Ipse Dixit

In this episode, Carrie A. Goldberg, the owner of C. A. Goldberg, PLLC, discusses her new book, "Nobody's Victim: Fighting Psychos, Stalkers, Pervs, and Trolls," which is published by Plume, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Goldberg begins by describing the kind of horrific abuse her clients suffer, often at the hands of strangers. She explains why her clients need help and some of the strategies she uses in order to help them. Among other things, she reflects on how Section 230 of the CDA enables abusers by insulating internet platforms from liability and she how she uses copyright law to takedown abusive images. She closes by discussing why she does what she does, and how law students and lawyers can think about using their legal skills for good. Goldberg is on Twitter at @cagoldberglaw.

This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Associate Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the beginning of a 1941 interview with George Johnson, a formerly enslaved man who belonged to Joseph Davis, the owner of the Hurricane plantation in Warren County, Mississippi. Joseph Davis was the brother of Jefferson Davis, the President of Confederate States of America. Johnson discusses Benjamin Montgomery, another slave who belonged to Joseph Davis, who managed Hurricane. But Montgomery was also an inventor. Among other things, he invented a boat propeller, which became controversial in 1858, when Jefferson Davis tried to patent Montgomery's invention, and the Patent Office rejected Davis's application, because no one could take the patent oath. Davis was not the inventor, and under Dred Scott, Montgomery was not a person.

The interview was recorded by Alan Lomax in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, an African-American community founded by Benjamin Montgomery's son Isaiah Montgomery, which still exists today.

More information about Benjamin Montgomery and his patent is available in Brian L. Frye, Invention of a Slave, 68 Syracuse Law Review 181 (2018).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Athul K. Acharya, an impact litigation associate at BraunHagey & Borden LLP, discusses his article "Abstraction in Software Patents (and How to Fix It)" which is published in the John Marshall Review of Intellectual Property Law. Acharya begins by explaining what the "abstract-ideas" doctrine is and the role it plays in patent eligibility. He describes what software patents protect and why the present particular conceptual problems for patent eligibility. And he provides a novel way of determining whether software patent claims should be eligible. He closes by reflecting on how junior legal scholars can draw on their non-legal background. Acharya is on Twitter at @AthulKAcharya.

This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Associate Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, D. Wendy Greene, Professor of Law at Drexel University Kline School of Law and Francis Lewis Scholar in Residence at Washington and Lee University School of Law, discusses her article "Splitting Hairs: The 11th Circuit's Take on Workplace Bans Against Black Women's Natural Hair in EEOC v. Catastrophe Management Solutions," which was published in the University of Miami Law Review. Greene begin by explaining how federal discrimination law works and what plaintiffs must show in order to prove a discrimination claim. She describes how courts have applied those standards to claims involving hairstyles, and why they are mistaken. Specifically, she observes that courts improperly apply the "immutability doctrine," which excludes hairstyles from protection because they can be changed, even if employees shouldn't have to change them, which places an especially heavy burden on African-American women. And she reflects on how her advocacy work has helped change the law in California and New York to protect hairstyle choices. Greene is on Twitter at @ProfessorDWendy.

This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Associate Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Dr. Matthew Reid Krell, an instructor in the University of Alabama Department of Political Science, discusses his article "The Power of Jury Instructions: Evidence From EEOC Cases." Krell begins by explaining what jury instructions are and the role they play in civil litigation. He briefly discusses existing scholarship on how jury instructions affect juries and why his project focuses on how they affect litigants and their incentives. He describes the study he conducted, including how he obtained the data and how he used it. And he describes his findings, which are consistent with his hypothesis that the judge's decision on which instructions to adopt communicates information to litigants about whether to settle. He closes by reflection on how this article fits into his scholarly project and where he plans to go next. Krell is on Twitter at @ReidKrell.

This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Associate Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Dr. Leslie C. Griffin, William S. Boyd Professor of Law at the University of Nevada Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law, describes her path to law and, eventually, the legal academy. First, she explains her background in religious studies, and how her desire for social change spurred her interest in law school. Later she discusses how she built relationships with faculty across disciplines, and how she has honed her teaching style over the years in both undergraduate and legal education. Griffin is on Twitter at @LeslieCGriffin.

This episode was hosted by David A. Simon, Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas School of Law, and a Project Researcher at the Hanken School of Economics. Simon is on Twitter at @David_Simon and his scholarship is available on SSRN.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Daniel Brook, a journalist and author whose writing has been published in Harper's, The New York Times Magazine, and the Nation, discusses his new book, "The Accident of Color: A Story of Race and Reconstruction," which is published by W.W. Norton & Company. Brook begins by describing the unique socio-political circumstances surrounding race in antebellum New Orleans and Charleston. He explains how those circumstances shaped the perception and meaning of color in those cities. He explains how the increasing racialization of slavery complicated those social relationships, and how white Southerners made race a binary during Reconstruction and Jim Crow.

This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Associate Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Justin Simard, a Visiting Assistant Professor at Willamette University College of Law, discusses his article "Citing Slavery," which will be published in the Stanford Law Review. Simard begins by observing that courts often cite cases involving slaves as precedent, often without even acknowledging it. He argues that this is a problem, not only because those cases are often bad law, but also because it is wrong to perpetuate the law of slavery. He points out that slave cases were always inflected by the ideology of slavery, and therefore aren't actually reliable precedents. And he reflects on the normative problems with treating slave cases like any other cases. Simard's scholarship is available on SSRN.

This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Associate Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Ari Glogower, Assistant Professor of Law at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, discusses his article "A Constitutional Wealth Tax," which will be published in the Michigan Law Review. Glogower begins by explaining what a "wealth tax" is, and how it differs from an income tax. He explains why the constitutional requirement to apportion "direct" taxes among the states creates potential problems for the implementation of a federal wealth tax, and how the Supreme Court has addressed those concerns over time. And he explains how a "wealth integration" alternation could not only avoid those constitutional issues, but also show how they reflect a conceptual incoherence at the heart of the constitutional dispute. Glogower is on Twitter at @AriGlogower.

This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Associate Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Robert L. Tsai, Professor of Law at the American University Washington College of Law and Clifford Scott Green Chair and Visiting Professor of Law at Temple University Beasley School of Law, discusses his book "Practical Equality," which is published by W.W. Norton and Company. Tsai begins be explaining what he means by "practical equality" and how it works to shape the law. He provides examples of how courts and other institutions have acted consistently and inconsistently with practical equality. And he reflects on how the concept of practical equality can help up address hard questions more effectively. Tsai is on Twitter at @robertltsai.

This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Spears-Gilbert Associate Professor of Law at the University of Kentucky College of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.