REASON – Free Minds & Free Markets | This, That and The Other

From today's decision in Noland v. Land of the Free, L.P., by Justice Lee Smalley Edmon, joined by Justice Anne Egerton and Riverside Superior Court Judge Kira Klatchko: [N]early all of the legal quotations in plaintiff's opening brief, and many of the quotations in plaintiff's reply brief, are fabricated. That is, the quotes plaintiff attributes to published cases do not appear in those cases or anywhere else. Further, many of the cases plaintiff cites do not discuss the topics for which they are cited, and a few of the cases do not exist at all. These fabricated legal authorities were created by generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools that plaintiff's counsel used to draft his appellate briefs. The AI tools created fake legal authority—sometimes referred to as AI "hallucinations"—that were undetected by plaintiff's counsel because he did not read the cases the AI tools cited. Although the generation of fake legal… ...[TheTopNews] Read More.

Authorities announced on Friday morning that they made progress in solving a mystery that has gripped the nation for two days: who murdered conservative activist Charlie Kirk with a rifle during a crowded event at Utah Valley University. Utah Republican Gov. Spencer Cox told reporters that 22-year-old Tyler Robinson had been turned in by his family after he "confessed to them or implied" his guilt in the assassination. A roommate also showed police Discord chat messages from Robinson about hiding a rifle, according to Cox, who said that Robinson acted alone. Without those tips, it's hard to know how long the manhunt would have gone on for. The night before, authorities had signaled that they were completely stumped. Officials pleaded with the public for information based on a few grainy surveillance stills on Thursday night, and Utah Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason told NBC News that authorities had "no idea"… ...[TheTopNews] Read More.

A nice headline for a Free Press editorial, drawing the entirely accidental verbal connection to the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo murders. It also reminds me of a passage I mentioned after those murders, from Rebecca West, writing about the English in 1940 as they anticipated the German attack on England after the fall of France: Let nobody belittle them by pretending they were fearless. Not being as the ox and the ass, they were horribly afraid. But their pale lips did not part to say the words that would have given them security and dishonour. Perhaps this wasn't so with Hebdo, and the Charlie Hebdo editors really were fearless (see, e.g., this quote from Stephane Charbonnier). Perhaps Kirk hadn't really foreseen the risk to him (though it sounds like had faced serious threats before). But whenever I have occasion to think about true courage, it is West's words that come… ...[TheTopNews] Read More.

In a video released on Wednesday night, President Donald Trump said "radical left" rhetoric "is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today," including this week's assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a college in Utah, and "it must stop right now." Trump vowed that "my administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country." Trump also expressed devotion to "the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived and died," including "free speech." Yet that value seems inconsistent with Trump's claim that hateful rhetoric "directly" causes violence and his promise to "find" anyone who "contribute[s]" to that problem, apparently including "radical left" people who make… ...[TheTopNews] Read More.

The United States has given Lebanon until the end of the year to disarm Hezbollah in exchange for ending Israeli military operations there. This proposal, delivered to President Joseph Aoun, offers incremental Israeli withdrawals over the next few months in return for Hezbollah's gradual dissolution—an outcome that's nearly impossible in practice and already rejected by the group. Washington's attempt to link Israeli withdrawals to Hezbollah's disarmament ignores military and political realities. Disarming the terrorist group is not a matter of transactional diplomacy, but a near-impossible task that risks wasting diplomatic capital while the greater Middle East sinks deeper into instability. Deputy Special Envoy to the Middle East Morgan Ortagus and U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack delivered the offer, which outlines an Israeli concession of five border points in cooperation with the Lebanese military. Ideal as it sounds, the Iran-backed group has had its teeth sunk into Lebanese civil, political,… ...[TheTopNews] Read More.