Sunday, October 06, 2024

The Free State of Florida

I am getting the hang of this "Free State of Florida" thing, as well as the general Republican status as the party of free speech. It does not undermine freedom (and free speech in particular) to remove books from libraries; to control what teachers say in and out of the classroom; to control what professors write; or to require social-media companies to carry certain speakers and messages on their private sites. And now it does not violate free speech for the head of an executive agency to send a letter to a tv station warning it about legal implications, including criminal prosecution, if it runs a political ad that he insists is false.

For all the Republican talk about Tim Walz spouting fire in a crowded theatre (and I wish he would stop doing that), this line--the right to free speech "does not include free rein to disseminate false advertisements which, if believed, would likely have a detrimental effect on the lives and health of pregnant women in Florida"--is a long-winded way of telling the station it can be punished for doing just that.

And, of course, Oberlin sophomores shouting about a Charles Murray talk constitute the real threat to free speech.

Posted by Howard Wasserman on October 6, 2024 at 02:36 PM in First Amendment, Howard Wasserman | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saturday, October 05, 2024

Saturday Music Post - Love Me Tender

"Love Me Tender" was a number one hit for Elvis Presley in 1956, the same year it was featured in Elvis's first movie, also called Love Me Tender. The melody was taken from the Civil War era ballad "Aura Lea" (also called "Aura Lee"), with new lyrics by Ken Darby, though attributed, for reasons never explained, to his wife Vera Matson. As performed on the Ed Sullivan show that same year, "Love Me Tender" began Presley's transition from rockabilly to pop. The choice of "Aura Lea" for the melody was appropriate for the movie, which was set in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. Don't miss the film clip at the bottom of the post at The Faculty Lounge.

Posted by Steve Lubet on October 5, 2024 at 06:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Friday, October 04, 2024

JOTWELL: Coleman on Macfarlane on case assignment

The new Courts Law essay comes from Brooke Coleman (Seattle) reviewing Katherine A. Macfarlane, Constitutional Case Management, 102 N.C. L. Rev. 977 (2004), on the constitutional implications of local rules and practices on case assignment.

Posted by Howard Wasserman on October 4, 2024 at 10:49 AM in Article Spotlight, Civil Procedure | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wednesday, October 02, 2024

Students Celebrating the Terrorism of October 7

Students for Justice in Palestine, and allied groups, have announced what can only be called pro-Hamas rallies and protests for October 7, the anniversary of the worst slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. It would be completely possible to protest Israel's actions in Gaza on any of the other 364 days of the year, so this date was obviously chosen to cause maximum harm to Jewish and Israeli students, and to interfere with mourning the victims of the Hamas atrocities.

Here is a statement from a faculty group at the University of Illinois Chicago:

UIC CELEBRATION OF TERROR

The UIC chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) has applied for approval to hold a rally (a “quad takeover”) to express its support for and commemorate Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attacks on their one-year anniversary. In these attacks, Hamas carried out a program of murder and mass rape of civilians in Israeli towns and kibbutzim near the Gaza border. Staged on that day, this SJP event is not an abstract endorsement of political “resistance.” It sends a vicious message of hate to Jewish and Israeli students, faculty, and staff, suggesting that they are unwelcome on the UIC campus. Its celebration of the Hamas murder spree effectively calls for discrimination on the basis of national origin for Israelis and creation of a hostile environment for Jewish students, faculty and staff—all those who hold Zionism to be a central part of their personal or religious identity and their identity as a people. In the wake of an October 7th massacre that many consider a contemporary pogrom, it is clear this event will be exceptionally destructive.

Some have called for these events to be prohibited. A federal judge recently ordered the University of Maryland to allow a similar rally to proceed. I agree that viewpoint neutrality requires permitting even the most disgusting speech, but the choice of date certainly exposes the cruelty of SJP and its allies.

Posted by Steve Lubet on October 2, 2024 at 02:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tuesday, October 01, 2024

Pete Rose, the Hall, and competing statutory interpretation

Given news that Pete Rose died Monday at age 83, I re-up this post discussing two TV documentaries (one new, one a few years old) about Rose and the Hall of Fame, specifically this point about posthumous Hall induction that has become newly relevant:

Someone (I think long-time Reds announcer Marty Brennaman) says it would be a tragedy for Rose to be inducted posthumously. I wonder. Rose supporters argue that the Hall is a museum that should record the history of the game and its players; Rose deserves a spot because the story of baseball (and certainly not the story of baseball in the 1970s and early '80s) includes Rose. But it also is a shrine, a way to honor, grant a title ("Hall-of-Famer" or "First-Ballot Hall-of-Famer"), and bestow unique privileges to certain players. Perhaps posthumous induction offers the right compromise: Rose becomes part of the baseball story for all time but does not receive the honors and prestige of--and opportunity to monetize**--being a living Hall Member.

But, as I mentioned in the same post, posthumous induction requires some cooperation and compromise between MLB and the Hall. Rose's name remains on MLB's ineligible list, even after death. Under MLB's interpretation of its eligibility rules, ineligibility ends at death (when a person no longer can hold any formal position within MLB or a team); it thus lacks any mechanism for removing a deceased player from the list. But the Hall interprets MLB ineligibility (and thus Hall ineligibility) to continue until MLB affirmatively removes a person from the list. Someone therefore must alter its interpretation--either MLB must create a mechanism for removing deceased players from the list (making them legally, if not practically, eligible) or the Hall must be willing to accept someone as not practically ineligible although his name remains on the list.

I feel as if there is a Chevron analogy at work here.

Posted by Howard Wasserman on October 1, 2024 at 02:58 PM in Howard Wasserman, Sports | Permalink | Comments (0)

Keep on Punching: Why Harris Wants to Debate and Trump Doesn’t

My new essay at The Hill explains why Donald Trump is so fearful of another debate with Kamala Harris. Here is the gist: 

Keep on punching: Why Harris wants to debate and Trump doesn’t

by Steven Lubet, opinion contributor - 09/30/24

Vice President Kamala Harris, eager for another opportunity to confront former President Donald Trump, readily accepted CNN’s invitation to a second debate on Oct. 23. Trump quickly declined, citing a litany of reasons for avoiding another encounter. 

Trump’s main rationale for refusing another debate is that “it’s just too late” because “voting has already started.”

Events in late October always have the potential to influence elections, even after voting has begun. 

Trump enjoyed the Senate’s confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Oct. 26, 2020, only eight days before he lost the election to Joe Biden. Needless to say, neither he nor Harris will stop campaigning two weeks ahead of election day. 

The reality is that Trump fears Harris as a formidable opponent with a trial lawyer’s exceptional skills. She has already beaten him once, and, as of this writing, he is unwilling to risk facing her again. 

“In the World of Boxing or UFC,” he posted on Truth Social, “when a Fighter gets beaten or knocked out, they get up and scream, ‘I DEMAND A REMATCH, I DEMAND A REMATCH!’ Well, it’s no different with a Debate.” 

That was the right analogy but the wrong conclusion. Like any good fighter, Harris can tell when she has her opponent on the ropes. She just wants to keep on punching.

You can read the full piece at The Hill.

Posted by Steve Lubet on October 1, 2024 at 06:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday, September 29, 2024

Presidential Election Trivia

If Donald Trump wins the election in November, he will become only the second president in U.S. history to serve nonconsecutive terms. In addition to that terrifying prospect, here are a few other trivial points from presidential history.

If Kamala Harris wins in November, Trump will become the fifth major-party two-time (or more) loser. The other four are: Henry Clay, William Jennings Bryan, Thomas Dewey, and Adlai Stevenson. (Martin Van Buren could be added, if we count his Free Soil Party candidacy in 1848.)

Trump is the eighth person to run for the presidency three or more times as a major party candidate. The other seven are Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, Grover Cleveland, William Jennings Bryan, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Richard Nixon. (Again, Martin Van Buren could be added, if we count his Free Soil Party candidacy in 1848.)

Comments are open to point out errors, omissions, or elaborations.

 

Posted by Steve Lubet on September 29, 2024 at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Saturday, September 28, 2024

Saturday Music Post - Stay a Little Longer.

"Stay a Little Longer" was Bob Wills hit in 1945. It's been covered many times, most famously by Willie Nelson, as you can see this morning at The Faculty Lounge.

 

 

Posted by Steve Lubet on September 28, 2024 at 07:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)