Legal minds on legal matters and whatever else strikes our fancy.
If any of you follow the Supreme Court you will have undoubtedly come across a Josh Blackman post about some SCOTUS development. The man is simply a writing machine. He blogs daily. He publishes law reviews like some publish blog posts. He teaches at Penn State Law School. He is the President and [...]
Ok, so as long as you haven’t secluded yourself to a nice, comfy space underneath a rock, you’ve probably heard of a band called Bon Iver (french pronunciation). It’s really just one guy, Justin Vernon, and some people that he’s picked up along the way (former guitar student, overbearing fan, you know, [...]
I guess I’m swinging for the fences at my first at-bat. Look, I respect Eugene Volokh; he’s really smart, well-practiced as a scholar, and (at least) bilingual – all things I can’t fairly say about myself. But it’s really obnoxious when he announces that his preferred rule of law just happens to [...]
There doesn’t seem to be a blockbuster case this term. Sure Snyder v. Phelps presented our worst forms of speech, captured our attention momentarily, and even led to a thought-provoking dissent by Justice Alito. But the narrow 8 to 1 ruling effectively made that case a non-issue going forward. Then there is [...]
I met Reid last fall while visiting Arkansas State University. I watched him teach undergrad students on how to analyze legal issues and write better legal briefs. He was phenomenal with those students. I also met Reid’s alter ego. This is a guy who is analytical, sarcastic and sometime biting, but in a good way—the [...]
To say that the recent Supreme Court case of Connick v. Thompson has racial undertones is akin to observing that the Pacific Ocean is wet. Yet a majority of the Court (in an opinion written by Justice Thomas) resolutely and steadfastly averts its eyes from race throughout the entire opinion. It is [...]
John Thompson was wrongfully convicted, sentenced to death, and on the verge of being executed, when his lawyers learned that the prosecution had withheld exculpatory evidence. He was exonerated and then he sued the prosecutor's office. He was awarded a 14 million dollar judgment--one year for each one he spent on death row. But last [...]
A few months ago we were fortunate enough to have Arkansas State University Professor Hans Hacker join us as a guest blogger for this post. We are now even more lucky, because Hans will be joining us on a full-time basis and provide us with the political scientist perspective currently lacking on many legal blogs. [...]
On April 6, 2011, the U.S. Sentencing Commission issued a press release stating that the Commission amended the Sentencing Guidelines to account for the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. The changes will be permanent and will result in lower sentences for those facing mandatory minimum sentences for crack cocaine offenses. Commission chair, [...]
I have been away from blogging for a week, but wanted to highlight a few noteworthy pieces from the legal blogosphere. I ran across this ATL article about a D.C. Superior Court judge that declared a mistrial in a murder case because the defense lawyer was horribly incompetent. The attorney was a recent [...]