The Color of Law and the History of Race Discrimination in Housing
I spent a long plane ride across the country reading Richard Rothstein’s “Color of Law,” at the recommendation of two FaceBook friends and a guy who just happened to overhear a conversation at Cville Coffee. It is subtitled “A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America.” Its starting point is Justice Roberts’ opinion in […]...
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No, Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination has nothing to do with the “separate sovereigns” doctrine
About 3 days ago, a meme started floating around the Internet that suggested that the REAL REASON that the Republicans are trying to rush through Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination is because they need him on the Supreme Court to be able to reconsider the “separate sovereigns” doctrine. The “separate sovereigns” doctrine is a part of the […]...
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Can a School System Prohibit Confederate Flag T-shirts?
In Charlottesville and Albemarle County right now, activists are trying to get local school boards to adopt policies that would prohibit Confederate flag T-shirts. Can they, consistent with the First Amendment? A group called the Hate-Free Coalition is arguing that the Supreme Court’s decision in Tinker v. Des Moines School District — which struck down […]...
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Defending the First Amendment’s principle of content neutrality
The First Amendment’s requirement of content neutrality protects even hate speech, and it is not a tool of white supremacists....
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Virginia law on burning crosses and tiki torches
The alt-right demonstrators who keep coming to Charlottesville like to march around carrying tiki torches. Vice Mayor Wes Bellamy has called on the Commonwealth’s Attorney to prosecute them under Virginia’s cross-burning statute. But the United States Supreme Court says that fire and hate, without a direct threat, is not prosecutable under this statute....
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Can Charlottesville ban guns at a political rally?
On August 12, when the Unite-the-Right rally came to Charlottesville’s Emancipation Park, there were four groups with assault rifle-style weapons: The State Police riot squad; The National Guard; The so-called III%’ers (shown above), supposedly hired to provide security for the Nazis; and The Redneck Revolt, there to provide security for counter-protesters at Justice Park. None […]...
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Charlottesville is not liable for injuries sustained at Rally
The City of Charlottesville, Police Chief Al Thomas, and State Police Superintendent Steven Flaherty have been sued for injuries allegedly suffered by Robert Sanchez Turner when he was hit by water bottles thrown by alt-right demonstrators on August 12, 2017. He has sued for “all permissible damages,” plus punitive damages and attorneys’ fees. His claim […]...
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Charlottesville’s argument for moving Rally was weak
I am always reluctant to offer Monday-morning-quarterbacking and second-guessing of what other people put in court filings, because I usually don’t know the facts that the other lawyers know, and it seems gratuitous to take pot-shots after the fact. But in the aftermath of Judge Glen Conrad’s decision to grant Jason Kessler his injunction so […]...
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Political Demonstrations and Guns
I was in downtown Charlottesville on Saturday, and the single most disconcerting, disorienting, confusing, troubling thing I saw was the “militia” brought in by Jason Kessler and his friends to “protect” their rally. As this picture shows, these militia members — 32, I am told — were dressed in camouflage, some wearing what looked like […]...
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Soliciting and conspiracy, and murder
Continuing with the discussion — James Alex Fields, Jr., who was in Charlottesville to attend the Unite the Right rally, is charged with driving his car on August 12, 2017, into a crowd of counter-protesters four blocks away from Emancipation Park. One young woman was killed and 19 were injured, 5 critically. Fields is charged […]...
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