Perfectly Legal, But Wrong

When “perfectly legal” is a lame excuse for doing the wrong thing

Society and Politics

Kasky vs. Nike and the quarrelsome question of corporate free speech

Kasky vs. Nike and the quarrelsome question of corporate free speech

The year of 2001 probably was not Nike, Inc., finest moments given that misleading statements that it made to the press and to the public about its operations in Southeast Asia labor activist opened a whole can of worms about whether the First Amendment applies to corporations making false or misleading statements.
After the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the decision, numerous business interests aligned with Nike’s appeal. Twenty-eight organizations and the U.S. government filed briefs as “friends of the court” to argue that Nike’s statements should be fully protected by the First Amendment.

The Kavanaugh Nomination: A Look Back

The Kavanaugh Nomination: A Look Back

It is “perfectly legal” to nominate someone to the U.S. Supreme Court whose views on various important matters are far to the right of most Americans. But lying is wrong, and Kavanaugh’s temperament is questionable, given his florid and politicized denials in response to Professor Ford’s testimony.

Emotional Support Animals, Airlines, and Ethics

Emotional Support Animals, Airlines, and Ethics

It was spring quarter at the University of Denver in 2008. I was giving a final exam in a freshman-level law and ethics class at the Daniels College of Business. I was taken aback when two women entered the classroom with small dogs. In over twenty years of teaching,...

Incivility: How deep does it go?

Incivility: How deep does it go?

Can’t anyone be “civil” anymore? From shout radio to the talking heads who –– for many years now ––interrupt each other on television “talk shows,” civility seems radically out of fashion, When then-candidate Donald Trump led chants of “Lock her up” or railed against...