Civil Liberties
Secret Surveillance Warrants Remain Secret
In November, the Supreme Court declined to consider an ACLU petition arguing that the public has a First Amendment right to see the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court's classified decisions.
College Basketball Star Wayne Arnold (Concordia) Sues for Libel, Discrimination, Etc.
It all started with a stolen PlayStation 5.
Anti-Crime Checkpoints in Jackson, Mississippi, Blatantly Violate the Fourth Amendment
To "get wanted individuals off the streets," police are stopping drivers without any evidence that they have broken the law.
Texas Classifies Medical Treatment of Trans Minors as Abuse, Threatens Parents, Orders Caregivers To Snitch
These orders aren’t about safety. They’re a complete rejection of the legitimacy of these procedures, and a denial of individual liberty.
Michigan Witness-Retaliation-by-Threats Law Requires Intent to Threaten Physical Injury (or Crime)
One judge would have held that threats to injure reputation are criminalized by the law, but the other two disagreed.
Libel Plaintiff Cites "Cancel Culture" in Seeking Protective Order for Identities of Witnesses
The case stems from defendant's claims that plaintiff, a comic book writer, said racist things to her at a comic-book-business social function.
Justin Trudeau's Crackdown Will Make Bitcoin and Cash More Popular
There’s no freedom if the state can separate us from our money.
Grabbing Guns Won't Reduce Urban Violence
Firearm seizures are ineffective, and gun possession arrests are frequently unjust.
The Verdict Against Ahmaud Arbery's Killers Highlights the Problems With Federal Hate Crime Statutes
Such laws, which allow redundant prosecutions based on defendants' bigoted beliefs, supposedly are authorized by the amendment that banned slavery.
Can a Web Designer Be Forced To Make Gay Wedding Pages? The Supreme Court Will Decide
Will this follow-up to the famous wedding cake case finally decide if this is mandated speech violating the First Amendment?
Arizona House Committee Approves Bill To Criminalize Filming Cops on the Job
"You'll have a bunch of people who plead to avoid trial or go broke trying to vindicate their rights."
Libel Case Based on Allegations that Plaintiff Had Made Specific Racist Statements Can Go Forward
The plaintiff, Frank Gogol, and the defendant, Malissa White, are both comic book writers.
Bitcoin Can Fix Financial Deplatforming of Canada's Truckers—But It Won't Be Easy
The government controls on the traditional banking system also apply to custodial cryptocurrency services.
Licensing of Speaking Professions Doesn't Violate First Amendment
So holds the Eleventh Circuit, as to dieticians, viewing itself as bound by an earlier decision involving interior designers.
How Anti-Smut Activists Made 'Louie, Louie' Famous
Censors wore out their welcome during the 20th century's indecency wars.
Conviction for Surreptitiously Recording Conversation with Police Chief in His Office Reversed;
on remand, jury must be instructed that it has to determine (among other things) whether the defendant “reasonably believed the conversation was not confidential.”
No Sealing of Police Body-Cam Video in Lawsuit Over Confrontation With Police,
even though the video includes a brief appearance by a minor (a friend of plaintiff's).
Court in Civil Case Holds Trump's Jan. 6 Speech Could Be Constitutionally Unprotected Incitement
But the claims against Donald J. Trump, Jr. and Rudy Giuliani are dismissed.
Students Strip Searched for Vaping Devices
Prosecutor says no criminal charges will be filed, because the girls could leave their undergarments on.
Biden Administration Files Dubious Lawsuit Challenging Missouri's Gun Sanctuary Law [Updated with a Note on State Courts]
The suit deserves to fail for much the same reasons as Trump-era attacks on immigration sanctuaries.
The Revolt of the Canadian Truckers
In an age of elite scorn, government mandates, a rotten economy—and powerful, decentralized communication tools—common people are pushing back.
European Leaders Find Backdoor Way To Ban Porn on Social Media
Plus: Elon Musk accuses the SEC of trying to silence him, Elizabeth Warren gets her antitrust wish, and more...
Canada's Panicked Government Engages in Undemocratic Theft
Apparently the rule of law doesn’t matter if Justin Trudeau doesn’t like your peaceful protest.
Let's Go Brandon, Fly Your Anti-Biden Flag
Kokomo officials agree not to enforce ordinance banning “obscene, indecent, or immoral” signs against flag that says “Fuck Biden and fuck you for voting for him.”
The Men Who Killed Ahmaud Arbery Were Convicted of Murder. Now They Are on Trial for Racism.
According to a former federal prosecutor, the seemingly redundant case sends "the message that the Justice Department won't tolerate this type of racist hatred."
The Biden Administration Sues Over Missouri's Pro–Second Amendment Law
Plus: An antitrust lawsuit against Juul was dismissed, the EARN IT Act's sponsor has a new proposal, and more...
Jacob Mchangama: How Hate Speech Laws Punish Minorities
In the new book Free Speech, the Danish activist defends radical self-expression from Socrates to social media.
Philadelphia's D.A. Sees Little Value and Much Injustice in Gun Possession Arrests
Larry Krasner also questions the effectiveness of "supply-side" measures aimed at reducing criminals' access to firearms.
Free, State-Run Preschool Worse for Poor Kids Than No Preschool, Study Finds
"If this study doesn't put the nail in the coffin of academic training to little children, it's hard to imagine what will," says psychologist Peter Gray.
Palin v. NYT Jurors "Learned of the Court's" Decision Against Palin Before Rendering Verdict
"The jurors repeatedly assured the Court's law clerk that these notifications had not affected them in any way or played any role whatever in their deliberations."
Misinformation or Political Dysfunction—Which Comes First?
Plus: Trafficking visas, a new no-fly list?, and more...
