Ipse Dixit

In 1748, the English writer John Cleland published the novel "Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure," popularly known as "Fanny Hill." Cleland wrote Fanny Hill while he was confined in a London debtor's prison, and it is considered the first pornographic novel. It is an "epistolary novel," consisting of two letters from Fanny Hill to an unnamed friend, describing her youth as a prostitute. Fanny Hill was...

In this episode, Maybell Romero , Assistant Professor at the Northern Illinois University College of Law, discusses her article " Profit-Driven Prosecution and the Competitive Bidding Process ," which was published in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. Romero begins by observing that many municipalities have privatized criminal prosecution, contracting out the job of prosecutor to the lo...

In this episode, Christopher L. Sagers , Professor of Law at Cleveland State University Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, discusses his new book, "United States v. Apple: Competition in America," which will be published by Harvard University Press. The book uses the United States v. Apple antitrust case to investigate antitrust policy and whether it is consistent with how people think about compe...

In 1748, the English writer John Cleland published the novel "Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure," popularly known as "Fanny Hill." Cleland wrote the novel while he was confined in a London debtor's prison, and it is considered the first pornographic novel. Fanny Hill is an "epistolary novel," consisting of two letters from Fanny Hill to an unnamed friend, describing her youth as a prostitute. Fanny H...

In 1748, the English writer John Cleland published the novel "Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure," popularly known as "Fanny Hill." Cleland wrote the novel while he was confined in a London debtor's prison, and it is considered the first pornographic novel. Fanny Hill is an "epistolary novel," consisting of two letters from Fanny Hill to an unnamed friend, describing her youth as a prostitute. Fanny H...

In this episode, Annemarie Bridy , Allan G. Shepard Professor of Law at the University of Idaho College of Law, discusses her article " Fearless Girl Meets Charging Bull: Copyright and the Regulation of Intertextuality ," which is published in the UC Irvine Law Review. Bridy begins by describing the history of DiModica's iconic "Charging Bull" sculpture, and the controversy surrounding the install...

In this episode, Ilya Shapiro , Director of the Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute, discusses his article " The Once and Future Privileges or Immunities Clause ," which he co-authored with Josh Blackman, and which will be published in the George Mason Law Review. Shapiro explains the origin of the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the 14th Amendment and how it...

In this episode, Leslie Y. Garfield Tenzer , Professor of Law at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, discusses her article " Social Media, Venue and the Right to a Fair Trial ," which will be published in the Baylor Law Review . Tenzer begins by explaining how venue works in criminal trials, and how it affects the due process right to an unbiased jury. She describes the history of...

In 1966,  Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen  (R-IL) (1896-1969), known by his detractors as "The Wizard of Ooze" for his unctuous demeanor, recorded an LP titled " Gallant Men: Stories of the American Adventure " for Capitol Records. It consisted of Dirksen intoning patriotic speeches about American history over a orchestral and choral accompaniment. The record was an unexpected success,...

On November 29, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson created the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, or the " Warren Commission ," to investigate the November 22, 1963 assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy. The Commission presented its final report to the President on September 24, 1964, and released it to the public on September 27. Many people were u...

In this episode, Adam Winkler , Professor of Law at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law, discusses his excellent book, " We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Rights ," which is published by W.W. Norton & Company . Winkler begins by describing the history of corporate law in the United States. Then he explains the evolution of the concept of corporate...

In this episode, Dr. Andrew Ventimiglia , Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the TC Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland, Australia, discusses his new book, " Copyrighting God ," which is published by Cambridge University Press. Ventimiglia begins by reflecting on the historical relationship between copyright and religion, and how in the modern era, religious organizations have bent copyrig...

In this episode, Blake E. Reid , Associate Clinical Professor and Director of the Samuelson-Glushko Technology Law & Policy Clinic at the University of Colorado Law School, discusses his article " Internet Accessibility ." Reid begins by describing the Americans with Disabilities Act, how it promotes accessibility, and how it has been applied to the Internet. In particular, he discusses the ro...

In this episode, Christopher G. Bradley , Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law, discusses his new article " Business Entities as Skeleton Keys ." Bradley explains how business entities can enable contracting parties to achieve goals that contracts prohibit. He begins by describing the Artist's Contract, a form contract created in 1971, and intended to enable arti...

In 1966,  Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen  (R-IL), known by his detractors as "The Wizard of Ooze" for his unctuous demeanor, recorded an LP titled " Gallant Men: Stories of the American Adventure ." The record was an unexpected success, and Dirksen recorded two more LPs. In 1967, Dirksen recorded this album for Capitol Records, titled " Man Is Not Alone ," which consists of him discuss...

In this episode, Aman Gebru , Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at Yeshiva University Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, discusses his article " Patents, Disclosure, and Biopiracy ," which will be published in the Denver Law Review. Gebru begins by describing what traditional knowledge is and why it is important to innovation. He the explains the role of disclosure in the patent system and why i...

In this episode, Scott Dodson , Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law & Associate Dean for Research at University of California Hastings College of the Law, discusses his article " Beyond Bias in Diversity Jurisdictio n," which will appear in the Duke Law Journal. Dodson begins by explaining what diversity jurisdiction does and why it exists. He discusses the "bias" rationale f...

On November 29, 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson created the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, or the " Warren Commission ," to investigate the November 22, 1963 assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy. The Commission presented its final report to the President on September 24, 1964, and released it to the public on September 27. Many people were u...

Senator Samuel James "Sam" Ervin Jr. (1896-1985) (D-N.C.) was a former lawyer and judge, who graduated from Harvard Law School. Ervin was a something of a paradox. He supported Jim Crow and segregation, and helped lead southern opposition to civil rights on constitutional grounds. But in other contexts, he was seen as a champion of liberal causes, opposing Senator Joseph McCarthy's House Un-Americ...

In 1967, Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen (R-IL), known by his detractors as "The Wizard of Ooze" for his unctuous demeanor, recorded this LP, titled " Everett McKinley Dirksen at Christmas Time ." It was a follow-up to Dirksen's 1966 LP "Gallant Men: Stories of the American Adventure," which was an unexpected runaway success. In a similar vein, this record featured Dirksen reading a selection of...

In the early 1970s, the Federal Trade Commission published this album, which consisted of PSAs on various consumer protection issues, most of which were read by B-list celebrities: Shirley Jones, Leonard Nimoy, Karen Valentine, Sebastian Cabot, Burt Reynolds, Clu Gulager, Carol Burnett, Lloyd Haynes, and Beverly Garland. While the album is undated, it was accompanied by a letter from Chairman Mile...

In 1966,  Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen  (R-IL), known by his detractors as "The Wizard of Ooze" for his unctuous demeanor, recorded an LP titled " Gallant Men: Stories of the American Adventure ." The record was an unexpected success, and Dirksen recorded two more LPs. In 1969, Dirksen recorded this album for Bell Records, titled "Everett Dirksen's America," which consists of him rec...

In this episode, Michael T. Morley , Assistant Professor of Law at Florida State University College of Law, discusses his article "Disaggregating Nationwide Injunctions." Morley begins by explaining what an injunction is, why courts grant injunctions, and what people mean when they refer to a "nationwide injunction." He provides a taxonomy of the different kinds of actions that people refer to as...

In 1967, the John Birch Society published an LP of a speech delivered by G. Edward Griffin , titled "A Second Look at the Supreme Court." Among other things, Griffin questions the legitimacy of constitutional law, calls for the impeachment of Chief Justice Earl Warren, attacks the Supreme Court's criminal law jurisprudence, and explains the communist conspiracy to take over the United States gover...

In 1966, Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen (R-IL), known by his detractors as "The Wizard of Ooze" for his unctuous demeanor, recorded this LP, titled " Gallant Men: Stories of the American Adventure ." The record was conceived and written by H. Paul Jeffers, produced and directed by Arch Lustberg, and published by Capitol Records. It features Dirksen opining on and reading historical political doc...