Category Archives: Law

Shariah in a Crowded Theater

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Fenster

Fenster writes: Is it OK to shout “Shariah” in a crowded theater? Pushing that a bit on the speech side, how about “Allahu Akbar” in a crowded theater? Or pushing it a bit in terms of delivery and venue, how … Continue reading →

Posted in Law, Politics and Economics | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Quote Du Jour: Revolution, Architecture, and the Law

Posted on September 27, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: The most important consequence of the Papal Revolution was that it introduced into Western history the experience of revolution itself. In contrast to the older view of secular history as a process of decay, there was introduced a … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, History, Law | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Law Without Lawyers in Ancient Greece

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Lawyers never secured a stable foothold in the societies of ancient Greece. Athenians showed little enthusiasm for the practice of law, although they enthusiastically indulged in philosophical speculations about the nature of legal systems. Indeed, they sought to … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Law | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Systemic Justice at Harvard Law

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Fenster

Fenster writes: Harvard Law is starting something new, which it calls a Systemic Justice project.  Here is a write-up from the Boston Globe. What is it?  That’s emerging.  “None of us really knows what ‘systemic justice’ is—yet you’re all here,” says … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Law | 6 Comments

“Lawyer Man” (1933)

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: I enjoyed this Pre-Code film directed by William Dieterle starring William Powell as Anton Adam, a lawyer who is “just a small time mouse trying to be a big time rat.” Tired of defending nobodies on the Lower … Continue reading →

Posted in Law, Movies, Performers | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

UR Explainer: Kaley v. United States

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: In the Washington Post, George Will highlights one of the more rotten fruits of this country’s War on Drugs — the government’s use and abuse of civil forfeiture laws. Under these “laws,” the government is authorized to … Continue reading →

Posted in Law, Politics and Economics | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Sophocles’s Literary Defense

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: When he was 90, Sophocles was sued by his sons who argued their father was incapable of managing his financial affairs. They charged the playwright with “paranoia,” which was the ancient Greek equivalent of saying he had … Continue reading →

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, Law | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Medieval Scholasticism and Legal Reasoning

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Common-law legal reasoning, or the method by which lawyers and judges analyze a problem, has roots that stretch back almost 1,000 years to the educational method known as Scholasticism. Before we get to exactly what Scholasticism is, … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Law, Philosophy and Religion | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The Law Rock

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: From 930 until 1262, medieval Icelanders lived in a society with no national government — no king, no army, no taxes. Hell, there wasn’t much local government either. The basic unit of organization was the family farmstead. There … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Law, Politics and Economics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The Constitution is SO 200 Years Ago, You Guys

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes: Georgetown University law professor Louis Michael Seidman, author of the forthcoming book On Constitutional Disobedience, recently had an op-ed in the NYT titled “Let’s Give Up the Constitution” that’s so egregiously stupid and poorly argued that I feel a … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Law, Politics and Economics | Tagged , , , , | 15 Comments