Prof. Lyrissa Lidsky at Prawfsblawg, in contrast to some other academics, agrees that the First Amendment needs to be taken seriously in considering proposals for “criminalizing ‘adolescent cruelty.'” Scott Greenfield is not reassured.
Posts Tagged ‘bullying’
Dharun Ravi on trial for “bias intimidation”
Assuming the Rutgers roommate/consummate jerk should be facing criminal charges in the aftermath of Tyler Clementi’s suicide — a big if — it shouldn’t be over purported “bias intimidation,” argues Jacob Sullum [Reason, more; Jersey Conservative] Earlier on the Clementi case here, here, and here. And a Boston case has prompted questions about the reach of hate-crime law: “Are Lesbian Gay-Bashers Guilty of a Hate Crime?” [Atlantic Wire]
Related: At Psychology Today, Israel (Izzy) Kalman writes a blog critical of the rise of the “anti-bullying industry” and attendant efforts to criminalize for the first time many personal interactions both verbal and behavioral.
Tyler Clementi suicide case
It launched a hundred “anti-bullying” initiatives at all levels of government, but much of what you think you know about it is probably wrong [Andrew Sullivan on Ian Parker, New Yorker](& Hans Bader, CEI “Open Market”]
January 31 roundup
- Latest of periodic Towers Watson (formerly Towers Perrin/Tillinghast) surveys: tort costs fell in 2010 excluding oil spill liability [Towers Watson]
- “Will Newt Neuter the Courts?” [James Huffman, Defining Ideas] Obama’s high court appointees are fortunately friendlier toward civil liberties than he is [Steve Chapman]
- Unanimous Cal Supremes: companies not legally responsible for other companies’ asbestos products used as replacement for theirs [Cal Biz Lit, Jackson, Beck, Mass Tort Prof]
- Claim: jurors considered policy implications of verdict and you can’t have that [On Point; defense verdict in Baltimore, Maryland school-bullying case]
- Airfare display mandate: “‘Protecting’ Consumers from the Truth About the Cost of Government” [Thom Lambert, TotM]
- Critical assessment of AP-backed new copyright aggregator “NewsRight” [Mike Masnick] Promises not to be “Righthaven 2.0” [Cit Media Law]
- Restatement (Third) of Torts drafters vs. Enlightenment scientific views of causation [David Oliver in June]
“Does ‘Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer’ Promote Bullying?”
No wonder a Long Island University professor thinks so: the Christmas ditty spins a grim account of name-calling and game-exclusion and then gives it all an inappropriately “happy” conclusion, thus distracting us from the need for massive therapeutic and social intervention. [KDKA](& Althouse)
P.S. And let’s not even get into “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” “known as the Christmas Date Rape Song” [Ann Althouse]
Free speech and chilling effects roundup
- “Stamp Out Online Misogyny?” [Wendy Kaminer, Brendan O’Neill]
- Jacob Mchangama of Danish think tank CEPOS on blasphemy laws and Islam-critical speech [Nov. 4 FedSoc., PDF]
- Niall Ferguson to sue LRB scribe? “If he won’t apologise for calling me a racist, I will persecute him until he does” [Guardian; more, Atlantic Wire] New York judge quashes subpoena seeking to identify anonymous bloggers in rabbi-defamation suit [Paul Alan Levy]
- “If bullying has gone down, how can it be a pandemic?” By broadening its definition to include such behaviors as “eye-rolling” and pointed non-invitation [Hans Bader/Examiner, Neal McCluskey/Cato]
- “I strongly recommend an umbrella policy for all bloggers. Defending myself cost nearly $100,000, thankfully paid by insurance.” [@DianaHsieh]
- Federal crime under CFAA to lie on the internet? [Kerr, more, yet more, Balko]
- “Will Canada Repeal its Hate Speech Law?” [Peter Worthington, Frum Forum]
Labor and employment law roundup
- Ohio vote looms on Wisconsin-style public labor reform [NRO Corner, Columbus Dispatch, Atlantic Wire, Buckeye Institute “S.B. 5”, Brian Bolduc/NRO]
- Florida lawmaker proposes leave for some employees with domestically abused pets [Eric Meyer]
- UK proposal: let employers have frank talks with underperforming workers without fear of liability [Telegraph]
- “Wisconsin legislation could restrict punitive damages for job bias” [AP]
- No, your mover can’t enter the building: a Chicago lawyer encounters union power [Howard Foster, Frum Forum] An insider’s game: “Two teachers union lobbyists teach for a day to qualify for hefty pensions” [Chicago Tribune]
- Alternatively, we might just want to go back to freedom of contract: “An employer’s bill of rights” [Hyman]
- Michael Fox on “Healthy Workplace Act” proposal creating rights to sue over on-job bullying [Jottings]
- Feds put employer use of “independent contractors” under microscope [Omega HR] FLSA risks to employer of using unpaid interns [SmartHR]
- A bit of health care deregulation from Obama [Tyler Cowen] Related on nurse practitioners: [Goodman]
Child welfare/protection roundup
- Oh, American Academy of Pediatrics, why are you so consistently wrong? On videogames, on food-ad bans, on guns, CPSIA…
- New book by Annette Fuentes, Lockdown High: When the Schoolhouse Becomes a Jailhouse [John Harris, Guardian]
- There are genuine problems with some countries’ international adoption practices, but should UNICEF really be pushing toward a “leave the kids in orphanages” alternative? [Nick Gillespie on Reason documentary to be released tomorrow]
- At expense of both federalism and religious accommodation, bill entitled “Every Child Deserves a Family Act” (ECDFA) would impose anti-bias rules on state adoption and foster care programs [Washington Blade]
- Cash-for-kids Pennsylvania judge: “Former Luzerne judge Conahan sentenced to 17.5 years” [Times-Tribune, our earlier coverage]
- “Met a guy who works at my old summer camp. Bunks still do raids on other bunks, but their counselors have to file raid forms first. How sad.” [@adamlisberg]
- Sex offender registry horror story #14,283 [Skenazy]
- “Safety rules rob pupils of hands-on science, say MPs” [Independent, U.K.]
- Gee, who could’ve predicted that? NJ’s aggressive “anti-bullying” law leads to new problems [NYT, Greenfield, PoL, NJLRA] Rapid growth in bullying law assisted by push from Obama administration [WSJ Law Blog, Kenneth Marcus/Federalist Society, Bader]
Prosecutions in Phoebe Prince school-bullying case sputter out
Not long ago advocates were promoting the South Hadley, Mass. school-suicide case as a chance to break new ground in sending teens to prison for verbal bullying, but now the cases have eventuated in probation, perhaps assisted by journalistic efforts that showed the events rather more complicated than first presented in the press [Boston Globe]
April 18 roundup
- Time to put teeth back into sanctions: more on reintroduction in Congress of LARA, the Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act [Wajert, Wood, more, earlier]
- RFK-Jr.-&-friends watch: Environmentalists wrangle in court over “keeper” monicker [Coleman]
- More on Chicago school that bars home-brought lunches [Adler, Welch, earlier]
- Definition of “cyber-bullying” in newly passed Arkansas bill could imperil legitimate speech [Volokh] Related: Harvey Silverglate video.
- Thoughts on a new Hungarian constitution [Ilya Shapiro, Cato at Liberty]
- Court reveals Righthaven’s operating agreement with client newspaper chain [Legal Satyricon, PaidContent, Las Vegas Sun]
- Cops: Ohio man stole gavel from judge [Lorain Chronicle-Telegram, Smoking Gun]