Eugene Volokh's Blog, page 2644
December 26, 2011
"We Can't Achieve Development by Going Backwards to the Stone Age or Being Ignorant"
As reported by the Maldivian newspaper Haveeru, "President Mohamed Nasheed yesterday called on citizens to reject religious extremism and continue to support the 'traditional form' of Islam that has been practiced in the Maldives for the past 800 years," and in particular said,
Should we ban music? Should we mutilate girls' genitals? Should we allow nine year-olds to be married? Should we forbid art and drawing? Should we be allowed to take concubines? Is this nation building? ....
This is an old country, people have lived here for thousands of years and we have practised Islam for more than 800 years. In 2011, we are faced with a question, how should we build our nation: what we will teach our children, how should we live our lives and what we will leave for future generations? ...
Some people are saying that the government is going against religion because we won't deviate from the traditional form of Islam ....
[I] asked you to come here in support of the middle, tolerant path. And I believe that most citizens want to continue our traditional form of Islam.
The AP reports that the President also said:
To build our economy we need foreign investments and we need to create an environment in which foreigners can invest ....
We can't achieve development by going backwards to the Stone Age or being ignorant.
But the president seemed to be speaking out against a fairly popular rival movement; also from the AP story:
Thousands in the Maldives protested Friday, calling on the government to halt what they called "anti-Islamic" activities, including a plan to allow direct flights to Israel....
The protesters want authorities to stop the sale of alcohol in the islands, shut down brothels operating in the guise of massage parlors and demolish monuments gifted by other countries marking a South Asian summit last month because they see them as idols....
Debates on religious issues have emerged since a group vandalized a monument gifted by Pakistan marking a South Asian summit last month with the image of Buddha. Buddhism was part of the present Islamic republic's history.
And note that existing Maldivian law, while perhaps not as strongly Islamic as the protesters suggested, is still quite restrictive: "The Indian Ocean archipelago of 300,000 Muslims prohibits practicing any other faith." "An angry protest last month followed a call by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay for the Maldives to end the punishment by flogging of women who are found to have had sex outside marriage." "One blogger who has called for religious tolerance has been detained for more than a week by authorities who accuse him of blasphemy and of promoting anti-Islamic concepts such as gay rights." For an earlier Maldives story, see the post titled Maldives: "Islamic Foundation Calls for Death Sentence if Apostate Fails to Repent". Thanks to Prof. Howard Friedman (Religion Clause) for the pointer.
Limit Your Issues on Appeal
From the introduction to United States v. Bansal, a recent Third Circuit decision authored by Judge Aldisert:
We note at the outset that Bansal's and Mullinix's briefs raise approximately 75 issues for our consideration. Although the government responds by calling to our attention no fewer than 339 cases drawn from the span of more than 120 years (as well as 49 separate statutes and one book, for good measure), we reject any implication that we should pick up their torch and embark upon a similar adventure ourselves. We address only those issues we deem worthy of discussion, and only to the extent we deem necessary to explain our reasoning.
With that said, Judge Aldisert's opinion is still 69 pages long.
December 25, 2011
"Is Hanukkah Responsive to Christmas?"
A study from the Economic Journal (2010), with the following Abstract:
We use individual-level survey and county-level expenditure data to examine the extent to which Hanukkah celebrations among US Jews are driven by the presence of Christmas. We document that Jews with young children are more likely to celebrate Hanukkah, that this effect is greater for reform Jews and for strongly-identified Jews, and that Jewish-related expenditure on Hanukkah is higher in counties with lower shares of Jews. All these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that celebration of religious holidays is designed not only for worship and enjoyment but also to provide a counterbalance for children against competing cultural influences.
Obvious, perhaps, but still interesting. Hat Tip: Justin Moyer
Christmas Bombing of Nigeria Churches Kills 39 People
Reuters reports. "Islamist militant group Boko Haram ... claimed responsibility." UPDATE: The Washington Post reports 39 deaths; I've updated the post title accordingly. Here's more from the Washington Post:
Boko Haram has carried out increasingly sophisticated and bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria, a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people. The group, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language, is responsible for at least 504 killings this year alone, according to an Associated Press count.
December 24, 2011
Remembrances of Ribstein
Like Ilya, I was terribly saddened to learn that Professor Larry Ribstein suffered a stroke and died yesterday. He was on the faculty when I studied at George Mason, though I never had the good fortune to have him as one of my professors. I have, however, learned quite a bit from his scholarly and other writings, as well as from our occasional conversations. He will be missed.
Here is the University of Illinois release and remembrances from many around the blogosphere:
Larry Solum
Geoff Manne (with an update collecting comments from others)
Stephen Bainbridge
Kim Krawiec
Jeff Lipshaw
Larry Ribstein, RIP
I am sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings during the holiday season. Unfortunately, however, I recently learned that University of Illinois law professor Larry Ribstein passed away suddenly earlier today. Larry was a well-known and highly regarded legal scholar — one of the best of his generation. He wrote extensively on corporate law, federalism, and the future of legal education.
No doubt there will be many analyses and appreciations of Larry's outstanding contributions to scholarship over the coming days and weeks. My personal favorite among his many excellent works is his recent book The Law Market (coauthored with Erin O'Hara), which is perhaps the best recent book on the potential benefits of competition between state legal systems in American federalism. Larry is also well-known in the legal blogosphere for his insightful posts at Truth on the Market, where he wrote an excellent post on ABA accreditation of law schools just a few days ago.
I have known Larry professionally for several years, and he was always a courteous and helpful colleague, including for much younger and lesser-known scholars. I saw him give a workshop presentation just a couple months ago, where he was, as always, in excellent form. His unexpected passing comes as a terrible shock. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and colleagues.
Last Minute Holiday Gifts!
Jefferson's Moose, out in paperback at last! With a (pretty damned interesting) new preface by Larry Lessig. Just want Aunt Betty and Uncle Mack have been waiting for!
[Though Oxford U Press' crack marketing team has made sure that the paperback isn't available yet at Amazon — which, in any event, is selling the hardback at a price significantly lower than the paperback edition . . . and with free shipping!]
December 23, 2011
New Pro Bono Case on Whether First Amendment Libel Rules Are Limited to Institutional Media Defendants
I'm pleased to report that our local counsel, Benjamin Souede of Angeli Law Group LLC, and I will be representing the defendant blogger in Obsidian Finance Group, LLC v. Cox (D. Or.); we will be filing a motion for new trial, and an appeal to the Ninth Circuit if the motion is denied.
Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. (1974) held that even private-figure libel plaintiffs (1) may not recover proven compensatory damages unless the defendant was at least negligent in its investigation, and (2) may not recover presumed or punitive damages unless the defendant knew the statement was false or recklessly disregarded a known and substantial risk that the statements were false. The District Court in Obsidian Finance held that the defendant was not entitled to the protection of Gertz, because she was not a member of the "media." But as I've argued in my forthcoming University of Pennsylvania Law Review article, Freedom for the Press as an Industry, or for the Press as a Technology? From the Framing to Today, the First Amendment has historically been understood as protecting people who use mass communications technology equally, whether or not they are members of the institutional media. I much look forward to litigating this case, and, I hope, getting the District Court decision reversed.
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