The Columbia student was a former soldier in the Israeli Defense Force, and so the narrative immediately went to toxic chemical weapons, allegedly causing “headaches, fatigue, and nausea,” causing pro-Palestinian protesters to seek medical attention. It was, as Aaron Sibirium called it, “a progressive fever dream.” Pro-Palestinian protesters told the Columbia Spectator they had been sprayed with “skunk,” a crowd-control chemical developed by the Israeli Defense Forces, at a rally in January. Mainstream media amplified the allegations, and Columbia suspended a student ..read more

In the vast scheme of reinventing language to avoid offending anyone, David Lat raises a new problematic word being pushed out the law firm door: Nonlawyer. Is it time to remove the term “nonlawyer” from the legal lexicon? Earlier this month, two lawyers—Olga Mack, a fellow at the Stanford Center for Legal Informatics, and Damien Riehl, a vice president at the legal-tech platform vLex—published an online petition for the American Bar Association “to cease using the term ‘nonlawyer.’” Together with around 20 “early advocates,” Mack and Riehl call upon the ABA to “engage in the w ..read more

Asna Tabassum was chosen to give the valedictory address at the University of Southern California graduation. It’s quite an honor, and one she earned through her efforts and accomplishments, having achieved a grade point average above 3.98 with a major in biomedical engineering and a minor in resistance to genocide. And then it was decided that she should be silenced. Andrew T. Guzman, the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, said the decision was based on maintaining “campus security and safety” in the email. The valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, said in a public statemen ..read more

One thing that most trial lawyers agree upon is that jurors are a remarkable bunch. The seriousness with which they do the job of following the evidence and finding facts fairly is enough to restore your faith in humanity. Most of the time. But can a Manhattan jury, with Donald Trump as defendant, put aside bias? Jury consultant Julie Blackman says that a fair jury can be picked in New York County, even when Trump is the defendant. For Mr. Trump, we’re about to find out. In the ordinary scheme of jury selection, there is a natural bias against the defendant. After all, they’ve been charged w ..read more

Put aside whether a resolution by the Bakersfield City Council is consequential or performative crap. It’s obviously the latter, as it serves no meaningful purpose other than to reflect its acquiescence to the demands of the woke. But to 28-year-old Riddhi Patel, it mattered no matter how silly it may be. It mattered a lot. This anti-Israel protestor rants about how the security at the meeting is unnecessary and just meant to intimidate right before she threatens to murder the Bakersfield City Council members in their homes. She is now facing 16 felony charges. pic.twitter.com/4ZzXJ7lWVq — AG ..read more

When public schools shut their doors and went online for Covid, there was a fairly strong argument that it was a waste of time. While some teachers extolled the virtue of their online teaching and the dedication of their highly motivated students, the harsh reality was that education took a beating and students obtained little benefit. To be fair, it was understandable, even if teachers denied it. As Upton Sinclair noted, “‘It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” But Covid is over. Schools are ope ..read more

Sheriff Roy Templeton had a headache. The assembled group of adults before him hadn’t stopped yelling since he stepped into Principal Doreen Jessup’s office at Nick Saban Intermediate School and asked “What’s the problem?” When the school called about a row involving some parents and teachers, Mud Lick’s head law enforcement officer decided he’d handle the incident personally. Roy Junior started at Saban Middle in the fall and Sheriff Roy thought getting a little positive face time with the principal of his son’s new school would be advantageous. Plus he needed to pick up a sixth grade orienta ..read more

Her situation was sympathetic, and perhaps good neighbors would either have been more helpful or, at least, less antagonistic. But then, many homeowners know how that one house down the block falls into disrepair and brings down the neighborhood. Much as you can feel empathetic toward the troubles that one person is facing, you can also understand why others who maintain their property, both for the sake of appearances and property values, expect their neighbors to do the same. Sandy Martinez was that one person whose neglect of her property brought down the neighborhood. Why her neighbors did ..read more

He was forewarned in a stunningly offensive manner that there would be trouble, but he refused to be bullied out of holding a 3L dinner to compensate for the 1L dinner that Covid stole from Berkeley law students. The dinner went on, and the promise was kept by a third-year law student named Malak Afaneh. Crazy Footage out of UC Berkley UC Berkeley Law Professor Catherine Fisk and her husband, Dean Chemerinsky, hosted a dinner for all graduating law students. During the dinner, law student, Malak Afaneh, stood up to decry the law school's investments in Boeing, Lockheed Martin,… pic.twitter ..read more

It’s back, not that it’s ever really been gone. But this time, it’s back, bigly. On Monday, President Joe Biden announced a second attempt at federal student loan forgiveness. The new plan, which is estimated to affect over 30 million borrowers when combined with earlier efforts, aims to enact widespread loan cancelation primarily by expanding existing forgiveness programs and targeting borrowers with high balances due to accumulating interest. Sure, the Supreme Court rejected Biden’s last attempt to bootstrap emergency powers into shifting billions off the shoulders of the student ..read more