Center for Law and Litigation | Competitive Enterprise Institute

'People's Rights Amendment' Would Knock Out People's Rights

Hans Bader — Fri, 18 May 2012 20:39:14 +0000

From Overlawyered:

Incredibly, versions of this radical rights-stripping measure has been endorsed through resolutions by the state legislatures of Vermont, Hawaii, and New Mexico, with backing from groups like Public Citizen. [Ilya Shapiro and Kathleen Hunker, Cato; Hans Bader, CEI; earlier] More: Professor Bainbridge (“utterly moronic”)]

Hans Bader

Thu, 2012-05-17

Citation Source:

Overlawyered

http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/peoples-rights-amendment-would-knock-out-peoples-rights/

From Watergate to Wedgiegate

Hans Bader — Tue, 15 May 2012 19:53:16 +0000

From Gene Healy's column in The Washington Examiner:

In a 2011 letter to the nation's school boards, Department of Education Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali outlined the administration's federal anti-bullying policy. As Competitive Enterprise Institute legal scholar Hans Bader noted at the time, the document "defined 'harassment' so broadly as to reach both speech protected by the First Amendment, and conduct the Supreme Court says does not legally qualify as harassment."

Hans Bader

Tue, 2012-05-15

Citation Source:

The Washington Examiner

http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/2012/05/watergate-wedgiegate/610966

Why You Should Stop Attending Diversity Training

Hans Bader — Wed, 02 May 2012 19:46:38 +0000

From Suzanne Lucas' article on CBS News:

So why do we continue to do this? Well, for one reason, government or professional organizations sometimes require it for accreditation or licensing. (Hans Bader, an attorney with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, reports that in order to practice law in California he was required to take a class on "elimination of bias in the legal profession.")

Hans Bader

Wed, 2012-05-02

Citation Source:

CBS News

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500395_162-57425771/why-you-should-stop-attending-diversity-training/

Law Schools Begin to Shrink

Hans Bader — Thu, 03 May 2012 19:20:46 +0000

From Overlawyered:

George Leef wonders whether economic necessity will drive them to radical, even Olsonian, lengths. [NRO "Phi Beta Cons"]

P.S. Ann Althouse wonders why, quizzed about the Elizabeth Warren brouhaha, law school administrators don’t have the courage of their oft-expressed convictions on minority recruitment. And see thoughts from John Rosenberg and Hans Bader at Minding the Campus.

Hans Bader

Tue, 2012-05-01

Citation Source:

Overlawyered

http://overlawyered.com/2012/05/law-schools-begin-to-shrink/

Ambulance Chasers Feast on Americans with Disabilities Act Claims

Hans Bader — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:45:12 +0000

From Point of Law:

Hans Bader, senior attorney and counsel for special projects with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, comments on a recent New York Times story that sheds light on a phenomenon Walter Olson of the Cato Institute tags as the creation of "ADA filing mills."

Bader writes:

Thanks to generous attorney-fee provisions contained in federal civil-rights law, trial lawyers are feasting on Americans with Disabilities Act claims at the expense of small businesses, consumers, and indirectly the public. As I noted earlier, a trial lawyer can collect thousands of dollars in attorney fees for "winning" a discrimination or ADA lawsuit, even if his client collects only $1.

...When it comes to ADA compliance, small businesses are subjected to legal harassment no matter what they do. Many small businesses don't have the freedom to unilaterally modify their entrances or facilities to make them handicapped-accessible, due to municipal code compliance regulations. Instead, they have to submit costly, detailed applications to code enforcers first, and sometimes have to wait months or years for approval, during which time they are sitting ducks for greedy trial lawyers bringing ADA claims. If they make their facilities ADA compliant without receiving the required municipal permits, they get fined by municipal officials.

As the owner of the Cha Cha Chicken restaurant on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica noted, "We wanted to renovate our bathroom areas to make it more handicap-accessible and it took us almost three years to get all the permits. . .We kept giving all the paperwork they need, but it took forever. We needed the Pico Improvement Organization to plead our case."

Hans Bader

Mon, 2012-04-23

Citation Source:

Point of Law

http://www.pointoflaw.com/archives/2012/04/hans-bader-ambulance-chasers-feast-on-americans-with-disabilities-act-claims.php

Ambulance Chasers Feast on Americans with Disabilities Act Claims

Hans Bader — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:18:51 +0000

From Point of Law:

Hans Bader

Mon, 2012-04-23

Citation Source:

Point of Law

http://www.pointoflaw.com/archives/2012/04/hans-bader-ambulance-chasers-feast-on-americans-with-disabilities-act-claims.php

“Structuring”: Who Can Get Away With It, and Who Can’t

Hans Bader — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:34:54 +0000

From Overlawyered:

P.S. The Supreme Court, in a majority opinion by Justice Ruth Ginsburg [Ratslaf v. U.S., 1994], admirably “interpreted the ‘willfully’ element for a currency structuring violation under 31 U.S.C. Sec. 5324 to require proof that the defendant knew the structuring was illegal. Congress responded rather promptly to the Court’s holding by dropping willfulness from the statute.” [White Collar Crime Prof, h/t Sam Bagenstos] (& welcome Prof. Bainbridge, Amy Alkon, Hans Bader readers; & see update.)

Hans Bader

Fri, 2012-04-20

Citation Source:

Overlawyered

http://overlawyered.com/2012/04/structuring-who-can-get-away-with-it-and-who-cant/

Letter to the Editor: Helping Those With Disabilities Secure Employment

Hans Bader — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:28:35 +0000

James Bovard rightly criticizes the Obama administration for seeking to force many businesses to adopt hiring quotas for disabled applicants. Such quotas not only raise costs and slash productivity, but also violate federal law.

The Supreme Court has said that the disabilities-rights laws aren't "affirmative action" statutes, in cases like Southeastern Community College v. Davis (1979). While these laws require employers to reasonably accommodate disabilities, they don't require a general preference for disabled applicants, much less quotas. Since these quotas harm taxpayers, undermine merit-based hiring and reduce efficiency, they are invalid under the Procurement Act and court rulings like Chamber of Commerce v. Reich (1996), which limit the president's power to dictate the hiring decisions of government contractors.

Hans Bader

Wed, 2012-04-18

Citation Source:

The Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304356604577342201908627484.html

The Times Covers ADA Filing Mills

Hans Bader — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:00:09 +0000

From Overlawyered:

I discuss the piece and its background in a new Cato post (& welcome Glenn Reynolds/Instapundit readers). Hans Bader and Jacob Sullum also weigh in.

Hans Bader

Wed, 2012-04-18

Citation Source:

Overlawyered

http://overlawyered.com/2012/04/the-times-covers-ada-filing-mills/

On College Campuses, Title IX Transforms Response to Sexual Assault, But Not Without Critics

Hans Bader — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:38:58 +0000

From an Associated Press article:

Hans Bader, an attorney who worked at OCR under the Bush administration, says OCR’s guidelines “stack the deck against the accused.” He and other critics contend that OCR is misreading the law. They argue preponderance is an appropriate standard for determining if a college has violated Title IX. But for an individual student, a higher standard should be required — or at least allowed.

Hans Bader

Tue, 2012-04-17

Citation Source:

The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/higher-education/on-college-campuses-title-ix-transforms-response-to-sexual-assault-_-but-not-without-critics/2012/04/17/gIQAvy7MOT_print.html