With a new law, Vernon County, Wisconsin has put itself at the forefront of attempts to regulate disparaging email, online chat, blogs, Facebook posts (specifically cited by one advocate at a hearing), and Twitter. The law seems to be a product of the media hype over “cyberbullying.” [Popehat, Volokh]
The Newtown blame chain
Who to blame after a freak atrocity? For many of those who’ve felt obliged to comment, the question seems rather who not to blame:
- Lack of a national gun registry [cited by the New York Times, though the relevant weapon in Newtown was properly registered and posed no tracing difficulties to authorities; Jacob Sullum]
- Non-prosecution of people who lie on gun applications [cited by NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg, though there’s no indication that anyone lied on a gun application in the Lanza case; Jacob Sullum again]
- Lack of cops in schools [Eli Lehrer on one of the NRA’s bad ideas]
- Violence in videogames [Jacob Sullum on another of the NRA’s bad ideas; more, Scott Shackford, Andrew Sullivan]
- Advances for secular and socially liberal causes in the recent U.S. elections [Michael Potemra and Peter Wehner on the comments of James Dobson]
- Congress, for its role in blocking an organized campaign to bankrupt gun makers through tort suits [Slate and, earlier, Erwin Chemerinsky, trying to revive this truly bad idea]
- People who want to reform public education and the organization of teaching [Katherine Mangu-Ward, though the union advocates she cites are claiming something closer to “this proves we’re right” than to “school choice causes shootings.”]
- In general, those terrible people who disagree with us [“Reading discussions on the web, you might come to believe that we don’t all share the goal of a society where the moral order is preserved, and where our children can be put on the bus to school without a qualm. But we do. We just disagree about how to make it happen.” — Dave Hoffman, Concur Op]
(& welcome Scott Greenfield, Jack Shafer readers)
Best of 2012: July
- Abolish the law reviews!
- L.I. woman: county should have prevented cop’s affair with me.
- Judge: Alabama town’s methods for milking criminal defendants amount to “judicially sanctioned extortion racket.”
- Denying regulatory permissions when those in charge don’t like your politics: in Boston, Chicago and more generally.
- Louisiana: teacher’s union threatens to sue private schools that accept vouchers.
- Drones overhead, snapping law-enforcement pics: if the thought makes you queasy, maybe you’ve got something to hide.
Doormat warning
Courtesy Michael Schearer:
(& welcome Above the Law, Free-Range Kids readers)
December 26 roundup
- L.A. County assessor, though in jail, will keep drawing $197K salary plus raise [LAT]
- IRS lowers the regulatory boom on tax preparers [Institute for Justice video, auto-plays]
- On Wal-Mart Mexico bribery, NYT has a bit of a blind eye of its own [Stoll; earlier here, here, etc.]
- Another painful CPSIA regulation: CPSC on testing “representative samples” [Nancy Nord]
- “Popcorn lung” couple “won a $20 million judgment. Now, they’re broke.” [ABC]
- From Todd Zywicki: Libertarianism, Law and Economics, and the Common Law [SSRN via Bainbridge]
- If the courts disapprove of throttling internet speeds, what do they think of throttling class action claims redemption rates? [Ted Frank]
“Drowsy Driving Cases Do Not Require New Laws”
I’m in the NYT’s “Room for Debate” feature dissenting from a proposed extension of criminal law (& Amy Adler/Advice Goddess).
Best of 2012: June
- “Bloomberg’s soda grab: reactions.”
- Iditarod musher sues knife maker.
- EEOC goes to bat for superannuated lifeguards.
- Judge: Netflix can be sued for streaming uncaptioned films.
- Dear town cops: thanks for saving my life. Now pay me $5 million.
- Cafe owner will pay $20,000 after EEOC complaint for not hiring speech and hearing-impaired applicant as cashier.
Overlawyered highlights of Christmas past
From the archives:
- Christmas in legalese: “…Hosiery was meticulously suspended from the forward edge of the woodburning caloric apparatus…” [1999] And see TaxProf (“Claus thereafter immediately began to fill the stockings of the minor children… (Said items did not, however, constitute ‘gifts’ to said minor pursuant to the applicable provisions of the U.S. Tax Code.)”)
- Yuletide in old England less jolly given health and safety adjustments [2007, 2009]
- Santa’s extra helper might be a witness in case of litigation, and other items from the legal-Claus file [2005]
- Gingerbread and chestnut-roasting hazards [2002]
- “Law firm offers divorce vouchers for Christmas” [2009]
- Does “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” promote bullying? [2011]
- “Cease this shouting!” cried Grinch, “From all Yule din desist!” But he’d Moved To The Nuisance and so, case dismissed [Art Carden, Forbes on Whoville externalities] [2010]
Mentioned in WSJ
Columnist Gordon Crovitz notes that when “Borking” entered the language as a synonym for ferocious, factually dubious assaults on a nominee, “there was no Internet to correct the record — no legal blogs such as today’s SCOTUSblog, Above the Law, Volokh Conspiracy and Overlawyered.”
Best of 2012: May
- Indiana appeals court: 2%-liable motel must pay 100% of damages for murder.
- “It’s worth it,” says man who has spent $60,000 suing ex-girlfriend in custody battle over their dog.
- Motorist couldn’t prove the $22,000 he was carrying was legitimate, so the police department just took it.
- Judge: flashing headlights to warn of speed trap is protected speech.
- Reluctant to recant false rape accusation because she might have to give back the settlement money.
- Never use electric razor while sleeping, and other Wacky Warning winners.