live in person – Overlawyered

November 6 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 10:59:24 +0000

In the greater Oklahoma City area next Tuesday, Nov. 12? Come out to my lunchtime law school talk at the U. of O. on employment law, sponsored by the school’s Federalist Society chapter [details]
A Sixth Circuit opinion thus begins: “This court once observed, ‘[w]hen a party comes to us with nine grounds for reversing the district court, that usually means there are none.’ Steven Hank comes to us with twenty-seven.” [Hank v. Great Lakes Constr. Co., Court Listener]
Elizabeth Warren tale of “two cents” wealth tax Hallowe’en costume doesn’t quite add up [my Cato post; another point]
Speaking of Warren, when asked what would happen to displaced health insurance workers once private insurance is done away with — not, to be sure, the strongest objection to her plan, but still one worth having an answer for — saying they can go work for auto or life insurers makes about as much sense as saying displaced workers from dance studios can go work for recording or graphic design studios [The Hill]
No good deed: Brad Pitt, others on charitable foundation can be sued over alleged flaws in New Orleans homes [AP/WDSU]
“Coincidentally or not, current and former members of the Baltimore Orioles, which the Angelos family owns, were dispatched to the [Maryland] State House for a good will visit while the [Angelos asbestos] bill was under consideration.” [Josh Kurtz, Maryland Matters]

Tags: asbestos, celebrities, Elizabeth Warren, live in person, Maryland, New Orleans, Oklahoma

November 6 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

October 2 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 09:59:30 +0000

Supreme Court should step in to protect freedom of association against California’s push to obtain donor identities for controversial groups [Ilya Shapiro and James Knight on Cato certiorari amicus brief in Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Becerra, earlier]
Civil liberties implications pretty dire if taken seriously: “Trump White House Mulls Monitoring the Mentally Ill for Future Violence” [Cato Daily Podcast with Julian Sanchez and Caleb Brown]
Online platform liability: “all the ignorance about and hostility toward Section 230 of late has been infecting the courts.” Take for example the Ninth Circuit [Cathy Gellis, TechDirt]
New book (not seen by me) by Bruce Cannon Gibney, The Nonsense Factory: The Making and Breaking of the American Legal System, draws a favorable review from Tyler Cowen and a less favorable one from Mark Pulliam;
The loophole that lets 3.1 million persons — even millionaires — collect SNAP benefits even though they wouldn’t otherwise meet eligibility standards, and why some state agencies are fine with this [Angela Rachidi and Matt Weidinger, AEI]
Mark your calendar for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Nov. 16: I’ll be a featured speaker (as will author Dave Daley) at “Reclaiming Our Democracy: The PA Conference to End Gerrymandering” [Fair Districts PA]

Tags: California, live in person, online speech, Pennsylvania, psychiatry, redistricting reform

October 2 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Cato Constitution Day video

Walter Olson — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 10:01:35 +0000

The video of Cato’s 18th Constitution Day forum, held September 17, is now online, with a line-up of eminent speakers including Tom Goldstein of SCOTUSBlog, Jan Crawford of CBS News, and Judge Thomas Hardiman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, who in the annual B. Kenneth Simon Lecture discussed judicial independence and service during good behavior. I moderate the third panel, on Property Rights, Antitrust, and the Census.

Tags: Cato Institute, constitutional law, live in person, Supreme Court

Cato Constitution Day video is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Mark your calendar: Cato’s Constitution Day Sept. 17

Walter Olson — Tue, 13 Aug 2019 10:05:59 +0000

Save the date for this Tues., Sept. 17 event including a roster of Cato regulars plus outside stars including Hon. Thomas Hardiman (3rd Circuit), Jan Crawford, Tom Goldstein, Paul Larkin Jr., and Brianne Gorod. I’ll be moderating an afternoon panel with Joshua Wright, Ilya Somin, and Andrew Grossman.

Tags: Cato Institute, live in person

Mark your calendar: Cato’s Constitution Day Sept. 17 is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

In Montgomery April 25

Walter Olson — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 18:00:09 +0000

Alabama readers: I’ll be giving a 11:30 a.m. talk to the Federalist Society chapter in Montgomery this coming Thursday at the Capital City Club in Montgomery, discussing gerrymandering and the cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. Drop by and say hello!

Tags: Alabama, live in person, redistricting reform

In Montgomery April 25 is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

At Duke Law on Monday

Walter Olson — Fri, 15 Feb 2019 18:34:20 +0000

I’ll be speaking to the Federalist Society chapter at Duke Law School in Durham on Monday at 12:30, on the subject of gerrymandering and redistricting reform, with Prof. Bob Joyce responding. Drop by and introduce yourself if you’re local!

Tags: live in person, North Carolina, redistricting reform

At Duke Law on Monday is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Anti-discrimination law and the future of adoption

Walter Olson — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 10:51:26 +0000

I’ve posted before about our July Cato conference on adoption, pluralism, and children’s interests. Now Cato’s bimonthly Policy Report has published highlights of the panel on anti-discrimination law and religious agencies, with speakers including Stephanie Barclay of BYU, Sarah Warbelow of the Human Rights Campaign, Robin Fretwell Wilson of the University of Illinois, and me.

One of my comments about pluralism and freedom in the system: “When I began reading about adoption, I realized for about the umpteenth time how glad I was to live in America.” Not that the system isn’t full of problems: on the grueling 26-year litigation in the New York City foster care case, Wilder v. Bernstein, see this 2011 piece of mine.

Tags: adoption, live in person, religious discrimination, religious liberty, sexual orientation

Anti-discrimination law and the future of adoption is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Speaking in Kansas next week

Walter Olson — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 12:52:48 +0000

I’ll be giving lunchtime talks at two law schools in Kansas next week, courtesy local chapters of the Federalist Society. On Monday I’ll visit Washburn University Law School in Topeka, where Prof. Joseph Mastrosimone will provide comment. And then on Tuesday I’ll speak at the University of Kansas School of Law in Lawrence. My topic at both campuses will be “A Libertarian Looks at Employment Law.” Come say hello!

Tags: Kansas, live in person, workplace

Speaking in Kansas next week is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

October 3 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 09:58:20 +0000

“Rejected Applicant Sues Law Schools for Violating Magna Carta” [Kevin Underhill, Lowering the Bar]
“Attorney sued for malpractice is suspended after releasing client’s psychiatric records” [Stephanie Francis Ward, ABA Journal]
Moving state and local alcohol regulation past the bootlegger/Baptist era [Cato Daily Podcast with Jeremy Horpedahl]
In Charlottesville today? I’ll be on a University of Virginia School of Law panel discussing redistricting / gerrymandering reform, campaign and election law, Maryland politics and more [Ele(Q)t Project]
Rejecting ADA claim, Georgia Supreme Court says man cannot blame sleep apnea for “alleged inability to be truthful, accurate, and forthcoming” in bar application [Legal Profession Blog]
Update: after national outcry, county D.A. in North Carolina drops charges of unlicensed veterinary practice against Good Samaritan who took in pets during Hurricane Florence [Wilson Times]

Tags: alcohol, animal shelters, beer and brewers, disabled rights, disasters, live in person, North Carolina, redistricting reform

October 3 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“The Indian Child Welfare Act at 40”

Walter Olson — Sat, 29 Sep 2018 15:56:18 +0000

“Passed in 1978, the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) was intended to stop abusive practices by state and federal officials, who often removed Native American children from their families without sufficient justification. But today, ICWA is the subject of litigation in federal and state courts by challengers who argue that it imposes race-based restrictions on adoption and makes it harder for state officials to protect Native American children against abuse and neglect.”

On September 20 I moderated a Cato discussion of recent developments and upcoming challenges to ICWA, presented by Timothy Sandefur, Vice President for Litigation at the Goldwater Institute and author of Escaping the ICWA Penalty Box; Matthew McGill, attorney for plaintiffs in Brackeen v. Zinke, a major ICWA lawsuit under way in Texas; and Charles Rothfeld, who represented the birth father in the important ICWA case Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl. Earlier on ICWA here.

Tags: adoption, Indian tribes, live in person, on TV and radio

“The Indian Child Welfare Act at 40” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system