Ed Whalen Comments on Ronald Dworkin's New Book: Over at Bench Memos, Ed Whalen has this post commenting on the first few chapters of Ronald Dworkin's new book, The Supreme Court Phalanx: The Court’s New Right-Wing Bloc. The book republishes the essays Dworkin wrote for the New York Review of Books from 2005 through 2007. Whalen's post smartly points out that Dworkin's main thesis - that Chief Justice Rehnquist, Justice Scalia, and Justice Thomas always took the "most conservative positions possible" is "patently false", especially when considering that Rehnquist, Scalia and Thomas have taken the middle-of-the-constitutional-road position that the Constitution does not prohibit abortion, as well as the position that in the area of race, the Constitution requires the government to be color blind.

Constitutional Rights of Sex Offenders: Doug Berman at Sentencing Law and Policy speculates on when the United States Supreme Court will choose to address the constitutionality of sex offender residency restrictions. Berman's post notes that recent decisions in Ohio and Indiana create the possibility that the opportunity will come through the state court system. He also notes the differing constitutional issues presented by the cases - ex post facto punishment claims, and due process or takings claims - don't give us a clear indication of the exact right the Supreme Court might address.

Steven Erickson at Sex Crimes Blog: Our blogger Steven Erickson will be guest blogging at Sex Crimes as well. Those of you who have been following and enjoying Erickson's posts on our blog will be able to get a double dose of Erickson's comments at Sex Crimes.