Civil Liberties
Ron DeSantis Dangerously Blurs the Line Between State and Private Action
Whether the putative target is the "biomedical security state," wokeness, "Big Tech censors," or Chinese Communists, the presidential candidate’s grandstanding poses a clear threat to individual rights.
My New Brennan Center Article on Tyler v. Hennepin County and the Cross-Ideological Case for Stronger Judicial Protection for Constitutional Property Rights
The Tyler home equity theft case is just the tip of a much larger iceberg of property rights issues where stronger judicial protection can protect the interests of the poor and minorities, as well as promote the federalist values of localism and diversity.
Teaching Kids To Swim Is a Great Way To Protect Them From Actual Danger
"Parents have told me that once their children learn to swim they have more confidence and self-esteem," says Joseph Brier, a swim instructor.
German Police Investigate Roger Waters Over Concert Wardrobe
Laws against displaying Nazi-esque iconography are well-intended, but they pose a threat to free speech and the principles of a free society.
What Do Gadsden Flags and Pride Flags Have in Common?
Sexual minorities aren't the only ones who love to wave identity flags.
Second Amendment Roundup: U.S. Seeking Cert on Prohibited Persons
The Administration is hoping that bad facts will make bad law.
Oppression in the South Was Not an Expression of Freedom
Freedom's Dominion argues Southern history was animated by "racialized radical anti-statism." The case is lacking.
European Union Fines Meta $1.3 Billion Because of NSA Spying Programs
The record penalty seems to be based less on the Facebook parent company's lax data practices than the U.S. intelligence community's data-collection programs.
Jail Officials Refused To Give Him His Heart Transplant Medication. Days Later, He Was Dead.
A lawyer for the family speculates that jail officials balked at the medication's high price.
Major Unanimous Supreme Court Victory for Property Rights in Tyler v. Hennepin County
The Supreme Court ruled that home equity theft qualifies as a taking, and that state law is not the sole source for the definition of property rights. The ruling is imprecise on some points, but still sets an important and valuable precedent.
How Ron DeSantis, Tucker Carlson, and Elon Musk Will Change the Section 230 Debate
Expect the very foundations of the internet to come under attack from politicians and the mainstream media.
The County Sold Her Home Over Unpaid Taxes and Kept the Profit. SCOTUS Wasn't Having It.
"The taxpayer must render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, but no more," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts.
Rep. George Santos's Bail Guarantors Are Being Kept Secret
The New York Times asked that their names, and information related to the bail hearing, be released.
Court Upholds Order Limiting Divorced Father's Talking to Gay Son About Sexual Orientation and Religion
"[W]e find no error by the trial court in finding that Father had mentally abused N. The circuit court concluded that N. was 'frightened,' 'scared,' and 'fearful' of his Father's anger and his Father's refusal to accept his sexual orientation."
Even After Legalization, Maryland Cops Wanted to Search People Based on the Odor of Pot. Legislators Said No.
Police have a long history of using the real or imagined smell of marijuana to justify outrageous invasions.
Loading and Openly Carrying Gun in Own Yard Isn't Criminal Use of Deadly Force Under Florida Law
"[O]ne [tree-cutting] crew member made sexually suggestive gestures towards his fiancée and another waved a running chainsaw towards his dogs with the apparent threat to dismember them ...."
Texas Tries To Rein in False Accusations of Child Abuse
The state legislature passed a law to limit anonymous reports to its child abuse hotline.
The Surgeon General Exaggerates the Threat Social Media Poses to Kids
A new report calls for policy makers to take action when none is required.
Spying Abuses Are Still a Concern, 10 Years After Edward Snowden
Despite some headway in protecting privacy, the surveillance state hasn’t gone away.
The War on Tamales
Arizona was set to legalize the sale of "potentially hazardous" homemade foods—but then Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed the bill.
The Perils of 'Rule by Indefinite Emergency Edict'
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch highlights a vital lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Florida's Restrictions on Property Purchases by Chinese Citizens Hark Back to a Dark History of Xenophobia
In a federal lawsuit on behalf of legal U.S. residents from China, the ACLU argues that "Florida's New Alien Land Law" is unconstitutional.
Kicking Out Paid Conference Attendee May Be Breach of Contract—but His Returning Is Still Criminal Trespass
A case stemming from a "Holocaust revisionist's" expulsion from a conference on "Mennonites and the Holocaust."
Preliminary Injunction Against "Disparag[ing]" or "Frivolous" Claims About School Board or Employees …
violates the First Amendment, holds the Louisiana Court of Appeal.
Texas Bill Would Ban School Instruction, Guidance, or Activities Related to Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity
Plus: Naked Feminism, marijuana legalization in Minnesota, and more...
First Amendment Challenge to Discipline of 8th-Grader for "Racially Insensitive" Instagram Post Can Go Forward
The student had “posted a screenshot of a friend with a cosmetic mud mask on her face with the caption ‘when he says he’s only into black girls’ on her Instagram account.”
Section 230 Is Safe (for Now) After Supreme Court Rules on Google and Twitter Terrorism Cases
Plus: A new lawsuit in Montana over the state's TikTok ban, the economic realities of online content creation, the rights of private companies, and more...
TSA's Facial Recognition Tech Raises Questions About Bias and Data Security
Analysts and lawmakers are concerned about a new TSA program that instructs passengers to insert their IDs into a machine and takes a pictures of them.
Supreme Court Swats Down Attempts To Hold Twitter, Google Financially Liable for Terrorism
The narrow rulings concluded the platforms aren’t responsible for bad people using their communication services.
Montana Sets Itself Up for First Amendment Lawsuits With TikTok Ban
Plus: Americans are increasingly changing religions, court pauses rejection of "free" preventative care mandate, and more...
Don't Blame Elon Musk for Turkey's Authoritarian Twitter Censorship
Anger about social media censorship should be directed at repressive governments, not the companies they threaten.
Do Conservatives Actually Like RFK Jr., or Do They Just Think He'll Hurt Biden?
Democrats spent tens of millions of dollars last year's midterms meddling in Republican primaries. Republicans may now be borrowing a page from their playbook.
Alabama Botched His Execution. Now He Wants To Die Differently.
On Monday, the Supreme Court sided with an Alabama death-row inmate who, after surviving a botched lethal injection attempt last year, says he wants to die by gas chamber instead.
