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So I received a call a few weeks ago from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation regarding my “JhnGalt” vanity license plate. The official asked if I had ordered a vanity license plate. I replied, “Yes.”

Then, she asked me, “Who is John Galt?” I almost burst out laughing hysterically.

I replied, “a character from a book.” She asked what book? I replied “Atlas Shrugged.” The mischief this license plate will create has already begun. Every time someone pulls up behind me, they will ask themselves, “Who is John Galt?” If a police officer ever pulls me over, and asks me, “Sir, who is John Galt?” I may need to call one of my attorney friends to get me out of involuntary commitment due to my inability to stop laughing.

I was kinda hoping they would deny the plate so I could get standing and sue on First Amendment grounds. Although I haven’t yet received the plate, they cashed my check, which is a pretty good indication the plate was approved.

Oh well. Who is John Galt?

As I have previously mentioned, I will be attending the Constitution in 2020 Conference at Yale Law School in New Haven, CT. I will be liveblogging from the conference, so stay tuned for posts.

I pose a question to my audience. As I am entering the lions den, should I wear my Madison Federalist Society lapel pin?

[polldaddy poll=2062220]

Federalist Society Logo

Interesting new article from Professor Hessick of Arizona State on the Presumption of Constitutionality, scheduled to be published in the Notre Dame Law Review. The abstract:

One of the judiciary’s self imposed limits on the power of judicial review is the presumption of constitutionality. Under that presumption, courts supply any conceivable facts necessary to satisfy judicially created constitutional tests. The Supreme Court has given three reasons for the presumption: to show due respect to legislative conclusions that their enactments are constitutional, to promote republican principles by preventing courts from interfering with legislative decisions, and to recognize the legislature’s institutional superiority over the courts at making factual determinations. This Article argues that the presumption does not sensibly implement these reasons. It further argues that these reasons equally, if not more strongly, support judicial deference to legislative interpretations of the Constitution, and consequently that courts should revisit their refusal to defer to such interpretations.

Legal Theory Blog: Hessick on the Presumption of Constitutionality.

I find it odd that the author cites Randy Barnett’s work only 3 times in footnotes. Professor Barnett’s Restoring the Lost Constitution, The Presumption of Liberty explains at great lengths why the Constitution calls for a reversal of the presumption of constitutionality, and demands, in certain cases, a presumption of liberty.

I’ll be attending a conference at Arizona State Law School in a few weeks. Perhaps Professor Hessick will be around. But I look forward to reading it.

H/T Legal Theory Blog

2,000 hits for my first 24 hours of blogging! And I made the Blogs of the Day List! Sweet.

A few months ago I attended the Institute for Justice Law Student Conference.

Justice Don Willett of the Texas Supreme Court gave the keynote address. He was awesome. An amazing libertarian Judge from Texas who gets the idea of the role of the courts, understands principles of federalism, and embraces the spirit of liberty that imbibes the human soul.

During his keynote, he mentioned that he had cited YouTube in a footnote in his opinion. Strange coincidence, but in footnote 313 of my Omniveillance article, I had cited him!

FN 313. FKM P’ship v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. of Hous. Sys., 255 S.W.3d 619, 639 (Tex. 2008) (Willett, J., concurring in part, dissenting in part), available at https://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/historical/2008/jun/050661cd.htm

I realized it, and mentioned it to him after he finished speaking. He encouraged me to mail him a copy, which I did.

I just received a personal thank you note from Justice Willett! I won’t relay the message, but it was so cool.

Even cooler than the thank you note was the stamp on the envelope that reads “Don’t mess with Texas. Official State of Texas Mail. Penalty for Private Use.” Perfect timing for Will Ferrell’s perfect Bushism. Strategery!

Don't Mess With Texas. Especially their mail.