Are There More Hate Groups During a Recession? Wonders an anonymous post over at Freakonomics Blog. According to the post, the Southern Poverty Law Center has reported that number of hate groups has grown by over 50% since 2000. Both the report and the media have blamed growth on the "deteriorating economy" and the election of President Obama. Freakonomics writes that such blame may be misplaced. The post discusses how "most economic research finds no correlation at all between hate crimes and the economy." For example, a 1998 study of economic motivations for hate crimes examined statistics in New York between 1987 and 1995 and did not find a significant link between "economic performance and intolerant behavior directed against minorities." Another study, by Swarthmore economists Philip Jefferson and Frederic Pryor, reached a similar conclusion. The post also comments that the Southern Poverty Law Center's data does not show 2008 to have been a particularly strong growth year for hate groups, ruling out any conclusion that President Obama's campaign is to blame for the recent growth. If this is the case, wonders Freakonomics, "what explains this expansion of hate?" While a good question to ask, a better question for the anonymous blogger to be asking might be "where did the Southern Poverty Law Center get the data to support this 'expansion of hate'?"
Wyeth v. Levine: State Tort Law and Preemption: Ashby Jones at Wall Street Journal Blog reports on today's Supreme Court decision in Wyeth v. Levine, a decision that addressed whether federal laws that regulate certain products preempt state tort law. Jones reports that Levine is the last of three opinions to address this issue. The other two, Riegel v. Medtronic Inc. and Altria Group Inc. v. Good, were decided in 2008. Jones' post also includes a Q&A with Wall Street Journal Supreme Court Reporter Jess Bravin. The Q&A provides summaries of the majority and dissenting opinions, as well as Justice Thomas' concurring opinion.
Forensic Linguistics at Trial: Psychology and Crime News posted an interview with John Olsson of the Forensic Linguistics Institute last week about Olson's experience as a forensic linguist with the criminal justice system. Forensic linguists are often asked to give expert opinions on the authorship of a text. Olson comments that he has been asked to give opinions about the authorship of suicide notes, hate mail, products contamination cases and the authorship of mobile phone text.
No Laptop Policy in Law School Class: At Volokh Conspiracy Eugene Volokh has posted the results of a student survey of his "No-Laptop-In-Class Experiment." Looking at his numbers, the results seem to be generally positive. Students reported better in-class concentration without their laptops.
Wyeth v. Levine: State Tort Law and Preemption: Ashby Jones at Wall Street Journal Blog reports on today's Supreme Court decision in Wyeth v. Levine, a decision that addressed whether federal laws that regulate certain products preempt state tort law. Jones reports that Levine is the last of three opinions to address this issue. The other two, Riegel v. Medtronic Inc. and Altria Group Inc. v. Good, were decided in 2008. Jones' post also includes a Q&A with Wall Street Journal Supreme Court Reporter Jess Bravin. The Q&A provides summaries of the majority and dissenting opinions, as well as Justice Thomas' concurring opinion.
Forensic Linguistics at Trial: Psychology and Crime News posted an interview with John Olsson of the Forensic Linguistics Institute last week about Olson's experience as a forensic linguist with the criminal justice system. Forensic linguists are often asked to give expert opinions on the authorship of a text. Olson comments that he has been asked to give opinions about the authorship of suicide notes, hate mail, products contamination cases and the authorship of mobile phone text.
No Laptop Policy in Law School Class: At Volokh Conspiracy Eugene Volokh has posted the results of a student survey of his "No-Laptop-In-Class Experiment." Looking at his numbers, the results seem to be generally positive. Students reported better in-class concentration without their laptops.
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