In the latest iteration of Article III judge worship [1], Stuart Sierra and Columbia Law professor Tim Wu have produced Project Posner, a searchable database of opinions by 7th Circuit judge Richard Posner. While not a particularly useful innovation for law students with free Westlaw and Lexis access (who can make OPINIONBY Posner a search limitation), it's a cute website and helpful to 0L bloggers just developing their Posner obsessions. Note that it collects only almost all of his opinions; some of his greatest hits, like the debate [2] with Easterbrook about whether nude dancing is art (because the dance of seven veils in Salome is) or merely obscenity (like a streetcorner flasher with rhythm and a boombox), are unavailable.
[1] "Chief Judge Posner feels less constrained by precedent, history, and the proper limits on appellate judging than, in the Council�s view, he should. . . . He wrote in [his book about Benjamin] Cardozo �the appellate judge is the central figure in Anglo-American jurisprudence.� Whether or not that claim is accurate, it is instructive as a statement of Chief Judge Posner�s self-image.� -- Chicago Council of Lawyers, 1994. When conservatives whine about activist judges, why doesn't Posner show up their hitlists? He seems like the one judge who embraces the title.
[2] This resulted in the Supreme Court decision Barnes v. Glen Theater, or what First Amendment scholar Vincent Blasi dubbed, "Six Conservatives in Search of the First Amendment: The Revealing Case of Nude Dancing."
UPDATE: Admittedly, what Posner publishes a book about in May, the New York Times writes about in October.
Please let me know if you would like to attend ...cocktail reception to follow debate.
PUBLIC FIGURES, PRIVATE LIVES -
A panel of experts debate how far the media should delve into the private lives of public figures
*Do celebrities and politicians have a right to private lives?
*Where does the public interest argument stop?
*Are families fair game?
*Why are we fascinated by the famous?
Panel:
Floyd Abrams, noted First Amendment lawyer
Bonnie Fuller, Chief Editorial Director, American Media, Inc.
Hilary B. Rosen, CNBC/MSNBC, Media Industry Consultant
Gary Morgan, CEO, Splash News/Paparazzi
Jacob Weisberg, Editor-in-Chief, Slate.com
moderator: Paul Holmes, Reuters
Date:
Thursday, October 12th
5:30pm
(panel to begin at 6pm)
Location:
The Reuters Building
3 Times Square
30th Floor