Oral Argument in Pearson v. Callahan:

As technology has advanced, the federal courts have routinely been tasked with interpreting what types of inventions are eligible for patent protection under the Patent Act. For example, in 1980, the Supreme Court ruled that human-made microorganisms were eligible for patent protection. As the Information Age blossomed in the 1990s, the federal courts [...]... more

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Environmentalists and electricity producers square off this morning at the U.S. Supreme Court over the use of billions of gallons of water...... more

Today the Supreme Court handed down a decision in Hedgpeth v. Pulido on the standard for reviewing errors in jury instructions: Should such errors be subject to harmless error review...... more

One thing I learned tonight is that neither Charlie Gibson nor anyone on his staff reads the Volokh Conspiracy (or Hot Air for that matter). Outrageously, in his interview Gibson claimed that Sarah Palin had called the Iraq War “a task . . . from God.� No she didn’t. She prayed that it was a task from God. As I said a few days ago: I find it hard to believe that Anderson Cooper [and now, Charlie Gibson] does not understand the difference between praying for someth... more

Read excerpts from the transcript here .... more

After reading about the Supreme Court’s order seeking briefing on rehearing in Kennedy v. Louisiana , a reader e-mails in with a question: Is 18 U.S.C. § 242 another federal law that also permits the death penalty for child rape? I did some quick research into the matter. To my surprise, my tentative answer is "yes."    [ UPDATE: Ah, the beauty of tentative answers is how easy they are to change! In the comment thread, Kent Scheidegger points out 18 U.S.C.A. § 3591, a statute tha... more

I though some might appreciate a link to my September 18th, 2001 Guest Comment on National Review Online entitled, Saved by the Militia: Arming an army against terrorism . Here is how it began:A well-regulated militia being essential to the security of a free state. . . ." The next time someone tells you that the militia referred to in the Second Amendment has been "superceded" by the National Guard, ask them who it was that prevented United Airlines Flight 93 from reaching its target. The Nat... more