University of CA National Center on Free Speech and Civic Engagement Now Accepting Applications for the 2023-24 Class of Fellows
You should apply!
(I’m on the advisory board.)
“Three-Judge District Courts, Direct Appeals, and Reforming the Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket”
Michael Solimine has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Indiana Law Journal Supplement). Here is the abstract:
The “shadow docket” is the term recently given to a long-standing practice of the United States Supreme Court, in granting or denying requests… Continue reading
“Meta to Reinstate Trump’s Facebook and Instagram Accounts”
NYT:
Just over two years after Donald J. Trump’s accounts were suspended from Facebook and Instagram, Meta, the owner of the platforms, said on Wednesday that it would reinstate the former president’s access to the social media services.
Mr.… Continue reading
“The improbability of George Santos’ $199 expenses”
Politico:
Rep. George Santos’ congressional campaign reported dozens of transactions just cents below the threshold that would have triggered a requirement to preserve spending records — an unusual spending pattern that is now part of broader complaints about alleged financial improprieties.… Continue reading
“2023’s Biggest, Most Unusual Race Centers on Abortion and Democracy”
NYT:
In 10 weeks, Wisconsin will hold an election that carries bigger policy stakes than any other contest in America in 2023.
The April race, for a seat on the state’s evenly divided Supreme Court, will determine the fate of… Continue reading
“The Sacred Lies of Virginia Thomas”
Frank Wilkinson:
Virginia Thomas — who goes by “Ginni” — occupies a singular place in elite conservative politics. Yet what’s striking about her testimony is how generically MAGA it is. She laments election “fraud and irregularities” for which she can… Continue reading
“Three Texas counties sue Ken Paxton to settle dilemma over public access to ballots”
Votebeat:
At least three Texas counties — Tarrant, Williamson, and Harris — have sued Attorney General Ken Paxton and are asking a judge to strike down a legal opinion he released last year that says anyone can access voted ballots… Continue reading
“4 more Oath Keepers found guilty of seditious conspiracy tied to Jan. 6 attack”
Politico:
Four members of the far-right Oath Keepers were found guilty on Monday of attempting to derail the transfer of power from President Donald Trump to Joe Biden on Jan. 6, 2021.
A jury found that the four men —… Continue reading
“Will the Real G.O.P. Please Stand Up? A National Power Struggle Goes Local.”
NYT:
Zach Scherer, a 20-year-old car salesman and Republican activist in Pennsylvania’s Butler County, decided to run for a seat on the county commission this year — a move that ordinarily would mean seeking the endorsement of local Republican Party… Continue reading
“Google to stop exempting campaign email from automated spam detection”
WaPo:
Google plans to discontinue a pilot program that allows political campaigns to evade its email spam filters, the latest round in the technology giant’s tussle with the GOP over online fundraising.
The company will let the program sunset at… Continue reading
Free Registration for Jan. 26 Webinar with Rachel Maddow and Me: “What ‘Ultra’ Can Teach Us About Threats to American Democracy Today”
I’m very much looking forward to this online conversation with Rachel Maddow for the Safeguarding Democracy Project on an episode in U.S. history when the risk of sedition was real and substantial. We will explore the limits of journalism and… Continue reading
Federal District Court in Mackey Case Rejects First Amendment Defense to Criminal Prosecution for Spreading Twitter Memes Falsely Telling Hillary Clinton Supporters They Could Vote by Hashtag/Text
You can find the opinion here (h/t Eugene Volokh).
I write about this case in Cheap Speech. I think, and the district court agrees, that it does not violate the First Amendment to make it a crime to lie about… Continue reading
“Central Question as Georgia Inquiry Wraps: Will Trump Face Criminal Charges?”
NYT:
A few weeks after losing the 2020 election, President Donald J. Trump called Ronna McDaniel, the head of the Republican National Committee, with a plan for keeping himself in office. During the call, he asked John C. Eastman, an… Continue reading