MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'court'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:55:39 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181754&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FiE-w4yBV7BI%2F By Ilya ShapiroOver the last year and a half, I’ve blogged many times about Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu, the controversial nominee to the Ninth Circuit, the federal appellate court with jurisdiction over the western states and territories.  Here’s an op-ed I published in the wake of that nomination — which happened to coincide with Obamacare’s enactment.  And here’s a taste of what I wrote when Republicans filibustered Liu, which ultimately led him to withdraw: I’m not going to weigh in here on the issue of whether judicial nominees ought to be filibustered in general . . . but if ever there were an “extraordinary circumstance” fitting into the Gang of 14agreement that broke the judicial logjam under President Bush, this is it. As I blog... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181754 Fri, 02 Sep 2011 12:42:28 +0100 5181754 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5174599&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1CUaz70JSQk%2F By Ilya ShapiroSCOTUSblog’s symposium on the constitutionality of Obamacare — to which I contributed, as did Bob Levy – provides a glimpse at the astonishing views of the law’s supporters.  It particularly shows how divorced the legal academy’s leading lights are not only from basic constitutional text and structure, but from jurisprudential reality. Most prominently, in responding to the Eleventh Circuit’s decision striking down the individual mandate (and to Richard Epstein’s symposium essay), storied Harvard professor Laurence H. Tribe criticizes the court for “reflecting what appears to be a widely held public sentiment” that Congress cannot “mandate that individuals enter into contracts with private insurance companies for the purchase o... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5174599 Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:45:41 +0100 5174599 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5158936&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FzFTVxpvSy4g%2F By Ilya ShapiroMy colleagues and I have covered the substance of the Eleventh Circuit ruling that two weeks ago struck down the individual mandate, but where do we go from here?  Why hasn’t the Supreme Court yet resolved the conflict between that ruling and the Sixth Circuit’s from earlier in the summer?  When will it do so?  A few points: The government is now likely to seek en banc review, meaning that they want the entire 10-judge court to review the 3-judge panel’s ruling.  It’s extremely unlikely that the Eleventh Circuit would grant such a motion because the panel is already 2-1 against and the members of the court not on the panel are a 4-3 Republican-appointed majority.  You need a majority (6 of 10) to get en banc review, which means the dissenting J... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5158936 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:50:00 +0100 5158936 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5159840&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F0qGTbAcfmZ0%2F Six months after a federal appeals court decided a pair of GlaxoSmithKline sales reps are not eligible for overtime pay, they are now asking the US Supreme Court to review their case. And the implications for the pharmaceutical industry are likely to be far-reaching, given that drugmakers have been laying off thousands of sales reps as part of a massive wave of cost cutting in recent years. The petition, however, is not surprising, because there has been a split among appeals courts over this issue. Last year, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that Novartis reps are entitled to overtime (back story), and the Supreme Court earlier this year declined to review the decision (see here). That ruling came just two weeks after the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5159840 Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:07:40 +0100 5159840 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139689&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FsxIfq6yuuwg%2F By Ilya ShapiroI’m glad Trevor Burrus took the laboring oar in pointing out highlights from an Eleventh Circuit opinion that, as he put it, “is not only exhaustive, it is convincing.”  I’ve been swamped with editing the Cato Supreme Court Review and preparing for our Constitution Day conference, so have had little time to put words on paper (or even on screen) after my initial statement. I did put together one op-ed, however, that ran today in Politico.  Here’s an excerpt: By [striking down the individual mandate], the court — including, for the first time, a judge appointed by a Democratic president — reaffirmed that the Constitution places principled limits on federal power. It rejected the government’s argument for a situational limit on Congress�... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139689 Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:42:10 +0100 5139689 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139696&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FySYnjbBACN4%2F By Trevor BurrusOn Friday, when the 11th Circuit struck down the individual mandate portion of ObamaCare, a trip to the Supreme Court became all but assured. Previously, although Supreme Court review was highly probable even if a circuit split didn’t develop, there was still an outside chance that the Court would deny review if all circuit courts upheld the law. Now, the Court is essentially obliged to take the case. This is reason enough to be happy about the decision. As I work my way through the opinion, I become even happier. The opinion is not only exhaustive, it is convincing. If Congress oversteps the outer limits of its power, the court explains, then “the Constitution requires judicial engagement, not judicial abdication.” Thus, we are given over 200 pages of “judicial en... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139696 Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:00:57 +0100 5139696 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5130733&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAHfZvAlA28k%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonLast Friday, a Colorado District Court halted the new and unique Douglas County school voucher program with a permanent injunction. School choice legislation is a little like the Field of Dreams: pass it, and they will sue–and we all know who “they” are. So there’s a tendency to dismiss legal setbacks for the choice movement as purely the result of self-serving monopolists exploiting bad laws or partisan, activist judges. There are certainly cases that fall into that category, but this Colorado ruling isn’t one of them. Oh, the self-serving monopolists and opponents of educational freedom are no doubt cheering it, but the ruling does not read like the work of a rube or an ideologue, and not all of the state constitutional provisions on whic... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5130733 Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:47:23 +0100 5130733 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5125681&cid=t_117360_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fcourt-appeals-strikes-individual-mandate-obamacare%2F In a 2-1 decision, the 11th Circuit Appeals Court has ruled against the provision in the Affordable Care Act requiring Americans to buy health insurance. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5125681 Sat, 13 Aug 2011 05:00:46 +0100 5125681 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118998&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fg-WZvl9XAuY%2F The new president of the American Medical Association is lashing out at critics who claim the AMA has not done enough to persuade physicians to join its five-year-old Physician Data Restriction Program, InformationWeek reports. So far, less than 28,000 doc have joined the PDRP, which enables them to opt out of prescription data mining used in pharmaceutical marketing campaigns. Last week, a commentary in The New England Journal of Medicine commentary suggested the AMA had sabotaged the PDRP. As part of a discussion about the recent US Supreme Court decision to strike down a Vermont data mining law (read here), the authors pointed out that the AMA makes a great deal of money from selling its physician lists, which data miners combine with prescribing data. “To date, few physicians (... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118998 Wed, 10 Aug 2011 12:37:32 +0100 5118998 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028145&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FrvUTZuVihO4%2F By Ilya ShapiroThat’s the title of an essay I wrote for SCOTUSblog as part of their symposium on United States v. Arizona.  This is the big immigration case that will hit the Supreme Court’s doorstep later this month when Paul Clement, recently hired by Arizona, files his cert petition. Here’s an excerpt: …state governments, feeling tremendous pressure from their citizens to address the consequences of the federal failure to meet this nation’s immigration needs, are acting for themselves.  Arizona happens to be the “tip of the spear,” but we’ve also seen various other immigration-related laws passed in states as different as Utah, Georgia, and California.  Whether related to enforcement, expanded work permits, sanctuary cities, or other types of policy i... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028145 Wed, 13 Jul 2011 18:35:55 +0100 5028145 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028146&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBoH_b2OMl0Y%2F By Jim HarperIn February 2004, privacy advocates were put off by a Supreme Court case called Doe v. Chao, in which the Court found that the Privacy Act requires a victim of a government privacy violation to show “actual damages” before receiving any compensation. The Act appeared to provide for $1,000 per violation in statutory damages, but the Court interpreted the legislation to require that actual damages be proven, after which the victim would be entitled to a minimum award of $1,000. (Statutory damages are appropriate in privacy cases against the government because government bureaucrats pay little price themselves when their agency gets fined. A penalty is required to draw oversight and political attention to violations of the law.) Doe v. Chao was a close call given the ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028146 Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:40:02 +0100 5028146 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4992692&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fsupreme-court-data-mining-ok-even-when-physician-privacy-is-compromised%2F2011.07.01 The Supreme Court has sided with Big Pharma in their challenge to the Vermont Law limiting the pharmaceutical Industry’s access to physician prescribing information. The nation’s high court handed down a verdict Thursday in the Sorrell v. IMS Health case, striking down by a 6-3 vote a 2007 Vermont law that that bans the practice of data mining — the sale and use of prescriber-identifiable information for marketing or promoting a drug, including drug detailing — unless a physician specifically gives his or her permission to use the information. Apparently, Big Pharma’s right to “free speech” trumps my right to privacy. How getting access to my prescribing information has anything to do with free speech is beyond me.  In the twisted logic of the pro-business, anti-citizen Sup... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4992692 Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:00:14 +0100 4992692 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4984421&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F2xbpOrm84Pw%2F By Jim HarperThe Los Angeles Times has a good article on California’s move to require Amazon and other out-of-state retailers to collect taxes for it. Good because it accurately portrays what’s happening. Many such stories will say that California is seeking to tax Amazon. In fact, says the headline, “California Tells Online Retailers to Start Collecting Sales Taxes From Customers.” You see, Californians generally don’t pay their “use taxes“—the alternative to sales taxes, for things brought into the state from outside. If the tax authorities tried to collect use taxes, going door to door to tally up the goods that haven’t yet been taxed, there would be bedlam. So they want out-of-state companies that sell into California to collect the... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4984421 Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:42:27 +0100 4984421 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4975827&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ffsa2Wum2Vxs%2F By Julian SanchezI note that I’m not hearing many critics of Citizens United decrying yesterday’s very welcome Supreme Court ruling, in which the majority held unconstitutional a California statute prohibiting the sale or rental of violent video games to minors. Perhaps that’s just because they’re concerned with corporate influence on elections as a policy matter, and not so much about Grand Theft Auto, but as a matter of First Amendment interpretation, it seems as though the elements that supposedly made Citizens United a travesty are present here. As the conservative Justice Alito notes in dissent, for example, the statute at issue here does not prohibit anyone from creating, possessing, freely loaning, or playing violent video games: It regulates only their renta... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4975827 Tue, 28 Jun 2011 16:39:05 +0100 4975827 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4976207&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F-30La5fXibE%2F The US Supreme Court has agreed to review a complicated and controversial case that may alter the way brand-name drugmakers use patent law to delay generic competition (see this). At issue is the ability of generic drugmakers to seek FDA approval under a provision of the Hatch-Waxman Act to market a drug for uses not covered by patents held by brand-name drugmakers. The case has generated considerable interest and, in fact, the US Solicitor General urged the court to conduct a review. Wall Street, meanwhile, has signaled that, if the status quo continues, brand-name drugmakers will have a new means of fending off unwanted generic rivals. The Generic Pharmaceutical Association says the review is needed because a Federal Circuit ruling “threatens to eliminate a critical check on brand-name... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4976207 Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:53:16 +0100 4976207 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4975836&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSPKxQcM8ajk%2F By Ilya ShapiroWith its last opinion on the last day of the term, the Supreme Court brought things back to constitutional basics by striking down a state law that punished political speech. Whatever the motivations behind Arizona’s so-called Clean Elections Act, giving a publicly funded candidate more taxpayer-provided money every time his privately funded opponent—or his supporters—have “spoken too much” clearly chills speech. In elections, where there is no effective speech without spending money, matching funds provisions triggered by speech fail First Amendment scrutiny. And this result should’ve been obvious to the entire Court, not just a five-justice majority, in the wake of the Davis v. FEC “Millionaires’ Amendment” case from 2008. Davis struck down the part of Mc... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4975836 Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:54:47 +0100 4975836 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4975840&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FobqD34Uv_fw%2F By Ilya ShapiroThe Supreme Court scored an epic win for the First Amendment in striking down California’s prohibition on selling violent videogames to minors. The law was both overly broad—sweeping in a wide variety of games based on no objective standard and no age-based gradations—and underinclusive—with no restrictions on other types of media. With a few strictly drawn exceptions for historically unprotected speech—obscenity, incitement, fighting words—government lacks the power to restrict expression simply because of its content. And a legislature cannot create new types of unprotected speech simply by weighing its purported social costs against its alleged value. “Reading Dante is unquestionably more cultured and intellectually edifying than playing Mortal Kombat,” Ju... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4975840 Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:28:28 +0100 4975840 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4975845&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FH4gEql8vpE8%2F By Ilya ShapiroIn an important but little-noted First Amendment case decided Thursday, Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc., the Supreme Court correctly invalidated a particular regulation of commercial speech but unfortunately left intact the general doctrine that distinguishes and privileges noncommercial speech.  Justice Kennedy authored the 6-3 decision (joined not just by the “conservatives” but also Justice Sotomayor) that struck down a Vermont law prohibiting the sale of information about doctors’ prescription histories as making viewpoint-based speech restrictions in violation of the First Amendment.  In so ruling, the Court effectively affirmed a Second Circuit decision (involving a similar Connecticut law) I discussed previously.  Cato filed amicus briefs in both the Second Circui... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4975845 Mon, 27 Jun 2011 13:01:36 +0100 4975845 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968465&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fhnvycmv5Hts%2F By Walter OlsonMonday’s high court decision in Wal-Mart v. Dukes has predictably drawn a strong reaction from legal academia, much of it critical of the Court. Of particular interest are the comments of Richard Primus (Michigan) at the New York Times‘s “Room for Debate” and Alexandra Lahav (Connecticut) at Mass Tort Litigation Blog. According to Primus and Lahav, the decision is the latest sign that the current Supreme Court leans toward a principle of “individualism” in applying the rules of civil litigation. Lahav in particular appears to view this as a shame, since “a more collectivist view” would carry with it more “potential for social reform.” What does a term like “individualism” mean in the context of litigati... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968465 Fri, 24 Jun 2011 12:35:46 +0100 4968465 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968911&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FBc0iyAnR7mo%2F In a 6-to-3 ruling, the US Supreme Court has struck down a highly controversial Vermont law that restricts the sale of prescription drug info identifying prescribers and patients for commercial marketing purposes. The practice is known in the pharma world as data mining and has been growing for the past two decades, ever since data was gathered by market research firms. However, data mining has also sparked heated arguments over free speech, health care costs and information privacy. The decision is a setback for consumer advocates who maintained such laws can protect doctor-patient relationships and consumer privacy, promote patient safety and contain health care costs. Vermont, in fact, passed its law three years ago and then amended it in hopes of staving off court challenges. Similar b... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968911 Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:58:18 +0100 4968911 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968912&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FK90Sx9ix8RI%2F In a closely watched case, the US Supreme Court has ruled that generic drugmakers are not required to strengthen product labeling if alerted to side effects, even when the same change has not been made to the labeling for the branded med. However, the court was divided with a 5-to-4 majority deciding in favor of the argument made by the generic industry. The decision came in response to a pair of lawsuits by two women who claimed such changes could have been made under state law and without FDA approval for such changes. They argued generic drugmakers would create uncertainty about safety if they are not held liable under state laws and update labeling in the face of evidence of serious side effects. Generic drugmakers, including Actavis and Pliva, argued they would have been required to p... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968912 Thu, 23 Jun 2011 15:16:43 +0100 4968912 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4952803&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FbC4DuEg6ftg%2F By Ilya ShapiroIn the important global warming case decided today, American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court unanimously reached the correct result but one that still leaves room for plenty of mischievous litigation.  While it’s clearly true that, as the Court said, the Clean Air Act and the EPA exist to deal with the claims the plaintiffs made here—that the defendants’ carbon dioxide emissions are pollutants that cause global warming—the Court left open the possibility of claims on state common-law grounds such as nuisance.  And it unfortunately said nothing about whether any such disputes, whether challenging EPA action or suing under state law, are properly “cases and controversies” ripe for judicial resolution. The judiciary was not meant to be the sol... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4952803 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:58:18 +0100 4952803 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4953366&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FB4LRHpOZ1Ec%2F In a blow to the drugmaker, the US Supreme Court rejected a bid by Pfizer to appeal a $58 million damages award made four years ago to three Nevada women, who claimed they suffered breast cancer after taking the Prempro hormone replacement therapy made by its Wyeth unit (see this). The decision comes after the Nevada Supreme Court last November upheld the earlier decision. As a result, the award stands as the largest to be upheld on appeal in thousands of hormone-replacement lawsuits. More than 6 million women took Prempro and Premarin before the 2002 Women’s Health Initiative study highlighted links to breast cancer, and Pfizer faced more than 10,000 claims, although the drugmaker has since settled nearly one-third of the cases and recently aside $772 million to begin settling the backl... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4953366 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:30:01 +0100 4953366 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4934103&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6DG6V1dfIC0%2F By Ilya ShapiroHard cases make bad law, the saying goes.  Well, a bizarre case that the Supreme Court decided unanimously today has set a good precedent for the enforcement of residual Tenth Amendment powers.  As I described in December when Cato filed a brief in Bond v. United States: Carol Anne Bond learned that her best friend was having an affair with her husband, so she spread toxic chemicals on the woman’s car and mailbox. Postal inspectors discovered this plot after they caught Bond on film stealing from the woman’s mailbox. Rather than leave this caper to local law enforcement authorities to resolve, however, a federal prosecutor charged Bond with violating a statute that implements U.S. treaty obligations under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention. Bond pled guilty and was... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4934103 Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:48:12 +0100 4934103 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872472&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FadgmeRx2WXw%2F The Obama administration is urging the US Supreme Court to review a complicated and controversial case that may alter the way brand-name drugmakers use patent law to delay generic competition. At issue is the ability of generic drugmakers to seek FDA approval under a provision of the Hatch-Waxman Act to market a drug for uses not covered by patents held by brand-name drugmakers. Not surprisingly, the case has generated considerable interest in the generic industry, as a quick peek at the Supreme Court docket makes clear (see here to see who has filed a brief). Wall Street, for instance, has signaled that, if the status quo continues, brand-name drugmakers will have found a new means of fending off unwanted generic rivals. In a statement, the Generic Pharmaceutical Association says the Supr... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872472 Fri, 27 May 2011 13:08:59 +0100 4872472 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862503&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FuZCuZ559vDU%2F By Ilya ShapiroThe representation of prisoners accused of capital crimes is unique in its difficulty — and in the consequences — when that representation is inadequate. Maples v. Thomas, which will be argued before the Supreme Court this fall, exposes some of the serious cracks in the system charged with representing indigent defendants in such cases.    Cato takes no position on the merits of the death penalty other than that the Constitution does not prohibit it and that our justice system is responsible for, at the very least, ensuring that prisoners receive fair notice of orders on which their lives depend.  Both the courts and counsel failed Cory Maples here.  Maples was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for killing two companions.  After a ser... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862503 Wed, 25 May 2011 20:38:35 +0100 4862503 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862506&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FkOrWUGoBEMU%2F By Julian SanchezBack in February, Democratic leader Harry Reid promised fellow senator Rand Paul that—after years of kicking the can down the road—there would be at least a week reserved for full and open debate over three controversial provisions of the Patriot Act slated to expire this weekend, with an opportunity to propose reforms and offer amendments to any reauthorization bill.  And since, as we know, politicians always keep their promises, we can look forward to a robust and enlightening discussion of how to modify the Patriot Act to better safeguard civil liberties without sacrificing our counterterror capabilities. Ha! No, I’m joking, of course. Having already cut the legs out from under his own party’s reformers by making a deal with GOP leaders for a four-year ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862506 Wed, 25 May 2011 18:41:19 +0100 4862506 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862513&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FmGTytT7-JcU%2F By Walter OlsonThanks to star libertarian lawprof and Cato senior fellow Randy Barnett for pointing out something that has needed saying for a while: most proposals in the U.S. Congress to address medical malpractice law run into serious federalism problems. Most medical malpractice suits go forward in state courts under state law. If the U.S. Congress wishes to impose a nationwide rule on these suits, such as by limiting damages for pain and suffering, it first needs to answer the question: under which of the federal government’s constitutionally prescribed powers is it acting? Even if it can identify such authority, it should also ask: is it a wise idea—consistent with what one might call a prudential federalism—to gather yet more power in Washington at the expense of the state... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862513 Tue, 24 May 2011 19:43:47 +0100 4862513 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4852839&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fr-54cWzkD4s%2F By Tim LynchThis morning the Supreme Court issued a remarkable ruling [pdf] concerning California’s prison system.   Because of years of pervasive overcrowding, there have been systemic violations of the Constitution’s ban on Cruel and Unusual Punishments.  To remedy those violations, the Court affirmed a lower court order to reduce the prison population.  I was not surprised to learn that Justice Anthony Kennedy authored the majority opinion in this case, Brown v. Plata. In a 2003 speech to the American Bar Association (reprinted in my book In the Name of Justice), Kennedy tried to raise more awareness about America’s prison system.  He made the point that every citizen ought to take an interest in the prison system–it is not just the realm of correctional... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4852839 Mon, 23 May 2011 19:01:00 +0100 4852839 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841431&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FmJzoGRuj-4U%2F By John SamplesSteve Simpson and Paul Sherman of the Institute for Justice have written an excellent short essay about Stephen Colbert’s effort to undermine the Citizens United decision. But the joke is on Colbert: Campaign-finance laws are so complicated that few can navigate them successfully and speak during elections—which is what the First Amendment is supposed to protect. As the Supreme Court noted in Citizens United, federal laws have created “71 distinct entities” that “are subject to different rules for 33 different types of political speech.” The FEC has adopted 568 pages of regulations and thousands of pages of explanations and opinions on what the laws mean. “Legalese” doesn’t begin to describe this mess. So what is someone who... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841431 Thu, 19 May 2011 18:33:00 +0100 4841431 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841981&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fm8q5cglpFYs%2F For all the intriguing evidence that emerges from product-liability litigation about potential hazards of different medicines, still more documents are often kept under wraps. Why? Drugmakers often succeed in convincing judges to issue protective orders so that certain info - sometimes labeled as trade secrets - remains sealed. And attorneys for plaintiffs generally agree in order to advance the cases. However, the tactic has long riled critics who say select and crucial safety info may never reach the public. And so the US Senate Judiciary Committee today voted 12 to 6 to approve the “Sunshine in Litigation Act,” which would require judges to consider public health before granting a protective order or sealing court records and settlement agreements. You can read the text here... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841981 Thu, 19 May 2011 16:35:48 +0100 4841981 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813360&cid=t_117360_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F05%2F11%2Fva-mental-health-care-is-so-bad-its-unconstitutional%2F So says a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, after reviewing the evidence about the ability of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to offer an appropriately level of mental health care and treatment to returning soldiers. In this way, the costs of the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been grossly underestimated, because they don’t take into account the increased needs and costs of the vets’ ongoing and increasing mental health care. The longer we’re at war, the worse it’s going to get. According to the article on TIME.com about the recent ruling, not only do some vets have to wait weeks to get in to see a mental health professional at many VA medical centers, but there’s often no significant triaging ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813360 Wed, 11 May 2011 15:30:28 +0100 4813360 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813260&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTRqxGl4BsSo%2F By Ilya ShapiroToday, the Fourth Circuit became the first appellate court in the nation to enter the Obamacare fray.  It heard two very similar cases back-to-back, Liberty University’s, in which the government won in the district court, and the Commonwealth of Virginia’s, in which Judge Henry Hudson struck down the individual mandate back in December.  Going into the hearing, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s legal team had done a wonderful job setting out the reasons why Hudson was correct and why Congress went too far in asserting the unprecedented power to compel people to enter into contracts with private insurance companies.  I was proud to sign Cato’s brief supporting that position and continue to maintain that the federal government cannot require people to buy g... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813260 Tue, 10 May 2011 17:57:12 +0100 4813260 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789204&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ff29M-n7ufqw%2F By Ilya ShapiroSanta Clara law professor Brad Joondeph, who runs the very helpful — as a primary document aggregator for all the Obamacare cases –  ACA Litigation Blog, thinks he’s stumbled onto something : So after reading my roughly 500th ACA-litigation-related brief, motion, or filing of some sort, I think I have gotten a little punchy. But it occurs to me that a a great new drinking game for those ACA litigation buffs who sit around on Friday nights drinking beers — a huge cohort, I am sure — would be to read aloud briefs filed by the challengers, and take turns drinking when the word “unprecedented” is used. Indeed, the argument that there is no Supreme Court precedent sanctioning the assertion of power the government claims  – th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789204 Fri, 06 May 2011 01:37:16 +0100 4789204 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4789647&cid=t_117360_151_f&fid=35823&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FAddictionInbox%2F%7E3%2FQqGfwCMh66Q%2Faddiction-in-courtroom-guest-post.html Forensic psychology and the paradox of addiction. Allison Gamble writes for PsychologyDegree.net. The paradox of addiction presents a legal conundrum when it comes to determining the extent of a defendant’s guilt in criminal court. Although addiction is generally considered a mental health condition, it does not lie within the parameters that typically define mental illness in the courts. Though defense lawyers may present addiction as a mitigating factor--in some cases influencing the jury to vote for a lesser conviction--addiction does not excuse the defendant from being legally responsible for the crime. Forensic psychology is a field that weaves together psychology and the criminal justice system. Oftentimes these insights prove useful for determining legal guilt or innocence. For... Addiction Inbox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4789647 Thu, 05 May 2011 16:27:06 +0100 4789647 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4762746&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F23_CKqjvSp8%2F By Ilya ShapiroA few readers have now asked me about the “libertarian” reaction to yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling that allows companies to use boilerplate contract provisions that require consumers to arbitrate any disputes individually rather than coming together as a class action for arbitration purposes (let alone being able to bring claims into court).  That is, where an individual claim isn’t worth that much money (about $30 in yesterday’s case of AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion), no lawyer will take the case and so only by having a class file collectively, the argument goes, will justice be served. The ruling broke down 5-4 on “conventional” lines, with an opinion by Justice Scalia, joined by the Chief Justice and Justices Kennedy, ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4762746 Thu, 28 Apr 2011 18:28:39 +0100 4762746 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4758740&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAL-eC2nmqmc%2F By George Scoville New research suggests that there has been more monetary and macroeconomic instability since the Federal Reserve’s inception than in the decades preceding it. New thinking about the usefulness of government programs will help us from restore fiscal balance and economic well-being in America. New geopolitical circumstances should make us wonder: why are we still a part of NATO? New Deal-era jurisprudence may soon be overturned as challenges to the Affordable Care Act reach the U.S. Supreme Court. New means of funding public roads will increase efficiency by confronting drivers with the costs of using them, and reducing congestion: Reminder: If you’re in the DC area, please join us this Friday at 4:00 p.m. Eastern for a special sneak preview of Free or Equal a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4758740 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 15:01:48 +0100 4758740 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734050&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FDUdh-TINSGs%2F By Ilya ShapiroAs I wrote last week, a decade ago in Palazzolo v. Rhode Island, the Supreme Court rejected the idea that those who buy property subject to burdensome regulations lose the right the seller otherwise has to challenge those regulations.  The Court ruled that the Takings Clause does not have an “expiration date.”  Sadly, not all government authorities or courts took Palazzolo to heart, and now we have a second such case meriting Cato’s involvement in the span of a week. In 2000, after the EPA issued a Record of Decision concerning limiting access to a “slough” (a narrow strip of navigable water) on its Superfund National Priorities List, CRV Enterprises began negotiations to buy a parcel of land next to the slough across from a site once occupie... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734050 Thu, 21 Apr 2011 12:48:33 +0100 4734050 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4723790&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fqe59_xBEk1A%2F By George Scoville Regulatory privilege is not consistent with competitive markets–that’s why Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac need reform. Thank goodness the U.S. Supreme Court found that education tax credits are not consistent with the fictitious notion of a “tax expenditure.” President Obama’s budget plan is not consistent with either his own deficit commission’s plan or the Constitution. The modern “Executive State” is not consistent with Article II of the Constitution. Cyberbullying laws are not consistent with the First Amendment and our concept of free speech: Monday Links is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4723790 Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:12:59 +0100 4723790 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4715023&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F3EmIsWhgxuY%2F Late last month, the US Supreme Court asked the Obama administration for its views on a complicated and controversial spat that has the potential to alter the way brand-name drugmakers use patent law to delay generic competition (look here). Whether the Supremes choose to review the case is unclear, but by asking the US Solicitor General to comment, the court has signaled a hearing is, indeed, a possibility. The case, meanwhile, is being closely watched, as one might imagine. A growing number of generic drugmakers have begun filing briefs with the Supreme Court, explaining why a review is warranted. And Wall Street has signaled that, if the status quo continues, brand-name drugmakers will have hit on a new means of fending off unwanted generic rivals. Here is the background: In 2005, Novo... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4715023 Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:00:05 +0100 4715023 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4693271&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FWdF8gbYEmRI%2F By Ilya ShapiroJosh Blackman, my sometimes co-author, who is the president of the Harlan Institute (with which I too am associated) and czar — his title, not mine — of FantasySCOTUS.net, has co-authored a fascinating article that analyzes an information market he created to predict Supreme Court cases. During the October 2009 Supreme Court term (last year), the 5,000 members of FantasySCOTUS.net made over 11,000 predictions for the 81 cases decided. Based on this data, FantasySCOTUS accurately predicted a majority of the cases and the top-ranked experts predicted over 75% of the cases correctly. FantasySCOTUS even has a Prediction Tracker to provide real-time predictions as to how the Supreme Court will decide. Josh’s article is an absolute must-read for anyone who follo... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4693271 Thu, 07 Apr 2011 21:14:52 +0100 4693271 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4684275&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSsyvt4Ux5TU%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonJustice Kagan's dissent yesterday in the Supreme Court ruling upholding Arizona's education tax credits seems to me so obviously mistaken on both the facts and the law that I feel I must be missing something. I offer my initial analysis briefly below, and if anyone can tell me if/where I'm going wrong, my e-mail address is just a Google away. First, Kagan and her fellow dissenters express dismay at the putative novelty of the majority's distinction between tax credits and government spending. But, more than a decade ago, this very same distinction was acknowledged by the Arizona Supreme Court in Kotternman v. Killian, and that AZ Court ruling itself cites a string of precedents from around the country supporting it. Clearly, the majority's ruling is far from novel, and ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4684275 Tue, 05 Apr 2011 20:42:38 +0100 4684275 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4653315&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FFQQJv3QGBnk%2F By Ilya ShapiroYesterday the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the Arizona matching-public-campaign-funding case, McComish v. Bennett, spearheaded by our friends at the Goldwater Institute and the Institute for Justice. Here's the background:  In 1998, after years of scandals ranging from governors being indicted to legislators taking bribes, Arizona passed the Citizens Clean Elections Act. This law was intended to “clean up” state politics by creating a system for publicly funding campaigns.  Participation in the public funding is not mandatory, however, and those who do not participate are subject to rules that match their “excess” private funds with disbursals to their opponent from the public fund. In short, if a privately funded candidate spends more than his publicly f... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4653315 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:26:45 +0100 4653315 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4642576&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FC313665Ucqo%2F By Ilya ShapiroVermont passed a law prohibiting the exchange of a variety of socially important information. Most notably, the law outlaws the transfer of doctors' prescription history to facilitate drug companies' one-on-one marketing — a practice known as "detailing" — because it believes detailing drives up brand-name drug sales and, in turn, health care costs. The state knew that the First Amendment prevented it from banning detailing itself, so it made the practice more difficult indirectly. Yet data collection and transfer are protected speech — think academic research, or the phone book — and government efforts to regulate this type of speech also runs afoul of the First Amendment. See, e.g., Solveig Singleton, Cato Policy Analysis No. 295, "Privacy as Censorship: A Skeptica... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4642576 Mon, 28 Mar 2011 11:50:56 +0100 4642576 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4670081&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fthose-who-dismiss-heathcare-and-healht.html At my Sept. 2010 post "The Dangers of Critical Thinking in A Politicized, Irrational Culture" I wrote:... It's the EMR "anecdotalists" (as opposed to the "Markopolists") who say that "anecdotes" of HIT-related injury are meaningless. They deem reports of safety issues and HIT-related misadventures and risk as simply "anecdotal", and that "anecdotes don't make evidence" (or "anecdotes don't make data").For "anecdotes" of patient harm due to medical devices even from the most reliable of sources to be counted as "evidence" of device risk, apparently, the stories need to be blessed with Statistical Holy Water. The Holy Water must also be of a brand approved by the academic pundits.For me, this is no longer merely a professional debate. My elderly mother became one of those "anecdotes" in M... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4670081 Sun, 27 Mar 2011 12:12:00 +0100 4670081 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4642550&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fthose-who-dismiss-heathcare-and-healht.html At my Sept. 2010 post "The Dangers of Critical Thinking in A Politicized, Irrational Culture" I wrote:... It's the EMR "anecdotalists" (as opposed to the "Markopolists") who say that "anecdotes" of HIT-related injury are meaningless. They deem reports of safety issues and HIT-related misadventures and risk as simply "anecdotal", and that "anecdotes don't make evidence" (or "anecdotes don't make data").For "anecdotes" of patient harm due to medical devices even from the most reliable of sources to be counted as "evidence" of device risk, apparently, the stories need to be blessed with Statistical Holy Water. The Holy Water must also be of a brand approved by the academic pundits.For me, this is no longer merely a professional debate. My elderly mother became one of those "anecdotes" in M... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4642550 Sun, 27 Mar 2011 12:12:00 +0100 4642550 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4627021&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FNOJeZsg0BdM%2F After months of anticipation, the US Supreme Court yesterday ruled Matrixx Initiatives was incorrect to insist that only statistically significant adverse events are required to be reported to shareholders, and allowed investors to proceed with a long-simmering securities fraud claim. The move has significance for drugmakers and biotechs, which filed briefs supporting Matrixx over concerns adverse event disclosures can be easily misinterpreted and lead to more shareholder lawsuits. Here’s the background: Matrixx Initiatives was sued for allegedly concealing side effect reports that its Zicam over-the-counter cold med caused people to lose their sense of smell, known as anosmia. By withholding the reports, shareholders argued Matrixx unfairly boosted the value of its stock. The Zicam ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4627021 Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:07:16 +0100 4627021 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4566148&cid=t_117360_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F03%2F10%2Fthe-rhetorical-situation-of-law-and-the-situation-of-rhetoric%2F This article will describe the shift in the Supreme Court’s rhetoric over time, with an eye toward trying to understand why this shift has occurred and what the implications of this shift are for those who have suffered discrimination and wish to pursue their rights in court. In addition, this article will consider non-legal sources to determine whether such a shift is warranted by a decrease in race and gender discrimination in American society. * * * Download the paper for free here. Related Situationist posts: Responding to Subtle Racial Harassment “What Are the Legal Implications of Implicit Biases?,” “Confronting the Backlash against Implicit Bias,” “The Situation of Situation in Employment Discrimination Law – Abstract.” Patrick Shin at Harvard Law School Liabil... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4566148 Thu, 10 Mar 2011 04:01:10 +0100 4566148 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4560598&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FDDJwXnTTp4M%2F The Supreme Court rejected a challenge to a pay-to-delay deal in which Bayer paid Barr Pharmaceuticals, which is now owned by Teva Pharmaceuticals, to drop a patent lawsuit over the Cipro antibiotic (see this). The move is a blow to the Federal Trade Commission, which calls the deals anticompetitive and had been hoping the Supreme Court would review a case in the face of legislative inactivity. The issue has divided lower courts around the country for years. A wholesaler and three retailers, including CVS and Rite-Aid, asked the Supreme Court to review the settlement, arguing the deals choke off competition by stifling the arrival of lower-cost generics on their shelves. In the case they cited, Barr challenged the Cipro patent in October 1991 and struck a deal with Bayer in January 1997 tw... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4560598 Mon, 07 Mar 2011 22:44:07 +0100 4560598 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4540556&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F7UEHXeeBcRY%2F By Roger PilonFreedom requires tolerance. That principle will be put to the test today as Americans respond to the Supreme Court decision in Snyder v. Phelps. As Ilya Shapiro first noted below, Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the Court, with a thoughtful dissent by Justice Samuel Alito, upheld the right of Rev. Fred Phelps and members of the Westboro Baptist Church to picket at military funerals, carrying signs that read “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” “Fags Doom Nations,” “America is Doomed,” “Priests Rape Boys,” and “You’re Going to Hell.” It is a mark of our liberty that in most cases we defend even the most despicable speech. And in that we stand in stark contrast to much of the world. In truth, we should also defend most (but not all) despicable actions ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4540556 Wed, 02 Mar 2011 17:24:00 +0100 4540556 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4507577&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FXDcU9J2LDCY%2F In a very closely watched case, the US Supreme Court ruled today that federal law shields vaccine makers from product-liability lawsuits that are filed in state courts and seek damages for injuries or death attributed to a vaccine. The ruling was a victory for Pfizer, which was fighting a lawsuit brought by the parents of Hannah Bruesewitz, an 18-year-old who suffered seizures as an infant after her third dose of a diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, or DTP vaccine in 1992. At issue was the underlying notion of preemption - in this case, whether a federal law known as the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 prevented the Bruesewitz family from pressing their lawsuit, which was rejected by a federal vaccine court that is empowered to provide compensation. Pfizer argued that a Supreme Co... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4507577 Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:41:02 +0100 4507577 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489637&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FNLLJlgI4aWw%2F By Julian SanchezThere was an interesting exchange during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing yesterday concerning the use of the Patriot Act's §215 orders for business records and other tangible things. FBI Director Robert Mueller hinted that the orders may have been used to track purchases of hydrogen peroxide purchases in the investigation of aspiring bomber Najibullah Zazi, while Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oreg.) asserted that there is "a huge gap today between how you all are interpreting the PATRIOT Act and what the American people think the PATRIOT Act is all about and it’s going to need to be resolved." Let's leave our curiosity about that by the wayside for the moment, though. I'm curious about one simple empirical claim Mueller made in his testimony: That the provision has been use... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489637 Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:27:38 +0100 4489637 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489930&cid=t_117360_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2011%2F02%2F17%2Fjustice-clarence-thomas-he-did-it-his-way%2F New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on Politics Daily. Justice Clarence Thomas: He Did It His Way. Fun, fun, fun till Congress takes the freebies away. Filed under: Politics Tagged: clarence thomas, conflict of interest, ginny thomas, robert donna trussell, scotus, supreme court (Source: Donna Trussell) Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489930 Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:36:56 +0100 4489930 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4482739&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRLYjUqNRLuU%2F By Roger PilonToday POLITICO Arena asks: Given the push by Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) to deny all federal funding to Planned Parenthood, are we seeing the revival of abortion as a major fault line in American politics? My response: Opponents of the push to deny federal funding to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers will try to inflame the debate by characterizing the push as an attack on the Supreme Court's discovery of a right to abortion. But the issue goes much deeper and is perfectly generalizable: it's a push to get government out of one more controversial area of life. Most modern liberals fail to grasp -- or ignore -- a fundamental principle of political theory, namely, that the more we do collectively, the more liberty is restricted and passions are inflamed. That's w... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4482739 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 14:21:29 +0100 4482739 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4482973&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fgx4rI8ShUso%2F File this under Catch 22. A study released this week found that only a fraction of the devices recalled by the FDA had been approved under the more stringent pre-market approval, or PMA process, which requires clinical tests and inspections. The PMA is usually reserved for higher risk devices, as opposed to the less stringent 510K standard for other devices. The findings were bleak: Of 113 devices recalled between 2005 and 2009, only 21 had been approved through PMA, while 80 were cleared by the 510K process (the remaining eight were exempt from FDA review). The upshot: most devices that were recalled for life-threatening or very serious problems were originally cleared by the lower standard, suggesting a “reform” of the review process is needed. However, the findings, which we... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4482973 Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:04:18 +0100 4482973 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4455255&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoGphyKl99-g%2F By Tim LynchThe Washington Post has an interesting article about what has happened in the city since the Supreme Court declared the city's gun ban unconstitutional in the landmark Heller decision in 2008.  Basically, hundreds of residents have registered thousands of firearms. More than 2 years have passed and the predicted mayhem is not here. DC Mayor Fenty called the court ruling an "outrage" and said the ban was necessary to stop residents from intentionally or accidentally killing one another.  Paul Helmke of the Brady Campaign says the debate over the ban is not over yet.  Several more years of data gathering will be necessary.  And so the debate rolls on! For more on this subject, check out the Cato book on the Heller case,  Gun Control on Trial  by Brian Doherty.  Still more ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4455255 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:06:39 +0100 4455255 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4450277&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FoGphyKl99-g%2F By Tim LynchThe Washington Post has an interesting article about what has happened in the city since the Supreme Court declared the city's gun ban unconstitutional in the landmark Heller decision in 2008.  Basically, hundreds of residents have registered thousands of firearms. More than 2 years have passed and the predicted mayhem is not here. DC Mayor Fenty called the court ruling an "outrage" and said the ban was necessary to stop residents from intentionally or accidentally killing one another.  Paul Helmke of the Brady Campaign says the debate over the ban is not over yet.  Several more years of data gathering will be necessary.  And so the debate rolls on! For more on this subject, check out the Cato book on the Heller case,  Gun Control on Trial  by Brian Doherty.  Still more ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4450277 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:06:39 +0100 4450277 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445783&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FuwoBo14pwyo%2F By Ilya ShapiroJimmy Margulies Obamacare, Part 2 is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445783 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 18:27:17 +0100 4445783 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4394546&cid=t_117360_112_f&fid=34971&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdoctorandpatient.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F01%2Fwhy-we-should-be-ashamed-about-indian.html While most Indians are ashamed of the corruption which riddles the bureaucracy , the police forces and the political system in this country, most take pride in how upright our judges are . The general belief is that judges are people of integrity and that they can still be trusted to deliver justice.The reality is completely different ! It's not that our judges are corrupt - it's just that the system is so inefficient, that no Indian citizen really trusts the judiciary to dispense justice.In fact, most good lawyers tell their clients that it's better to settle outside the court rather than to fight ! The only ones who seem to benefit from the interminable delays are the lawyers - and the guilty parties, who know they can get away with impunity for whatever they do, because the judiciary wi... The Patient's Doctor blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4394546 Sun, 23 Jan 2011 13:07:00 +0100 4394546 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4377554&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FTJzTFPdiFrM%2F By William A. NiskanenA new House rule requires that every new bill or joint resolution introduced in the House include a statement citing the specific powers in the Constitution granted to Congress to enact the proposed law.  In the absence of such a statement, the clerk of the House will not accept the bill and it will be returned to the sponsor. This new rule may have two potentially valuable effects: For some time, this rule may have a valuable educational effect, reminding new House members, returning members, and the public that Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution authorizes only 18 federal powers – far fewer than the powers that the federal government has assumed, especially during the past 75 years. The constitutional citations for House bills that are approved would be pa... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4377554 Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:12:28 +0100 4377554 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4372025&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FCczvZ1ciRyU%2F By John SamplesJeff Patch and Zac Morgan of the Center for Competitive Politics report on the storm that is brewing at the Federal Election Commission over regulations to implement Citizens United. The three Democratic appointees propose regulations that would impose significant elements of the DISCLOSE Act, a bill that failed to pass Congress last year. The three Republican appointees, in contrast, propose to clarify existing law and clear away defunct regulations, all with an eye toward the holdings in Citizens United. The FEC seems unlikely to adopt the proposals by the Democratic appointees. After all, the Democratic commissioners do not have and are unlikely to obtain majority support for their agenda. Imagine if the Federal Election Commission were directed by a seven-member board wh... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4372025 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:38:04 +0100 4372025 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4337918&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FRo_Zy-0hwG8%2F By Ilya ShapiroWhile all the hot constitutional action of late, on issues ranging from Obamacare to gay marriage to immigration, has been in the lower courts — or even in Congress! — the Supreme Court still goes about its daily business.  After last year’s blockbuster term, however, this term is pretty low-profile aside from a spate of First Amendment cases (funeral protests, violent video games, school choice tax credits, public financing of election campaigns, etc.).  And so it was yesterday, when Supreme Court arguments over securities law and Western water rights were overshadowed by news of cases on which the Court decided not to rule: Without comment, the Court denied an unusual request — a petition for a writ of mandamus — in the Gulf Coast global warming la... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4337918 Tue, 11 Jan 2011 18:16:41 +0100 4337918 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4331234&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2F1Fdv37mljqA%2F Should drugmakers disclose all adverse event reports that may not show statistically significant evidence that a side effect is actually caused by a specific drug? The issue is now before the US Supreme Court involving a case brought by investors against Matrixx Initiatives, which was sued for allegedly concealing side effect reports that its Zicam over-the-counter cold med caused people to lose their sense of smell, known as anosmia (back story). And in oral arguments yesterday, the case made by the lawyer for Matrixx may not have passed the smell test after he insisted Matrixx did not commit fraud when it failed to disclose cases in which Zicam patients reportedly lost their sense of smell. Since drugmakers receive real or hearsay adverse event reports almost every day, Jon Hacker mainta... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4331234 Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:06:13 +0100 4331234 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4322690&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FUjxdBU3b7R8%2F After several years of courtroom battles, the US Supreme Court has agreed to review whether laws that ban data mining - specifically, the sale of prescription drug info that identifies prescribers and patients for commercial marketing purposes - are unconstitutional (see this). The move, which is not surprising, comes after conflicting rulings issued by different federal appeals courts. Last November, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit shot down a Vermont law after deciding it violated the First Amendment right to free speech (see here). Previously, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit upheld similar statutes passed by Maine and New Hampshire (read this). The challenges to the state laws were made by three healthcare research firms - IMS Health, SDI, Wolters Kluwer hea... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4322690 Fri, 07 Jan 2011 23:10:01 +0100 4322690 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4251105&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FtY_hNa8O4F8%2F By Ilya ShapiroCarol Anne Bond learned that her best friend was having an affair with her husband, so she spread toxic chemicals on the woman’s car and mailbox. Postal inspectors discovered this plot after they caught Bond on film stealing from the woman’s mailbox. Rather than leave this caper to local law enforcement authorities to resolve, however, a federal prosecutor charged Bond with violating a statute that implements U.S. treaty obligations under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention. Bond pled guilty and was sentenced but now appeals her conviction on the ground that the statute at issue violates the Tenth Amendment – in that her offense was local in nature and not properly subject to federal prosecution. The Third Circuit declined to reach the constitutional ques... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4251105 Sat, 11 Dec 2010 17:19:51 +0100 4251105 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4233155&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FDdXc4yKp1gc%2F By Ilya ShapiroThe Supreme Court is finally starting to put some interesting non-First Amendment cases on this term’s docket. Today, the Court agreed to review American Electric Power Co., Inc. v. Connecticut, in which eight states, some non-profits, and New York City are suing a number of energy companies and utilities for harms they allegedly caused by contributing to global warming.  This is the third major lawsuit to push global warming into the courts (another being Comer v. Murphy Oil USA, in which Cato also filed a brief).  It’s America, after all, where we sue to solve our problems — even apparently, taking to court the proverbial butterfly that caused a tsunami. Mind you, you can sue your neighbor for leaking toxic water onto your land. Courts are well posi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4233155 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 22:38:27 +0100 4233155 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4197031&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FXKJvG-VoRAU%2F By Walter OlsonThe Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) is out with this timely warning about the “Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act,” a bill introduced in Congress by Sen. Frank Lautenberg and Rep. Rush Holt, both New Jersey Democrats: …the bill redefines [campus-based] harassment in a manner that is at odds with the Supreme Court’s exacting definition of student-on-student harassment, which successfully balances the need to respond to extreme behavior with the importance of free speech on campus. In Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, 526 U.S. 629 (1999), the Court defined student-on-student harassment as conduct that is “so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive, and that so undermines and detracts from the vic... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4197031 Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:36:12 +0100 4197031 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4142822&cid=t_117360_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F07%2Fjudges-are-like%2F This week I have been trying to catch up on some tasks that have been on my list since early in the semester.  One has been to post some of my recent papers on SSRN.  To this end, I have just put up Color Commentators of the Bench, which may be of interest to certain Situationist readers.  The abstract appears below: Featuring prominently in the last four sets of Supreme Court confirmation hearings, the judge-as-umpire analogy has become the dominant frame for understanding the role of the Justice and may also now act as a significant constraint on judicial behavior. Strong criticisms from legal academics and journalists attacking the realism of the analogy have had little destabilizing effect. This Essay argues that the best hope for shifting the public conception of the work of a Just... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4142822 Sun, 07 Nov 2010 04:01:15 +0100 4142822 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4139216&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FHGPPXQekxjA%2F By Ilya ShapiroWith the Constitution — and its limits on government – playing such an outsized role in Tuesday’s elections and American political discourse generally, this would be a good time to mention a new program that teaches high school students about our founding document.  My sometime co-author Josh Blackman, who is the founder of the Harlan Institute (a constitutional education non-profit for which, full disclosure, I serve on the board of directors) recently launched this year’s version of FantasySCOTUS.org, a Supreme Court fantasy league that was featured (along with Harlan) in yesterday’s Washington Post.  In FantasySCOTUS, students learn about and make predictions for pending Supreme Court cases, including recent headliners Snyder v. ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4139216 Fri, 05 Nov 2010 16:03:34 +0100 4139216 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4118897&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FL3TRisx-TMU%2F By Ilya ShapiroFive years ago, in the landmark property rights case of Kelo v. New London, the Supreme Court upheld the forced transfer of land from various homeowners by finding that “economic development” qualifies as a public purpose for purposes of satisfying the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause.  In doing so, however, the Court reaffirmed that the government may not “take property under the mere pretext of a public purpose, when its actual purpose was to bestow a private benefit.” State and federal courts have since applied that pretext standard in widely differing ways while identifying four factors as indicators of pretext: evidence of pretextual intent, benefits that flow predominantly to a private party, haphazard planning, and a readily identifiable beneficiary.  More... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4118897 Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:47:46 +0100 4118897 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4086252&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FHbln7YmKmyk%2F By Tim LynchOver at the Huffington Post,  I scrutinize a recent Legal Memorandum published by the Heritage Foundation on the Prop. 19 ballot initiative. Here is an excerpt: The Heritage memorandum claims that if Prop 19 were approved, it would conflict with the federal criminal statute, the Controlled Substances Act and thus “invite litigation that would almost certainly result in [Prop 19] being struck down” as unconstitutional. This legal claim is dead wrong. While it is true that the supremacy clause of the Constitution makes it clear that federal law will override a conflicting state law, that clause simply has no application here. The federal law on marijuana remains in force, but that does not mean that a state government is under any obligation to assist the feds. As th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4086252 Wed, 20 Oct 2010 19:04:25 +0100 4086252 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082063&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FdkxMlyki25c%2F By Ilya ShapiroI’m fond of saying that lawsuits don’t proceed at Internet speed — meaning that people are disappointed when I tell them that a new constitutional challenge to uphold property rights or free speech or individual liberty generally will take years to get through the courts, or that we’ll have to wait several months for a court to issue an opinion in some front-page case.  But lately it does seem that developments from the ongoing legal challenges to Obamacare are coming faster and faster, as if the train has now left the station and, to badly mix metaphors, it’s snowballing to an eventual collision at the Supreme Court. That “gaining speed” phenomenon is mainly coincidence — given the more than 20 Obamacare lawsuits out there, ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082063 Tue, 19 Oct 2010 18:21:16 +0100 4082063 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4074035&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fose_yPcDZb0%2F By Ilya ShapiroYes, Speaker Pelosi, the constitutional concerns people have with the health care legislation you rammed through Congress despite overwhelmingly negative public opinion are serious. The Florida court’s ruling, denying the government’s motion to dismiss the challenge to the new health care law brought by 20 states and the National Federation of Independent Business, mirrors the one we saw in July in Virginia’s separate lawsuit. These have been the most thoroughly briefed and argued lawsuits, so these significant and lengthy opinions conclusively establish that the constitutional concerns raised by the individual mandate and other provisions are serious. Nobody can ever again suggest with a straight face that the legal claims are frivolous or mere political g... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4074035 Thu, 14 Oct 2010 23:12:59 +0100 4074035 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4060577&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FctNSK_WVbrw%2F By Roger PilonThe Supreme Court hears oral argument today in an important pre-emption case, Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, which asks whether the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Act of 1986 pre-empts state law “design defect” suits brought against vaccine manufacturers. I’ve discussed this complex case more fully in an op-ed at the Daily Caller, but in a nutshell, Congress passed the Act to address the risks inherent in vaccinations through a federal no-fault ”Vaccine Court” rather than through the vagaries of state tort law. It did so because the inability to make vaccines entirely safe, plus uncertainty surrounding causation, coupled with the penchant of state juries to discount those issues in favor of sympathetic plaintiffs, had rendered most manufacturers unwilling... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4060577 Tue, 12 Oct 2010 14:47:37 +0100 4060577 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4040551&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FcTYC6sXeQ_U%2F By Ilya ShapiroI’ve resisted commenting on Snyder v. Phelps, the “funeral protest case,” because, as the old saying goes, hard cases make bad law.  And in this instance, really weird and repugnant speech makes for a lot of sound and fury signifying very little. Still, the bizarre and inflammatory facts of the case — protestors show up at soldiers’ funerals to make the point that these deaths are God’s retribution for America’s tolerance of homosexuality — have gained plenty of media interest, particularly during this relatively uneventful term at the Supreme Court.  So I have commented a few times on the radio and yesterday attended the oral argument, the transcript of which you can read here and audio for which should be released on t... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4040551 Thu, 07 Oct 2010 15:32:21 +0100 4040551 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4036626&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F6sUUi634sro%2F By John SamplesThe plaintiffs in the SpeechNow.org case have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to decide “whether, under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment, the federal government may require an unincorporated association that makes only independent expenditures to register and report as a political committee.” You can read all about this important case here. The Next Step for SpeechNow is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4036626 Wed, 06 Oct 2010 17:14:37 +0100 4036626 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4031213&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FzgwhmI7gqYQ%2F By Caleb O. Brown If the government can force us to disclose the source of our funds when we speak publicly, what can’t they require of us? Steve Simpson from the Institute for Justice discussed disclosure laws in light of the Doe v. Reed Supreme Court decision at Cato’s Constitution Day. You can get a copy of the latest Cato Supreme Court Review at our bookstore. IJ’s Steve Simpson on Doe v. Reed is a post from Cato @ Liberty - Cato Institute Blog (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4031213 Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:36:47 +0100 4031213 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4031505&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FFDbCpYs-FuQ%2F Next week, the US Supreme Court will hear a case that is being closely watched because of the enormous health and legal implications for drugmakers and parents, among many, many others - whether the family of an 18-year-old Pennsylvania woman should be allowed to proceed with a lawsuit against Wyeth for defects with its diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus, or DTP vaccine. She was vaccinated when she was six months old and now suffers from residual seizure disorder. At issue is the underlying notion of preemption - in this case, whether a federal law known as the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 prevents the family of Hannah Bruesewitz to press their lawsuit, which was rejected by (the federal vaccine court) that is empowered to provide compensation. The Bruesewitz family then fi... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4031505 Mon, 04 Oct 2010 13:23:11 +0100 4031505 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4027151&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FVxq4Zjb-mkk%2F By Ilya ShapiroToday is the first Monday in October, the traditional start of the Supreme Court term.  While we have yet to see as many blockbuster constitutional cases on the docket as we did last term—which, despite the high profile 5-4 splits in McDonald v. Chicago and Citizens United actually produced fewer dissents than any in recent memory—we do look forward to: Two big free speech challenges, one over a statute prohibiting the sale of violent video games to minors, another the offensive protesting of a fallen soldier’s funeral; An Establishment Clause lawsuit against Arizona’s tax credit for private tuition funds (an alternative to educational voucher programs); Regulatory federalism (or “preemption”) cases involving: safety standards for seatbelts; an Arizona statute... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4027151 Mon, 04 Oct 2010 11:06:21 +0100 4027151 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4013546&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FZbkIW8inHAo%2F The US Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal by drugmakers seeking to block thousands of public hospitals and community health clinics from suing for violations of a federal program that lets them buy medicines at a discount, according to reports (here and here). The justices agreed to review to an appeal by Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck and Sanofi-Aventis, among others, which are challenging a lower court ruling permitting a suit against the drugmakers filed by the California county of Santa Clara. That suit was filed the lawsuit in 2005 for alleged overcharges at its medical facilities from 2001 to 2005. The dispute centers on the rights of 14,500 health providers that spend about $4 billion a year on outpatient drugs. A 2006 government report ... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4013546 Tue, 28 Sep 2010 22:27:57 +0100 4013546 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4001673&cid=t_117360_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F09%2Furologist-dr-jorge-leal-loses-appeal-attempt-remove-entry-national-practitioner-databank%2F Florida urologist Jorge Leal lost his appeal when the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against him in his attempt to remove an entry that was placed into the National Practitioner Databank by a hospital because it did not approve of his behavior and demeanor. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4001673 Sun, 26 Sep 2010 02:13:56 +0100 4001673 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3980815&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMHnrv5xlfDM%2F By Ilya ShapiroToday is Constitution Day, when all educational institutions are supposed to teach something about our founding document and when all citizens should think about the liberty that is so precious, but that requires, as Jefferson said, eternal vigilance.  We at Cato celebrate Constitution Day with our annual symposium – this year held yesterday so as to accommodate Yom Kippur, which begins tonight – and by releasing the Cato Supreme Court Review, the nation’s first in-depth review of the Supreme Court term just ended. We’ve now had nine such conferences – which take place about two and a half months after the previous term concludes and two weeks before the next one begins – and published nine such volumes.  We are proud of the speed with which we publish the Revi... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3980815 Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:34:24 +0100 3980815 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3972901&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FkA7P5Rq_miU%2F By Ilya ShapiroThe Montana Supreme Court overturned more than 100 years of state property law concerning navigatable waters by effectively converting the title in hundreds of miles of riverbeds to the State. The majority of that court ruled that the entirety of the Missouri, Clark Fork, and Madison rivers were navigable at the time of Montana’s statehood, producing a broad holding that eradicates property rights to the rivers and riverbanks that Montanans had enjoyed for over a century. Before this case, the hydroelectric energy company PPL Montana and thousands of other private parties exercised their property rights over these non-navigable stretches that the state never claimed.  Today, Cato joined a brief filed by the Montana Farm Bureau Federation supporting the PPL Montana&#82... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3972901 Wed, 15 Sep 2010 23:41:08 +0100 3972901 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3965399&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fa8og2dywevk%2F By Ilya ShapiroWe’re now three weeks away from the new Supreme Court term – I know you’re as excited as I am — and after a summer that included big opinions from The Nine, more confirmation hearings, and front-page district court decisions (on ObamaCare, immigration, and gay marriage), we roll into a fall full of even more legal intrigue.  Indeed, the first Monday of October that marks the first high court arguments of the new season is pretty much the first day of school for us Court-watchers.  And what better way to go back to school than to attend Cato’s ninth annual Constitution Day symposium this coming Thursday? But don’t think that Constitution Day marks my re-emergence into the public sphere after a long six weeks slaving away at the Cato S... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3965399 Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:03:09 +0100 3965399 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3911833&cid=t_117360_133_f&fid=37107&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Faspiewebnet%2F%7E3%2FWIyLVBqldiE%2F The US Court of Appeals has upheld a lower courts ruling that there is no long between childhood vaccinations and autism.  In Cedillo v. Secretary of Health and Human Services the court ruled that there was no reason to overule the lower court.  According to The Blog of Legal Times: Judge Timothy Dyk, writing for [...] (Source: AspieWeb.net) AspieWeb.net blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3911833 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:25:51 +0100 3911833 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3862003&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fem9DHbqcQio%2F By Julian SanchezThe Electronic Frontier Foundation trumpets a surprising privacy win last week in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In U.S. v. Maynard (PDF), the court held that the use of a GPS tracking device to monitor the public movements of a vehicle—something the Supreme Court had held not to constitute a Fourth Amendment search in U.S. v Knotts—could nevertheless become a search when conducted over an extended period.  The Court in Knotts had considered only tracking that encompassed a single journey on a particular day, reasoning that the target of surveillance could have no “reasonable expectation of privacy” in the fact of a trip that any member of the public might easily observe. But the Knotts Court explicitly reserved judgment on potential uses ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3862003 Thu, 12 Aug 2010 01:22:10 +0100 3862003 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3858137&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fem9DHbqcQio%2F By Julian SanchezThe Electronic Frontier Foundation trumpets a surprising privacy win last week in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. In U.S. v. Maynard (PDF), the court held that the use of a GPS tracking device to monitor the public movements of a vehicle—something the Supreme Court had held not to constitute a Fourth Amendment search in U.S. v Knotts—could nevertheless become a search when conducted over an extended period.  The Court in Knotts had considered only tracking that encompassed a single journey on a particular day, reasoning that the target of surveillance could have no “reasonable expectation of privacy” in the fact of a trip that any member of the public might easily observe. But the Knotts Court explicitly reserved judgment on potential uses ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3858137 Thu, 12 Aug 2010 01:22:10 +0100 3858137 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3848857&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2F193558%2F Supreme Court Will Most Likely Uphold Gay Marriage Ruling: Theodore Olson, former solicitor general, said that he is confident that the Supreme Court will uphold the decision to strike down Prop 8, which prohibits same sex marriages. (via Boston.com) Post from: BlissTree (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3848857 Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:54:20 +0100 3848857 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3833408&cid=t_117360_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fbirther-surgeon-lt-col-terrence-lakin-headed-courtmartial%2F United States Army physician Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin is facing a court martial after refusing to obey orders to deploy to Afghanistan. He states that the order is invalid because he believes that President Obama who is commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces is not a United States citizen. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3833408 Sat, 07 Aug 2010 16:28:03 +0100 3833408 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3827041&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2F193145%2F Elena Kagan Confirmed to U.S. Supreme Court: The Senate voted 63-37 today, making Elena Kagan the fourth woman to be named to the Supreme Court. (via Bloomberg) Post from: BlissTree (Source: Breastfeeding 1-2-3) Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3827041 Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:56:11 +0100 3827041 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3827052&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUrvRaODwuSU%2F By Ilya ShapiroElena Kagan’s confirmation represents a victory for big government and a view of the Constitution as a document whose meaning changes with the times.  Based on what we learned the last few months, it is clear that Kagan holds an expansive view of federal power — refusing to identify, for example, any specific actions Congress cannot take under the Commerce Clause.  She will rarely be a friend of liberty on the Court. It is thus telling that Kagan received the fewest votes of any Democratic nominee to the Supreme Court in history, beating the record set only last year by Sonia Sotomayor.  Even several senators who had voted for Sotomayor voted against Kagan, including Democrat Ben Nelson — as did Scott Brown, the darling of these high-profile Senate votes. It... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3827052 Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:03:38 +0100 3827052 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3790683&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUJnyjEPqbbM%2F By Ilya ShapiroIn my last two posts I described how the New York Times misunderstands the Constitution and highlighted Reason’s great new article comparing conservative and libertarian theories of constitutional interpretation.  Well, now I have a chance to put those topics together, in response to yesterday’s big front-pager entitled “Court Under Roberts Is Most Conservative in Decades.” Times Supreme Court reporter Adam Liptak — generally a sharp and honest broker — surveys some new political science literature and concludes, among other things, that since John Roberts became Chief Justice five years ago, the Court has been moving (modestly) to the right and is now “the most conservative one in living memory.”  Ed Whelan debunks both ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3790683 Mon, 26 Jul 2010 21:05:28 +0100 3790683 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3790689&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJEZztAYnsQQ%2F By Ilya ShapiroI should have posted this earlier, but if anyone interested in legal issues — should be everyone given that most things coming out of Washington these days have constitutional defects — hasn’t yet read Damon Root’s cover story in the July issue of Reason magazine, drop what you’re doing now and do so. While not a J.D. — or perhaps because he isn’t — Damon paints a completely accurate picture on the differences between conservative and libertarian approaches to constitutional interpretation and judicial philosophy.  And I don’t mean a rehash of debates on social issues except in legalese; there are real subtleties involved, particularly when most people adhering to either of these camps call themselves “originalist... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3790689 Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:19:47 +0100 3790689 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3786125&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQCiySqC-Xb0%2F By David BoazCato senior fellow Randy Barnett is the subject of the Wall Street Journal’s nearly-full-page Weekend Interview. Randy talks about interpreting the Constitution with “a presumption of liberty,” the subtitle of his book Restoring the Lost Constitution; about the Supreme Court’s expansion of government power from Wickard v. Filburn to Gonzales v. Raich; and especially about the constitutionality of the new health care bill and its individual mandate. Randy wrote an amicus brief with Cato in support of the Virginia attorney general’s challenge to the health care mandate. “What is the individual mandate?” Mr. Barnett says. “I’ll tell you what the individual mandate, in reality, is. It is a commandeering of the people. . . .... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3786125 Sat, 24 Jul 2010 21:38:11 +0100 3786125 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3767013&cid=t_117360_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fsurgeon-general-everett-koop-urging-vote-kagan-supreme-court%2F C. Everett Koop, MD Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop has written a letter to the United States Senate urging them to vote against her confirmation to the United States Supreme Court based on her actions over the rewriting and editing of a medical society’s statement on partial birth abortion. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3767013 Tue, 20 Jul 2010 02:09:46 +0100 3767013 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3753876&cid=t_117360_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F07%2F14%2Fmental-health-bloggers-we-miss-2010%2F It seems that a year doesn’t go by that another mental health, psychology or psychiatry blogger doesn’t hang up their keyboards and step out of the blogosphere (heck, we still miss Shrinkette from 2006). People stop blogging for all sorts of reasons (anonymous bloggers who fear for their future professional career; lack of interest or boredom; moving on in life to other projects or interests; family or personal life or issues; etc.). But we still miss them nonetheless. So for 2010, here’s our list of bloggers who have either stopped blogging or stopped blogging nearly so much on mental health, psychology or psychiatry issues that we miss them. Furious Seasons One of our favorite journalism-driven bloggers from the past few years, Philip Dawdy seems to be MIA after focusi... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3753876 Wed, 14 Jul 2010 23:47:45 +0100 3753876 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3750042&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FsGNN_KbrNZ4%2F By Ilya ShapiroToday, we celebrate a free speech victory in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York.  In the case of Fox Television v. Federal Communications Commission, the three-judge panel struck down the FCC’s indecency policy for being “unconstitutionally vague” and “creating a chilling effect that goes far beyond the fleeting expletives issue” (e.g., stray f-bombs) that was at the heart of this case. The case was before the Second Circuit after it was remanded by the Supreme Court last year.  Cato adjunct scholar Robert Corn-Revere, acting in his capacity as partner at Davis Wright Tremaine, is lead counsel for co-petitioner CBS.  Bob wrote an article for last year’s Cato Supreme Court Review in which he characterized the case as the first act of many... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3750042 Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:47:33 +0100 3750042 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3740760&cid=t_117360_133_f&fid=35452&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.graphictruth.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fthat-strange-sound-you-just-heard-was.html There's an old saying: A Conservative is a liberal who's just been mugged - and a Liberal is a conservative who's just been mugged by a cop. Guess where I'm leading with this?Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is reportedly "outraged" after security guards at a New Orleans-area hospital were accused of punching and tasing his epileptic nephew, a news report states.The Gawker reports a titbit of personal gossip they sourced from Raw Story that might turn out to have vast implications over the next few years. Seems "security" at a New Orleans hospital saw fit to tase Justice Clarance Thomas' nephew because he was gettin' all above himself at folks who knew better what was best for him, him bein' a crazy black man with dreadlocks and all.As for my headline - well, lessee. Go... Graphictruth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3740760 Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:16:00 +0100 3740760 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3733057&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fshould-your-texts-be-private-at-work%2F So your company provides a pager, phone, or BlackBerry – score! Saving money on phone bills every month is a major job perk, but what if the texts you send could get you fired? Not so perky. In City of Ontario v. Quon, Jeff Quon, a California police sergeant, claimed that the city had violated his privacy when they audited the texts sent through his company phone. Though the lower courts said that he had a right to privacy in this case, the Supreme Court ruled that police officer’s texts weren’t private. The court made it clear that this ruling doesn’t extend to all cases, but the ruling indicates that companies are likely to have protection of the law when auditing employee communications. In Quon’s case, the city found that out of 456 texts sent on his work phon... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3733057 Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:00:19 +0100 3733057 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3714157&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAtQ5zIAnbUM%2F By Ilya ShapiroI agree with Jillian Bandes’s characterization of the Democrats’ “bottom of the order” questioning (the committee being stacked 12-7, the day began with the junior Dems) and indeed was dreading having to sit through all sorts of parochial bloviations.  Even Al Franken wasn’t too exciting, just making the point Justice Kennedy was wrong not to consider in legislative history in arbitration cases and expounding at length on the theme that money in politics is bad and so therefore was Citizens United.  Kagan responded that “Congress’s intent is the only thing that matters [to statutory interpretation]”—a position sure to infuriate her future would-be colleague Justice Scalia—but also that the Court “should not re-write the law,” instead allowing Congre... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3714157 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:00:43 +0100 3714157 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3714398&cid=t_117360_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2010%2F06%2F30%2Felena-kagan-confirmation-project-beltway%2F New cartoon by Trussell & Trussell on Politics Daily. Elena Kagan Confirmation: Project Beltway. Filed under: Politics Daily Tagged: chaos theory, confirmation, elena kagan, hearing, political cartoon, scotus, senate, supreme court (Source: Donna Trussell) Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3714398 Wed, 30 Jun 2010 15:14:11 +0100 3714398 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3710547&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FVkb0Y47ekDQ%2F By Ilya ShapiroHere’s what you have missed if you don’t have the luxury of watching C-SPAN all day: Senator Sessions went after Kagan hard on the Military-Recruiting-at-Harvard imbroglio.  I don’t think he did any damage—which I’ll define as convincing someone on the fence to go against her—but the thing to keep in mind here is that the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy that so enraged then-Dean Kagan was federal law, not military policy.  Punishing the military for an act of Congress you disagree with—one on which you advised President Clinton—is disingenuous at best.  And I say this even though Cato supports ending DADT and filed a brief against the Defense Department in the Rumsfeld v. FAIR case involving denial of federal funds to schools who hamper military recruit... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3710547 Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:02:47 +0100 3710547 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3706645&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Felena-kagans-history-of-gay-rights-activism-shocking%2F photo: WENN.com Today’s the first day of Elena Kagan’s confirmation hearings as President Obama’s second Supreme Court nominee. Republicans will try to give Kagan a hard time, but she really doesn’t have any major skeletons in her closet to give them fuel. Oh, aside from this one: She has a history of promoting gay rights. And she has short hair. Holy cow – she must be a lesbian, or at least she was one once. And having a lesbian on the Supreme Court would send America straight into the gutter. Obviously. Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays has urged Kagan to come out as an “ex-lesbian,” while anti-gay group MassResistance is threatening to release a report of her activism for gay rights. Wait – a person pursuing equal rights for everyone as dec... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3706645 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 19:24:22 +0100 3706645 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3706656&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FHthlFOO_vSs%2F By Roger PilonDissenting today in Christian Legal Society v. Martinez, Justice Samuel Alito put his finger on the majority’s underlying principle: there shall be “no freedom for expression that offends prevailing standards of political correctness in our country’s institutions of higher learning.” That pretty much says it all. This case arose after the Hastings College of Law, a large public law school in San Francisco, denied the school’s tiny Christian Legal Society the same recognition and support it granted to some 60 other student organizations on the ground that CLS, contrary to the Hastings nondiscrimination policy, discriminates by requiring that its members and officers abide by certain key tenets of the Christian faith. In a word, in the name of anti-discrimination, Has... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3706656 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:52:37 +0100 3706656 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3706657&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FJBS3Qv-awdM%2F By Ilya ShapiroToday is a big victory for gun rights and a bigger one for liberty.  The Supreme Court has correctly decided that state actions violating the right to keep and bear arms are no more valid than those taken by the federal government. It could not have been otherwise: the Fourteenth Amendment, coming on the heels of the Civil War, says clearly that never again would the Constitution tolerate state oppressions, and that all individuals possess certain fundamental rights.  It is equally clear that the right to keep and bear arms is one of those deeply rooted fundamental rights, not least because the Framers thought so highly of it as to enumerate it in the Second Amendment. Still, Justice Alito’s plurality opinion leaves a lot to be desired, in that his ultimately correct con... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3706657 Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:44:57 +0100 3706657 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3699475&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FqFEO2Bhm3AM%2F By Ilya ShapiroBuilding on Tim’s post about George Will’s latest column, and under the category of great minds thinking alike—at least with respect to what we need to see at the Kagan hearings next week—I also have an article proposing lines of questioning for the Supreme Court nominee.  Several of my issue areas overlap with Will’s, and then I conclude: Of course, Kagan will attempt to deflect these queries—or give a law professor’s explanation without providing her own views (which caused Sen. Arlen Specter to vote against her nomination to be solicitor general). But the role of a justice is different from that of the solicitor general, who merely uses existing law to argue the government’s case. Moreover, as a leading scholar argued in a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3699475 Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:26:40 +0100 3699475 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3699480&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FdnNZrGYnv_4%2F By Tim LynchGeorge Will has some excellent questions for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan.  Here’s an excerpt: • The government having decided that Chrysler’s survival is an urgent national necessity, could it decide that Cash for Clunkers is too indirect a subsidy and instead mandate that people buy Chrysler products? • If Congress concludes that ignorance has a substantial impact on interstate commerce, can it constitutionally require students to do three hours of homework nightly? If not, why not? • Can you name a human endeavor that Congress cannot regulate on the pretense that the endeavor affects interstate commerce? If courts reflexively defer to that congressional pretense, in what sense do we have limited government? • In Federalist 45, James Madison said: &#... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3699480 Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:30:33 +0100 3699480 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3695544&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FQtxXg4gVeks%2F By Tim LynchThis morning the Supreme Court issued its long awaited decision in the case of Jeffrey Skilling.  The most important aspect of the case concerned the so-called “honest services” statute.  That law has been an amorphous blob that federal prosecutors could suddenly invoke against almost anyone.  All nine justices acknowledged the law had problems, but only three–Scalia, Thomas, and Kennedy–said the law was unconstitutionally vague.  The other six justices bent over backwards to “save” the law from invalidation–they ruled that the law should be narrowly interpreted.  Here is, I think, the most telling passage from the majority’s ruling: “As to arbitrary prosecutions, we perceive no significant risk that the honest servic... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3695544 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:03:14 +0100 3695544 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3695546&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBlRmg0G3pq8%2F By Roger PilonSad to say, but as expected, New York State’s highest court, the New York Court of Appeals, has just upheld yet another gross abuse of the state’s power of eminent domain, exercised by the Empire State Development Corporation on behalf of my undergraduate alma mater, Columbia University, against two small family-owned businesses, one of them owned by Indian immigrants. Details can be found in the press release just issued by the Institute for Justice, which filed an amicus brief in the case and has been in the forefront of those defending against such abuse across the country. IJ has had success in obtaining eminent domain reform in over 40 states, but New York remains a backwater, where collusion between well-connected private entities and government is rampant, and the ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3695546 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:36:46 +0100 3695546 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3695548&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FeEpnU-EHhcc%2F By Ilya ShapiroCato adjunct scholar Tim Sandefur, who authored an amicus brief in the case of Skilling v. U.S., writes on his home blog: Today, the Supreme Court decided the case of Jeffrey Skilling, the CEO of Enron, who had been convicted of the crime of “honest services fraud.” The statute, however, is so vague, that nobody knows what the term “honest services fraud” actually means. Pacific Legal Foundation (joined by our friends at the Cato Institute) filed a brief in the case arguing that statutes that are so vague violate the constitutional guarantee of due process of law—and that the constitutional protection against vague laws should apply in the business realm the same as anywhere else. Vague laws are dangerous because you cannot know what they prohibit and cannot ther... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3695548 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:30:49 +0100 3695548 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3652395&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FPhAmWAwWzLI%2F By John SamplesCongress has been trying to overturn the Citizens United decision for the past four months. (Citizens United invalidated bans on speech by groups taking a corporate form). Their effort — the DISCLOSE Act — now seems bogged down in the House of Representatives. The National Rifle Association argues that they should not have to disclose their small donors. The labor unions also have complaints: Amaya Tune, a spokeswoman for the AFL-CIO, told Bloomberg this week that “the final bill should treat corporations different than democratic organizations such as unions. We believe the legislation should counter the excessive and disproportionate influence by big business and guarantee effective disclosure of who is paying for what.” Here’s the problem: The Supre... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3652395 Fri, 11 Jun 2010 15:08:42 +0100 3652395 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3641008&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3JIuoBWqLOU%2F By Ilya ShapiroFrom the first round of Clinton Library documents regarding Elena Kagan’s White House service, we can now all be shocked – shocked! – that President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee is a liberal.  It’s a mystery why the punditocracy thought someone who despaired at Ronald Reagan’s election, staffed the Michael Dukakis campaign, clerked for Thurgood Marshall, and advised Bill Clinton would be anything else.  But this is what passes for news in Washington these days. We already knew that the solicitor general was a genial but cautious careerist, rarely expressing her own opinions but forever strategizing over the next rung on the ladder that would take her to her high school dream of sitting on the Supreme Court.  And we knew that she was a moderate legal academic ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3641008 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:22:21 +0100 3641008 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3629621&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAxsKHLf1jHc%2F By Tim LynchDana Milbank has an article about an Ashcroft address at Heritage yesterday.  Here’s an excerpt: Ashcroft, in his own conciliatory gesture, implicitly acknowledged that he was on the wrong side in the Hamdi v. Rumsfeld detention case, in which the Supreme Court ruled against the Bush administration. “The Hamdi case was a bit of an anomaly because Hamdi was an American citizen, and it’s been considered settled law for a long time that American citizens always have the right in American courts to petition the court for habeas corpus,” Ashcroft allowed. Well, yes, it was settled law right up until Bush’s lawyers launched their attack on the writ of habeas corpus.  Nowadays those lawyers play down the dangerous legal positions they advanced during th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3629621 Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:37:53 +0100 3629621 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3603576&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F-kewZWjtEQY%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonNRO editor Robert VerBruggen has weighed in a couple of times this week on the relative merits of school vouchers and education tax credits, raising interesting and important issues. In response to my earlier post today about an education tax credit case now before the U.S. Supreme Court, VerBruggen writes: If the Supreme Court buys this logic — which I suppose is sound on its face — it could lead to some very interesting programs. Any time it’s illegal for a government to fund something directly, it could simply make a dollar-for-dollar “tax credit” program for it, allowing sympathetic taxpayers to technically “donate” — but actually just redirect the taxes they’d otherwise have to pay — to the cause. This is actually an argument presented by critic... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3603576 Wed, 26 May 2010 19:15:06 +0100 3603576 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3603580&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FSQVG8IcVhbk%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonAn otherwise very good story in the Arizona Republic today begins badly: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to review the constitutionality of an Arizona program that diverts state tax revenue into private-school scholarships. Here’s the thing: it doesn’t do that. No state tax revenue is used in Arizona’s program, which offers a tax cut (a.k.a. “credit”) to folks who donate to non-profit k-12 tuition assistance organizations. Those non-profits then subsidize private school tuition for families seeking financial help. Back in 1999, the Arizona Supreme Court made all this clear. Those who were trying to kill the program (at the time, the “petitioners”) claimed that the donated funds were “public money.” The Court... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3603580 Wed, 26 May 2010 15:56:35 +0100 3603580 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3592195&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIOLx3_kybto%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonThe SCOTUS Blog reports this morning that the United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling in the Arizona k-12 scholarship tax credit case. This is great news, and paves the way for the Court to ultimately overturn the 9th Circuit’s credulity-straining legal misadventure. For the details, see the Cato brief in this case, which was joined by the American Federation for Children and Foundation for Educational Choice. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3592195 Mon, 24 May 2010 14:22:52 +0100 3592195 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3585595&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FD5TjCpBSZ9Y%2F By David RittgersFirst, they came for the sex offenders. I am not a sex offender, but I opposed the civil commitment of sex offenders by the federal government because it is not an activity within the enumerated powers of Congress. The Supreme Court decided otherwise in Comstock, with the exception of Justices Thomas and Scalia. Next, they will come for suspected terrorists. As Dahlia Lithwick (who I rarely agree with – here is her commentary on the Heller case) points out, the Supreme Court’s decision in Comstock may have some frightening implications for domestic preventive detention of terrorism suspects in lieu of criminal prosecution. I saw this firsthand last summer when I attended a scholars meeting with the Obama administration’s Detention Policy Task Force (the same one that... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3585595 Thu, 20 May 2010 19:30:26 +0100 3585595 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3585597&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fo3I329STTmw%2F By Tim LynchLaw Professor Michelle Alexander: Lately, I’ve been telling people that I’m a criminal. This shocks most people, since I don’t “look like” one. I’m a fairly clean-cut, light-skinned black woman with fancy degrees from Vanderbilt University and Stanford Law School. I’m a law professor and I once clerked for a U.S. Supreme Court Justice — not the sort of thing you’d expect a criminal to do. What’d you get convicted of? people ask. Nothing, I say. Well, then why do you say you’re a criminal? Because I am a criminal, I say, just like you. Read the whole thing. (H/T Sentencing Law and Policy).  Judge Alex Kozinski and Misha Tseytlin make a similar point in an essay in my book entitled, “You’re (Probab... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3585597 Thu, 20 May 2010 18:46:51 +0100 3585597 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3581595&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUFFBFxXOuno%2F By Andrew J. CoulsonThe Supreme Court is expected to decide tomorrow whether to summarily overturn a Ninth Circuit Court ruling, hear an appeal of that ruling, or let the Ninth Circuit’s decision stand. The case involves Arizona’s k-12 scholarship tax credit program that helps families afford private schooling, which the Ninth Circuit found last year to violate the First Amendment. Before the Ninth Circuit handed down its decision, I predicted that it would rule against the tax credit program, and that it would eventually be overturned by the Supreme Court. The first part of that prediction came to pass, and I still expect the second part to as well. For the reasons why SCOTUS will overturn the Ninth Circuit, see Cato’s brief in the case.  Ilya Shapiro (with whom I... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3581595 Wed, 19 May 2010 18:17:32 +0100 3581595 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3577626&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2Fh_IpIo82H4Y%2F A federal appeals court last month may have upheld the legality of pay-for-delay deals that thwart the introduction of generics, but the issue isn’t dead yet. A group of consumers, union health and welfare funds, which have been certified as a class, are asking a California appeals court to review the same set of circumstances involving Bayer, Barr Pharmaceuticals and the Cipro antibiotic. At issue in both cases is a deal in which Bayer paid Barr, now owed by Teva Pharmaceuticals, to drop its 1991 patent challenge to Cipro. In 1997, Barr struck a deal with Bayer just two weeks before a lawsuit was set to go to trial, delaying the entrance of a generic version. The US Second Circuirt Court of Appeals ruled the deal was kosher (see here), although the Federal Trade Commission continues... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3577626 Wed, 19 May 2010 12:11:47 +0100 3577626 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3573666&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FIgGgHBQrnds%2F By Ilya ShapiroAn interesting narrative has arisen among some on the left that the nomination of Elena Kagan shows what chumps Democratic presidents are.  That is, not only could President Obama have tapped a stronger “progressive” voice, but he – like President Clinton before him, and unlike Republican presidents – put avoiding political fights ahead of moving the Court left.  Since LBJ, Democrats have opted for a “moderate technocrat” like Stephen Breyer rather than a “lion” like William Brennan or Thurgood Marshall.  (Sonia Sotomayor was good and necessary for identity politics, the argument continues, but, let’s face it, she’s no liberal Scalia.) Take this opening quote from a New York Times article that came out th... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3573666 Tue, 18 May 2010 15:25:33 +0100 3573666 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3573671&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FpH82gONcRl4%2F By Randy E. BarnettSome will immediately claim that today’s decision in United States v. Comstock bodes ill to pending challenges to the individual health insurance mandate, but this would be a mistake.  It is one thing to uphold as “necessary and proper” a law confining sexual predators who were already incarcerated pursuant to the enumerated powers of Congress.  It is quite another to impose a mandate on every citizen of the United States as necessary and proper to its power “to regulate commerce . . . among the several states.”  The justices who sided with the government today cannot all be counted on to uphold the unprecedented claim of federal power to require that all persons engage in economic activity. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3573671 Mon, 17 May 2010 18:35:58 +0100 3573671 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3573673&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FntoDgJPNDrw%2F By Ilya ShapiroAs Roger has just blogged, the Supreme Court in today’s Comstock decision has ”turned an instrumental power, dependent on Congress’s other powers, into an independent power.”  That is, Justice Breyer’s decision has imbued the Necessary and Proper Clause — which merely gives Congress the power to enact laws that are “necessary and proper” for “carrying into execution” one of the powers enumerated in Article I, section 8 — with independent authority to justify federal power.  Thus, in effect, Congress has the power to do anything it deems “necessary and proper” (or, indeed “convenient or useful”), quite apart from whether that thing relates to an enumerated power or not.  I explained here why this ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3573673 Mon, 17 May 2010 17:39:20 +0100 3573673 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3573675&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLsy_lNVz9vs%2F By Roger PilonIn his opinion today in United States v. Comstock, Justice Breyer gives us a textbook example of how the Supreme Court, over the years, has converted the Constitution into modern “constitutional law,” which is connected to the Constitution only occasionally. This is policy trumping law, pure and simple. The question before the Court was whether Congress had the power, under the Constitution, to commit mentally ill, sexually dangerous prisoners beyond the date they would otherwise be released. The problem, as Breyer grants, is that Congress has only certain enumerated powers, and the only power it has to criminalize conduct, beyond the three crimes mentioned in the Constitution, is pursuant to one of those enumerated powers — in particular, through the l... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3573675 Mon, 17 May 2010 16:12:45 +0100 3573675 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3563950&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F1sodhiyl8es%2F By Michael F. CannonSenate Judiciary Committee members should be sure to ask Solicitor General and Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan, during her upcoming confirmation hearings, whether she or her office played any part in crafting ObamaCare or the administration’s defense to the lawsuits challenging that law.  If Kagan helped to craft either, that would present a conflict of interest: when those lawsuits reach the Supreme Court, she would be sitting in judgment over a case in which she had already taken sides. Though the Solicitor General deals with appellate matters, it is certainly possible that Kagan was consulted during the drafting of the law or the administration’s legal strategy for defending it. The Senate Democrats who drafted ObamaCare took pains to protect it from... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3563950 Thu, 13 May 2010 16:57:15 +0100 3563950 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3563951&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FMi9sxOQSUa0%2F By Julian SanchezThere are too few periodical venues for good short fiction these days, so I’d normally be enthusiastic about the Wall Street Journal’s decision to print works of fantasy. Unfortunately, they’ve opted to do so on their editorial page—starting with a long farrago of hypotheticals concerning the putative role of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in hindering the detection and apprehension of failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad. In fairness to the editors, they acknowledge near the end of the piece that much of it is unvarnished speculation, but their flights of creative fancy extend to many claims presented as fact. Let’s begin with the acknowledged fiction. The Journal editors wonder whether Shahzad might have been under surveillance... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3563951 Thu, 13 May 2010 16:55:25 +0100 3563951 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3560190&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36050&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblisstree.com%2Flive%2Fpresident-obamas-supreme-court-nominee-elena-kagan-on-dont-ask-dont-tell%2F photo: Wenn.com With President Obama’s recent nomination of Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, conservatives are busy trying to find some dirt on Kagan that will sully the nomination. The best (or worst, I guess) they can come up with are Kagan’s days as the dean of Harvard Law School. In 2004, Kagan kicked Pentagon recruiters off of campus because of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy that prohibits openly gay citizens to enter the armed forces. After the government threatened to pull federal funding from Harvard, Kagan repealed her ban. The Defense Authorization bill is going though the Senate and the House Armed Services Committees, and The Services Members Legal Defense Network (SLDN) is urging President Obama to include a repeal of “Don’t... Breastfeeding 1-2-3 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3560190 Wed, 12 May 2010 21:34:17 +0100 3560190 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3560217&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FduK7j3vcz7A%2F By Roger PilonIn his post this morning, “Kagan on Military Recruitment,” Cato adjunct scholar Mark Moller touches on Cato’s 2005 amicus brief in Rumsfeld v. FAIR, which he co-authored when he was with us as editor-and-chief of the Cato Supreme Court Review – a duty he performed splendidly before moving off to the legal academy. In mentioning the brief, however, Mark says that he recalls that the position it took was controversial within Cato, that it might still be, and that Cato’s legal shop might take a different view were the case presented today. I don’t recall that the position we took was controversial within Cato, but then it was five years ago, memories fade, and much has happened in the meantime, including the filing of a brief just three months ago that nicely complem... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3560217 Wed, 12 May 2010 16:55:23 +0100 3560217 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3556068&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FmkI2yEpfDsM%2F By Chris Moody A few questions to ask Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan. How to treat a taxaholic. In England there are 4 million government security cameras, one for every 14 Britons. Are we headed in that direction? The E.U.’s aggressive bailout plan: An experiment in levitation? Podcast:“Understanding ‘Epistemic Closure’” featuring Julian Sanchez. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3556068 Wed, 12 May 2010 14:49:58 +0100 3556068 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3556069&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FUlleBYNc0wc%2F By Mark MollerKagan gets an endorsement from superstar conservative appellate litigator and Bush II appellate nominee (also my old boss) Miguel Estrada here (see last paragraph). Plus, Stuart Taylor says Kagan’s nomination could mean a more conservative Court: Commentators on the left . . . complain that Kagan never compiled much of a record of aggressively championing liberal causes during her years as a law professor. Some say she was too friendly as dean of Harvard Law School to conservatives and did not recruit as many women and minorities for the faculty as diversitycrats desired. Speaking as a moderate independent, I like everything about Kagan that the left dislikes. To borrow from my friend Harvey Silverglate, a leading Boston lawyer who champions both civil liberties and a... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3556069 Wed, 12 May 2010 14:35:35 +0100 3556069 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3556079&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FlZLuJa4E-aM%2F By Roger PilonElena Kagan, with no judicial opinions and few legal writings, is the new “stealth” nominee for the Supreme Court. All the more reason senators should press her about the most important question before the country today: After ObamaCare, are there any longer any constitutional limits on government? For more, see my piece at Forbes.com. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3556079 Tue, 11 May 2010 19:29:07 +0100 3556079 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3552224&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FBv23ItJ9-p8%2F By Ilya ShapiroAs I’ve been re-reading Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan’s publications — of which there are surprisingly few for someone of her achievements and reputation — I’ve had half an eye on the TV punditry.  It seems that the leading critique from both the right (e.g., Fox News, Senator Jon Kyl — who’s usually excellent on these things) and extreme left (e.g., Jane Hamsher) is that Kagan doesn’t have judicial experience.  This just completely misses the point.  As a solicitor general (the “Tenth Justice”) and former dean of Harvard Law — where she did a magnificent job and gained the respect of scholars from across the political spectrum — not to mention senior roles in the Clinton White House, teaching ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3552224 Mon, 10 May 2010 19:29:27 +0100 3552224 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3552552&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FhqP6TEtcJR8%2F As US Solicitor General, Elana Kagan backed the position taken by Merck shareholders, who argued they didn’t wait too long to file lawsuits alleging the drugmaker misrepresented the safety of the Vioxx painkiller (here’s the brief). The drug, of course, was withdrawn in 2004 over links to heart attacks and strokes. Generally, the Obama administration has been more sympathetic to investors. And last month, the US Supreme Court agreed with Kagan’s position and ruled that a long-running securities fraud lawsuit can proceed against Merck (see here). The justices unanimously upheld a ruling by a federal appeals court that found the two-year statute of limitations hadn’t run out on the shareholder suits, which were filed in November 2003 alleging Merck misled investors by do... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3552552 Mon, 10 May 2010 17:42:28 +0100 3552552 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3549387&cid=t_117360_109_f&fid=36089&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthesituationist.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F05%2F10%2Felena-kagans-situation%2F In today’s New York Times, Sheryl Gay Stolberg, Katharine Q. Seelye and Lisa W. Foderaro  have an illuminating biography of Supreme Court Nominee (and Situationist friend and supporter) Elena Kagan. Here are the opening paragraphs of that story. * * * She was a creature of Manhattan’s liberal, intellectual Upper West Side — a smart, witty girl who was bold enough at 13 to challenge her family’s rabbi over her bat mitzvah, cocky (or perhaps prescient) enough at 17 to pose for her high school yearbook in a judge’s robe with a gavel and a quotation from Felix Frankfurter, the Supreme Court justice, underneath. She was the razor-sharp newspaper editor and history major at Princeton who examined American socialism, and the Supreme Court clerk for a legal giant, Thurgood Marshal... The Situationist blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3549387 Mon, 10 May 2010 15:43:30 +0100 3549387 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3549289&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F87YbYpSMbzs%2F By Walter OlsonI’ve been saying for a while that to understand the Obama administration specifically and much of today’s liberal Left more broadly, you need to conceive of it as a sort of extension of the intellectual and policy culture of high-end legal academia. The nomination of Elena Kagan, best known as a successful Harvard law dean, extends this familiar pattern. Assuming Kagan coasts to an easy confirmation, she’ll join a liberal caucus on the Court that more than ever resembles a faculty meeting. To the dismay of some on the left, Kagan, like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor before her, counts as a “cautious and confirmable” pick — a reliable liberal vote, almost certainly, but not particularly known for disturbingly big ideas or impassioned... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3549289 Mon, 10 May 2010 14:37:44 +0100 3549289 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3549292&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FudtwJJA6ka0%2F By Roger PilonAfter Justice Stevens announced his retirement from the Supreme Court, President Obama spoke of wanting to nominate someone with a “keen understanding of how the law affects the daily lives of the American people.” If Solicitor General Elena Kagan has that understanding, she probably got it from books. We get a glimpse of that in this morning’s New York Times. Drowning her sorrow in vodka and tonic after Ronald Reagan took the White House in 1980 – during that summer she’d worked on the losing Senate campaign of liberal Democrat Liz Holtzman – the young Ms. Kagan would write in the Princetonian, “Where I grew up – on Manhattan’s Upper West Side – nobody ever admitted to voting for Republicans.” She described “the Manhattan of her childhood,” the ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3549292 Mon, 10 May 2010 13:30:41 +0100 3549292 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3549294&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fz3HD0yxpKbM%2F By Ilya ShapiroAs expected, and despite an exhaustive review of shortlist candidates, dead-end leaks about Hillary Clinton, and other distractions, President Obama settled on the long-time prohibitive favorite to be his next Supreme Court nominee.  Elena Kagan became the justice-in-waiting the moment Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed, so you didn’t have to be Tom Goldstein to have predicted this.  The president wanted a highly credentialed non-judge who would serve for a long time and wouldn’t cost too much political capital.  He got a 50-year-old solicitor general and former dean of Harvard Law School – the first female in each post – whose record the Senate (and media, and activists) already examined in a confirmation process that put her into her current post.  That her appointm... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3549294 Mon, 10 May 2010 11:42:53 +0100 3549294 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3538150&cid=t_117360_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F05%2F06%2Fcan-fmri-tell-if-youre-lying%2F The simple answer is, no. You can now go back to work, content in that little tidbit of brain knowledge. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a fancy name for a brain scan that purportedly measures “brain activity.” What is actually measures is simply changes in blood oxygenation and flow in your brain, which we believe to be directly related to brain activity — but this is an indirect measure at best. It’s not actually measuring “brain activity.” fMRI scans are most often used in research to try and better understand our brains and how other things affect our brains (like mental illness or a specific cognitive activity). So you can imagine the challenges that might be faced when you connect this kind of brain measurement to a legal proceeding... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3538150 Thu, 06 May 2010 12:16:21 +0100 3538150 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3533812&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FAwfJ783c1GI%2F By John SamplesJournalists are looking closely at the DISCLOSE bill, Congress’ response to Citizens United.  CQ says DISCLOSE will loosen independent spending by the parties on their candidates. Why is Congress liberalizing party spending? CQ explains: According to one GOP attorney, opponents of the Supreme Court’s decision are realizing that they will have a difficult time challenging the constitutional right of outside groups to spend money, so this bill is a response to free up the parties to compete. Mark that. Citizens United has altered the incentives regarding speech. In the past, Congress tried to suppress speech to win elections. Now leaders must liberalize in order to compete for votes. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3533812 Wed, 05 May 2010 15:23:55 +0100 3533812 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3526945&cid=t_117360_150_f&fid=35777&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FPharmalot%2F%7E3%2FaVQzGLrQa-M%2F The high court rejected an effort by Pfizer to deep six a securities lawsuit that alleged the drugmaker misrepresented safety issues about its Celebrex painkiller (see here). The lawsuit claimed Pharmacia, which Pfizer now owns, deliberately withheld results of a study showing Celebrex offered no safety advantages over less expensive meds, The Wall Street Journal writes. Pfizer argued that investors missed a two-year statute of limitations to bring the lawsuit. But the Alaska Electrical Pension Fund maintained there was no evidence of a possible fraud until The Washington Post published an article about missing Celebrex data in August 2001, which meant its April 2003 lawsuit was within two years of the statute. The 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled last year that the la... Pharmalot blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3526945 Mon, 03 May 2010 16:13:51 +0100 3526945 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3519445&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fwdgr2MxoZm8%2F By Mark MollerMy new article, Procedure’s Ambiguity (now up on SSRN and also available here) is a rare bird in the world legal scholarship: it defends the Supreme Court’s much-reviled pleading decisions, Bell Atlantic v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal. It is, in fact, a rare bird even in the small world of articles defending Twombly and Iqbal. Others claim these cases, by directing lower courts to dismiss implausible claims, will deter frivolous suits, save judicial resources, and the like. I find these defenses, while plausible, too speculative and take a very different tack–one that builds on the growing literature on so-called “pluralist” approaches to interpretation. Judicial pluralists favor interpreting ambiguous statutes in ways that mimic approaches to which interest ... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3519445 Thu, 29 Apr 2010 17:49:24 +0100 3519445 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3515333&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2F3vBUYab2bfI%2F By Roger PilonSpeaking to reporters last evening on Air Force One, in the context of his upcoming Supreme Court nomination, President Obama warned of “conservative judicial activism.” “In the ’60s and ’70s, the feeling was, is [sic] that liberals were guilty of that kind of approach,” he said. “What you’re now seeing, I think, is a conservative jurisprudence that oftentimes makes the same error.” That error? “Not showing appropriate deference to the decision of lawmakers,” the AP reports. Really. And which “activist” decisions from the ’60s and ’70s does this former constitutional law instructor have in mind? Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), where the Court found unconstitutional a state statute criminalizing the sale and use of cont... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3515333 Thu, 29 Apr 2010 13:59:38 +0100 3515333 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3494472&cid=t_117360_131_f&fid=34989&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FGeneticsHealth%2F%7E3%2FpzS21cduK8c%2F Thirty-seven years after Roe v. Wade, the fight for reproductive rights is still being waged across America. Last month, President Obama’s health care bill just barely passed in the Senate, thanks in part to the support of Rep. Bart Stupak, who came to Obama’s side only after the President signed an executive order confirming the ban on federal funding for abortions. While the National Right to Life movement has had no trouble attracting young women, the pro-choice side that fought for and won abortion rights several decades earlier is seeing its membership age without much new blood coming in, according to National Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws (NARAL) president Nancy Keenan, who was recently profiled in Newsweek. Keenan considers herself part of the “post-menopaus... Genetics and Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3494472 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:38:25 +0100 3494472 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3487125&cid=t_117360_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F04%2F20%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-april-20-2010%2F It will be Earth Day in a few days. How will you celebrate? I caught the last half of Nostradamus 2012 on the The History Channel this weekend and was temporarily freaked out. I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready for the world to end in a few years. This Earth Day, you’ll find me recycling paper, reusing old bottles and even unplugging my laptop so that I can relax and reboot by spending more time with Mother Nature. After all, it’s also almost Mother’s Day (May 9th, in case you were wondering). Besides scaring me to be more environmentally-friendly, the show also got me thinking about the importance of appreciating the now and planning for the future; two concepts you’ll see intertwined in this week’s round up. However you celebrate the day, ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3487125 Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:14:08 +0100 3487125 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3487040&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Ft-LG2mluQe0%2F By Ilya ShapiroA northern Texas school district attempted to banish all religious expression from its schools by prohibiting virtually all non-verbal student speech in any school-related context.  Officials used this broad policy to promote an anti-religious orthodoxy and root out any and all religious speech. The Supreme Court made clear, however, in its seminal school speech case, Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, that students enjoy First Amendment rights, and that core political and religious speech cannot be suppressed without showing that the speech will “materially and substantially disrupt” the educational process. Here, the Fifth Circuit upheld all of the district’s regulations and found that Tinker did not supply the relevant legal standar... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3487040 Mon, 19 Apr 2010 19:11:33 +0100 3487040 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3487043&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FLuDCqoLtJ8E%2F By Julian SanchezStop me if you think you’ve heard this one before. The Washington Post reports that the National Security Agency has halted domestic collection of some type of communications metadata—the details are predictably fuzzy, though I’ve got a guess—in order to allay the concerns of the secret FISA Court that the NSA’s activity might not be technically permissible under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Naturally, there’s the requisite quote from the anonymous concerned intel official: “This is a basic tool we used to have, and it’s now gone,” said one intelligence official familiar with the impasse. “Every day, every week that goes by, there’s just one more week of information that we’re not collecting. You... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3487043 Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:02:21 +0100 3487043 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3475808&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FX1T41JksHM0%2F By Tim LynchUpon sentencing a 24 year old to 27 years in federal prison on a drug charge, the Federal Judge Alan Bloch lamented, “I was basically taking the rest of his life away.” Go here to read about that case, which is coming before the Supreme Court for review.  For related Cato scholarship on sentencing, go here and here (pdf).  For Cato work on the drug war, go here. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3475808 Thu, 15 Apr 2010 20:47:01 +0100 3475808 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3472007&cid=t_117360_136_f&fid=37852&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdonnatrussell.com%2F2010%2F04%2F15%2Felizabeth-warren-bank-watchdog-who-belongs-on-supreme-court%2F My new post on Politics Daily / Woman Up. Elizabeth Warren: Bank Watchdog Who Belongs on Supreme Court. Elizabeth Warren On Monday CNN reported that Elizabeth Warren, Harvard law professor and chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), made the short list of nominees to replace Justice John Paul Stevens. What a difference a year makes. I called it here on Politics Daily last May, but back then I was dreaming more than predicting. On Tuesday night Warren appeared on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” to address runaway foreclosures and the indifferent response of the very banks that taxpayers just bailed out to the tune of $700 billion. Warren pointed out that TARP was supposed to repair the economy at large, not just banks. It... Donna Trussell blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3472007 Thu, 15 Apr 2010 15:30:20 +0100 3472007 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3471767&cid=t_117360_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2FKq_zq09_lNY%2F By David BoazGeorge Will offers conservatives a useful reminder about “judicial activism” and what the Supreme Court ought to be doing: Conservatives spoiling for a fight should watch their language. The recent decision most dismaying to them was Kelo (2005), wherein the court upheld the constitutionality of a city government using its eminent domain power to seize property for the spurious “public use” of transferring it to wealthier interests who will pay higher taxes to the seizing government. Conservatives wish the court had been less deferential to elected local governments. (Stevens later expressed regret for his part in the Kelo ruling.) The recent decision most pleasing to conservatives was this year’s Citizens United, wherein the court overturned part... Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3471767 Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:53:57 +0100 3471767