Blog Posts

The problem with natural law theories can be simply stated: They beg the question they need to resolve.
Consider John Locke’s Second Treatise of Government. In chapter two, when discussing punishment for violation of the law of nature, he writes: “it would be...

Am I guilty of professional misconduct worthy of forfeiture of my law license if I publicly question whether we really need Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Day? Or if I post a photograph of a Budweiser beer bottle surrounded by Coors beer cans wearing hoods above the caption “Ku...

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court appeared to ask a lot of the right questions in arguments this week on Bill Cosby’s appeal of his criminal conviction for sexual assault. What worries me are the answers the court is likely to give.
It took two trials for the...

Viktor Frankenstein had a vision, a dream, really. Could he create life? He left his hometown of Geneva, Switzerland for a local university. The world learned of his exploits in 1818. Mary Shelley tells his tale in Frankenstein.
I reread the book every so often, and...

I was startled during my annual physical this week when I asked my family physician how much longer he expected the pandemic to require restricted activity. “At least a year,” he said. When I asked him what he thought of my traveling by air in the near term, his answer was...

If I understand the evolving racial rhetoric of our times, it goes something like this: You are either a racist or an anti-racist. There is no position of neutrality. Using this device permits adherents to dispense with nuance and divide the world in good and evil at the snap of a finger. ...

I have a confession to make: The moment I hear the words “white male privilege” I tune out. Being told that my views need readjustment on account of my race makes about as much sense as kneeling to ask forgiveness of a person of color for the history of American...

I’m noticing something like a new rhythm as the weeks roll into the first month of COVID-19 pandemic. It seems that about once a week, I run out of courage, and collapse into a puddle of something approaching tears. Today was such a day.
For the most part,...

A bold new body of law will emerge from the COVID-19 crisis. Expect expanded police powers for states, a re-striking of the balance between state and federal governments, and a re-examination of what is reasonable in terms of the Bill of Rights. Expect all that.
But...

I am deflated suddenly, staring out the window wondering about the point of it all. News is just now breaking that another lawyer has committed suicide. The body of Meriden’s John Ivers, 50, reported missing this past weekend, has been recovered. A self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head,...