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Category Archives: Law
“The market as a creative process”
That is the title of this excellent essay by Viktor Vanberg and the late James Buchanan, which was recently reprinted in Daniel Hausman, editor, The Philosophy of Economics, Cambridge U Press (2008), pp. 378-398. Here is a picture of the book in … Continue reading
Reverse legal lotteries
The increasing problem of overcriminalization (of private citizens and businesses, that is — policemen and regulators almost always get a free pass) has been noted before. In summary, overcriminalization threatens our economic liberties and undermines the rule of law. Matt Kaiser, moreover, describes … Continue reading
Here come the lawyers!
You can read the well-drafted, five-page complaint filed by Judy Huth against Bill Cosby for yourself. Ms Huth’s complaint alleges three causes of actions or legal claims: (1) sexual battery, (2) intentional infliction of emotional distress, and (3) negligent infliction of emotional … Continue reading
Ban state-run monopolies, not Uber
*The sign should read “Welcome to Nevada … Except Uber.” Why? Read this report: The only State that allows prostitution just banned Uber. By the way, isn’t Nevada’s decision to ban Uber an unlawful restriction of interstate commerce under the Dormant Commerce … Continue reading
Markets in infrastructure?
Why not? Brock Cusick‘s eloquent essay “Here’s an idea better than net neutrality” is by far the best thing we have read on this well-worn subject in some time. Spoiler alert: Mr Cusick recommends a market approach to Internet service. (Hat … Continue reading
Legal confidence men
Jane Hu explains in this excellent essay why so-called “scientific jury selection” is not really scientific. But her essay misses the most compelling reason why trial consultants are basically high-priced charlatans: there is no way testing or falsifying their predictions! Karl Popper, anyone? What … Continue reading
Posted in Law, Science
Tagged falsification, Jury Selection, Karl Popper, Philosophy of Science, Replication
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The reference class problem strikes again?
A public interest group based in Las Vegas — the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage — recently filed a petition alleging the non-random assignment of judges in a subset of same-sex marriage cases decided by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals … Continue reading
Kanyé West and the Law of Bailments
A bailment is a legal relationship that arises when a person (the bailor) gives personal property to someone else (the bailee) for safekeeping. So, can a bailee use a disclaimer to eliminate or limit his or her legal responsibility to the bailor … Continue reading
Gödel’s loophole (Twitter edition)
Kurt Gödel found a bug in the Constitution that would allow a rise of fascism. It almost cost him his citizenship: http://t.co/D09fQiSAH8— Parker Higgins (@xor) November 01, 2014 What happens when the world’s greatest logician since Aristotle decides to study the … Continue reading
Was Holmes a Bayesian?
Not that Holmes. This one. In our previous blog post (11/14/14), we promised to explain why our defense of Bayesian methods is relevant to law. After all, how is probability theory generally or any of the foregoing specifically — i.e. Hájek’s analysis … Continue reading
prior probability 