Traffic Cops Who Snooped Sexy Selfies Face Federal Charges
David McKnight and Julian Alcala were accused of separate plots to steal sexually explicit photos from women's phones during traffic stops.
Due Process
Apple Makes It More Difficult for Crooks and Cops To Look at Your Phone
A new "inactivity reboot" protects data from thieves and helps preserve due process.
Weed Shops Deserve Due Process, Says Judge
Plus: Andrew Cuomo's potential prosecution, Texas death blamed on abortion ban, and more...
A Movie Mirrors the Stranger-Than-Fiction Reality of Civil Asset Forfeiture
The outrageous seizure at the center of Rebel Ridge resembles real-life cash grabs.
How Post-Arrest DNA Swabs Threaten Innocent People's Privacy
Most states collect DNA from felony arrestees pretrial. They should need a warrant to do so.
'María Knew She Was Being Targeted': The Arrest of a Venezuelan Activist Exposes Maduro's Brutal Crackdown
María Oropeza's arrest during a livestream highlights the dangers faced by opposition leaders in Venezuela and the regime's relentless efforts to silence dissent.
Michigan Judge Handcuffed and Jailed a Teen for Falling Asleep During a Field Trip
Judge Kenneth King is facing a lawsuit for punishing a 15-year-old who visited his courtroom with his "own version of Scared Straight.''
A Lawsuit by Christian Zionists Says Biden's West Bank Sanctions Violate the First Amendment
By targeting "persons undermining peace, security, and stability," the plaintiffs argue, the president is threatening to punish people for opposing a two-state solution.
Pit Stop Policing Transforms Traffic Violations Into High-Stakes Drug Hunts
South Carolina's Operation Rolling Thunder targets cash and contraband but harasses guilty and innocent travelers alike.
South Carolina Cops and Courts Rig the Game Against Drivers
An uneven playing field allows the aggressive tactics and legal loopholes that turn traffic stops into cash grabs.
Inside the Unchecked Bus Searches by South Carolina Police
Routine searches of commercial buses violate privacy, target low-income passengers, and result in widespread violations.
'Too Much Law' Gives Prosecutors Enormous Power To Ruin People's Lives
In a new book, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch describes the "human toll" of proliferating criminal penalties.
South Carolina Cops Target Out-of-State Drivers for Highway Robbery
No arrest necessary as South Carolina police hunt for cash
Operation Rolling Thunder: The Shocking Truth Behind Spartanburg's Traffic Stops
A 21-month legal battle unveils the dark side of South Carolina's annual traffic crackdown.
Prosecutor of Anti-Trump Protesters Allegedly Withheld Exculpatory Evidence and Lied About It
According to disciplinary charges against Jennifer Kerkhoff Muyskens, she suppressed video evidence that would have helped DisruptJ20 defendants.
Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich Released From Russian Captivity
Gershkovich was released Thursday in an elaborate prisoner swap involving two dozen prisoners from at least six countries.
Two SCOTUS Cases Show How an Unaccountable Administrative State Hurts 'Ordinary People'
Contrary to progressive criticism, curtailing bureaucratic power is not about protecting "the wealthy and powerful."
The Supreme Court Didn't Destroy the Regulatory State. It Stood Up for Due Process.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson says these cases will "devastate" the regulatory state. Good.
SCOTUS Repudiates Doctrine That Gave Agencies a License To Invent Their Own Authority
The Court says Chevron deference allows bureaucrats to usurp a judicial function, creating "an eternal fog of uncertainty" about what the law allows or requires.
SCOTUS Rules SEC's In-House Handling of Securities Fraud Cases Violates the Right to Trial by Jury
The decision rejects a system in which the agency imposes civil penalties after investigating people and validating its own allegations.
The Supreme Court Again Strengthens the Right to a Jury Trial in Criminal Sentencing
Paul Erlinger was sentenced to 15 years in prison based largely on a determination made by a judge—not a jury.
SCOTUS Dodges a Crucial Problem With Disarming People Based on Restraining Orders
The Court says "a credible threat" justifies a ban on gun possession but does not address situations where there is no such judicial finding.
Ian Vasquez: What Has Javier Milei Accomplished in Argentina?
The Cato Institute's Ian Vasquez recently organized a conference in Argentina featuring President Javier Milei. He gives an update on the presidency.
A Federal Judge Rejects the Lame Excuses of Texas Cops Who Kidnapped a Supposedly 'Abandoned' Teenager
The decision clears the way for a jury to consider Megan and Adam McMurry's constitutional claims against the officers who snatched their daughter.
Critics Fundamentally Misconstrue the Supreme Court's Bump Stock Ruling
The case hinged on the ATF’s statutory authority, not the Second Amendment.
Supreme Court Upholds the Rule of Law by Rejecting the Trump Administration's Bump Stock Ban
Six justices agreed that federal regulators had misconstrued the statutory definition of a machine gun.
A Jumble of Legal Theories Failed To Give Trump 'Fair Notice' of the New York Charges Against Him
The lack of a clear rationale for charging Trump with 34 felonies raises a due process issue that is likely to figure in his appeals.
California Man Gets $900,000 Settlement for 'Psychological Torture' During 17-Hour Police Interrogation
Detectives in Fontana, California, told Thomas Perez Jr. that his father was dead and that he killed him. Neither was true.
Can This Woman Sue the Rogue Prosecutor Who Allegedly Helped Upend Her Life?
Prosecutor Ralph Petty was also employed as a law clerk—by the same judges he argued before.
Supreme Court Rules No Due Process Right to Preliminary Hearings in Civil Asset Forfeiture Cases
The cars of two Alabama women were seized for more than a year before courts found they were innocent owners. The Supreme Court says they had no constitutional right to a preliminary hearing.
California Students Get $1 Million After They Were Expelled for Wearing Supposedly Racist Acne Masks
School officials falsely accused the boys of posing for a photo in blackface.
TikTok Asks Court To Declare Ban Unconstitutional
Congress is "silencing the 170 million Americans who use the platform to communicate," the company argues.
Minnesota's Indefinite Detention of Sex Offenders Is Ineffective As Well As Unjust
A new report argues that the notorious program squanders taxpayer money while keeping people imprisoned without justification or recourse.
Florida Man's Tall Grass Saga Comes to an End
One man’s overgrown yard became a six-year struggle against overzealous code enforcement.
New Title IX Rules Erase Campus Due Process Protections
The new rules allow students to be found guilty of assaulting a classmate without ever seeing the full evidence against them.
The Kansas Legislature Unanimously Passed a Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill
Kansas had among the most lax civil asset forfeiture laws in the country, but a bill sent to the governor's desk would strengthen protections for property owners.
A Florida Judge Says $165,000 in Fines for 3 Minor Code Violations Is Not 'Excessive'
Sandy Martinez faces that bill because of driveway cracks, a storm-damaged fence, and cars parked on her own property that illegally touched her lawn.
Republicans Split on Whether FBI Should Be Able To Snoop Without a Warrant
A Section 702 reauthorization moving through Congress could actually weaken privacy protections.
Florida Appellate Court Disqualifies Judge in Gender-Transition Child Removal Case
Did the judge's remarks "suggest[] she had predetermined that the father had no right to oppose gender transition or otherwise direct the child's upbringing based upon his moral and religious beliefs"?
Kansas Police Seized Her Truck. It Took Her 8 Months To Get it Back, Despite Never Being Charged With a Crime.
Dewonna Goodridge quickly discovered that Kansas civil asset forfeiture laws were stacked against her when sheriff's deputies seized her truck.
Sheriff Who Presided Over Violent 'Goon Squad' Tries To Play Dumb
"Nobody's ever reported that to me," Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey said after his deputies admitted to brutalizing innocent people.
SCOTUS Ponders the Implications of Prosecuting Gun Owners for a Crime Invented by Bureaucrats
Several justices seemed troubled by an ATF rule that purports to ban bump stocks by reinterpreting the federal definition of machine guns.
4 Reasons Trump Says a Judge Should Dismiss Charges in the Classified Documents Case
His lawyers assert presidential immunity and discretion, criticize an "unconstitutionally vague" statute, and question the special counsel's legal status.
Alvin Bragg Is Trying To Punish Trump for Something That Is Not a Crime
The essence of the case, the Manhattan D.A. says, is that Trump "corrupt[ed] a presidential election" by concealing embarrassing information.
He Was Charged With Human Trafficking for Driving His Wife to Work
"The sole basis for targeting Joe was the race/ethnicity of his wife and her occupation" at an Asian massage parlor, the lawsuit claims.
SCOTUS Ponders the Ambiguity of 'Ambiguous' and Other Chevron Doctrine Puzzles
The justices seem inclined to revise or ditch a 1984 precedent that requires deference to executive agencies' statutory interpretations.
