COVID-19 Pulls Back the Mask on America's Prison System
This deadly and contagious disease has exposed problems with prison systems that have been ignored for decades.
Civil Liberties
Chicago Youth Nonprofit Sues City After Police Raid Over Free Food for Protesters
Chicago used its food licensing laws to harass a nonprofit providing free food to protesters.
In 2020, Words Are 'Violence,' Arson Is Not
The redefinition of the term diminishes actual victims of violence and trivializes why people are protesting.
Brandon Straka's #WalkAway Lawsuit Against LGBT Community Center Thrown Out
Straka loses on his discrimination, cyberbullying, defamation, and breach of contract claims.
Arizona Gyms Reject Governor Doug Ducey's Shutdown Order
Fitness centers across the state are turning up the resistance to lockdown orders.
"Shitty Media Men" List Libel Lawsuit Can Go Forward
Plaintiff had sufficiently alleged that the defendant didn't just create the list as a platform for others, but herself posted material about him -- though whether plaintiff ultimately prevails will depend on what discovery reveals.
Senate Bill Would Grant Refugee Status to Hong Kong Protestors
The legislation cuts lots of red tape surrounding the visa process.
Mary Trump Temporarily Enjoined from Publishing Memoir—But Injunction Lifted as to Her Publisher
"While Ms. Trump unquestionably possesses the same First Amendment expressive rights belonging to all Americans, she also possesses the right to enter into contracts, including the right to contract away her First Amendment rights." One precedent supporting that proposition: Another Trump v. Trump, a 1992 case involving Ivana Trump and Donald Trump.
Cities Can Accept Some Monuments for Parks—or Messages Painted on Streets—Without Having to Accept Others
Washington, D.C.'s writing "Black Lives Matter" on a street and letting others paint "Defund the Police" next to it doesn't require D.C. to let others paint messages on other streets.
Lawsuit Against 'Shitty Media Men' List Creator Can Proceed, Judge Says
Plus: Tech giants will testify in Congressional antitrust hearing, Seattle police clear out CHOP, and more...
Out-of-School K-12 Student Speech Can't Be Punished Even If It Causes "Disruption" at School
So says a Third Circuit panel, though other circuits disagree.
And Another N.Y. Bill Targeted at "Hate Speech" (and Advocacy of Boycotts of Friendly Countries)
This one focuses on student groups that get funding from public colleges, but it's an unconstitutional viewpoint-based restriction.
After 3 Weeks and 4 Shootings, Seattle Dismantles Its 'Autonomous Zone'
Seattle police have arrested dozens of protesters during their sweep of the so-called Capitol Hill Occupied Protest.
Would Derek Chauvin Receive Qualified Immunity for Killing George Floyd?
The answer speaks volumes about the extent to which that doctrine protects police officers from liability for outrageous conduct.
Wesley Yang: Woke Protests Against 'White Supremacism' May Be the New Normal
The Souls of Yellow Folk author says a new "elite consensus" fixated on racial outrage is forming and may destroy our ability to function.
Touching Your Phone While Driving Is Now Illegal in Idaho, Illinois, and Indiana
Plus: More (bad, weird, and occasionally good) new state laws that start taking effect today.
N.Y. State Bill to Ban "Hate Speech" from Social Media
"Hate speech" would be defined as an intentional "insulting statement about a group of persons because of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion or beliefs, sexual orientation, gender identity or physical, mental or intellectual disability."
Marsha P. Johnson Probably Didn't Start Stonewall, and Might Not Have Been Trans. Does It Matter?
The media and activists are using revisionist history of the Stonewall Riots to fit their intersectional narrative.
Partisan Hypocrisy on Display in Supreme Court Ruling on Anti-Prostitution Pledge and the First Amendment
Can the government compel speech? For Supreme Court justices, that seems to depend on the content of that speech.
Supreme Court Declares Another Abortion Law Unconstitutional
Plus: More states pause reopening, Oregon measure to legalize psilocybin moves forward, and more...
Kneeling in the Church of Social Justice
America certainly has work to do on race, but ritual and symbolic acts aren't the way forward.
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]."
Why John Roberts Joined the Supreme Court's Democratic Appointees in an Abortion Case
Roberts dissented in 2016 when SCOTUS struck down an abortion law. What changed this time around?
With Chief in Charge, SCOTUS Strikes Down Louisiana Abortion Law and Eliminates CFPB Independence (Updated)
The Chief Justice provides the pivotal vote in the June Medical Services abortion case and Seila Law v. CFPB.
"These Days … It Is Safest to Be Circumspect and Cautious"
"To survive as a ... professor requires constant self-censorship and compromise, especially in the humanities .... Resistance comes at a cost .... [H]er colleague ..., a law professor, was interrogated and suspended from teaching after publishing a series of essays critical of ...."
New York's Highest Court Upholds Taking of Private Property for Pipeline that Might Never Get Built
The 4-2 ruling is reminiscent of the federal Supreme Court's dubious decision in Kelo v. City of New London, which also upheld a condemnation for a project that turned out to be a dud.
Self-Defense When You're Violating the Law
You generally can't claim self-defense if you're a robber "defending" yourself against your victim's own self-defense—but do you also lose your self-defense rights if your only crime is illegally carrying a handgun?
Twitter Wins Lawsuit Over "Devin Nunes' Cow" Twitter Feed
Rep. Devin Nunes can't hold Twitter liable for allegedly defamatory posts by Twitter user:
Tucker Carlson Might Want To End Qualified Immunity If He Actually Knew What It Was
The Fox News host says reforming qualified immunity would "end law enforcement." That's not even close to being true.
States Can Reform Qualified Immunity on their Own
State reform isn't a complete substitute for abolition of the federal judicial doctrine. But it can achieve a lot. A recent Colorado law provides a model other states would do well to imitate.
Seattle 'Autonomous Zone' Sparks Class Action Lawsuit From Local Businesses
The plaintiffs argue that the city's tolerance of the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest has resulted in lawlessness and lost business.
This Republican Senator Calls Three Black Men Peacefully Carrying Long Guns 'Mob Rule'
A Second Amendment hypocrite with a plan to undermine federalism
Prison Guards Who Locked Naked Inmate in Cell Filled With 'Massive Amounts' of Feces Got Qualified Immunity
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals acknowledged that the plaintiff's Eighth Amendment rights were violated.
Devin Nunes Can Sue Cow Account but Not Twitter, Says Judge
Plus: Time to cancel U.S. propaganda outlets, Twitch sued over sexy women, new Assange indictment, social-justice symbolism, and more...
"Resolution of Judicial Misconduct Complaints About District Judge Lynn Adelman"
Judge Adelman's article sharply criticizing the Supreme Court, the Seventh Circuit concluded, was largely permissible under the Canons of Judicial Conduct, except "the opening two sentences of the article and the criticisms of recent policy positions taken by one political party."
Florida Judges Split on Injunction Against Critic of State Senator
"Publicly expressing anger toward an elected official is not a basis for entry of an injunction. In public debate, elected officials must tolerate insulting remarks—even angry, outrageous speech—to provide breathing room for the First Amendment."
