News & Media
From the Trenches at the Nevada Caucuses – Part 2 – Wallowing in the Democrats’ Ennui
This is Part 2 of a 3-part series on the Nevada Caucuses. The previous part is here. 2.0 The Democratic Caucus – sorta dirty, but not in a fun way. My wife dressed my 7 year old daughter in a tutu that looked like an American flag and my son in a shirt that had a print of the Constitution on it. We figured if it was going to be their first exposure to democracy, we should have some fun. We explained what was going to happen, and they gave no shits at all. I’m sure they will just remember it as some goddamned place they had to go before their friends’ birthday party. As we approached the Democratic Caucus,
From the Trenches at the Nevada Caucuses – Part 1.0
This is Part 1 of a 3-part series on the Nevada Caucuses. 1.0 I know Dirty… and I know Elections The big news of the day is Donald Trump’s runaway victory in the Nevada Republican caucuses. Along with it, “reports” that the process was tainted, crooked, a Trump flimflam. The “sources” for these reports are almost all people griping on social media. The Republican caucuses that I observed were either clean or they hired Penn & Teller to handle the shenanigans – because I didn’t see a damn thing happen. Maybe it was a little disorganized, but certainly nothing that suggested a dirty election. I know a dirty election when I see one. In 2004, I was an election observer
From the Trenches at the Nevada Caucuses – Part 1.0
This is Part 1 of a 3-part series on the Nevada Caucuses. 1.0 I know Dirty… and I know Elections The big news of the day is Donald Trump’s runaway victory in the Nevada Republican caucuses. Along with it, “reports” that the process was tainted, crooked, a Trump flimflam. The “sources” for these reports are almost all people griping on social media. The Republican caucuses that I observed were either clean or they hired Penn & Teller to handle the shenanigans – because I didn’t see a damn thing happen. Maybe it was a little disorganized, but certainly nothing that suggested a dirty election. I know a dirty election when I see one. In 2004, I was an election observer
From the Trenches at the Nevada Caucuses – Part 2 – Wallowing in the Democrats’ Ennui
This is Part 2 of a 3-part series on the Nevada Caucuses. The previous part is here. 2.0 The Democratic Caucus – sorta dirty, but not in a fun way. My wife dressed my 7 year old daughter in a tutu that looked like an American flag and my son in a shirt that had a print of the Constitution on it. We figured if it was going to be their first exposure to democracy, we should have some fun. We explained what was going to happen, and they gave no shits at all. I’m sure they will just remember it as some goddamned place they had to go before their friends’ birthday party. As we approached the Democratic Caucus,
Shouldn’t I get CLE for watching?
by Jay Marshall Wolman As a lawyer admitted in multiple jurisdictions, I find myself having to ensure I keep up with Continuing Legal Education (CLE) requirements. With my CIPP/US certification, I also have continuing education requirements. Doctors have CME requirements, and other certifications and professions have their own continuing education requirements. And some don’t. For example, I’m admitted in New York, D.C., Massachusetts, and Connecticut. Only one, New York, requires that I engage in continuing legal education. The rest just recommend it. (Connecticut is in the midst of a debate as to requiring it.) Continuing education can be a good thing. Rather than having to retake the bar exam every 10 years, the theory of CLE is to ensure that
They’re Just as Porn-Idiotic Across the Pond
If you’re ever worried about the United States being the only western democracy with a stick up its ass about porn, fret not, we still have our friends in The Mother Country trying to keep up with us. The Government is to force users of pornographic sites to identify themselves, in an attempt to keep children from using them. Companies that run the websites will have to put checks in place to ensure that only adults are viewing them, or face having their sites shut down. Those that don’t comply could have advertising banned or be forced to have their pages unavailable in the country. (source) Why, you ask? The Government said that the new effort was part of its
Nevada Caucus Shenanigans: Why Mischievous GOP Voters could participate in Saturday’s Democratic Caucus
Nevada voters must register their party affiliation before caucusing – Democrats on Feb. 20, and Republicans on Feb. 23. Nothing about this is unusual for a closed caucus system, but there is one interesting blip. The Democrats allow same-day registration for their caucuses tomorrow, but Republicans closed their registration on Feb. 13. Therefore, any Republican who registered by Feb. 13 can show up at their caucus tomorrow, register as a Democrat, but still also participate in the Republican caucus on the 23rd. How? Well, the party switch would not show up on the GOP caucus rolls. Clark County Voter Registrar Joe Gloria confirmed the possibility. Nevada’s caucus system has not been challenged, but other states have faced legal challenges to
Two Issues with the FBI & Apple
by Jay Marshall Wolman, CIPP/US By now, practically everyone who cares has heard that Magistrate Pym has ordered Apple to help the FBI crack open an iPhone related to the San Bernadino shooting. The order is pursuant to the All Writs Act, codified at 28 U.S.C. sec. 1651. In short, it is a catch-all that lets courts issue whatever orders they feel like. In response, Apple CEO Tim Cook sent a letter saying he opposed the order. Notably, he wrote: But now the U.S. government has asked us for something we simply do not have, and something we consider too dangerous to create. They have asked us to build a backdoor to the iPhone. There’s been a lot of discussion, but
Justice Scalia Pardoned
by Jay Marshall Wolman From time to time, I read the blog “A Public Defender” by the pseudonymous Gideon. Today, in the wake of Justice Scalia’s death, he decided to post a dyslogy highlighting the concurrence in Herrera v. Collins. Gideon summarizes it as follows: In other words, in Scalia’s opinion, our Constitution would let stand the execution of an innocent man who has received all the due process our society deems adequate and there is nothing that Federal courts can or should do to stop such an execution. An anonymous commenter also highlighted Justice Scalia’s dissent in In re: Davis: This Court has never held that the Constitution forbids the execution of a convicted defendant who has had a
That’s It! You’re Fired! And no, this isn’t retaliation. Is it?
by Jay Marshall Wolman The law and business are never as neat and clean as you might hope. One of the toughest problems is when two things are happening around the same time and they start to implicate each other. In law, we have the maxim “post hoc ergo propter hoc” (after this, therefore because of this) as a known logical fallacy; correlation does not imply causation. The Fifth Circuit wrote: “courts must not allow evidence of temporal correlation to serve as a substitute for science-based causation evidence.” Huss v. Gayden, 571 F.3d 442, 459 (5th Cir. 2009)(relating to a claim that a medication caused cardiomyopathy). In law, we also have a thing called a “temporal nexus”. In Star Trek: Generations, a
The Moroz Family – From the Soviet Union to the Liberal Gulag
It is said that if you are a young conservative you have no heart, and if you are an old liberal, you have no brain. As a 46 year old Liberal, I take offense at half of that, but I would not wish to stop anyone from saying it. Unfortunately, I feel like an endangered species – the Liberal who embraces dissent and debate. As a Liberal, I have always valued education – as I look at places of education as places where we manufacture Liberals — by educating people. To me, wide open and robust debate and the revelation of knowledge will inevitably drive one to the Liberal view – but to get there, we must tolerate views with
Why we need "White History Month" Too
You’re missing the point Easy answer: We do not need “White History Month.” “White Pride” is not the same as “Black Pride.” I’m really sick of hearing this garbage, as we hear every February. And remember, I’m the guy who keeps screaming that political correctness and identity politics are out of control. So hopefully that keeps at least one person’s attention here. Let me explain this to you, if you’re genuinely confused. If you’re just a dick or a white supremacist, you can just jump down to the comments and call me names now. I’m neither getting through to you, nor trying. Race is a political construct. You know who invented “blackness?” Slave traders. There was no concept of “Black”
Why we need “White History Month” Too
By Marc Randazza. Easy answer: We do not need “White History Month.” “White Pride” is not the same as “Black Pride.” I’m really sick of hearing this garbage, as we hear every February. And remember, I’m the guy who keeps screaming that political correctness and identity politics are out of control. So hopefully that keeps at least one person’s attention here. Let me explain this to you, if you’re genuinely confused. If you’re just a dick or a white supremacist, you can just jump down to the comments and call me names now. I’m neither getting through to you, nor trying. Race is a political construct. You know who invented “blackness?” Slave traders. There was no concept of “Black” as
Randazza: The Moroz Family – From the Soviet Union to the Liberal Gulag
By Marc Randazza. It is said that if you are a young conservative you have no heart, and if you are an old liberal, you have no brain. As a 46 year old Liberal, I take offense at half of that, but I would not wish to stop anyone from saying it. Unfortunately, I feel like an endangered species – the Liberal who embraces dissent and debate. As a Liberal, I have always valued education – as I look at places of education as places where we manufacture Liberals — by educating people. To me, wide open and robust debate and the revelation of knowledge will inevitably drive one to the Liberal view – but to get there, we must
Blogger’s ‘legalize rape’ rally canceled
“This guy is no more advocating rape or even seriously advocating changing the rape laws than Johnny Depp is really a pirate,” said Marc Randazza, First Amendment Attorney. Randazza believes Roosh V.’s opinion on legalizing rape on private property is just a publicity stunt. Roosh V. published an article on his website claiming if rape became legal; women would make better decisions about who they go home with, but he said that was satire. Satire or not, the article is making its rounds on social media and causing outrage. A lot of people say the blogger’s views are nothing but hateful rhetoric, but Randazza says it’s his constitutional right… Read more …
Super Bowling for Dollars
by Jay Marshall Wolman Yesterday, on Twitter (yes, I’m on Twitter @wolmanj), I shared an article by Mike Masnick from 2012 regarding the myth of the Big Game/Super Bowl nomenclature. It seems the issue is still a popular one on Techdirt. Here’s the thing–the 9th Circuit laid out a nice test for nominative fair use: First, the product or service in question must be one not readily identifiable without use of the trademark; second, only so much of the mark or marks may be used as is reasonably necessary to identify the product or service; and third, the user must do nothing that would, in conjunction with the mark, suggest sponsorship or endorsement by the trademark holder. New Kids on the
Fair Use and Cleaned Up Batman Porn
Holy rusty trombone Batman! They took out all the sex scenes! For those who have ever had dirty thoughts about their favorite movie character, chances are there’s a porn parody to make all their naughty Hollywood dreams come true. Come on, you don’t have some version of “Anna” from Frozen in your spank bank? Whatever… Princess Leia… Teletubbies? Mr. Rogers? Don’t make me keep going. ADMIT IT! Well, anyway, the porn industry leaves no market un-served when it comes to Rule 34. We’re talking about actual plot-driven pornos with feature scripts, long set hours, and highly-paid actors and actresses. These porn parodies are produced by some of the most popular porn production companies and (I think) are protected under the
Why Are You Giving Fired Employees 21 Days to Consider Severance?
by Jay Marshall Wolman Plenty of employers let go of an employee and give them some prefabricated separation/severance agreement, hoping to pay the now disgruntled former employee to go gentle into that goodnight. They go online and download a model or ask their payroll company or just use what they used last time, without considering what’s in it. [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTv1Dmu5CYc] From time to time, it is good to review and understand what is in these agreements. Are you protecting against unknown workplace injury claims? Are you ensuring that your employee won’t try to use your trade secrets against you? Have you thought about references and nondisparagement? Does it contain any language the EEOC might find problematic? Beyond these issues, however,
Fair Use and Cleaned Up Batman Porn
By Marc Randazza. For those who have ever had dirty thoughts about their favorite movie character, chances are there’s a porn parody to make all their naughty Hollywood dreams come true. Come on, you don’t have some version of “Anna” from Frozen in your spank bank? Whatever… Princess Leia… Teletubbies? Mr. Rogers? Don’t make me keep going. ADMIT IT! Well, anyway, the porn industry leaves no market un-served when it comes to Rule 34. We’re talking about actual plot-driven pornos with feature scripts, long set hours, and highly-paid actors and actresses. These porn parodies are produced by some of the most popular porn production companies and (I think) are protected under the fair use doctrine. There are rational arguments to
Value Walk recognizes Randazza’s recent Law Review article
First Amendment and Intellectual Property expert Marc Randazza’s latest law review article tackles the intersection of freedom of expression and intellectual property law. Freedom of Expression and Morality Based Impediments to the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights,” does not just examine the issues from a U.S. perspective, as it reviews intellectual property rights and morality from a global perspective. The Abstract alone gives you enough reason to download the article and dig in: “In the case of intellectual property rights (IPRs), some nations erect barriers to the protection of IPRs on the basis of ‘morality.’ This paper will examine the implications of morality-based impediments to the enforcement of IPRs and their supportability under international agreements. If that description doesn’t make
