Studying the law is demanding. meaningful. humbling. rewarding. wearying. complex. Learning from some of the most famous, respected, and brilliant professors and practitioners on the planet can be surreal. For many of these folks, any and all lulls in activity can be filled with the law. Seriously. One professors told my class that he cracked the Sixth Amendment while sitting in traffic. Certain professors have a gift for making otherwise opaque concepts or...
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This October has certainly been unique thus far. Between the Obamacare exchanges opening, the capture of Anas al-Libi in Libya, and the proposed secession of North Colorado, and of course the one-week-and-counting government shutdown, the United States citizens and their government are defying traditions this month. Except at 1 First St. NE, Washington D.C. Roundtable readers are likely aware that yesterday, like every “First Monday in October” since 1917, the nine Supreme...
Read More »By Jonathan H. Levy With Americans beginning to feel the effects of the latest government shutdown, it might seem that money drives our government. But cash is closer to the car’s gasoline than its driver: gasoline powers the engine, but especially today, it is clear that the car, gasoline, and engine are useless without Messrs. Reid and Boehner in the driver’s seat, negotiating with each other. This Shutdown Tuesday, I’m thinking about those drivers and the lawsuit...
Read More »Remember when 100,000 Philadelphians destroyed Broad Street after the 2008 Phillies beat the Rays in five games? That was basically the mood in my apartment last night when I learned that the FAA was going to relax the regulations on the use of electronic devices during taxi, takeoff and landing. “Finally,” I thought, “The despotic FAA’s draconian rule tyrannically forbidding me to play Angry Birds Space read the JLPP Kindle edition during taxi, takeoff, and landing is as...
Read More »Jewish holidays are remarkably diverse. On Yom Kippur, which we celebrated this past Saturday, we fast, don’t wear leather shoes, or have sex. During Sukkot, which begins tomorrow night, we eat, work, and live in small huts. During Passover, we refrain from all leavened foodstuffs. On Shabbat, we don’t turn on lights, carry money, or tie knots. Almost every Jewish ritual, however, revolves about one essential element: the Torah. The Torah is the foundational legal document...
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