Sentimental I am already getting sentimental about my classes this year. Not to be overly dramatic (I have been spending a lot of time with an adolescent daughter), but many of the cases I teach in LA346: Business, Justice and Responsibility, may soon be obsolete. One of the joys of teaching is returning to the […]
The Supremes took on some of our most pressing social issues this term: abortion, affirmative action, corruption, and immigration. While there were disappointments (a tie in the immigration case leaves us all wanting for a ruling on executive power, and puts many immigrant families at risk of eventual deportation), there were decisions that I cheered. […]
While I mourn the outcomes of the Supreme Court’s 2013-14 term, I got a giggle at this lawsuit filed by the now-infamous sleeping Yankees’ fan. Andrew Rector was caught on camera at the April 14 Yankees v. Red Sox game in New York, slumped over asleep right in the stands. When the ESPN commentators […]
Ironically, I was in the land of religion, Vatican City, when the Supreme Court announced its decision in the Hobby Lobby case. As most of you already know, the Court ruled that federal law allows a closely-owned non-profit business a right to refuse for religious reasons to provide insurance coverage for birth control methods for […]
In what could turn out to be the only decision to make me smile all term, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that the police need a warrant before they search your cellphone. The decision relied heavily on how common cellphones have become, such that, as Chief Justice Roberts wrote, “the proverbial visitor from Mars […]
Ah, network television. While network television is ancient history for most of my students’ generation. it remains an important part of American society, and a highly regulated business. Indeed, I suspect the Supreme Court Justices spend more time watching ABC than they do Netflix. (If they watch TV. Don’t you wish you knew what they […]
March 15, 2014 at 10:13 am
Sometimes the headlines literally write my cases for me. The latest example is General Motors’ recall, ten years too late, of several cars with a faulty ignition switch. The defect was discovered as early as 2001, but GM failed to issue a recall until this year. Congress is now investigating (Bennett and White, Congress to […]
February 10, 2014 at 2:51 pm
I have heard from a lot of students about “Dumb Starbucks,” and how the heck it is legal. In case you haven’t heard, some mystery person or group of persons opened a coffee shop in Los Feliz, California, and everything about it is identical to Starbucks, except the word “Dumb” appears everywhere. The FAQs sheet […]
February 8, 2014 at 8:09 am
Whenever I read about this SAC trader Matthew Martoma, my blood boils and I get really immature and want to yell things like: Sorry. I do not really know where to begin with Mr. Martoma, so perhaps I will start at the beginning. Mr. Martoma was smart enough to get into Harvard Law School. […]
February 6, 2014 at 3:55 pm
I already wrote about my sort of obsession with drones. I am still obsessed, and the constant trickle of news about new uses of these unmanned aircraft is only keeping me interested. The latest use of drones? To deliver beer, of course! Check out this video from Lakemaid Beer showing its latest and greatest idea: […]
