One of the proudest reforms instituted by progressive prosecutors is the willingness to review old convictions with an eye toward either innocence or denial of due process. And they deserve  appreciation and approbation for doing so, or to be more accurate, for undoing the errors of the past that put innocent men in prison, or at least put men in prison whose convictions were obtained improperly.

But then, what if a progressive district attorney doesn’t conclude that a man was wrongfully convicted, but that for reasons unstated, he’s doesn’t deserve the sentence imposed? What if that sentence was death, but the prosecutor doesn’t support capital punishment? What if he just decides to confess error? Continue reading →

It’s not as if Samuel Kerson forced his mural commemorating Vermont’s role in the Underground Railroad upon Vermont Law School. He proposed it and they were all on board. But that was then, 1993, before art was subject to the potential of hurt feelings and offense should any observer disapprove. Then again, back in 1993, one would have confidently expected the ACLU to support art, and the right of artists not merely to express themselves but to not have their art permanently removed from sight.

But that was then, 1993. Today, that’s no longer the case. Continue reading →

The murder of George Floyd was neither the first time a black person was killed by police nor the worst example of the horrific police murder of a black person, but the stars aligned and so it became the catalyst for national recognition that black lives matter. The Lakeville, Minnesota, independent school district seized upon the moment to authorize the display of posters in classrooms that said “Black Lives Matter.”

Parents who objected to the infusion of what they perceived to be politics into the classroom sued and lost. in Cajune v. Indep. School Dist. 194, District Judge Jerry Blackwell held that the approved multicultural posters including the phrase constituted government speech. Continue reading →

The judge set bail at $200,000 for defendant Trump, which seems a rather silly amount. After all, if he’s a billionaire as he claims, then walking (or running) away from $200 grand really won’t make much of a difference in his life. If bail is warranted at all, then make it matter, as in $2 billion. But then, if the judge doesn’t see any potential for Trump fleeing the country and setting up a government in absentia if things take a turn for the worse, then why impose bail at all? Release him on his own recognizance unless there is a reason to set bail. Bail is not punishment, no matter how much you want to see him punished sooner rather than later, and over and over.

But the kicker here isn’t the money, which presumably Trump can afford by relying on the naivete of his supporters donations, but the conditions of bail. Continue reading →

It’s not entirely clear what departments, what courses, will be eliminated. Some are named. Most are not. Are they eliminating basic liberal arts courses like English Lit or, as we used to joke before grievance studies became a thing, underwater basket weaving? Hopefully, it isn’t economics, because an education in economics seems critically important.

In proposing last week to eliminate 169 faculty positions and cut more than 30 degree programs from its flagship university, West Virginia, the state with the fourth-highest poverty rate in the country, is engaging in a kind of educational gerrymandering. Continue reading →

At Volokh Conspiracy, Eugene tells the story of what Black Lives Matters Sacramento did to a woman, Karra Crowley, who did nothing to deserve it. It’s a compelling story of what’s deeply wrong with the empowerment of activists incapable of handling their power, from their doubling down on the attack after being informed that their target was not the person who did it, to their calling upon their swarm of gnats to do harm, or as founder Tanya Faison called it, “make her famous.” Continue reading →

Did you think there was any chance in hell he was going to get up on that stage and let Chris Christie, who may be a disingenuous turd but isn’t a blithering coward

(at the moment) blithering idiot rip his nonsensical spewings to shreds? Trump has nothing to gain from debating his opponents and plenty to lose. After all, it’s a lot easier to get away with vapid whining when there’s nobody present to call you on it.

But what about the voters? Continue reading →

I avoid doing topical stuff in these posts for a couple of reasons. First, topical humor is extremely hard. Second, just about everything one can do that’s “topical” or “current” these days is extremely polarizing and emotionally charged to a ridiculous degree. In case you haven’t noticed, part of the reason I do these dumb joke posts is to send y’all home with a laugh at the end of the week. Folks who read SJ tend to have a pretty gallows-level sense of humor, so I’m glad I get an opportunity to make you smile before you’re on your way to the weekend.

There are times, however, when a big ol’ bear just rears its head in view of your humble humorist. Sometimes, like today, those bears need a good poking.

Hand me a pointy stick and let’s get started. Continue reading →

Florida’s Stop Woke Act is an unconstitutional, misguided, ham-handed effort to dictate what academics cannot teach. But what about its converse, California’s regulations dictating what academics must teach? Unsurprisingly, few voices have been raised in opposition even though it’s little more than the flip side of unconstitutionality, except for FIRE bringing suit on behalf of six community college professors.

“I’m a professor of chemistry. How am I supposed to incorporate DEI into my classroom instruction?” asked Reedley College professor Bill Blanken. “What’s the ‘anti-racist’ perspective on the atomic mass of boron?”

Continue reading →

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis informed the court that she seeks a trial date in the Trump RICO case of March 4, 2024, which coincidentally is the day before Super Tuesday. Proposed trial dates in the other cases are peppered before and after, but all before the presidential election in November.

In the New York County “hush money” case, the proposed date is March 25, 2024. In the Jack Smith documents case, it’s May 20, 2024. In the Smith J6 case, it’s January 2, 2024. In the Letitia James civil fraud case, it’s October 2, 2024, which Justice Arthur Engoron says is “written in stone.” Continue reading →