Nov
9
On the Slippery Slope to Gay Marital Bliss
November 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment
On Friday, November 6, Andrew Koppelman, the John Paul Stevens Professor of Law at Northwestern, visited William & Mary School of Law and gave a talk on gay marriage. His speech was presented by the Institute of Bill of Rights Law and the American Constitution Society.
Koppelman stated that the gay marriage movement is one of [...]
Oct
26
Lies Cannot Drive Out Lies; Only the Truth Can do That
October 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment
About a month ago Congressman Alan Grayson (a Democrat from the Florida 8th) stood on the floor of the House of Representatives and described the Republican’s idea of health care as “‘Don’t get sick, and if you do get sick, die quickly.” While it would take a stretch of the imagination to say that more [...]
Mar
18
The End of Privacy
March 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment
[What follows is a summary of a fantastic article (Jay Rubenfeld, The End of Privacy, 61 Stanford L. Rev. 101 (2008)) (PDF link) on reconceptualizing the Fourth Amendment. I hope this summary will make the article more widely accessible, but if you have any interest in the Fourth Amendment, or privacy generally, you should definitely [...]
Feb
3
Access Denied? The Fight for Corporate Accountability
February 3, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Our chapter recently screened the documentary “Access Denied? The Fight for Corporate Accountability”, which features the tragic story of Diana Levine.
Levine, a professional musician, was suffering from migraine’s and sought relief at a hospital. Due to faulty labeling on her medicine, Levine ended up having to get her arm amputated. A completely preventable error ruined [...]
Jan
22
Coming and Going; the Going Part: Saucier Overruled
January 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Yesterday, in Pearson v. Callahan, the Supreme Court overruled Saucier v. Katz. This is a really big deal. Section 1983 makes it a crime for anyone to violate the civil rights of another citizen ‘under color of law’. Given that expansive language (which is just as expansive as it sounds), and the availability [...]
Oct
30
Reconciling Federalism with Progressive Political Beliefs…
October 30, 2008 | 2 Comments
… is tough to do in this day and age, but it’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do the last week or so, in my head. When I’m in classes and hear issues that pertain to constitutional law, I find myself appalled whenever courts circumvent the Constitution. I then wonder things to myself like, [...]
Feb
27
VA Attorney General Bob McDonnell Visits W&M
February 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Virginia Attorney General, Bob McDonnell, visited William & Mary School of Law earlier today and spoke to The Federalist Society and guests. Although ACS and I have some strong ideological differences with AG McDonnell, he should be commended for staying relatively non-partisan in his lecture.
AG McDonnell touched on a variety of topics, and also spoke [...]
Dec
9
Hangovers and Accomplice Liability
December 9, 2007 | 1 Comment
To all the 1Ls studying for Crim Law, check out this interesting case in Florida where a 20-year-old was busted for accomplice liability and felony murder.
He was hungover in the morning and lent his car to some buddies so they could go pick up some grub… or so he thought. Instead, his buddies tried to [...]
Nov
26
John Payton Visits W&M ACS
November 26, 2007 | Leave a Comment
On November 12, over fifty students crowded into room 124 to hear John Payton, a partner at the D.C. law firm of Wilmer Hale. Payton’s talk was on the new races cases and the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education, and he led of by stating that he intended to be provocative.
In the two [...]
Nov
8
Food For Thought…
November 8, 2007 | Leave a Comment
…and possibly an olive branch?
There was a big to-do in the Supreme Court on Wednesday as the Justices heard oral arguments in the Danforth v. Minnesota case. The issue in that case is, if the Supreme Court recognizes a new rule of criminal procedure and says it will not apply retroactively, whether state courts [...]
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