He Died After Cops Shackled Him and Held Him Facedown. A Court Said That Was Constitutional. SCOTUS Isn't So Sure.
The officers might receive qualified immunity, however.
Civil Liberties
Lawsuit Over Nieman Journalism Lab (at Harvard) Outing Commenter Can Go Forward
The plaintiff is Francesca Viola, who wrote the comment when she was a journalism professor at Temple University.
Court Refuses Jail Guard's Request to Seal Civil Lawsuit Brought Against Him by Prisoner
"Bartolotti alleges that 'anytime you search [his] name on [the internet, he is] affiliated with this case,' which 'has affected [his] personal and professional lives [and] has become a safety issue at times as well.'"
Unanimous Supreme Court Ruling Bolsters Right to File Federal Takings Cases Against State and Local Governments
The Court clarified that the challenged policy need only be a "de facto final" decision, and that property owners are not required to exhaust all possible state bureaucratic procedures before filing a federal takings case. The Court also emphasized that Takings Clause property rights have "full-fledged constitutional status."
This Suicidal, Gasoline-Drenched Man Burned to Death After Cops Tased Him. A Federal Court Says That's Reasonable Force.
"In what legal universe is it not even plausibly unreasonable to knowingly immolate someone?" asks dissenting judge
Interpreting 47 U.S.C. § 230(c)(2)
The statute immunizes computer services for "action voluntarily taken in good faith to restrict ... availability of material that the provider ... considers to be obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, excessively violent, harassing, or otherwise objectionable, whether or not such material is constitutionally protected"—but what exactly does that mean?
New York Appeals Court Catalogs Rudy Giuliani's Election Lies As It Suspends His License to Practice Law
The suspension is based on "demonstrably false and misleading statements" that Giuliani made as Donald Trump's lawyer.
Fifth Circuit Certifies Questions in Doe v. Mckesson to Louisiana Supreme Court
This is the case against DeRay Mckesson, brought by a police officer who was injured in a protest that Mckesson allegedly organized.
Appeals Court Rules Aerial Police Tracking of Citizens Violates Fourth Amendment
Baltimore kept tabs on citizens' movement across 90 percent of the city, without a warrant, to investigate crimes.
Sixth Circuit Takes Bump Stock Case En Banc
What seems like a gun rights case actually presents some important questions of administrative law.
Cops Say Encryption Hinders Investigations. These Documents Say Otherwise.
Law enforcers have plenty of tools; they just want to paw through our data without effort or expense.
Biden's Gun Control Plans Won't Do Much To Address Surging Homicides
Cracking down on "rogue gun dealers" and enforcing background checks won't stop criminals from arming themselves.
Florida's College Intellectual Diversity Survey Is Good, Actually
No, it’s not an attempt to monitor faculty and student views. It’s an attempt to make sure they’re allowed to express them.
Trigger Warning Now Counts as Violent Language at Brandeis University
A way of warning someone they might feel offended is itself offensive?
Judge Orders FBI To Halt Forfeiture of Cash, Jewelry From Safe Deposit Boxes
The FBI provided "no factual basis for the seizure," Judge R. Gary Klausner wrote.
Hong Kong's Free Press Is Dying
After Chinese authorities conducted newsroom raids and arrested top editors, pro-democracy publication Apple Daily realized it could no longer safely operate.
This Cop Conducted 3 Warrantless Searches in Under 3 Years. He Gets To Keep His Job.
Once again, it shows just how hard it is to hold bad officers accountable.
Does a New Florida Law Require State Universities to Monitor Faculty and Student Beliefs? (Updated)
Why is straight reporting on educational reform measures so difficult.
My "The Hill" Article on Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid
The article assesses today's important Supreme Court property rights ruling.
Journal of Free Speech Law Call For Papers: Symposium on the First Amendment and Student Speech
We'll be ready to publish articles on this subject as early as September, if you submit them by August 1.
High School Cheerleader's Profane Social Media Rant Is Protected Free Speech, Says SCOTUS
First Amendment advocates prevailed in Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L.
Man Arrested for Public Signs Wins Settlement From Sheriff's Office and Spurs Reform
Holding a sign in a public park should not cause an arrest.
Bill Barr Gets Away With Busting Heads in Lafayette Square Because He's a Fed
"In lower courts' view, [a] federal badge now equals absolute immunity."
Vijay Boyapati: The Bullish Case for Bitcoin
The former Google engineer talks about inflation, the Austrian school of economics, and how bitcoin is revolutionizing banking.
Supreme Court Decision in Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid is a Major Victory for Property Rights
The ruling makes it far more difficult for the government to authorize physical invasions of private property without having to pay compensation under the Takings Clause.
Supreme Court Protects Students' "Political or Religious Speech" Outside School
The Court doesn't set forth a categorical rule protecting such speech, but strongly suggests that such speech is normally protected by the First Amendment—and defines political speech broadly, to include criticism (even vulgar criticism) of school programs and officials.
GB News Stands Up to U.K. Cancel Culture and Wins
Advertisers found that appeasing an illiberal mob wasn’t a safe choice after all.
The Feds Can't Compel States to Enforce Restrictions on Guns or Immigrants
The anti-commandeering principle serves causes favored by both the right and the left.
My Washington Times Article on the Need to Limit Government Power to Take Private Property
The article is Part I of a two-part series.
Tim Wu, Biden's New Tech Guru, Is Deeply Wrong About What Makes the Internet Great
In many professional arenas, Wu's swings and misses would have consequences. In Wu's case, it landed him an advisory role in the Biden administration.
My New Article on "The Normality of Knick"
It responds to a critique of the Supreme Court's major property rights ruling in Knick v. Township of Scott, by Profs. Stewart Sterk and Michael Pollack.
Is Microsoft 'Out To Get Conservatives'? And Is That Jim Jordan's Business?
Plus: Biden to back bill ending crack/cocaine sentencing disparity, the truth about tech startup creation, and more...
The Biden Administration's Model 'Red Flag' Law Belies the Justice Department's Avowed Commitment to Due Process
The Justice Department's proposal encourages states to take away people's Second Amendment rights based on little more than bare allegations.
Colorado Court Slaps Baker With Fine for Refusing To Make Gender Transition Cake
Plus: Georgia's voting roll purge draws media hype, Florida's drug law hypocrisy, and more...
Hong Kong's Experiment in Freedom Nears a Brutal End
China’s government emphasizes control over prosperity while a demoralized West offers little opposition.
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.
Biden's Nominee to Head the ATF, Who Wants Congress to Ban 'Assault Weapons,' Says He Can't Define Them
David Chipman's obfuscation, like the president's vagueness, is aimed at concealing the illogic of targeting firearms based on their "military-style" appearance.
City Building and Black Power
That time a civil rights activist teamed up with Richard Nixon to build a black-run town in rural North Carolina
Government Action and Constitutional Rights
When (1) states seek to protect abortion rights / gun rights / speech rights against private restriction, and (2) Congress seeks to encourage such private restrictions by preempting the state law protections, might such federal preemption violate the Constitution?
Juneteenth and the Universalist Principles of the American Revolution
Far from being somehow at odds with July 4, Juneteenth celebrates the greatest achievement of the principles of the Revolution and Founding.
New York City's Mayoral Reality Check
Gotham voters are trending toward candidates who acknowledge that violent crime is up, and that school closures were terrible.
Juneteenth Is a Good Holiday. Of Course the Government Is Screwing It Up.
Yet more evidence that we are ruled by incompetents.
