Richard Epstein: use Federal antidiscrimination laws to go after Sheriff Joe

My favorite contemporary political-philosophical thinker talks civil rights law in Forbes (HT: Reason Hit and Run), and recommends using it against one of my least favorite people:

So just what is left for the revitalized Civil Rights Division to do? The division should target state and local governments that, free of any competitive market pressures, pose genuine risks of unchecked discrimination. A quick read of William Finnegan's "Profile: Sheriff Joe [Arpaio]" in The New Yorker certainly counts in my book as probable cause for a DOJ investigation. Remember, on race relations the libertarian insight still holds true. Race discrimination does not survive in competitive markets. But it does flourish when public officials exercise monopoly power without external supervision.

Think this talk is bombast? Read up on the case of Julian and Julio Mora. Driving while appearing to be of Mexican descent appears now to constitute reasonable suspicion, if not probable cause, for MCSO purposes.

Richard Epstein to give two lectures in Arizona!

Richard Epstein, perhaps the foremost modern classical liberal legal scholar and among this generation's top political philosophers from anywhere in the political spectrum, will be giving two public lectures on Wednesday, 4 January, in Phoenix.

The first, at noon, shall be hosted by the Phoenix School of Law's Federalist Society. Epstein will discuss the intersection of takings, defamation law, and scholarly free speech in the defamation suit Royall v Main, in which he is codefendant. See this post for details.

In the evening, the Goldwater Institute will host a lecture on the "Coming Constitutional Crisis", in which Epstein will discuss some of the coming conflicts over the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. Details may be found on the Goldwater Institute's event page.

Both events are free but require RSVP. Lawyers may sign up to receive CLE credit for a small fee at either. Your humble narrator will likely come to the lab in early morning so as to leave early and drive up from Tucson to make it to the evening event. I'm probably on the hook already to meet a few of my ACLU colleagues (informally) afterwards and would be pleased if a few readers could join us for beer, wine, or coffee; send me an e-mail if you're interested.