Suppose there’s a precedent that people don’t like. A case comes up and they are debating whether the precedent applies. Often the most effective way to argue against it is to cite previo...
https://cheaptalk.org/2014/10/12/solidifying-bad-precedents/
Many laws that restrict freedoms are effectively substitutes for private contracts. In a frictionless world we wouldn’t need those laws because every subset of individuals could sign private co...
https://cheaptalk.org/2013/03/12/behavioral-economics-and-the-social-contract/
Arthur Robson wrote this on Facebook: If am peacefully working out, and someone else arrives in the gym, they usually grab the TV remote to bathe in the inane chatter of preternaturally perky new...
https://cheaptalk.org/2013/03/04/moral-codes-on-the-elliptical-consider-the-equilibrium/
For law journals at least: IT IS A COMMON PRACTICE among law review editors to demand that authors support every claim with a citation. These de- mands can cause major headaches for legal scholar...
https://cheaptalk.org/2012/12/04/the-root-of-the-citation-tree/
The abstract: This is a line-by-line analysis of the second verse of 99 Problems by Jay-Z, from the perspective of a criminal procedure professor. It’s intended as a resource for law students a...
https://cheaptalk.org/2012/10/10/99-problems-a-fourth-amendment-case-study/
CJ Roberts rescues the mandate by noticing that it’s a tax. Here’s the key line in the dissent of the minority, Kennedy, Scalia, Alito, and Thomas: The issue is not whether Congress had th...
Instead of a mandate to buy insurance and a penalty of $X if you do not comply, what if everyone’s taxes are raised by $X and anyone who complies with the mandate receives a refund of $X? Does ...
https://cheaptalk.org/2012/03/29/fun-with-constitutional-accounting/
Professional line standers. The word “Intrepid” is on Hans Scheltema’s business card, and it’s more than just the name of his business. The professional line-stander prides himself on sti...
https://cheaptalk.org/2012/03/26/consider-the-equilibrium-15/
Defamation is the making of a false statement that creates a negative image of another person. At a superficial level the point of anti-defamation laws are to prevent such false statements. B...
https://cheaptalk.org/2012/01/24/the-incidence-of-anti-defamation-laws/
via Arthur Robson: While appeals often unmask shaky evidence, this was different. This time, a mathematical formula was thrown out of court. The footwear expert made what the judge believed were ...