- “Oklahoma Court Tosses Jury Verdict Over ‘Defective’ Louisville Slugger” [Daniel Fisher/Forbes, Abnormal Use] “In contrast, a New Jersey case against the same defendant resulted in a multi-million-dollar settlement divorced from any showing of culpability.” [PoL]
- An expert witness wore two hats [Chamber-backed Madison County Record]
- 5-4 Washington Supreme Court decision in asbestos case bodes ill for makers of safety devices [Pacific Legal Foundation]
- “Defective design and the Costa Concordia” [Rob Green, Abnormal Use; Rick Spilman, The Old Salt]
- Calif. appeals court says man shot by 3 year old son can sue Glock [SFGate]
- “Evidence of Drug Use May Be Relevant in Product Liability Litigation” [Farr, Abnormal Use]
- “What used to be in chemistry sets that are not in there anymore are actual chemicals” [BBC, earlier here, here]
Posts Tagged ‘guns’
BATF’s new asset forfeiture powers
My Cato Institute colleague Nita Ghei, writing at the Washington Times, has more on the newly expanded authority of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) to “‘seize and administratively forfeit property involved in controlled-substance abuses.’ That means government can grab firearms and other property from someone who has never been convicted or even charged with any crime.” Earlier here and (podcast) here. More: Americans for Forfeiture Reform.
International law roundup
- Human rights roulette: Senate could take up UN disabled-rights treaty in September [Stefano Gennarini, Turtle Bay and Beyond; earlier]
- Intense opposition from gun rights community slows drive for U.N. small arms treaty [David Kopel, Steve Hayward/PowerLine, Krayewski/Reason, Opinio Juris]
- SEC moves on complex, costly conflict minerals rule [Bainbridge, more, earlier]
- Series of Eugene Volokh posts takes up proposals to restrict reception of foreign law, including Islamic law, in American courts [Volokh Conspiracy]
- U.N. human rights establishment urges Iceland to crack down on gender-stereotypical speech [Volokh]
- Welfare rights, the U.N.-system way [International Labour Organization]
- When may American courts hear suits over international law violations on foreign soil? Cato files amicus brief in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch [Shapiro] SCOTUSBlog symposium on Kiobel and future of Alien Tort Statute;
- Damir Marusic reviews Aryeh Neier’s book on international human rights [American Interest]
Gun control through government purchasing?
Breaking: Industrial organization is the latest field of economics in which Eliot Spitzer shows himself clueless [Eugene Volokh on Slate proposal, and more]
NRA versus property and contract rights
As a strong defender of the Second Amendment, my views more often than not align with those of the National Rifle Association, so I’m especially disappointed to see the NRA stepping up its campaign against other important elements of liberty, specifically the property- and contract-based liberty of employers to insist (if they so wish) that employees not bring guns to company premises, including parking lots. My Cato colleague Roger Pilon lays out the issue and rightly upbraids chief NRA lobbyist Chris W. Cox (not the former California Congressman) for misunderstanding the constitutional issues. Earlier on the NRA’s blind spot here, here, and here (with reader disagreement). [Corrected to fix misidentification of Cox]
July 27 roundup
- “Banks push back against lawsuits that target fee-warning signs on ATMs” [NYT via PoL]
- Crash fraud and clinic fraud: organized crime gangs eye insurance money [Dennis Jay, PC360]
- Maryland pit bull ruling endangers dogs that have harmed no one [Wash Times editorial, ABA Journal, earlier] New Jersey town bans dog and cat sales at new pet stores [Asbury Park Press; Brick, N.J.]
- “Cato is mentioned roughly equally by both Republicans and Democrats in Congress.” [Caleb Brown]
- “Futile remedies for mass shootings” [Steve Chapman, Reason]
- “After Awful Tragedies, The Campus Bureaucracy Expands” [Harvey Silverglate, Minding the Campus]
- “Delaware judges mean it: Don’t file derivative suit pre-investigation” [Alison Frankel, Reuters]
“We’re not going to protect you”
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, on TV the other day answering a question about why the public doesn’t demand the enactment of gun control after the Colorado theater shooting: “Well, I would take it one step further. I don’t understand why the police officers across this country don’t stand up collectively and say, we’re going to go on strike. We’re not going to protect you [unless new restraints are enacted].” James Taranto at the Wall Street Journal‘s “Best of the Web” calls out the Gotham mayor:
A police strike, as Bloomberg figured out a day late, is illegal in itself. Bloomberg’s strike would be for the purpose of curtailing the citizenry’s constitutional rights. The mayor urged an unlawful rebellion by government employees against their employers, the people.
Taranto also notes:
And whether Bloomberg meant to suggest a real strike threat or an empty one, it seems obvious that such a move would be counterproductive. The prospect of police shirking their duty to protect the citizenry strengthens, not weakens, the case for private ownership of firearms and other tools of self-defense.
It’s enough to make you wonder whether Bloomberg is secretly a passionate admirer of the Second Amendment and keeps saying things this outrageous from a covert intent to sabotage the case for gun control. [cross-posted from Cato at Liberty. As usual, Ken White is funnier; & Daily Caller, Mike Riggs, Scott Greenfield, New York Sun (“It is a scandal that this most basic article of the Bill of Rights is not in force now in the leading city in America because the mayor, among others, refuses to bow to the Constitution that he is bound by oath to support.”)]
July 23 roundup
- Oh, ABC: “America’s Wrongest Reporter” Brian Ross achieves another feat of wrongness [Hans Bader] “Don’t turn Aurora killer into celebrity” [David Kopel, USA Today] For the media: five tips on how not to misreport the gun angle [Robert VerBruggen, NRO]
- Ed Brayton of Dispatches from the Culture Wars challenges me on the War For Roberts’ Vote, and I respond;
- The “contains peanuts” warning on a peanut jar [Point of Law]
- “California Stats Show Elected Judges Disciplined More Often than Appointed Judges” [ABA Journal] New Federalist Society guide on state judicial selection procedures;
- “Science Quotas for Women–A White House Goal” [Charlotte Allen, Minding the Campus; Hans Bader] More: Heritage. “Title IX swings wildly at invisible enemy” [Neal McCluskey]
- So that’s what his business card meant when it said he practiced at Loeb and Wachs [AP: “Hawaii attorney convicted in ear licking case”]
- Rare occasion in which defendant is allowed to strike back: California appeals court says software executive can pursue malicious prosecution case against class action lawyers [NLJ]
June 25 roundup
- OSHA cracks down on a shooting range with punitive fines. A coming trend? [Kopel, earlier on David Michaels here, here, here, etc.] Gun control lobbying on the public dime, courtesy Mike Bloomberg & Co. [Ron Arnold, Examiner]
- Scheme to use eminent domain to seize underwater home mortgages advances [Future of Capitalism, Felix Salmon]
- One lawyer for every 257 Americans [Funnell]
- Posner knows it: court appointment of experts can head off hired-gun arms race [Josh Wright, Truth on the Market]
- New Canaan, Ct.: “Mom Arrested for Letting Her 13-year-old Babysit Siblings” [Lenore Skenazy, Free-Range Kids]
- John Stossel show on lawsuit abuse, warning labels and related topics;
- Phillies Phanatic: “The most-sued mascot in baseball is heading back to court” [Time, earlier]
Gun owners as new protected class in employment discrimination law
Way to make the country less free, guys [Missouri Freedom Watch] More: Stephen Bainbridge, Charles Sullivan on Mitchell v. University of Kentucky.