Berkeley law dean Erwin Chemerinsky is viewed as one of the smartest and more reasonable of progressive academics, lending him an air of credibility that often credits his position without engaging in too much scrutiny of his argument. In other words, if Chemerinsky is for something, the reasons why don’t really matter. But they do matter, and Chemerinky’s op-ed on Congress compelling the Supreme Court to create and subject itself to a code of ethics flops.

This is not to say that the justices of the Supreme Court should not be bound by an ethical code or should be able to engage in conduct that is, or appears  to be, improper. Of course they should be ethical. The problem, however, is twofold. First, can Congress seize control over the Supreme Court by imposing a code of ethics that could dictate the outcome of its ruling? Second, if such a code were crafted, is there any mechanism by which it could be enforced? Continue reading →

What if I compiled a list of groups with whom I disagree? What if I labeled them “hate groups”? No one would care, because nobody in media turns to SJ for the “official” list of hate groups, as if that ends the discussion about whether a group is good, bad or otherwise. Instead, they turn to the Southern Poverty Law Center which, for many years under the guidance of now-ousted founder Morris Dees, put together a legitimate and circumspect list of groups promoting hate, at least to the extent hate fit their definition.

The SPLC, like the once-respected ACLU, has used its legacy credibility to burn not only hate groups, but any group whose purpose conflicts with what the current crop of SPLC savants deem correct. They’ve now included “Moms for Liberty” within that ambit. Continue reading →

The indictment is devastating. Whether it can be proven remains to be seen as with any criminal prosecution, but anyone suggesting the charges are either trivial or insubstantial is blowing smoke. But Trump, together with his lawyers and lovers, are doing their best to mount a public relations defense to make him appear neither as guilty nor as ignorant as he comes off. The efforts involve a three prong attack.

(1) But what about . . . ? Continue reading →

In the storied world of professional wrestling, few figures loom as large as the late Iron Sheik. Born on March 15, 1942, in Tehran, Iran, as Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri, the Iron Sheik would go on to become one of the most iconic villains in the history of the business. As we take a moment to remember his life and legacy, it’s worth reflecting on how he shaped the world of wrestling and how he became a symbol of bravado, pride, and patriotism – albeit, one that was often controversial.

Sheik’s life story is one of perseverance and determination. Born into a working-class family, he showed an early aptitude for wrestling and quickly rose through the ranks of Iranian wrestling. He won his first national championship at 18 and went on to represent Iran in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Vaziri even caught the eye of the Shah of Iran and served as the Shah’s personal bodyguard! Continue reading →

As Damon Linker writes, there is always some degree of taint when a politician of one side is proscuted by the other. As David French writes, no politician, no matter how high or mighty, should be treated better than or worse than any other citizen. What’s Trump got to say? Send money!!!.

His political advisers had been preparing for weeks to exploit the federal indictment for full effect. His team has come to view federal law enforcement actions against him as a core part of its fund-raising strategy. Online fund-raising — which has long been the lifeblood of Mr. Trump’s political operation because high-end Republican donors largely shun him — has dried up for all Republican candidates over the past several years, including Mr. Trump. Continue reading →

At Techdirt, Mike Masnick has received a flurry of press releases in response to YouTube’s decision not to moderate election misinformation.

Judging by the number of very angry press releases that landed in my inbox this past Friday, you’d think that YouTube had decided to personally burn down democracy. You see, that day the company announced an update to its approach to moderating election misinformation, effectively saying that it would no longer try to police most such misinformation regarding the legitimacy of the 2020 election: Continue reading →

Whether it’s Sam Bankman-Fried or George Santos, law is often crafted in the wake of people we despise, or at least for whom we hold little sympathy. Magistrate Judge Anne Shields (EDNY) ordered that the names of the sureties for Santos’ release be made public. The order has been sealed in order to allow Santos an opportunity to appeal the decision to the district court.

ORDER: For the reasons contained in the attached Order, the motions to unseal the identities of the Suretors who signed the Bond for Defendant’s pretrial release, filed herein at Docket Entries 13 and 14, are granted. To allow Defendant to appeal this ruling to the District Court, the Clerk of the Court is directed to maintain the attached decision and all previously sealed documents, including the Bond, under seal. Any appeal of this Order must be filed by noon on Friday, June 9, 2023. So Ordered by Magistrate Judge Anne Y. Shields on 6/6/2023.

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What comes to mind when you hear the name Audubon? The magnificent images of Birds of America? The society that protects birds and other animals? Conservation? Natural sanctuaries? Or slaves, racism and stealing the skulls of indigenous peoples?

In 1896, a pair of upper-crust Bostonian ladies founded the Massachusetts Audubon Society in a bid to outlaw feather hats. They named the group after John James Audubon, the fine artist and bird collector whose paintings and books influenced Charles Darwin and sparked public protections of animals, helping birth the modern conservation movement. (The national wing formed in 1905.) Continue reading →

Despite Chris Seaton’s best efforts, the writers’ strike continues and we may never see a sitcom again. It presents an interesting contrast to many of the more popular platitudes of the unduly passionate, where people who followed their passion are now constrained to admit that love doesn’t pay the bills.

Last month, in an interview about Warner Bros. Discovery’s $50 million streaming profit in the first quarter of 2023, the company’s chief executive, David Zaslav, told CNBC that he believed the Writers Guild of America strike would ultimately end because of “a love for the business and a love for working.” Continue reading →

It’s been about ten years since Maurice Jimmerson;s arrest, and he’s still awaiting trial.

It’s unclear why exactly Jimmerson has languished in jail for so long. Gregory Edwards, the Dougherty County district attorney, told Atlanta News First that some of the delay can be attributed to a 2021 courthouse flood, the COVID-19 pandemic, and a previous judge’s decision to try Jimmerson and his codefendants separately for the 2013 double-murder charge. Two of Jimmerson’s codefendants were tried—and acquitted—in 2017.

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