Articles

Ever since chess was invented in India in the seventh century, it has transcended social and geographic boundaries. The “game of kings” is unsurprisingly played in the most opulent palaces, but it’s also one of the most popular pastimes in the confined spaces of prisons. Today, online chess has emerged as a great equalizer, erasin ...

Wrath: retributory punishment, divine chastisement   The 12 gods of ancient Greece were vengeful and petty. Hermes once turned a nymph into a tortoise because she didn’t show up for Zeus’ wedding. Apollo skinned a flute player who challenged him to a contest. Demeter condemned a king to eat his own flesh because he cut … ...

Mike Fahner, president and owner of Cedar Point Nursery, passed away last month, less than six months after the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in his favor in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid. I was on my way to D.C. to give a talk on Mike’s case when I heard. The last time … ...

Sketch created by Arthur Lien On March 22, 2021, I argued Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid before the Supreme Court of the United States. This case has wide-ranging impacts for property rights and government’s ability to infringe on private property owners’ right to control what happens on their property. After oral arguments, I sat down ...

Sudden workplace disruptions — a car alarm, WiFi interruption, or burnt popcorn in the breakroom — may violate our concentration but not our constitutional rights. Such a dubious honor goes to California’s legalized property invasion, whereby uninvited union organizers can invade agriculture firms’ private property to recruit member ...

Let’s say you’re a California voter, looking at Proposition 16 on the ballot, and you don’t like what you see in this proposed amendment to repeal the state’s constitutional ban on racial preferences.   Don’t feel bad about it: according to the opinion polls, you’re not alone. And the problem isn’t with y ...

Originally published by Star Tribune, November 21, 2018 Minnesota is historically known as a progressive state. But if you’re the parent of a high school dancer, you can be excused for thinking otherwise. After recent changes in South Dakota, Minnesota is now the only state in the country that prohibits boys from participating in high … ...

Originally published by The Hill, July 8, 2018. It’s a shameful and heartbreaking mental image from the past: minority children being turned away at the schoolhouse door, denied an opportunity for a quality education for no other reason than the color of their skin. Yet that painful image of injustice is not as far in … ...

In February, eight Black and Hispanic families filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Connecticut State Department of Education’s race-based enrollment quotas for Hartford’s magnet schools. This policy mandates that 25% of a magnet school’s seats be reserved for white and Asian students. This quota is so inflexible and rigid th ...