing is rights violation is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     Anti-antipodean harassment? “An Australian community warden whose colleagues greeted him with ‘G’day Sport’ is taking his racial abuse case to the European Court of Human Rights.” [Telegraph; Dymchurch, Kent, U.K.]

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    Australian: “G’day sport” teasing is rights violation is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

    ]]>     http://overlawyered.com/2012/03/australian-gday-sport-teasing-is-rights-violation/feed/ 12     February 29 roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/february-29-roundup/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=february-29-roundup http://overlawyered.com/2012/02/february-29-roundup/#comments Wed, 29 Feb 2012 14:17:27 +0000 Walter Olson http://overlawyered.com/?p=27828 Jackpot justice and New Jersey pharmacies (with both a Whitney Houston and a Ted Frank angle) [Fox, PoL, our Jan. 3 post] New Mexico: “Trial lawyers object to spaceport limits” [Las Cruces Bulletin] Dodd-Frank: too big not to fail [The Economist] Robert Teitelman (The Deal) on new Stephen Bainbridge book Corporate Governance After the Financial [...]

    February 29 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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  • Jackpot justice and New Jersey pharmacies (with both a Whitney Houston and a Ted Frank angle) [Fox, PoL, our Jan. 3 post]
  • New Mexico: “Trial lawyers object to spaceport limits” [Las Cruces Bulletin]
  • Dodd-Frank: too big not to fail [The Economist] Robert Teitelman (The Deal) on new Stephen Bainbridge book Corporate Governance After the Financial Crisis [HuffPo] Securities suits: “trial lawyers probably won’t be able to defend a defective system forever” [WSJ Dealpolitik]
  • Uh-oh: U.K. Labour opposition looks at unleashing U.S.-style class actions [Guardian] “U.K. Moves ‘No Win, No Fee’ Litigation Reforms to 2013″ [Suzi Ring, Legal Week]
  • More on controls on cold medicines as anti-meth measure [Radley Balko, Megan McArdle, Xeni Jardin, earlier here, here, here]
  • Recognizable at a distance: “In Germany, a Limp Domestic Economy Stifled by Regulation” [NY Times]
  • Fewer lawyers in Congress these days [WSJ Law Blog]
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    February 29 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

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