Rogue One and the Politics of Star Wars; The real reason President Obama won’t recess-appoint Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court; No, the IRS may not deny tax exemptions on the grounds that a group is a supposed ‘hate group’; Interesting Supreme Court petition: State regulators retaliated against financial adviser for anti-Obama speech (and for ad offering $100 ‘towards the purchase of a firearm’ as bonus); Ninth Circuit will reconsider pro-Second-Amendment opinion related to gun store zoning; Upcoming talks at the AALS Annual Meeting; What’s covered in a course on computer crime law?; Are the SEC’s administrative law judges unconstitutional?;     Rogue One and the Politics of Star Wars My Learn Liberty review of the new Star Wars movie and its take on political issues. By Ilya Somin  •  Read more » The real reason President Obama won’t recess-appoint Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court Hint: It wouldn't work. A quick constitutional law lesson. By Jonathan H. Adler  •  Read more »   No, the IRS may not deny tax exemptions on the grounds that a group is a supposed ‘hate group’ Some raise "concerns that [the IRS] is essentially granting government subsidies to groups holding views that millions of Americans may find abhorrent." But First Amendment precedents make clear that the government can't deny tax-exempt status based on a group's viewpoints, "abhorrent" or not. By Eugene Volokh  •  Read more » Interesting Supreme Court petition: State regulators retaliated against financial adviser for anti-Obama speech (and for ad offering $100 ‘towards the purchase of a firearm’ as bonus) The regulators "implicitly pressured" Bob Bennie's employer to curtail "Bennie's speech to avoid problems with the department." One of the regulators told a colleague that a call to the employer would cover, among other things, Bennie's "gun slingin ads, and calling Obama a ‘communist' and an ‘evil' man issues." By Eugene Volokh  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   Ninth Circuit will reconsider pro-Second-Amendment opinion related to gun store zoning May a government make zoning decisions that essentially block any new gun stores in its jurisdiction? By Eugene Volokh  •  Read more » Upcoming talks at the AALS Annual Meeting I will be speaking on three panels at the Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting: two on immigration and federalism, and one on affirmative action in higher education. By Ilya Somin  •  Read more » What’s covered in a course on computer crime law? Here's what I will be teaching my Computer Crime Law students this coming semester. By Orin Kerr  •  Read more » Are the SEC’s administrative law judges unconstitutional? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit holds that the Securities and Exchange Commission's administrative law judges are unconstitutional, creating a circuit split. By Jonathan H. Adler  •  Read more » ADVERTISEMENT   Recommended for you   Fact Checker Count the pinocchios. A weekly review of what's true, false or in-between. Sign Up »         Share The Volokh Conspiracy:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you signed up for updates from The Volokh Conspiracy blog. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2016 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071