Dancing Polar Bears Sue for False Arrest
Let the bears dance!
Constitutional Law
Town’s Lawn-Mowing Requirement Held Not Equivalent to Slavery
The excellent Legal Blog Watch reports that the Georgia Supreme Court has rejected an argument that an ordinance requiring citizens to mow their lawns constituted an imposition of "involuntary servitude" of the kind prohibited by the 13th Amendment to the United…
Hoisting Suspect’s Sagging Pants Not a “Search,” Court Rules
It seems like only yesterday, and in fact it was only yesterday, that I was again lamenting the amount of energy wasted on the fight against sagging pants. I don't like low pants any more than you do, I just…
Georgia Town Enters Fight Against Sagging Pants
One of the continuing stupid issues I monitor here is the War on Sagging that still rages across this land. It seems like only yesterday, but was in fact two years ago, that a Florida judge struck down an anti-low-pants…
Ninth Circuit Says First Amendment Protects the Right to Tattoo
Good news for those of you living within the Ninth Circuit — your right to tattoo others has been held "fully protected by the First Amendment." In Anderson v. Hermosa Beach, decided September 9, the panel struck down a local…
Notice: Use of Propaganda as Toilet Paper Is Strictly Forbidden
This inscription, said to be on the wall of a public restroom somewhere in China, gives us a reason to be thankful for one of the few freedoms we have left. Translation: "Use of Party newspapers and magazinesas toilet paper…
City Council in Illinois May Ban Eye-Rolling
Sources reported recently that the city council of Elmhurst, Ill., had asked its attorney to research various definitions of “disorderly conduct,” in the course of considering possible changes to rules of decorum in city council meetings. The move was prompted…
Convicted Terrorist’s Demand for High-Fiber Diet is Rejected
Let's all shed a tear, shall we, for Terry Nichols, who is not only serving a life sentence for conspiracy and manslaughter in the Oklahoma City bombing but is also subjected to a diet unconstitutionally low in fiber. That's what Nichols argued, at…
Asterisks Don’t Make Expletives Okay, According to F**king Bureaucrats
According to the Advertising Standards Authority, the UK's advertising watchdog agency, it is not okay to use expletives in advertising even if asterisks or other symbols are used to replace some of the letters. The ASA ruled on August 11 that a…
“Fleeting Expletives” Policy Struck Down Again
Good news for expletive-users - the Second Circuit has struck down the FCC's "fleeting expletive" policy, holding that it violates the First Amendment. As you may recall, this policy was put in place after Bono dropped an F-bomb at the 2003 Golden Globe Awards…