David S. Meyer
I'm a professor of sociology and political science at the University of California, Irvine. I've been thinking, and writing about, protest politics for almost ever. This site offers comments on contemporary events, informed (I hope) by knowing something about history and about the academic study of social movements.
Tag Archives: courts
Supreme Court spectacles, football, and same sex marriage
No one should think that the oral arguments conducted today and tomorrow in the Supreme Court–or the decisions the Court will issue this spring–will resolve the evolving politics of gay marriage, and gay rights more generally. The spectacle of the … Continue reading
Occupy in Steubenville, Ohio
Activists in Ohio–and elsewhere–have grabbed the Occupy label to demonstrate their concern that Steubenville authorities (including the police and the high school football coaching staff) are covering up a sexual assault. Using Occupy, Anonymous, the Guy Fawkes mask, hacktivist tools, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Anonymous, courts, crime, football, hacktivists, Occupy, Ohio, rape, rape culture, sexual assault, Steubenville, trial, vigilantism
3 Comments
Policing police at Davis
Nearly a year after a campus police office at the University of California pepper sprayed students nonviolently protesting against tuition hikes–under the banner of Occupy–the University has reached a settlement with the students. The LA Times reports that the police … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged courts, Davis, Occupy, pepper spray, police, protest, settlement, students, University of California
2 Comments
Indicting George Zimmerman: The impact of public protests
When Florida state attorney Angela Corey announced that she would charge George Zimmerman with second degree homicide for shooting and killing Trayvon Martin, she emphasized that her decision was not influenced by politics or protests. Instead, she said the facts … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Angela Corey, courts, George Zimmerman, impact of protest, Trayvon Martin
2 Comments
What courts can/ will do
Today’s news provides more data on the extent and limits of the judiciary as a venue for social movements: A federal appellate panel (9th district) has upheld District Judge Vaughn R. Walker’s decision to strike down California’s ban on same … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged animal rights, Constitution, courts, legal sytem, marriage, orca, PETA, same sex marriage, Sea World, slavery, Vaughan Walker, whales
1 Comment
Crime, punishment, and protest
Tim DeChristopher has been sentenced to two years in jail and a $10,000 fine. About 2 1/2 years ago, after Barack Obama had been elected president, partly by promising to protect the environment more aggressively than President George W. Bush … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged and Mary, Brevik, civil disobedience, climate change, courts, environmentalism, law, necessity defense, Paul, Peter, protest
5 Comments
How the courts disappoint
American politics has provided some updates on our concerns about the courts and social movements (see: “You can’t count on the courts”). Be sure that activists will be disappointed–and that they are extremely unlikely to give up. In Wisconsin, the … Continue reading
You Can’t Count on the Courts to ________ Social Change
“Scarcely any political question arises in the United States that is not resolved, sooner or later, into a judicial question.” This is a tag from Alexis de Tocqueville’s monumental Democracy in America, published well over 150 years ago. This is … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Arizona, Brown v. Board of Education, courts, immigration, Roe v. Wade, Wisconsin
4 Comments
The Fractious Politics of Education (III): Local Funding
Today, we start with the story of Tanya McDowell, a homeless woman charged with larceny and conspiracy in defrauding the Norwalk, Connecticut, public schools. Ms. McDowell, facing conspiracy for possessing marijuana and crack cocaine in another case, allegedly used a … Continue reading
