Lawsplainer: The Ninth Circuit and Compelled Speech About Abortion

By 44 Comments

I have a question about that abortion decision out of the Ninth Circuit last week. You can't see me so I'm not here. I can see you fine. You're . . . are you hiding under your desk? Just until mid-November. Come out. You're embarrassing both of us. I want to stay here. It's safe. I have snacks. You're an adult and a law firm partner for God's sake. It doesn't smell great under here to be perfectly honest. Look, just explain the Ninth Circuit decision to me, will you? … [Read More...]

This is also me when a Cuomo thinks he understands the First Amendment

No, it is not illegal to read Wikileaks

By 52 Comments

Chris Cuomo seems to be following his big brother's lead when it comes to the First Amendment. On CNN, Cuomo said: "Also interesting is, remember, it’s illegal to possess these stolen documents,” Cuomo says. “It’s different for the media, so everything you’re learning about this, you’re learning from us.” Mr. Cuomo… I don't say this […]

Is Trump Really "Libel Proof?"

By 104 Comments

Is Trump really a “Libel-proof” Plaintiff? Donald Trump threatened to sue the New York Times for defamation based on a Times story about women accusing him of sexually assaulting them. In responding to this threat, the Times denies that there is anything defamatory about its article and mentions that “[n]othing in our article has had […]

Thanks and Congrats To Dhillon Law Group For Important Pro-Bono Anti-SLAPP Win

By 54 Comments

I know I say it all the time, but here it is again: the system is broken, and only the generous community service of lawyers prevents people from getting ground up in it. A few months ago I got a private request from a young woman sued for defamation. This was the core of the […]

Hillary Clinton, the Sixth Amendment, and Legal Ethics

By 127 Comments

For some time, Hillary Clinton's critics have been citing her defense of a 1975 rape case to attack her, and her defenders have been absolving her of any blame. Kathy Shelton — the victim in the case — has openly condemned Clinton and asserted that Clinton gratuitously attacked her, and others have criticized Clinton's description […]

FIRE Attacks Northern Michigan University's Shocking, Wanton Rule Against Students Sharing Suicidal Thoughts

By 81 Comments

I've written about some pretty outrageous cases of university censorship, like Bergen Community College's idiotic crusade against Game of Thrones t-shirts or University of Wisconsin-Stout's imbecilic response to Firefly references. The Foundation for Individual Rights In Education — FIRE, the boogeyman of Alternet writers and the professionally offended — has played a major role in […]

Kindly Shut The E-Fuck Up

By 37 Comments

I've got a new post with some of my favorite advice — now in e-edition! — over at Fault Lines.

California: No, You Can't Show That Civil War Painting At A State Fair. It Has a Confederate Flag In It.

By 42 Comments

You may have seen something about this already: a California state legislator's mother was offended when she saw novelty Confederate money bearing the Confederate flag in the gift shop at the State Capitol. Naturally her son proposed a new law, now in effect, banning the State of California from displaying or selling the Confederate Flag […]

What It's Like For The Client Subjected To A Bogus And Retaliatory Investigation

By 18 Comments

By day, Bob Blaskiewicz is a college professor. By night, he's a skeptical blogger, using the critical thinking skills he teaches to interrogate public quackery. He's a long-term critic of Stanislaw Burzynski, a Houston researcher famous and infamous for experimental cancer "treatments." He helps run a blog critical of Burzynski's claims. (Long-time readers of Popehat […]

Huge First Amendment Win In Federal Criminal Threats Case

By 76 Comments

[Note: frequent readers know I very rarely talk about my own current cases here, let alone my firm's cases. This blog is not affiliated with my law firm. I moderate it and write my own posts; nobody at my firm has input or approval and the firm doesn't sponsor, pay for, or otherwise support the […]

About Trump's Mandatory-Minimums For Returning-Aliens Proposal

By 24 Comments

Last night Donald Trump said this: On my first day in office, I am going to ask Congress to pass "Kate's Law" — named for Kate Steinle — to ensure that criminal aliens convicted of illegal entry face strong mandatory minimum sentences. This is stupid political theater; let me tell you why. I'll begin by […]