Federalist Society Western Conference this weekend

This Saturday at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California, near L.A., the Federalist Society will be holding its all-day third annual Western Conference. This time the theme is the law of American Indians and Indian tribes, a topic of immense intellectual interest and also of much practical importance to non-Indians through much of the rural West, in localities nationwide where casino development rouses controversy, and even, as I have pointed out in a couple of articles, to complete bystanders in the East who have found their land title suddenly thrown into doubt by the revival of antiquated tribal land claims. I’m going to be a participant on one of the panels, which will feature a distinguished assemblage of law professors and others; another reason for my interest in the topic is that a chapter on Indian law figures in my book in progress on the influence of law schools on American law. More details here.

Ohio homebuilder vs. gripe site

The lawsuit was eventually dismissed, but “at a high cost”: “Even if you are only making innocent comments on a blog,” said the defendant, “you can wake up one day and find out you are being sued simply because someone didn’t like what you wrote, and the nightmare begins.” [“Anonymous Gripe Site Wins Legal Battle With Ohio Homebuilder Powermark Homes”, Ardia, Citizen Media Law].