ADVERTISEMENT
The court missed the opportunity to overturn one of its most infamous, indefensible doctrines. Created more than 70 years ago, the Feres Doctrine has victimized hundreds of thousands of service members and their families. The court’s failure should now put pressure on Congress to finally act to end the tragic legacy of the
Feres decision.
I have been a vocal critic of
Feres for decades and wrote a three-part study of the military legal system 20 years ago that detailed how this doctrine began in 1950 with a clearly erroneous reading of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The doctrine is named after Army Lt. Rudolph Feres, who died in a fire allegedly caused by an unsafe heating system in his New York barracks. It was one of three cases combined for review by the court, including a soldier who sued after an Army doctor left a 30-by-18-inch towel (marked as “Medical Department U.S. Army” property) inside him.
The candidate for lieutenant governor claims the label “gay” is defamatory but court precedent has long protected anonymous critiques of politicians.
Virginia Delegate Glenn Davis is asking a court to unmask the sender of an anonymous text message that called him gay. (Facebook image via Courthouse News)
NORFOLK, Va. (CN) A candidate for the Republican nomination in Virginia’s lieutenant governor race has asked a state judge to unmask whoever anonymously sent an unsigned text message to registered voters calling him gay.
In a lawsuit filed in Norfolk Circuit Court Tuesday, Republican Delegate Glenn Davis, who represents Virginia Beach, said a text message calling him a “gay Democrat” amounts to defamation. In a subpoena filed alongside the claim, he’s asking telecommunications company Onvoy, LLC, to share information that could identify the text’s author.
Biden s Supreme Court commission gives liberals chance to curtail lifetime appointments Follow Us
Question of the Day
By Alex Swoyer - The Washington Times - Monday, May 3, 2021
President Biden’s new commission exploring a Supreme Court makeover has given progressive activists and liberal lawmakers a rare opportunity: A chance to act on the political left’s longtime goal of curtailing lifetime appointments of justices.
Term limits or mandatory retirement ages for judges would represent a path of less resistance for those who want to reshape the conservative-leaning nature of the nation’s highest court, especially when compared to more radical proposals like packing the court with more justices to restore a Democratic-appointed majority.
SHARE:
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court announced that it would hear New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Corlett. This is bad news for proponents of gun control in New York. The case is a challenge to a strictly enforced state law that requires a showing of “proper cause” before people can obtain a license to carry a firearm outside of the home. Given the sharp turn to the right the Supreme Court has taken, thanks to Donald Trump being able to get more Supreme Court justices confirmed in a single term than Barack Obama was in two, it is highly unlikely that the restriction will survive.
Speakers: John Walsh, Peggy Otum, Daniel Farber and
Marsden Hanna
Walsh: As President Biden s first
executive orders demonstrate, climate change is now at the heart of
federal environmental policy agenda. But regardless of who sits in
the White House, the private sector has focused on this very
important topic for years. For example, major companies
implementing climate pledges such as Google s announcement that
it will run on carbon-free energy by 2030. Today I m joined by
my fellow WilmerHale Partner Peggy Otum, Co-Chair of our Energy,
Environment and Natural Resources Practice. For over 16 years Peggy
has focused on complex environmental litigation and regulatory