News & Media
Hustler Store Challenges Ohio Sex Offender Registration Law
Last year, the Ohio legislature jumped into the fiesta of states trying to outdo each other passing stronger and stronger sex offender registration laws. Ohio’s Adam Walsh compliance act, Senate Bill 10 seems to have stepped over a Constitutional line. A few of Ohio’s “community values” legislators slipped a little treat into the Adam Walsh bill that they hoped would
Passing Unconstitutional Laws has a Price
GameSpy reports: The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) announced [on June 30] that the state of Minnesota paid $65,000 in attorney fees and expenses incurred as a result of their successful challenge to Minnesota’s unconstitutional video game law. The ESA, which prevailed over similar unconstitutional laws in nine other jurisdictions, now has been awarded close to $2 million in fees and
Here I come to sue your Ass!
A small firm in Maryland, Man & Machine has been manufacturing the waterproof “Mighty Mouse” for a few years. Unfortunately, they seem to be one of those businesses that said “nah, we don’t need no stinkin’ trademark lawyer” (at least not until it was a bit late). So, about a year and some change after they launched their product, Apple
More tangential ruminations on D.C. v. Heller
As I dwelled on what D.C. V. Heller meant for First Amendment rights, it appears that William Patry was similarly ruminating on how D.C. v. Heller illustrates how the Court interprets Constitutional clauses. This being Patry, naturally he focuses on the copyright clause. See Guns and Copyright.
The New Marketplace of Ideas Remains Open for Business
by Sam Lea Legal Satyricon Correspondent Blogging, an often controversial area of the “marketplace of ideas,” has just won a victory over an overzealous attorney, who improperly sought to silence one of his clients critics. In an Order handed down by the District of New Hampshire, Judge James R. Murihead levied sanctions against Clifford J. Shoemaker, Esq., for “an abuse
American Christians, welcome to the party.
All of a sudden, if you believe TIME Magazine, it seems that American Christianity has all of a sudden rejected the twin banners of Orwell’s Junior Anti-Sex League and the swastika. Naturally, I’m not inclined to believe anything that TIME writes, at least not until they fire that lazy unethical scuzz, Kathleen Kingsbury. Nevertheless, TIME has a couple of interesting
Judge Sanctions Shoemaker
I previously wrote about Clifford Shoemaker, the Virginia attorney with the flexible ethical standards and his quest to shut down blogger Kathleen Seidel, here in Subpoena Sleaze and here in Take That Ass Hat. Sometimes… once and a while… a judge will look at a sleazy lawyer’s behavior and actually hold him accountable. This is one of those times. David
Texas: Child Abuse protected by the Free Exercise Clause
This seems to be a totally bizarre interpretation of the First Amendment. Laura Schubert, 17, was falsely imprisoned and abused by her “church.” After being kept awake all night and deprived of food, she collapsed. Her fellow church members took this as a sign that she was possessed by the devil, so they held her down in a spread eagle
We have to defend family values! The Defense of Marriage Amendment
This just in from the ARE YOU FREAKIN’ SERIOUS? department: With an election looming, you knew that a few neo-cons would trot out anti-gay measures. Homosexuals are the last minority that you can still pick on and possibly win an election. So, here it is, your bigotry du election cycle, a proposed Constitutional amendment. `Section 1. This article may be
Man dies after taking 23 shots in 30 minutes
ABC News reports: A Florida man died Tuesday after taking more than two dozen shots of cherry vodka within a half hour, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office. This seems like a bad way to die. Given that I rarely drink alcohol, it is not likely that I’ll go this way. But please, lord, if I do die this
What does D.C. v. Heller mean for *First* Amendment Rights?
I’m not a Second Amendment buff. I follow Second Amendment cases like I followed basketball this year. I really didn’t perk up until the playoffs. That’s why I have asked Jonathon Blevins to guest blawg on the Heller case. But, I follow First Amendment issues like I follow football. From the draft, to the pre-season to the final second in
Guest Blogger Correct says Supreme Court…
By Jonathon Blevins, Legal Satyricon Second Amendment Correspondent Today the Supreme Court handed down District of Columbia v. Heller. The background of the case is available here: http://randazza.wordpress.com/2007/11/24/guest-blawg-jonathon-blevins-on-the-second-amendment/ The agonizing 64 page decision can be found here: http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/07-2901.pdf To summarize Justice Scalia’s opinion, the Second Amendment plainly means what it says…The people (individual) has the right to keep and bear
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Gloucester and its "Pregnancy Pact" – a Native's Perspective
Long before Gloucester, Massachusetts became known as the town of the “Pregnancy Pact,” I knew it as home… I’m from theyah. It isn’t just the natural beauty that makes me long to move back. Most of the time, Gloucester is cold and wrapped in drizzle. On those days, I would mentally play the Pogues’ “Dirty old Town” and try not
Using Google Trends to Prove a Point about Porn
In an obscenity trial, in order for a prosecutor to lock up an American citizen for making “dirty movies” or “dirty writings” or “dirty pictures,” he (or she) must convince the jury that the material violates “community standards.” Unfortunately, that tends to be easier than you may think, for jurors will often substitute their personal approval or disapproval of content
Auto Admit Update
I have been meaning to blog about this, but I’ve been obsessed with fatherhood… fortunately, Dave Hoffman over at Concurring Opinions sums up the pwnage that was visited upon AK47 here.
George Carlin Dead
I refuse to say he “passed away.” He would have hated that. The world is just that much less honest, funny, and free today. Naturally, Carlin was an inspiration to me, and I hope that his material continues to influence young minds for all time. Here is George on “soft language.” [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h67k9eEw9AY] Speaking of soft language, this is anything but.
The UDRP in Narnia
This is an updated and corrected version of an earlier post. Richard Saville-Smith says that he bought the domain name narnia.mobi for his 11 year old son as a birthday present, and now the C.S. Lewis estate, represented by Baker & McKenzie, filed a domain name arbitration to wrest control of the domain name away from him. (source) The mainstream
The way Barney should be
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KstpUf_BjDc] A shout out to zabigkahuna, DHAPMNG 4 life, yo.
Sex offender wins the lottery
I’ve argued that if you go to jail, you should get a bill for that stay, payable from any windfall profit you may get in the future, lottery winnings, or tort awards. Here’s proof that this is a good idea: According to the Corrections Department’s offender profile, [Fred] Topous pleaded guilty to breaking and entering charges in 1984 and 1988
