Category Archives: Law
Bardot and Marianne: free speech marches on in France—not!
From my own encounters with the French legal system and the cause of freedom of speech in France, I ought not to be the least bit surprised at the news that Brigette Bardot faces charges of inciting racial hatred against … Continue reading →
Things don’t look good for Karsenty, French justice—or truth
[NOTE: I’ve received a recent communication that indicates the court proceedings yesterday in Paris may not have gone as negatively as my initial impressions from the information on the subject I had read and/or listened to far. If so, I … Continue reading →
Getting married: what’s in it for me? (Part II)
[Part I here.] Marriage is an institution that is virtually universal across all cultures and throughout recorded history, but for most of that time it was an institution far different than it is today. One constant in Western (and many … Continue reading →
Getting married: what’s in it for me? (Part I)
I like to think I have a lot of experience on the subject of marriage, including divorce and child custody. I’ve studied it academically, both the legal issues and the psychological ones. I’ve worked in the field, approaching it from … Continue reading →
The France 2 trials: the wheels of French justice grind slow…
..and they don’t grind all that fine, either. But grind they do. Regular readers of this blog may remember that about a year ago I had the exciting opportunity of traveling to Paris to cover one of the France2 defamation … Continue reading →
When correctly viewed, everything is lewd: Craig and the cop
The rather Byzantine story of Senator Larry Craig of Idaho, who was arrested for lewd behavior in a Minnesota airport restroom staked out by an undercover cop in a sting operation, and who copped a plea for disorderly conduct instead, … Continue reading →
Schumer: Bush’s future Supreme Court nominations are guilty until proven innocent
It seems the gloves are off—not that they ever were really on. Senator Schumer has flung down the gauntlet (can’t resist those glove metaphors) and said that the Democrats need to oppose all of President Bush’s future Supreme Court nominations, … Continue reading →
What price diversity?
Today the Supreme Court has handed down this decision blocking attempts by the public school administrations of Seattle and Louisville to reassign students solely on the basis of race in an attempt at greater diversity. Here’s the NY Times’ summary … Continue reading →
The al-Marri case and beyond: what do you do with a suspected terrorist? (Part III)
Disagreements on how to deal with suspected or actual terrorists who are in our custody rest on some basic assumptions, legal and otherwise. The first of these is whether or not we are at war or the equivalent of war, … Continue reading →
The al-Marri case and beyond: what do you do with a suspected terrorist? (Part II)
In the al-Marri case a Virginia federal appeals court ruled 2-1 that an alien who entered this country legally cannot be seized in the US, declared an “enemy combatant” without having been caught under battlefield conditions, and held indefinitely in … Continue reading →
The al-Marri case and beyond: what do you do with a suspected terrorist? (Part I)
Our legal system is remarkably flexible. No law, or set of laws, can foresee the future; the best the law can do is adapt to changing circumstances. How that adaptation occurs can vary; sometimes it’s through legislation and/or acts of … Continue reading →