Articles Posted in Other Commentary

Amherst professor Austin Sarat discusses Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch’s newly published book Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law and his recent public statements criticizing excessive regulation. Professor Sarat argues that despite Gorsuch’s attempts to present himself as a champion of ordinary Americans, his judicial record and conservative stance on federal regulations suggest that his book’s message should be viewed skeptically, as reduced regulation often benefits powerful interests at the expense of workers, the disabled, and environmental protection.

Amherst professor Austin Sarat reflects on the acceptance speech by Chief Justice John Roberts of the American Law Institute’s Henry Friendly Medal. Professor Sarat argues that the speech demonstrates the Chief Justice’s lack of empathy for litigants whose lives the Court’s decisions affect and a lack of awareness of his own life of privilege.

Cornell Law professor Sherry F. Colb comments on the television mini-series, “We Need to Talk About Cosby,” which tells the story of Bill Cosby as both beloved celebrity and shadowy rapist. Professor Colb praises the mini-series but suggests that it would have been even better if it had also featured a psychiatrist explaining that all the sweetness and warmth and wit that made America fall in love with Cosby was not the “good” in a cost/benefit analysis of his life, but the bait that allowed him to carry out his career of serial rape on unsuspecting women.

UF Levin College of Law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan considers where, if anywhere, Americans looking to emigrate from a dying democracy might land. After pointing out that guns are the largest threat to safety in the United States and that practically anywhere else would be safer, Professor Buchanan considers whether the UK is a viable choice, given that the ugliness that has emerged in the United States is being mirrored there to a concerning degree.

Former federal prosecutor Dennis Aftergut reflects on what has been different about 2021 with respect to police killings (and what has remained the same). He asks whether 2022 will bring about progress for the rights to be safe, to choose, to vote, or some other expansion of freedom, and calls upon all Americans to act to secure those rights.

UF Levin College of Law professor and economist Neil H. Buchanan explores the frequent phenomenon where people fall back on empty words and phrases, even when they have been convinced that those phrases are empty. Professor Buchanan relates some anecdotes demonstrating the phenomenon and calls for people to relearn and remember when they are saying words that communicate nothing, lest they lapse into reinforcing meaninglessness.

Cornell Law professor Michael C. Dorf considers the possible next steps for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who recently announced his intention to resign amid multiple sexual harassment allegations. Professor Dorf observes that due to the media’s and society’s quick forgive-and-forget mentality, many disgraced politicians and celebrities quickly reemerge in the spotlight, suggesting that we are living in a post-shame society; Cuomo is likely to do the same.

Cornell Law professor Sherry F. Colb reflects on what the resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo means about the #MeToo movement. Professor Colb examines the structure of allegations of gendered misconduct, and she points out that the small number of men who victimize women tend to do it repeatedly unless and until someone puts a stop to it once and for all.

Cornell Law professor Sherry F. Colb explains why listening to people is a better way to persuade them to change their position on an issue than calling them out for inconsistency. Professor Colb navigates a hypothetical conversation to demonstrate how thoughtful attention and humility can be more convincing than arguing or attacking.

Illinois Law professor Lesley M. Wexler comments on Britney Spears’s petition to end her conservatorship and explains how her situation reflects general attitudes about believing women. Professor Wexler argues that the #FreeBritney movement may shape emerging norms of believability, which is often a precondition to convincing judges, jurors, co-workers, friends, and others in society about both the existence of abuse and its impact on its victims.

Cornell Law professor Sherry F. Colb explains why refusing to wear a mask is similar to refusing to wear a condom during intercourse with a partner who requests the use of a condom. Professor Colb points out that in both cases, the person is prioritizing himself over others and disregarding others’ safety.

Cornell Law professor Sherry F. Colb responds to the documentary mini-series called Allen v. Farrow, about Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, and the allegations of sexual abuse that their daughter Dylan made against her father. Professor Colb explains why it seems plausible that the man who lied casually on the phone with his ex-girlfriend would be capable of doing whatever he wanted to do, whatever he thought (correctly) he could get away with.

Cornell law professor Sherry F. Colb comments on a film called “Promising Young Women,” which purports to be a feminist movie about date rape. While Professor Colb describes the movie as interesting, thought-provoking, and “definitely” worth seeing, she argues that it suggests a view of men and sexual assault that is erroneous and potentially even anti-feminist.

Illinois law professor Lesley M. Wexler describes how Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb and Jericho Brown’s Inaugural,’ an Original Poem—as two inaugural poems—fit within the call of transitional justice. Professor Wexler explains how, read together, the two poems provide a roadmap of the transitional justice terrain the government may choose to tread.

Cornell law professor Sherry F. Colb comments on a movie some have described as one of the best of 2020, The Invisible Man, and describes how the story in the movie offers possibilities for envisioning accountability for domestic violence and other crimes that often receive dismissive treatment under the heading of “he said/she said.” Professor Colb briefly describes the plot of the movie (including spoilers), and explains why the movie is so revelatory.

Austin Sarat—Associate Provost and Associate Dean of the Faculty and William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence & Political Science at Amherst College—explains why the police murder of George Floyd was the worst moment of 2020 in American law. Professor Sarat proposes that we remember the event and that date—May 25—as “infamous,” a word reserved for rare and atrocious events like the bombing of Pearl Harbor, in an attempt to capture the brutality and inhumanity of the act.

Cornell law professor Joseph Margulies describes a recent piece of hate mail he received from someone who apparently saw him quoted in an Associated Press article about what a Biden administration might mean for the 40 remaining prisoners in Guantanamo. Professor Margulies explains that he can forgive the writer because he knows the writer’s rant most likely comes from a place of psychological and cultural insecurity, but at the same time he also holds the writer accountable for his behavior.

In recognition of the 50-year anniversary of the publication of Charles Reich’s “The Greening of America,” Touro Law professor Rodger D. Citron explains what Reich actually said in “The Greening,” explains why it generated such a strong response, and reflects on what the piece has to say about the fractures of our current moment. Citron cautions that the promise of a new consciousness is as alluring—and may be as illusory—as it was when Reich wrote the article and book, 50 years ago.

Cornell law professor Sherry F. Colb argues that while consent is an important and necessary condition of many activities in which adults engage, it does not necessarily follow that consent is a sufficient condition as well. Colb describes some circumstances in which the apparent consent of the parties does not make the result desirable or good.

Touro law professor Jeffrey B. Morris reflects on the impressive career of the Honorable Jack B. Weinstein, who recently announced his retirement from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York at the age of 98. Morris praises Judge Weinstein for his skill and humanity as a jurist, pointing out the many ways his opinions, articles, and speeches reflect his belief that “aiding the weak and suffering is the primary duty and soul of American law.”