On April 13, 2024, I was honored to accept the Jurist of the Year award from the Texas Review of Law & politics. Perhaps more importantly, I was quite pleased to see the Josh Blackman Bobblehead. I stand in some great company. Here is the audio, where you'll hear comments from two very special guests.   And here are my prepared remarks: Introduction Thank you so much for the introduction, Judge Ho. It is the honor of a lifetime to be up here. But in candor, I'm not sure why I'm here. When Adam Ross told me that I was selected as the 2024 TROLP jurist of the year, my immediate reactio ..read more

From yesterday's decision in Meinecke v. City of Seattle, written by Judge Jay Bybee, joined by Judges Margaret McKeown and Daniel Bress: Appellant Matthew Meinecke's speech was not well received by his audience. On two separate occasions in June 2022—an abortion rally and an LGBTQ pride event—Meinecke sought to read Bible passages to attendees gathered in the city of Seattle. When those attendees began to abuse and physically assault Meinecke, Seattle police officers asked Meinecke to move and ultimately arrested him when he refused, rather than deal with the wrongdoers directly…. On June 24 ..read more

4/19/1920: Missouri v. Holland decided. The White Court (1920) The post Today in Supreme Court History: April 19, 1920 appeared first on Reason.com ..read more

(NA) At the Vox website, Dylan Matthews offers a compelling defense of the proposed End Kidney Deaths Act. He makes good points, and I agree the act would be a major improvement over the status quo. But full legalization of organ markets would be better still. Here's an excerpt from Matthews' article: What if I told you there was a way that the US could prevent 60,000 deaths, save American taxpayers $25 billion, and pay a deserving group of people $50,000 each? Would you be interested?… I am not a spokesman. I am simply a fan and supporter of the End Kidney Deaths Act, a bill put together by ..read more

Earlier, I noted that Labrador v. Poe was the Supreme Court's most significant shadow docket decision since the shadow docket became a thing. Justice Gorsuch's concurrence, which was joined by Justices Thomas and Alito, signals that the Court will now carefully scrutinize non-party, universal injunctions issued against state laws. Perhaps even more significant was Justice Kavanaugh's concurrence, which was joined by Justice Barrett. Justice Kavanaugh addresses a threshold question: what are the "best processes for analyzing likelihood of success on the merits in emergency cases"? This may ..read more

Here's the relevant text, from S8206 (sponsored by Sen. Jeremy Cooney and pending before the N.Y. Senate Internet and Technology Committee): Every operator of a generative or surveillance advanced artificial intelligence system that is accessible to residents of the state shall require a user to create an account prior to utilizing such service. Prior to each user creating an account, such operator shall present the user with a conspicuous digital or physical document that the user must affirm under penalty of perjury prior to the creation or continued use of such account. Such document shall ..read more

Labrador v. Poe is perhaps the most significant shadow docket decision since the shadow docket became a thing. After endless and breathless criticism from the professoriate, the Justices are finally developing a framework for this new phenomenon, and seem to be coalescing around answers to two pressing questions. First, when should lower courts issue universal, non-party injunctions? Justice Gorsuch's concurrence, which was joined by Justice Thomas and Justice Alito speaks clearly to this issue. And second, how should the Supreme Court review universal, non-party injunctions on the emergency d ..read more

The post Thursday Open Thread appeared first on Reason.com ..read more

Dear XXX, Congratulations on earning a place in Stanford University's Class of 2028! This is a moment to celebrate the hard work and determination that have brought you to this moment, and also to reflect on the next stage of your education. Amid all the challenging and polarizing issues being discussed in the world right now, you may be wondering what kind of intellectual community you would be joining at Stanford. And we think this is important to address directly. Stanford strives to provide its students with a liberal education, which means one that broadens your mind and horizons by expo ..read more

  Note: I am reposting this in order to include the registration link. On April 23, the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University will hold an event on "Solving the Nation's Housing Shortage." I will be speaking along with economist Bryan Caplan (George Mason University), author of Build, Baby, Build: The Science and Ethics of Housing, and Jerry Howard, former Director of the National Association of Home Builders. Bryan will discuss his book,  which addresses the causes of the housing crisis, and potential solutions. I will speak about how exclusionary zoning ..read more