Last year’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME (2018) is properly seen as a landmark ruling in the area of compelled speech (e.g., here and here), but it is more than that. By overruling Abood v. Detroit Board of Education(1977), the Supreme Court in Janus acknowledged that its extension of private-sector labor law precedents concerning union-security clauses to the public sector was erroneous. I have previously written about “the road to Abood” (here and here), and explained why the Court’s poorly-reasoned decisions under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) should not govern arrangements involving government employees. Justice Alito, who authored Janus and the decisions leading up to it, scathingly dissected the Court’s NLRA precedents, most of which were issued during the heyday of the Warren Court.
On February 28, 2019, I was honored to speak at the University of Virginia School of Law, at a day-long program sponsored by the UVA student chapter of the Federalist Society, entitled “The Future of Originalism: Conflicts and Controversies.” Congratulations to Jenna Adamson (President of the UVA student chapter), her colleagues, and the participating faculty, speakers, and moderators (including Judges Thomas B. Griffith, Diane S. Sykes, and John K. Bush) for planning and executing a terrific event. At lunch, Clark Neily and I debated the topic “Judicial Engagement v. Judicial Restraint: Equally Compatible with Originalism?” The moderator was UVA Professor Lillian BeVier.
BEAUMONT - More than two-dozen companies have been named as defendants in a benzene lawsuit brought by a Warren couple seeking more than $1 million in damages.
Texas A&M University School of Law Professor Lisa Alexander is among the 21 recipients honored for the second annual Presidential Impact Fellows award presented in late October. The award is given to faculty members within the Texas A&M system who embrace grand challenges, commit to core values and embody the unique “can-do” spirit that distinguishes Texas Aggies in service through education.
LUFKIN – An East Texas woman claims that a North Carolina-based home improvement retail company wrongfully terminated her because of her race and gender.
HOUSTON – A former Target employee alleges her employment with the company ended last month because it refused to accommodate her requests regarding her disability.
Kenneth W. Starr, an attorney with a distinguished legal, academic and public service record, has joined the Lanier Law Firm in an Of Counsel position.
Randy Newman’s song became a kind of anthem for survivors of Katrina, but it actually was inspired by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, which occurred after months of heavy rain made Old Man River rise to record heights and breach multiple levees.
My law school years (1977-80) at the University of Texas were, in hindsight, close to idyllic. I loved my first-year professors, tuition at UT was dirt cheap, Austin was a wonderful place to live, and I reveled in the “college town” ambience, which was new to me. (Prior to arriving at UT, I had never attended a college football game. During my first year—when the Longhorns went undefeated in the regular season and Earl Campbell won the Heisman Trophy–I had season tickets on the 50-yard line at UT’s gigantic Memorial Stadium, for a pittance that even a broke law student could afford.) The post-game victory spectacle—honking horns on the Drag and the Tower lit up in orange—formed indelible memories.
In recent years my law school alma mater has hosted an annual “celebration of diversity” event, which I recently attended out of curiosity. I thought that my law school class of long ago was quite diverse, with students from all over Texas, who had attended a variety of colleges and universities located throughout the country, representing a wide range of backgrounds—socio-economic, age, marital status, political orientation, and otherwise.
HOUSTON – A student political organization and its president are suing their community college’s leadership over policies they believe are unconstitutional.
