News & Media
Seizures (not the epileptic kind)
by Charles Platt I have no formal legal training, but emigrated from the UK to the US partly because I liked the First Amendment. The wisdom of my decision was affirmed when an erotic novel that I had written in 1969 was seized, in Britain, by the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the publisher was jailed for three months. That
Sexting Story on Nightline
A high school kid forwarded nude photos of his 16 year old girlfriend to some friends. For that, a dipshit prosecutor decided that Philip Alpert needed to be charged with 72 sex crimes, and that he should be on the registered sex offender list. Here is his story. The prosecutor is quoted as saying that he had no other option.
No One Has The Right To Live Without Being Shocked
Of course, don’t let any of the academic circle-jerk (The U.S. legal academy) hear you say that. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ3VcbAfd4w&feature=player_embedded] H/T: Marc D.
And this is who Jesus allegedly died for?!
By J. DeVoy A Florida man recently pled no contest to five misdemeanor theft counts arising from his theft of food from various restaurants and stores. Though spared jail time, the court required the defendant, George Jolicoeur, to pay court costs and restitution. This conduct was hardly new for Jolicoeur, who had been grifting free food from businesses for years. A Seminole
NPR Story on SLAPP Suits
I was interviewed on the subject of SLAPP suits by Nazanin Rafsanjani. The interview is available here.
Congress Weighs Law Against Some Lawsuits
Discusses the Federal Anti-SLAPP legislation pending before the House of Representatives. Transcript available here. The Citizen Participation Act, which would introduce anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) remedies in Federal law if adopted, is designed to deter lawsuits filed to silence critics of powerful entities.Read more…
Happy "Good" Friday
Religion has actually convinced people that there’s an invisible man, living in the sky, who watches everything you do every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of 10 things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these 10 things, he has a special place full of fire and
Hope and change in the face of rejection
By J. DeVoy Not an April Fool’s joke — just a good, if trite, op-ed from Susan Estrich, with whom I normally disagree. From law school and college students facing graduation just weeks away to applicants who are realizing for the first time that their best isn’t good enough, there’s something for everyone. I know that no one gets all
Rep. Steve Cohen with more badassery!
hot on the heels of being named a Legal Satyricon First Amendment Bad Ass for introducing Federal Anti-Slapp legislation, Rep. Cohen gives a shout out to Alex Chilton, may he rest in slack. [YouTube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9LGwzGnx5w&sns=em]
Majority of Tea Party movement is female
By J. DeVoy New facts about the Tea Party movement emerge in a recent Quinnipiac University poll. 74 percent are Republicans or independent voters leaning Republican; 16 percent are Democrats or independent voters leaning Democratic; 5 percent are solidly independent; 45 percent are men; 55 percent are women; 88 percent are white; 77 percent voted for Sen. John McCain in
Garcetti v. Ceballos potentially subsumes public employees' First Amendment rights
By J. DeVoy Public employees in political jobs often walk a difficult line when they speak about current affairs. Historically, this speech was protected by the Pickering-Connick test, established in Pickering v. Board of Education of Township High School District, 391 U.S. 563 (1968), and Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138 (1983). Under that test, courts engaged in a two-step
Comparing Cocks – Granite State Takes the Lead
Condomania apparently did an extensive survey of cock sizes throughout the United States. This article, from the Phoenix New Times, proudly boasts the Grand Canyon State’s fifth place finish. According to the study, New Hampshire has the biggest average penis size in America. That makes sense, what with all that self-confident “Live Free or Die” thing going on. At the
The Definition of Irony
To prove that she’s not really a spoiled little brat, Alicia Gustaferro has filed a $100 million lawsuit against the producers of ABC’s “Wife Swap.” Yeah, that’ll show em. (source)
$29M Infringement Suit Waged by 3 Gay Adult Studios
Addressing a case where piracy transcends into appropriation of copyrighted work. Copyright laws prohibit the unauthorized commercial use of another’s content. Three studios filed suit, including Corbin Fisher, because infringers were passing off the studio’s content off as their own original content. Read more…
Quote of the day
I think that she is confusin the term “lesbian” with “second wave feminist,” but its a great quote anyhow. “To me, a lesbian is a person with a dour world view who meets a similar woman, bonds with her, and they proceed to have a sex life so banal and tedious that it rivals that of middle-class heterosexual couples. I’m
New York Yankees: highest paid athletes in the world
By J. DeVoy A recent study shows that the New York Yankees’ average player salary is higher than any other sports team in the world.
Seen in Madison…
By J. DeVoy Talk about sending the wrong message. If EBT cards can be used for donuts – I’m not entirely sure – it demonstrates why healthcare reform is toothless without preventative measures to ensure a healthier population. Advertising the store’s eagerness to accept government aid in return for junk food can’t help.
Absurdly beta, insecure facebook group of the day
By J. DeVoy There’s plenty of fish in the sea, so can you not flirt with my fish? Uh, no. Absent a relationship, men and women have zero duties to refrain from flirting and hitting on targets of the opposite (or same) sex. As for non-engagement, non-marriage relationships, how is anyone even supposed to know up front that his or
Minnesota to state employees: No hotel porn for you?
The Minnesota House of Representatives recently killed a bill that would have prohibited government employees from staying at hotels that offer pornography on their in-room televisions when on official business. The Senate version of this bill, however, S.F. No. 2861, has made it out of committee and awaits a final vote. The availability of porn in most hotel rooms seems
One quarter of Republicans believe Obama is the Antichrist
By J. DeVoy And here I thought Antichrist merely was the most badass film to come out of Cannes since Pulp Fiction. In a recent poll, 24% of Republicans, 6% of Democrats and a composite 14% of Americans believe that Obama is the son of Satan incarnate. Among other statistics, 40% of respondents said that they believe Obama is a
