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Free Speech: Six Questions With Eugene Volokh

Posted 220 days ago by Jonathan Peters

Eugene Volokh is the Gary T. Schwartz Professor of Law at the UCLA School of Law, where he teaches a variety of courses, including one on free speech. He is the author of two casebooks, one book on writing, more than 60 law review articles and more than 80 op-eds. In addition, he is the founder of “The Volokh Conspiracy,” a law-oriented blog that gets 25,000 unique visitors per day. Before joining the academe, Volokh clerked for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor at the U.S. Supreme Court and for Judge Alex Kozinski at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

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Eschewing Impunity: What the International Community Can Do for the Embattled Syrians

Posted 220 days ago by Sushila Rao

This creative use of avenues available in international law can also extend to the strategic use of an application to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Under Article 15 of the Rome Statute, the Prosecutor may initiate investigations proprio motu on the basis of information on crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court. Building on the recent Palestinian example of a non-state entity approaching the Prosecutor under Article 12 of the Statute, the opposition Syrian National Council can conceivably approach the Prosecutor with a request to investigate allegations of crimes against humanity.

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UN Special Rapporteur Calls for Access to Legal Abortions

Posted 220 days ago by Peter Dunne

On 24th October, the Special Rapporteur for physical and mental health, Anand Grover, will present his findings. While Mr. Grover’s report addresses the broad question of sexual and reproductive rights, it focuses particularly on abortion and the harmful consequences that can follow when access is restricted. The report is particularly interesting, coming as it does when the future of abortion in this country has suddenly become so uncertain.

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Topeka, Kan., Repeals its Domestic Violence Law

Posted 221 days ago by Billy Corriher

The City Council claimed that the District Attorney’s decision to stop prosecuting misdemeanors was a political one, given that the budget cuts he faces are not yet in effect. The District Attorney reluctantly agreed to continue prosecuting domestic violence cases. He continued to blame county leaders for failing to adequately fund prosecutors, suggesting they were impeding his office’s mission to ensure public safety.

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Parental Rights of “Non-Offending” Out-of-State Parents

Posted 221 days ago by Anne King

In a recent article, Vivek Sankaran explains that the majority of states in some way restrict the parental rights of “non-offending parents” even when there is no evidence of wrongdoing or unfitness by that parent. Perhaps DC’s agency was reluctant to revise its policies on non-offending out-of-state parents because it might then have to reexamine its approach to all non-offending parents.

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Youth is wasted on the young—is voting, too?

Posted 222 days ago by hlpr

There’s a famous scene in The Breakfast Club where Anthony Michael Hall’s character, the archetypal high school nerd, is asked why he has a fake ID. His response is earnest, if not a little bit surprising: “So, I can vote,” he says, wholly unconcerned with the other opportunities for mischief that a fabricated adult identity might offer.

Like Hall’s character, many of today’s youth have decided to take the franchise into their own hands; fortunately, however, they’ve sought to do so through more lawful means.

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Unrest Over Occupy Wall Street

Posted 222 days ago by Jake Laperruque

The protesters gathered with no set message, ideology, or demands for policy changes. However, Freedom of Speech is not limited to groups that especially aesthetic. Regardless of how uncoordinated it is, the Occupy Wall Street movement is not “anti-American,” but rather a central feature of what makes America great.

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A Personal Tribute to Prof. Derrick Bell’s Legacy, 1930-2011

Posted 222 days ago by Najah Farley

Although today’s legal landscape is different, many of the problems remain the same. There are still challenges to ensuring that the voices of the most disadvantaged citizens are heard. There is still a need for legal scholarship that comes from all sectors and populations in the American experience, especially those at the margins of the American experience.

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Gov. Brown Vetoes Cell Phone Protections

Posted 223 days ago by Mark Wilson

But how long after an arrest can the police search a cell phone? Earlier this year, California grappled with People v. Diaz, 51 Cal.4th 84 (2011) and concluded that even ninety minutes after an arrest, when the phone is safely stored far away from the suspect and the danger of destruction is effectively zero, the police could search the contents of a cell phone without a warrant.

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Occupy Moves to the Right City

Posted 223 days ago by Catherine Moore

Instead of continuing to get mad without becoming articulate, the movement should get educated and then target the lawmakers who enabled the banks to stuff themselves on the taxpayer’s dime. It’s easy to direct anger to big corporations that pay fat bonuses but the truth is a disciplined approach would go after lawmakers who need to be re-elected. Maybe protestors don’t think that they can scare lawmakers into listening but given the no-holds-barred tactics and successes of the Tea Party, Occupy would be wise to take an aggressive stance with the left.

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