Malibu Man Fined $4.2 Million Over Disputed Beachfront Gate
Warren Lent is suing the California Coastal Commission, arguing that its power to unilaterally hand down massive fines with minimal process is unconstitutional.
Due Process
The $2 Drug Test Keeping Inmates in Solitary
Reason tried out the field test kits used to test for drugs in prison. They were unreliable and confusing.
Why Didn't California's 'Red Flag' Law Stop the San Jose Shooter?
Even when states authorize gun confiscation orders, identifying would-be mass shooters is a daunting challenge.
Get a Warrant, Supreme Court Tells Cops Who Seized Guns From Home Without Due Process
Plus: On SATs and bias, what changed when Texas lifted its mask mandate, and more...
Bust a Deal, Face the Wheel, Here for Colleges and Settlements for Lawsuits Over Expulsions
A student was expelled by St. John Fisher College for alleged sexual misconduct, but was then acquitted at a criminal trial and sued the college; the college agreed to confidentiality to settle the case, but then allegedly breached the agreement.
Arizona's Newly Enacted Forfeiture Reforms Will Make It Harder for Cops To Steal Property
The new law requires a criminal conviction prior to civil forfeiture and beefs up due process protections for property owners.
The Chauvin Verdict Is a Reminder That We Still Need To Abolish Qualified Immunity
Most victims of police misconduct never get to take their cases to court.
The Indianapolis Shooting Highlights the Shortcomings of 'Red Flag' Laws
Although police seized the perpetrator's shotgun when he was deemed suicidal, he was never identified as a potential murderer.
N.Y. Appellate Court Upholds Semester Suspension for Attending Unmasked/Undistanced Off-Campus Parties During Epidemic
“While the penalty of suspension is very harsh, it is not shockingly disproportionate to the offense. It does not shock the conscience for a university, acting during a pandemic, to enforce rules designed to prevent the spread of the virus with the penalty of suspension.”
Biden Threatens to Revive Kangaroo Courts in College Sexual Assault Cases
The president has ordered the Education Department to consider rescinding reforms aimed at protecting the due process rights of accused students.
After the Cops Seized Her Car, the Government Waited Five Years Before Giving Her a Chance To Get It Back
In Massachusetts, Malinda Harris argues, civil asset forfeiture routinely violates the right to due process.
The Washington Supreme Court Just Decriminalized Simple Drug Possession. Legislators Shouldn't 'Fix' the Overturned Law.
The court said criminalizing unknowing possession violates the right to due process.
Federal Suit Seeks Damages for Men Illegally Recorded at Florida Massage Parlors, Falsely Smeared as Sex Traffickers
Two women still face felony charges, though the cases against all male defendants were dropped.
Civil Forfeiture Does Not Seem To Reduce Drug Use or Help Fight Crime
A new study provides further evidence that property seizures are driven by financial motives rather than public safety concerns.
Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders Pretends Prisoners Are Patients
The practice evades constitutional constraints by casting punishment and preventive detention as treatment.
Cops Must Destroy Illegal Surveillance Videos From Spa Visited by Robert Kraft
Authorities "shall destroy the videos unlawfully obtained through the surveillance of the Orchids of Asia Day Spa," a federal judge says.
Right to Get Guns Back Once Temporary Anti-Stalking Injunction Is Dismissed
"We certainly would not fault a trial judge's desire to ensure public safety. But judicial concern, understandable as it may be, does not confer judicial power."
This Forfeiture Victim Waited 2 Years Without a Hearing. Is That Due Process?
The Institute for Justice wants the Supreme Court to rule that the Fifth Amendment requires a prompt post-seizure hearing.
Joe Biden Has Vowed To Undo Betsy DeVos's Title IX Reforms. Can He?
The new president could weaken due process protections for accused students, but it won't be easy.
'This Building Has Caused More Problems Than It Solved'
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on schooling during COVID-19, the future of higher ed, and why her cabinet department probably shouldn't exist at all
An Overdue Rebuke to Politicians Who Think Anything Goes in a Pandemic
Two courts say COVID-19 lockdowns in Michigan and Pennsylvania were unconstitutional.
SCOTUS Could Use More Skeptics Like Amy Coney Barrett
The 7th Circuit judge’s track record suggests she would frequently be a friend of civil liberties.
Amy Coney Barrett Condemns Purdue University's 'Fundamentally Unfair' Adjudication of Sexual Assault Claims
The opinion, which suggests a strong concern about due process, will nevertheless be cited as evidence of the SCOTUS nominee's "uniformly conservative" record.
SCOTUS Contender Amy Coney Barrett's Mixed Record in Criminal Cases
While the 7th Circuit judge is often skeptical of the government's position, some of her conclusions will give pause to civil libertarians.
Surveying the Federal Government's Kafkaesque System of Legalized Larceny, the 5th Circuit Sees No Due Process Problem
Gerardo Serrano, whose truck was seized over five forgotten handgun rounds, waited two years for a hearing he never actually got.
"Due Process in a Fee Driven State"
A very interesting law review article from Profs. Glenn Harlan Reynolds (Instapundit) & Penny White.
Tucson Handyman Gets His Jeep Back After He Threatens to Fight the Forfeiture
The cops seized Kevin McBride's $15,000 car because his girlfriend allegedly used it for a $25 marijuana sale.
The Cops Took This Guy's $15,000 Jeep Because His Girlfriend Allegedly Used It for a $25 Marijuana Sale
Kevin McBride argues that Arizona's civil forfeiture law is unconstitutional.
Kansas Knife Statute Held Unconstitutionally Vague
The law banned convicted felons from possessing "a dagger, dirk, switchblade, stiletto, straight-edged razor or any other dangerous or deadly cutting instrument of like character"—"It is the very overbreadth of such laws that renders them impermissibly vague."
After Dems Exaggerate Impact, Panicked Kids Are Suing Over Betsy DeVos Title IX Changes
Distorted partisan descriptions of the Department of Education changes could be doing real damage.
Robert Kraft and Florida Massage Workers Are Still Fighting Unconstitutional Surveillance Video
"Supreme Court jurisprudence...is heavily weighted against you," an appeals judge told state prosecutors last week.
Expelled Student's Sex Discrimination Claim Against Oberlin College Can Go Forward
"[The Oberlin] panel's decision was arguably inexplicable. Per the terms of Oberlin's Policy, intoxication does not negate consent—only 'incapacitation' does.... And the record here provided no apparent basis for a finding that Roe [was incapacitated]."
Matt Boermeester, a USC Football Player Who Was Expelled After an Unfair Title IX Investigation, Wins in Court
"USC stripped away my hopes and dreams of playing in the NFL, and this ‘win' does not erase that."
Another Judge Rules That Ohio's COVID-19 Lockdown Is Illegal
The decision says the "unbridled and unfettered consolidation of authority in one unelected official" violates due process and the separation of powers.
Federal Aircraft Accused of Tracking Protesters
Plus: Breonna’s Law bans no-knock raids in Kentucky, Amazon's third-party problem, new findings on metabolism, and more...
Why Did Arizona Democrats Kill a Bill Protecting Citizens From Police Overreach?
It’s all about the revenue. Civil forfeiture brings in money, and lawmakers are more worried about their budgets than residents’ due process and property rights.
Judge to FBI: You Should've Gotten a Warrant Before Turning On That Phone
Plus: Virginia decriminalizes marijuana, it's not Trump's call whether we close the country again, and more…
Biden Vows To Destroy Campus Due Process Again If Elected
Plus: Homeland Security has detained thousands of pregnant women, Ginsburg wrong about "seamless" contraception coverage, and more...
Expelled for Sexual Misconduct and Falsely Accused of Having HIV, an Indiana Wesleyan Student Had To Take an STD Test During the Coronavirus Pandemic
"It's far worse than we could have imagined," the student's attorney tells Reason.
Joe Biden Sexual Assault Allegation Made Alyssa Milano Backtrack on 'Believing All Women'
Under fire for refusing to support Tara Reade, Milano says she never thought #MeToo would "destroy innocent men."
L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva Says Gun Dealers Are 'Nonessential.' The Department of Homeland Security Disagrees.
The county's ban on firearm sales is inconsistent with a new federal advisory as well as the Second Amendment.
No Suspension Without Hearing in University Student Disciplinary Proceedings
Plus "An accused student's rights must be guaranteed—not left open for interpretation."
Adjudication Outside Article III (part one)
Why there are no "exceptions" to Article III
Would Italian-Style Lockdowns to Curtail the Spread of Coronavirus Pass Legal Muster in the U.S.?
The extent of state and federal quarantine powers is surprisingly unsettled.
She Said He Said He Saw Demons. Then He Had to Give Up His Guns.
A bizarre Florida “red flag” case shows the importance of safeguards that protect people’s Second Amendment rights.
After He Found California's Indefinite Detention of Sex Offenders Wasn't Working, the State Shut Him Down and Destroyed His Research
Psychologist Jesus Padilla was forbidden to complete research that could have set many indefinitely committed people free. He died with the work unfinished.
