Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Democracy Takes Another One on the Chin in Tennessee

Posted on April 6, 2023 by Michael Froomkin

Tennessee has a bad gerrymandering problem in which cities (with black people) get cut up to be swamped by white rural districts. This produced a legislature with an even larger than natural Republican majority.

A week after the shootings in Nashville, three Democratic members of the legislature took part in a demonstration on the floor of the House in favor of better gun laws and safer schools. They made noise. No one was threatened or injured. Nothing was broken. Except democracy: the House is now voting on whether to expel the ‘Tennessee 3’ — two Black men and one White woman (one of only 11 in the state House) for “lack of decorum”. Details at the Washington Post, and some impressive short videos at Mother Jones on Twitter.

For all the weird and and unpleasant things in politics this week, this one bothers me the most.

Update: Lots of info at The Tennessean web site. Among the facts I learned – Rep. Jones was expelled but not Rep. Johnson. The difference might be because he’s Black and she’s White — indeed Johnson herself raised the possibility. Or it might be because he had a megaphone and she did not; the megaphone may have been due to the fact that, as Rep. Sam McKenzie, explained, “Republican leadership has repeatedly cut off Democrats’ microphones during debate”.

Posted in Politics: US | Comments Off on Democracy Takes Another One on the Chin in Tennessee

Bard Dishes (Inconsistently!) on MiamiLaw

Posted on March 30, 2023 by Michael Froomkin

Prompt: Tell me the best things about the University of Miami School of Law

Here are some of the best things about the University of Miami School of Law:

  1. Location: The school is located in Coral Gables, Florida, which is a beautiful and vibrant city.
  2. Student body: The student body is very diverse, and students come from all over the world.
  3. Curriculum: The curriculum is very rigorous, and students learn from some of the best minds in the legal field.
  4. Job placement: The school has a strong reputation for job placement, and many of its graduates go on to work at top law firms and corporations.
  5. Bar passage rate: The school has a high bar passage rate, and its graduates are well-prepared to take the bar exam.
  6. Faculty: The faculty is very accomplished, and they are dedicated to teaching and mentoring students.
  7. Student organizations: The school has a wide variety of student organizations, which allow students to get involved in the legal community and to pursue their interests.
  8. Moot court: The school has a strong moot court program, which allows students to compete in simulated legal competitions.
  9. Clinical programs: The school has a wide variety of clinical programs, which allow students to gain practical experience in the legal field.
  10. Scholarship opportunities: The school offers a variety of scholarship opportunities, which can help students to reduce the cost of their legal education.

These are just a few of the best things about the University of Miami School of Law. If you are considering attending law school, the University of Miami is definitely worth considering.

Prompt: Tell me the worst things about the University of Miami School of law

According to students, the worst things about the University of Miami School of Law are:

  1. Cost: The school is ranked as one of the most expensive law schools in the country, and tuition costs have been rising steadily in recent years.
  2. Location: The school is located in Coral Gables, Florida, which is a relatively expensive area to live.
  3. Student body: The student body is very diverse, but some students feel that this can make it difficult to find a sense of community.
  4. Curriculum: The curriculum is very rigorous, and students often feel overwhelmed by the amount of work they have to do.
  5. Job placement: The school’s job placement rate is relatively low, and some students have difficulty finding jobs after graduating.
  6. Bar passage rate: The school’s bar passage rate is also relatively low, and some students have difficulty passing the bar exam.
  7. Faculty: The faculty is very accomplished, but some students feel that they are not always available to help students outside of class.

These are just a few of the things that students have said about the University of Miami School of Law. It is important to note that these are just the opinions of a few students, and that not everyone has the same experience. If you are considering attending the University of Miami School of Law, it is important to do your own research and to talk to current students and alumni to get a better sense of the school.

10-7, we win, right?

Posted in AI | Comments Off on Bard Dishes (Inconsistently!) on MiamiLaw

Exhibits A and B?

Posted on March 27, 2023 by Michael Froomkin

The other day I posted Strange Corners of Privacy Law, in which Ohio sheriff’s deputies brought suit about music videos featuring their fruitless search of a rapper’s house, after which $400 appears to have somehow vanished (details, alas, hard to find as the deputies turned off their body cams). Here now is one of the allegedly offending videos in question by Afroman, “Will You Help Me Repair My Door”,

Not exactly breaking new ground musically, but a mellow accompaniment to to the footage of a failed search.  Apparently, the warrant was not just for drugs, but also kidnapping!

If you’re hungry for more where that came from, there’s also Lemon Pound Cake…

As noted in the comment to the earlier post, I found a link to the text of the complaint. Yes, a real lawyer signed this.

Posted in Law: Criminal Law, Law: Privacy | 1 Comment

Strange Corners of Privacy Law

Posted on March 23, 2023 by Michael Froomkin
Afroman

Afroman, the victim of the search and subsequent lawsuit, is running for President

I love this intro to a blog post at Reason:

Do you have a reasonable expectation of privacy when you break into a famous rapper’s house with an AR-15 and take his money? A group of Ohio sheriff’s deputies thinks so.

The facts of the underlying event, on the other hand, I love not so much.

Posted in Law: Criminal Law, Law: Privacy | 4 Comments

Thoughts on the Coral Gables Commission Election April 11, 2023

Posted on March 18, 2023 by Michael Froomkin

TL/DR: I’m voting for Melissa Castro in Group 4, and Ariel Fernandez in Group 5, in the upcoming Coral Gables Commission election. Please don’t forget to vote.

Absentee ballots have dropped for the Coral Gables Commission election that is due to take place on Tuesday, April 11, 2023: Residents can vote early or drop off mail-in ballots at the Coral Gables War Memorial Youth Center, 405 University Drive, on April 1, April 2 and April 8 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. — or in person on Election Day at your assigned precinct.

Three seats on the five-person commission are up this year, but one of the seats won’t be on the ballot as Mayor Vince Lago ran unopposed, so he is automatically re-elected to another two-year term. (Ordinary Commissioners get four-year terms.)

I think that the most important issue this year is the candidates’ stand on (over)development. And, not unrelatedly, the defining feature of the two contested races is a break with the gentility that used to mark Commission elections, in that Mayor Lago’s electoral machine and the state Republican party have set up a slate of candidates, and poured money—much of it from out of town and/or developers—into the coffers of their favored pro-overdevelopment candidates. That’s two strikes against those candidates right there.

Continue reading →

Posted in Coral Gables | 17 Comments

We Robot 2023 CFP — Boston Sept. 29-30

Posted on March 17, 2023 by Michael Froomkin

We Robot 2023 will be in Boston, MA, jointly hosted by the Boston University School of Law and the MIT Media Lab.

We Robot is the most exciting interdisciplinary conference on the legal and policy questions relating to robots. The increasing sophistication of robots and their widespread deployment everywhere—from the home, to hospitals, to public spaces, and even to the battlefield—disrupts existing legal regimes and requires new thinking on policy issues.

If you are on the front lines of robot theory, design, or development, we hope to see you here in Boston. Come join the conversations between the people designing, building, and deploying robots, and the people who design or influence the legal and social structures in which robots will operate.

We would also love to have you as a sponsor. If you are interested in discussing sponsorship opportunities, please get in touch.

News and Updates (twitter)

Key Dates

  • March 6: Submissions for papers, posters, and demos open.
  • March 27: Abstracts for papers and proposals for demos due.
  • April 7: We aim to have responses to paper and demo proposals.
  • June 1: Call for posters closes, but acceptances may be offered on a rolling basis (i.e. it may be beneficial to submit earlier).
  • August 31: Full papers due. They will be posted online at the conference web site unless otherwise agreed.
  • September 29-30: We Robot Conference
Posted in Robots, Talks & Conferences | Comments Off on We Robot 2023 CFP — Boston Sept. 29-30