Does Reading Literature Give You More Empathy?
The British Psychological Society reports the results of a new study on the effects of reading literature:
Author: Daniel Solove
Posts by Daniel Solove
The Reincarnation of Expunged Criminal Records
The New York Times reports: In 41 states, people accused or convicted of crimes have the legal right to rewrite history. They can have their criminal records expunged, and in theory that means that all traces of their encounters with the justice system will disappear. But enormous commercial databases are fast undoing the societal bargain of expungement, […]
Wanting the Wrong Answer: The Ironic Benefit of Student Participation
In a post today, Kaimi responds to a fequent student criticism of law school pedagogy. That criticism is that many students don’t learn much from hearing other students speak in class. In large classes (not seminars), many students think that time is wasted when so much class time is devoted to other students talking. They feel that […]
Law School Teaching: Paternalism or “Live and Let Live”?
There is an interesting discussion raised over at PrawfsBlawg about how law professors should enforce student preparedness in the classroom. Mike Dimino (law, Widener) (guesting at PrawfsBlawg and a former guest blogger here at Concurring Opinions) described a chronically unprepared student and noted the strong punishment he intends to deliver: “[I] plan to call on the […]
Law Movie Canon
Since PrawfsBlawg is experimenting with “research canons,” I thought I’d take this opportunity to create a “law movie canon” post. So here’s a list of my five favorite law movies. I’m basing this list on the following totally objective standard: Do I really like the movie? I actually happen to be an expert in things […]
Larry Solum on Interdisciplinary Ignorance
Larry Solum (law, Illinois) has a terrific post about interdisciplinary work in law. Unlike the typical simplistic calls for more PhDs in law, Solum’s post delves into the issue of interdisciplinary knowledge in a much deeper way. He argues that legal academics need at least basic competence in normative legal theory, law and economics, empirical legal methods, […]
Judge Posner’s Not a Suicide Pact
I’ve just finished reading Judge Richard Posner’s new book, Not a Suicide Pact: The Constitution in a Time of National Emergency (Oxford, 2006). The book is a slender volume, with a remarkable feat for a law professor — absolutely no footnotes or endnotes or citations of any sort save a short bibliography at the end.
When Congress Is Undemocratic
Recently, several senators have been accused of putting a “secret hold” on a bill designed to curtail pork-barrel spending. According to Reuters: Any member of the Senate may place a secret “hold” on legislation, which prevents it from being brought up for a vote until concerns about the measure are resolved.
Security Choices
In discussing security vs. civil liberties, I’ve argued that too little questioning of the security side of the balance is going on. The government engages in some elaborate and expensive program in the name of security, and instantly the debate shifts to whether we can deal with the sacrifices in civil liberties. The effectiveness of the security […]
Terrorism and Security Overreactions
Bruce Schneier has a thoughtful and provocative post about how our overreactions to terrorism are exactly what the terrorists want: