Caedes et Caenum

I thought it might be useful to try and clear up a very reasonable misconception concerning the use of “contractions” in prose.  Contractions are words or word groups that have been shortened by omitting certain internal letters, closing up spaces, and (usually) leaving an apostrophe in place of missing characters.  Examples include don’t, shouldn’t, can’t, and the like.  These well-established language tools are often wrongly perceived as being too informal for use in legal or other important writings.  While we can probably all think of at least one contraction that ain’t going to be acceptable in any context, contractions in many instances are perhaps the smartest way to present a verb concept in a precise, artful fashion. Read more…

Most of us have heard of Arizona’s new, much-maligned statute that requires cops to question anyone appearing to be in the country illegally.  Regardless of whether Arizona’s law presents practical or constitutional difficulties, many Americans have been encouraged to see state legislators attempting to take a proactive stance against those who insist on entering and remaining in the United States illegally—persons whose undocumented status is largely ignored by federal immigration officials, local employers, and other institutions.

State and local governments certainly have some interest in seeing that their resources are not overburdened or exhausted by illegal aliens (for whom the pandering and more politically correct term now appears to be “undocumented immigrants,” by the way).  But the Equal Protection Clause imposes a rather peculiar balancing act on governments seeking to enact measures designed to mitigate illegal immigration-related problems.  The following is intended to be a very minimal equal protection overview for folks unfamiliar with constitutional law who wonder why their elected politicians aren’t doing more to crack down on illegal aliens in general. Read more…

I recently bought a Kindle, which is a device made by Amazon for reading electronic books.  Consequently, I’ve been called an heretic by true book lovers.  But after spending a few weeks with this thing, I don’t care how heretical (or nerdy) it is.  Rather than monopolizing precious shelf-space while collecting dust, scads of books now fit into a very slim piece of hardware.  The Kindle is easy to set up, and even easier to read—even in direct sunlight—thanks to its “E-Ink” technology.  Perhaps most amazing is that I have been able read novels for three to four hours a night—for over two weeks—without having to recharge the battery. Read more…

The Campbell Law Review has just published my recent piece entitled A Fighting Chance for Outlaws: Strict Scrutiny of North Carolina’s Felony Firearms Act.  It can be downloaded by clicking here.  As its title suggests to those with constitutional law backgrounds, this discussion lofts a Fourteenth Amendment challenge to the Act (codified at N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14‑415.1), which, as modified in 2004, criminalizes owning a firearm—even in your own home—if you’ve ever been convicted of a felony.  The discussion is very comprehensive and (I am not hesitant to say) quite compelling. Read more…

Pint-sized treasures from the early 1900s: two of the ten titles comprising the "Mental Efficacy Series"

Whilst poking around in Prescott, Arizona this summer, I found myself in a bookstore.  Among its wares were a number of not-so-gently used books.  As I stumped around the back room from shelf to shelf, my eye was drawn to a pair of wallet-sized books emblazoned with the title, Mental Efficiency Series.  One of these books was Practicality: How to Acquire It.  The other—and the one to which I found myself most drawn as I flipped through its small pages—was titled Timidity: How to Overcome It.

If you’re thinking, “These sound like self-help books,” you’re right.  They are.  But at least in the case of the timidity book, we’re dealing with something much more profound Read more…

It’s no secret that the job market for entry-level attorneys is in the toilet.  Particularly if you’re a third-year law student at a third-tier (or lower) private school, face it: you’ve paid upwards of $100,000 in tuition only to become part of a vicious counterclockwise swirl of stench and despair.  Indeed, the term “human waste” has probably never been so applicable as it is to you.  But before being gulped into the plumbing of professional poverty with a throaty roar, you should at least understand what’s been happening in that porcelain bowl. Read more…

I’m not really a television watcher.  Generally my viewing habits allow only for late-night reruns of Seinfeld and The Office.  But a new player has entered the field: the CBS show “Undercover Boss,” which airs Sundays at 9:00 p.m. eastern time.  I haven’t missed an episode yet.  The show’s strength lies not in its formulaic plot or predictable cast of characters, but in its powerful and constructive message to American society.  So what is that message? Read more…

Read the following language carefully:

One of the four inquiries articulated by the court was whether “the plaintiff seek[s] to compel the defendant to affirmatively provide housing for members of minority groups or merely to restrain the defendant from interfering with individual property owners who wish to provide such housing.”  Metro. Hous. Dev. Corp. v. Vill. of Arlington Heights, 558 F.2d 1283, 1290 (7th Cir. 1977).

Did you notice the split infinitive?  If you did, were you bothered by it?  If so, is your trepidation worsened by the fact that this solecism was actually penned by a federal appellate judge?  If your answer to any of the foregoing questions was “no,” you should be ashamed of yourself.  But if you keep reading, there is hope for you. Read more…

It is undeniable that a significant disparity exists between the credit scores of different racial groups in America.  So if an insurance company prices homeowners’ insurance based on credit information, does the resulting disparity in prices among its customers of different races constitute discrimination?  In a new paper, I address how we ought go about answering this question.  Read more…

After some fuss, I’ve managed to secure a domain name, wrestle down a hosting plan, and set up a blog.  A great deal of this effort, I will admit, is the product of a deep desire to avoid the rigors of more tedious enterprises (like law school).

For the moment, however, there is nothing of particular importance for me to share with you.  Nevertheless, a few photos from a recent journey appear below the fold. Read more…