OKAY, ANOTHER ONE OF THESE: Flashback: Why Judge Kozinski Supports Internet Privacy.

Excellent quote: “I know what it’s like to always be on your guard,” Judge Kozinski said in an interview. “Everything you say or do will be judged or reported, and you’ll have to explain yourself for things that are really innocent.”‘ Is it just my imagination, or has the United States gotten more like this in the last couple of decades? Kozinski is a breath of fresh air in the increasingly bureaucratized and mediocre federal appellate judiciary. (Yes, I said mediocre. I’ve just completed a project that involved reviewing all the lower court decisions on the commerce clause for the past year. Doctrinally, some are okay and some aren’t. But an appallingly large number are just bad: conclusory, sloppy, or just plain wrong. A particularly common and annoying habit is citing cases for things they don’t say, or ignoring more recent Supreme Court opinions in favor of older circuit precedent).

Sigh. Some things haven’t changed.