Civil Liberties
Supreme Court Reminds Us That the Best Answer to Unwanted Speech Is More Speech
Plus: On tipping and slavery, cities see population declines, and more...
Ketanji Brown Jackson Defended People Suspected of Terrorism. Good.
There's a particular richness to Republican senators weaponizing the right to defense counsel as an affront to the Constitution as opposed to something that's pivotal to it.
Hearing Mike Pence Speak Won't Harm UVA Students
The editorial board of UVA's The Cavalier Daily should abandon its effort to keep Mike Pence off campus.
"Bullying and Harassing Behavior Are Prohibited on Social Media Platforms," Says Alaska Senate Bill
What counts as "bullying and harassing" behavior, you might ask? The bill doesn't say.
Elected Body's Censure of Member for His Speech Doesn't Violate First Amendment, but
censure of government employees, students, professionals, and others might.
Crime to Send Certain "Crude, Vulgar, and Degrading" Sexual Jokes to 16-/17-Year-Olds in Indiana
But it's just fine to have sex with them.
"Cancel Culture … Is Inconsistent with the Philosophy of Open, Political Debate"
“[I]t undermines and stifles First Amendment privileges,” says a federal court, defining “cancel culture” as “the phenomenon of aggressively targeting individuals or groups, whose views aggressors deem unacceptable, in an effort to destroy them personally and/or professionally.”
Tennessee Statute Authorizing Wildlife Resource Agency Searches Facially Unconstitutional
So holds a Tennessee court.
Oklahoma House OKs Citizen-Enforced Abortion Ban
Plus: Masculinity tied to inflated IQ estimates, contempt for Warren's crypto bill, and more...
Illinois Town "Issue[s] 62 Tickets to an Elderly Couple for Having Lawn Chairs in Their Front Yard"
Based on the allegations of the complaint, "[i]f this case were a Monell crime scene, [Melrose Park Village Mayor Ronald Serpico] left his fingerprints, footprints, and DNA all over the place.
"Project Veritas Says Feds Secretly Accessed Its Emails"
UPDATE 3/24/2022: Added link to government's response.
Idaho Senate Won't Vote on House Bill To Fine and Jail Librarians for Obscenity
In a win for liberty, Idaho's Senate will likely not vote on a bill that would punish librarians for failing to sufficiently protect minors from "harmful" content.
Here Is What Ketanji Brown Jackson Said in the Harvard Law Review Article That Josh Hawley Found 'Alarming'
The Supreme Court nominee raised serious constitutional concerns about laws that punish sex offenders after they complete their sentences.
Canceling the Cancel Culture Deniers
If everything is cancel culture, nothing is.
Twitter Suspends Satire Site Babylon Bee for Tweet, "The Babylon Bee's Man of the Year is Rachel Levine"
The tweet was apparently aimed at mocking Time Magazine for calling Rachel Levine its "Woman of the Year."
10 Million Ukrainians Have Been Displaced By the War. The U.S. Has Taken in 690 Ukrainian Refugees.
Plus: A Florida arms manufacturer is donating weapons to Ukraine's defense effort, China eases up on its "COVID Zero" policies, and Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation hearings begin today...
The Hunter Biden Laptop Story Makes Another Case Against 'Misinformation' Bans
Plus: Fiona Apple fights for transparent courts, Missouri bill takes aim at out-of-state abortions, and more...
The Evolving Challenges to Maintaining Anonymity
Privacy law should supplement the First Amendment's anonymity protections.
Schools May Have Violated First Amendment Rights by Retaliating Against Contractor Based on Political Speech
The Ninth Circuit decides the Riley's American Heritage Farms case.
David Lat on the Latest Yale Law School Disruption of a Speaker
"As lawyers, we have to put aside our differences and talk to opposing counsel. If you can't talk to your opponents, you can't be an effective advocate."
NYC Mayor Suggests Latest iPhone Is a Prerequisite for Civil Rights
Eric Adams says you may have to upgrade your phone if you want to record the police, because you'll need to do so from a distance.
How Corporate Criticism Threatened Online Anonymous Speech
"This was now in their face, and it was in print."
Time To Close the Car Snitch Loophole
When you plug your phone into your car to listen to your favorite band or podcast, you give police a way to rummage around in your personal data without a warrant.
Missouri S. Ct. Strikes Down Requirement That Defense Lawyers Inform Sexual Assault Victims of Certain Matters
Such a requirement violates the First Amendment's protection against compelled speech, the court held, and can't be justified as a regulation of professional conduct.
'Grow Up': Yale Law School Students Interrupt Event, Demand Right To Talk Over Speakers
"FedSoc's decision to lend legitimacy to this hate group...profoundly undermined our community's values of equity and inclusivity."
"Denounce Putin, or Be Blacklisted"
"The classical music establishment demands that Russian musicians condemn their nation’s invasion of Ukraine in order to retain jobs and engagements in the West."
"Oklahoma Christian University 'Demands' Free Speech," but Allegedly Fires Prof for Inviting Gay Guest Speaker
who apparently spoke in some measure about his life as a gay man and used the words "dick" and "bitch."
Police Repeatedly Question Mom of 6 Who Let Kids Pick Up Litter Outside
"There are no known stories of any abductions here," says Anna Hershberger.
Ohio Will No Longer Require Licenses To Carry Concealed Weapons
Lawful gun owners should not be forced to jump through hoops just to exercise basic constitutional rights
N.J. Appellate Court Overturns Denial of Handgun Purchase Permit
The applicant had a 5-year-old drunk driving arrest (which led to a conviction on a reduced charge) and a 12-year-old conviction of drinking alcohol by a passenger.
Marina Ovsyannikova's Russian TV Poster Protest Was Not 'Hooliganism,' but Bravery
Protesters aren’t intimidated by Putin’s threat of imprisonment for dissent.
